- 2025-08-05
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MUSIC
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NewDad Premieres New Song “Pretty” on BBC Radio 1
London-based Irish rock band NewDad, consisting of Julie Dawson (vocals/rhythm guitar), Sean O'Dowd (lead guitar) and Fiachra Parslow (drums), premiered a new song “Pretty” on BBC Radio 1's New Music Show with Jack Saunders.
The song is the fourth single off of their upcoming sophomore album “Altar”, which is set to be released on September 19, 2025.
It is a love letter to their hometown of Galway.
The track was written by Julie Elisabeth Dawson and Justin Parker. Produced by Shrink.
The accompanying music video was directed by Peter Eason Daniels.
The band lead singer Julie Dawson said of the song, “'Pretty' is a lighter spin on a key theme of the album, homesickness. It was a way for me to express my adoration for Galway, it's a love song really. Coming to a place like London that's so chaotic and overwhelming really made me appreciate the peace and quiet of home. Also the landscape, being able to see wide open fields and roads with no one on them it's just so calming and I'm in love with it. That's why I wrote this song.”- Julie Dawson told Jack Saunders about the song, “'Pretty', is a love letter to Galway, our home, hometown, and I hope people love it. I think it's just that even on its like gloomiest days, like Galway is beautiful in the sun. And just as a place people the like, warmth is just ever present, even on its kind of dullest days. And I think that's what I wanted to write the song about. I love to yearn. It was definitely in a hard bout of kind of homesickness. But I think I was trying to look on the positive side of things rather than kind of just be really sad about missing home, just talk about things that I love about home.”
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The new album comprises 12 tracks, produced by Shrink. It was written over the last two years and sees the band tackling their yearning for their hometown, having made the move to London, exploring themes of relationships, homesickness, ambition and sacrifice.
Julie Dawson said of the album, “The album itself is where I divulge my love for home. It's the idea that Ireland is the altar and it's the thing that I worship, in a way.”
She told Jack Saunders, “There's lot about, like, missing home, but also a lot about just kind of trying to find your feet in the music industry. And be able to stand up for yourself when you're always there's always so many different opinions being thrown at you. I think it's learning to stand your ground was something that I had to do over the past few years. And there's a lot of that, and then a lot of like comparisons between Galway and London. And like the serenity of home and then the like chaos of London, and I kind of play with that a little bit on it.”
Photo by Peter Eason Daniels - source : BBC Radio 1
