Gilla Band

At the end of 2011 in Dublin, Girl Band was formed around Daniel Fox (bass), Adam Faulkner (drums), Dara Kiely (vocals, guitar) and Alan Duggan (guitar). They named themselves after a bar encounter with what they described as "a boring girl" who was a fan of The Wombats. With influences ranging from Queens of the Stone Age and Nirvana to Nick Cave and The Fall, the quartet played a series of concerts in their native Ireland, and managed to self-release a debut EP, France 98, in 2012. Only pressed to 300 copies, it was recorded live and attests to the band's vitality, notably on the infectious "You're a Dog". The following year, they recorded a cover of techno artist Blawan's "Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage", which drew further attention to this unidentified musical object. This was followed by a UK-wide tour, another in Europe, and then an inaugural trip to the USA, supported by the release of two singles, "Lawman" and "De Bom Bom", heralding the 2015 release of a proper debut album, Holding Hands With Jamie, on Rough Trade Records.