If you’re looking for a feel-good indie band with a sound bursting from the seams with vigor, youthful adrenaline and lush melodies then Post-Party are going to be your next fix. By a chance meeting that completed the dynamic line up Post-Party formed in late 2018 in Dublin and have since built a reputation for their energetic live performances playing in various well-known venues across Ireland and the UK.
I caught up with frontman Keelan O’Reilly to talk about the blazing new single ‘Being Honest’, the band’s writing process, and how dressing up as a female singer for a secondary school musical helped him overcome his stage fright.
“I guess, me and three of the guys have been playing music together for years. We went to school together and it wasn’t until we went to college that I met Matthew who was the final member of the band to join. Me and Matthew were in a class together and they were doing the roll call, and my full name is Keelan Anthony O’Reilly, and they called out on the roll, Matthew Anthony O’Reilly, and it turned out that me and Matthew had the same middle name and surname, and after class, I was confused about the situation so I approached him about it and we just started chatting. It was such a weird coincidence. After that we were like yeah we have to do something with this. This is a sure sign”
Post-Party have become known for their vibrant sound. Guitar and melody hooks seem to be an instantly recognisable factor in their songs and their high-energy indie is unsurprisingly blowing minds and gaining them fans with each show they play. New single ‘Being Honest’ follows this infectious recipe.
“ ‘Being Honest’, stemmed from a different song we had for years. I had been working on a song with the three lads, just working it through, practicing together. It came from a place of personal experience. It’s about the silly fickle arguments and things that happen when you’re in a relationship with someone. When Matthew joined we decided to rewrite it, and just finish the ideas that we had started on. When we got into the session together on the first day it became what ‘Being Honest’ is today.”
“ I guess a lot of the time the first melody you come up with is often quite strong and a lot of the time it does come organically. Sometimes things have to be reconsidered, and that’s all part of the process of writing the song but the first melody we come up with is often the one we stick with, and after that we get some feedback from people we trust, and see how we feel about it if it needs to be changed. We’re not gonna be too personally involved, we’re all able to be professional and decide if this works or if this doesn’t. So, yeah, that’s kind of the process.”
“You kind of build this bank of lyrics, and melodies, and it’s all in your head when you write a song. Then you decide maybe I’m not fully happy with this song, but you enjoy a certain part of the song, you’re going to keep that and you’re going to store that in your head. That’s where these organic melodies come from because you’ve come up with a melody, and maybe it doesn’t get used, and then in three weeks time you’re writing another song, and it finds its place and it just really fulfills that song, much more than it had in the original idea. “
The band have worked hard developing their music and building a fanbase through the live circuit. It is in the live scene where they bounce songs off the crowd to see how a song would translate with fans before they release it. This practice not only gains them new fans but also gives them confidence and helps the band hone their sound. So naturally with the lack of shows 2020 brought, it was a difficult time for Post-Party as they had to navigate through social media to find other ways of connecting with their audience.
“Yeah, our favorite part of this whole thing is the live scene, and that’s been from day one.We just love playing music together in front of a crowd and an audience. It’s really thrilling, and just so exciting. That was one thing that we wanted to maintain when we are writing. So we always consider ‘how can we make this full of energy, how can we make this something that a crowd would enjoy’. It’s become very central to our sound, because we focus on making our songs youthful and dancey”
“ We started writing songs and playing shows before we recorded anything. So, we released ‘Love You Everyday’ in 2019. We had a full year of just playing shows before that. It was looking at the reactions from the audience to our sound, that would enhance our ideas on what was good and what wasn’t. That’s where the feedback comes from on the writing, you can tell straight away if a song is working once you play a live show. It was a perfect opportunity to be able to hone in on sounds, and energies, especially for that first single ‘Love You Everyday’. That’s something that’s been super important to us.”
“We see a lot of familiar faces. We have really supportive friends and extended kind of Post-Party family so it’s really cool. That’s one of the best feelings in the world and especially when you haven’t released a song and people are recognizing it from being at other shows and stuff, that shows that people actually really enjoy what you’re doing and engage with what you’re doing.”
“ It was upsetting to lose the live side of everything because it’s very motivating being able to play in front of a crowd and have an audience listen to your music. So it even takes away an aspect towards the writing of the music as well. But, especially, with the loss of live music, you know we would have hopefully been playing a lot of festivals over the summer had COVID not been around, but unfortunately now, we didn’t get that opportunity. But we’re optimistic for the new year, we’re optimistic for 2021 and we’re just gonna have to push the music without the live. It’s gonna be very different. It’s a different scenario. And it’s challenging but I think it’s achievable.”
“ We definitely had to take a different approach. I was chatting to Matthew, our guitar player in Post-Party about this and we were saying, after releasing ‘Being Honest’, we would have played a live show, to launch this single. So…we definitely had to reconsider how we went about promoting the song. Last year TikTok was the platform that really took off over lockdown, and even setting up a TikTok page, which we just did two weeks ago,to help promote the single because there’s a lot of organic growth on the social media platforms with everyone being at home. So we really had to consider how to engage people through social media, rather than through the live scene. It just takes a lot of thought and processing how you can achieve something like that. “
“It’s definitely a learning curve, and it was something that we hadn’t really expressed ourselves in enough probably. Last year gave us the opportunity to learn how to use the platforms that are available to us”
“It’s quite a competitive marketplace. You’re competing with your peers. I love all the bands that I follow on Instagram or Facebook or whatever, but you’re essentially competing with those artists. There’s only so much music that can get heard by so many people. It’s a challenge, it is very daunting but I think last year a lot of people have learned how to navigate it.”
Post-Party have taken the uncertainty in their stride and created cracking tunes and an impressive music video during this time. The music video for ‘Being Honest’ sees the band performing the track while some bullies set their sights on terrorising a teenager. Featuring a heroic janitor and a nail biting badminton game, the band provide an entertaining visual (along with some fun bloopers on their facebook page).
“Yeah, it was a very cool concept and our bass player Colin actually came up with the idea. He directed, acted, edited, he did everything possible to contribute to the video. He really knocked it out of the park. We tried to capture that energetic, fun feeling that we strive towards, and I think the ideas that Colin formed were perfect for capturing that energy and vibe.
“ If you’ve seen the bloopers. There are about 1000 takes of the guys laughing at each other. It was so hard. I think one of the bloopers Colin literally says in the background that it’s impossible…but yeah, at the same time, it was so fun and that’s the main thing”
Being the frontman of a band can be a daunting task. You have to express the song’s emotions as well as carry the band’s message. However Keelan does this with a confidence and charisma that highlights his passionate velvety vocals. Keelan explained to me the moment he found his confidence.
“Yeah, it’s definitely something that I’ve learned. I remember the first time I played in front of an audience, and it was the scariest thing ever. I had really bad stage fright when I was younger, I did a musical in my secondary school, and I performed as a female singer. I had to get dressed up in a dress and high heels and everything. It really just put me in the spotlight and I had to adapt. I think that was the moment where I realized,I don’t actually have to be afraid of stepping out in front of an audience and being myself or whatever, even though in that particular moment I wasn’t.”
“It was a great experience. I really enjoyed it and it gave me an idea of what it was like to perform and the enjoyment you can have on stage.”
Post- Party have played venues such as the Roisin Dubh in Galway, sold-out headline Dublin shows, toured Ireland, performed at Electric Picnic and Indiependence as well as supported the likes of Miles Kane and The Sherlocks.The band soaked up as much of the experience to see how they can improve their own shows.
“You learn stuff, yeah 100% you learn stuff from every live show you go to. So going to any concert as a musician and as an artist you’re constantly taking mental notes in your head about what you enjoyed about the performance, or what that certain act did that blew you away. We never got any advice from Miles or The Sherlocks or any of the lads. They told us they loved the music, so that was a good thing. I guess just watching Miles Kane, he’s an amazing performer. He just pulls the crowd in and they are in the palm of his hand for the whole concert. As an artist, you would be analyzing what he’s doing to make the crowd so engaged. I myself went and saw The 1975 in 2019 and one of the things I really loved about the show was the lights aspect and the actual stage setup. It was something that we were really motivated by. It’s something that we’d love to do in the future. It was an insight into what the possibilities are for live shows, etc.”
Post-Party has set the bar high.‘Being Honest’ is a great track to start the year. I wondered what the band has planned to tantalize our ears for the rest of the year.
“We spent the last year writing, so we have loads of new material. We’re super excited about it. We’ve got some new tunes in the pipeline, and we’re hoping to see if maybe at the end of the year shows come back. It’s all playing it by ear at the moment. We’ve got some stuff we’re really excited to share. For the moment we’re just focusing on ‘Being Honest’, promoting the song, and we’ll see what happens in the next few months.”
Post-Party is a band to keep an eye on.Their heartfelt energetic tunes are irresistible and laced in emotive feel good indie.Teamed with deft lyrics and guitar hooks flying at you from all angles, it’s difficult to resist this band’s infectious sound. From strong bass lines, blood pumping drums and blazing guitar lines to warm vocals and sweet melodies Post- Party are charming the ears of all who hear them.
You can follow Post-Party on their socials below
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Post.Party.Music/
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/postpartyband/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PostPartyBand
Stream ‘Being Honest’ below
Author : Danu
