Undercover Martians – Jigsaw (2022)
Unless you have seen Undercover Martians live, you probably may not be aware that this Irish quartet exists. Now, as their debut EP Jigsaw sees its release it just might change in their favour. Hailing from both sides of the Donegal-Leitrim border in the North West of Ireland, the band’s members are Killian Fox and Michael McGloin on guitar and drums respectively with Dáithí McGloin and Rory Sweeney on vocals/guitar and bass.
So what do these guys sound like on this five-song EP? Their PR people say that their sound “merges classic rock and punk indie sensibilities, drawing influences from the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Interpol, and Green Day while adding their own unique twist.” Actually, you just may have to put an accent on that “personal twist”. The point is that throughout this release Fox, McGloin, and the rest of the band have mixed their influences so skillfully that you would need to dissect each song into pieces to discern where each one comes from. Yet, Undercover Martians seem to have put an accent on that undercover part of their band name, because that dissection simply might not be necessary. The band has assembled their influences in such a manner that each song sounds both familiar and new and fresh at the same time. Very often, such a songwriting process is so hard to achieve right that it might often be harder to do than go completely in a new direction.
The reason for Jigsaw’s success just might lie in the fact that the band picked the best songs they wrote in the period between 2018 and 2021. Undercover Matians envisioned their first EP as a completely different, punkier project. However, this was put on hold due to the pandemic and during this time they started writing new material and evolving their sound. Definitely the right decision.
For more from Undercover Martians check out their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
