
TO celebrate the launch of her new album, โCome As You Areโ on Faction Records, acclaimed Galway artist Niamh Regan will perform a pop up show at Steamboat Records, Limerick this Thursday June 6 at 5.00pm. Many of you who have seen Niamh play solo or with her band will be well aware of what an extraordinary talent she is, donโt miss this show.
Niamhโs 2020 debut album โHemet,โ showcased her knack for crafting folk-infused songs with a quiet, reflective intensity. The album quickly amassed over a million streams on Spotify and earned nominations for both the RTร Folk Awards and the Choice Music Prize for โAlbum of the Year.โ
Since then, Niamh has taken her music around the globe, headlining tours across Ireland, the UK, Australia, Spain, and more. She has also graced numerous festivals and shared stages with the likes of CMAT, Villagers, John Grant, SOAK, Patrick Watson, Sam Amidon, Cormac Begley, and Sorcha Richardson.
Amidst this whirlwind of performances, Niamh found time to craft her second album, โCome As You Are,โ at Attica Studios with producer Tommy McLaughlin. Reflecting on the experience, she shares, โI arrived in Donegal to meet Tommy for the first time with a bunch of demos, half-baked ideas, and feeling not ready. It was scary. But Iโm so glad that I did it that way. I trusted the process and came into the studio with the intention of capturing exactly where I was with it all, and Tommy helped me build from there.โ
โCome As You Areโ is a collection of songs rich with vulnerability and introspection. Niamh delves into themes that resonate deeply during the quiet moments of life: self-doubt, uncertainty about lifeโs direction, the state of relationships, and prioritising what truly matters. โA lot of it is about being in your late twenties and kind of realising weโre all running out of time,โ she muses. โIโd have bouts of massive self-belief in the studio, and then in the next breath I would be like, โThis is the worst piece of music I could have even imagined.โ It was a rollercoaster. But through that, I found self-acceptance; this is where Iโm at and making peace with that. Thatโs what the album essentially is, just making peace with where Iโm at and being realistic with myself.โ
For this record, Niamh aimed to capture a richer, fuller live band sound, drawing inspiration from artists like Julia Jacklin, Caroline Rose, and Wilco. While moments of intimacy remain, the songs on โCome As You Areโ are grander in scale and ambition than those on โHemet.โ The album features the rousing, string-assisted majesty of โWaves,โ the subtle electro-pop beats underpinning โNice,โ the dreamy, melancholic swirl of โBlame,โ and the standout track โMusic,โ which, if not for her expressive, elegant vocals, could feel like a lost classic from Jeff Tweedy and company.
Niamh explains that the joy of releasing new music lies in performing it live, saying, โItโs the best feeling and I think Iโll be chasing it for the rest of my life.โ
โCome As You Areโ is more than just a follow-up to โHemetโ; itโs a bold step forward. The albumโs songs are poised to come alive on stage, inviting newcomers into Niamh Reganโs world with their immediacy and emotional depth.