The Centre Can Hold
Hard-working heroes HERITAGE CENTRE are beginning to capture the public imagination.
Lauren Murphy, 11 May 2009
Welcome to Dublin’s Heritage Centre. Please be warned: this tour does not involve Vikings of any description, nor will it be of any interest to misty-eyed tourists. Your guide is a charming young man by the name of Ciaran Brady, who happens to beat the living daylights out of a drumkit for a living. And thankfully, his band’s music isn’t half as hoary as their name suggests.
Heritage Centre have been playing as a quintet for a year, but have already established themselves as young contenders, thanks to their enthusiasm for gigging and their uptempo pop-rock tunes. Brady and singer/guitarist Conal McIntyre provided the original blueprint for the band several years back, gigging under the ‘Heritage Centre’ banner to little success. When they enlisted the talents of David Rogers, Stephen Tiernan and Liam Byrne in May 2008, their sound and style flourished and they became what Brady describes jokingly as ‘one big happy family’.
“Myself and Conal had recorded and demoed an album, but it was very low-fi,” he explains. “We just knew eventually that we’d have to get people in, because we wouldn’t be able to play live as a duo, there were too many instruments. We figured that a five-piece would be the only arrangement that would work.”
As with most young bands eager to make an impression as an eclectic collective, Brady says that their influences sprawl as wide as Led Zeppelin, Ben Folds, TV on the Radio and Nirvana. “But more so than bands we’re into, we’re just into making poppy songs with big choruses,” he claims. “Simple, worthwhile arrangements, rather than complicating things.”
Heritage Centre’s music speaks louder than words: their songs are, indeed, crammed with clear-cut melodies, tailor-made for summer singalongs and radio play. The music-buying public are becoming increasingly enamoured with the quintet, too – their debut EP, The City, The Tree and The Fox has been selling well since its February release. Its packed launch at Whelan’s provided Brady with one of his favourite gig memories to date.
©Hot Press 2011. Why be a member? | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy