Review | Pebbledash – To Cast The Sea In Concrete

Label: Blowtorch Records

By Pearse Connick

Cork outfit Pebbledash have dropped their exciting latest EP – ‘To Cast The Sea In Concrete’ and it continues to carry their awesome grunge, shoegaze music that has previously excited the ears of many listeners. 

Between perfectly crafted instrumentals and exciting songwriting that has been absolutely nailed by Irish bands, the EP is bound to bring a whole new wave of fans to the band, especially after their recent support of fellow Cork band Cardinals.  

The EP kicks off with a strong instrumental that thrusts you into the flow of things without having to hear a word, which makes track two, ‘Tiles & Moss’, feel like a very natural blend of the previously heard instrumentals with the addition of the band’s superior songwriting and lyricism.

‘Isn’t It Always’ is a good intro to the shoegaze style of song that the band have developed so well recently. ‘Isn’t It Always‘ is also tinged with post-punk, quietly adding another dimension to Pebbledash.

After this, the EP returns to the instrumental side of things with ‘An Fear Marbh’, translating to ‘The Dead Man’ the song brings with it a tough and aggressive sounding mash of noises that brings even more atmosphere to the EP. Instrumental tracks like this can often be what makes a rising band standout so much, they tend to change the direction of an album or EP and make sure it doesn’t become forgotten when you’re finished listening. 

‘Cell’ is my favourite song from the EP, the two vocals coming from Fionnbharr Hickey and Asha Egan McCutcheon respectively come together and separate throughout the track and create this sort of beautiful flow that is absolutely helped by the crashing riff that drops in whenever the vocals tie up. 

‘O The Wind’ begins with some traditional Irish vocals. They’re incisive, hooking the listener in instantly. As the track goes on, somehow there’s never any reason to change the pace or the aggression of the singing even though the music around it alters at points, and this altogether made it have a sound that yet again differed from the other songs on the EP. Then the EP comes to a subtle conclusion with ‘The Shape of the Day’, a calmer instrumental than ‘An Fear Marbh’, yet it still contains violent noises that manage to come across as tuneful to fade out the EP in an icy and satisfying way.

Pebbledash are certainly another Irish band to keep an eye out for, and definitely try to catch on one of their upcoming UK tour shows. This EP will translate so well to a live show.