With more than two decades between the brand new and ebullient Wake Up People! and 2001’s Adventura Majestica, the intervening years have done little to dim the spark of one of Ireland’s best loved alternative rock bands, Sack. The band’s 2021 return came as unexpected but welcome news to fans of the bands cult classic late 90’s records.
Using the DIY approach to get this album over the line and out, a Kickstarter campaign for funding quickly reached three quarters of their goal, and packed live performances in recent years have culminated in an album of fresh and tuneful new material.
Detail oriented songwriting and an uncanny ability to pen an ear-worm of a melody have conspired in a fantastic new addition to the canon of excellent Irish music of 2024.
Battling the pitfalls of technology, we managed to track down three of the quintet for a talk on the new record and resurrection.
Can you tell me a little bit about the new record, and the band dusting off the cobwebs and playing together again?
Tony Brereton: It started when we got a little bit of free time in Windmill Lane studios. Our old guitar player, Ken [Haughton] worked there. He said “lads, come in and have a jam and see what comes out’. We all made it in, and John had something that became the start of a new song. Ken came back to us and said listen, we have a free day to record a whole song, which developed into the single, ‘What A Way To Live’, which was when it all kicked off. We were just doing it for the craic, and thought why not put it out there? [Radio Presenter] Tom Dunne latched onto it, and kept playing it so we said, feck it. So album number four.
How have you been finding the response?
Tony Brereton: A lot of our fans are delighted to see we’re still going, but also that we’re still writing. I think that was the thing, we didn’t want to become this band that went over the old set. A key for us is to keep writing. We love writing songs, and the feedback has been incredible.
What are the plans around the Wake Up People! release?
Tony Barrett: The new single Do You Need Love? has just been released and is picking up great airplay. The album comes out October 18th, the night we kick off a wee Irish & UK tour in the legendary Mike The Pies in Listowel. We play with The Stunning in the Olympia on the 19th followed by some UK dates in November and the album launch night in Dublin’s Button Factory on Sat Nov 23rd.
With Wake Up People! being the fans first independent release, can you tell me about the advantages of that?
Tony Brereton: Total control over everything. That’s the main advantage, control over everything you do and every penny you make. It would be nice to have help with publicity, but so far it’s been great. The Kickstarter campaign reached 70 percent of the goal in five days. We’re blown away by the response!
How was it playing as Sack again, with fresh blood like Gavin Fox (ex Turn, Idlewild) and Tony Barrett (ex Brilliant Trees) joining the ranks?
Martin McCann: It was exciting. Myself and Tony Barrett had been in Elevens. We were always writing songs together, two of which originated in that camp. We had a little band called the Far Shops, which didn’t really gig, but we had a view to writing these songs and releasing them under that name. Album closing track ‘Blood & Boundaries’ was one of those songs.
What do you make of how the scene in Ireland has developed in recent years, and what place does the new record take in it?
Tony Barrett: There’s a resurgence of like minded people and music here. Irish people are changing a little bit. We’re extremely alarmed about misinformation, hence ‘Wake Up People’. It’s a call. We’re in scary times, politically.
We saw that last November, how close we are to descending into darkness. The Wake Up message is an important one. I feel that energy from A Lazarus Soul, and other kindred spirits. We’re going the same way, we want the same things. We’ve long been within the culture of Irish music with a message, and that message has never been more important.
Words: Adhamh O’Caoimh
Wake Up People! is released on October 18th. Their crowdfunding campaign runs until October 18th and you can pledge at kickstarter.com
Sack play The Button Factory on Sat Nov 23rd, tickets through singularartists.ie here
