That Sprints’ songs sound so conversational shouldn’t come as a surprise. “The best way to describe the songwriting is like ‘pub chat’,” singer Karla Chubb told DIY magazine. “It’s issues that you normally gather around a table and chat to your friends about on a Friday night over a pint of Guinness.” The resultant arresting lyrics have been a feature of the Dublin four-piece – completed by bassist Sam McCann, guitarist Colm O’Reilly and drummer Jack Callan – since their 2020 debut single The Cheek (“He said: ‘Baby, are you straight?’ / I said: ‘Bi – bye bye’”).
A Modern Job, the title track of their new EP, is about not conforming to societal expectations. “My whole life I’ve been chasing things that people told me would make me happy and it just made me incredibly depressed,” says Chubb. “It’s only been in the last couple of years of really embracing who I am that I’ve thought, I just don’t care any more.” There’s a lighter side, too: I’m in a Band is just straight-up funny.
Taking their musical nods from the post-punk of Savages (one of whose gigs was a pivotal moment in their origin story) and Fontaines DC, Sprints are in their element on stage and made their SXSW debut this month. In their own words: “We’re such a live band.” Watch out for them at festivals this summer.
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