Pebbledash x Litreacha Review: An Uplifting Celebration of Cork Creativity
The collaboration between rising alt-rock band Pebbledash and Cork open mic Litreacha made for an impressive display of local art.
Some called it “the collab of the century.” Kicking off their month-long tour around Ireland, self-proclaimed “noisy banshee cowboy rock n roll” outfit Pebbledash played a devastingly beautiful set in Plugd Records on Saturday, supported by local queer open mic Litreacha. Litreacha is a monthly event that takes place in Nudes on Lavitt’s Quay (about which my dear friend Claire Watson recently wrote on their Substack), and its co-creators Em Egan Reeve and Louis Egan McCutcheon chose a selection of its most frequent and beloved readers to open for Pebbledash. While Litreacha welcomes musicians at its events, the open mic and music scenes in Cork City, while both thriving, seem somewhat separate. Well, Pebbledash have broken the seal in inviting Litreacha to share the stage with them at this gig, creating a night of celebration of art in general and creativity in Cork City specifically.
Plugd is a record shop by day, occasionally holding concerts and other creative events in the evenings, and its capacity as a venue is, naturally, limited. At first, I was somewhat surprised that a band as popular in the local scene as Pebbledash were playing a gig in Plugd - only in August, they filled Cork venue The Pav for their co-headline with HANNAHBELLA. But the intimate vibe of Plugd suits Pebbledash’s evocative, atmospheric music perfectly, as well as ensuring that only dedicated fans of the band will make it in (the limited number of tickets available sold out quickly). Plugd’s cosy atmosphere also suits the night’s opening act: six of Litreacha’s poets. The venue is completely silent as the audience listens intently to each poet as they read for roughly five minutes, taking us on a journey through style, form, and subject matter. A particular highlight is Eavan Boland Emerging Poet Award-winning Otto Goodwin, whose poetry impresses at every Litreacha event. Here, they read a trio of poems full of visceral bodily and natural imagery, marked by their distinctive, almost conversational reading style, simultaneously unsettling and delighting their audience. (For the sake of journalistic integrity I should mention that Otto is a friend of mine, but their poetry really is that great.)
After a short break, Pebbledash take to the makeshift stage area. The venue is so small that it’s difficult to find space for all six members of the band: guitarist and vocalist Fionnbharr Hickey, vocalist Asha Egan McCutcheon (twin sister of Litreacha’s Louis), lead guitarist Micheál O’Dwyer, synth player and vocalist Cormac Donovan O’Neill, drummer Eoin Schuch, and, filling in on bass for this evening, Emily Dollery. This line-up is still relatively new - Pebbledash originally formed back in 2021, but Fionnbharr and Micheál are the only remaining founding members. The other four musicians joined in early 2024, and the band has gone from strength to strength ever since, playing gigs around the city and the country, including in Cork’s St Luke’s Cathedral as part of the Midsummer Festival. Tonight, the audience fan out in a semi-circle around the band, with several people choosing to sit on the floor in front of them. Pebbledash open their set with a song playfully titled on the setlist as “Egg Jam”, demonstrating their spirit of experimentation and collaboration that will echo throughout the evening. They then seamlessly transition into “Tiles”, an upbeat song defined by its three-part harmony that has quickly become a fan favourite, and which takes on a warmer feel by virtue of Fionnbharr’s switch from his usual electric guitar to acoustic.
Plugd’s intimacy lends itself perfectly to Pebbledash’s performance of “Carraig Aonair”, a traditional sean-nós song that Asha brought with her when she joined the band. Before joining Pebbledash, Asha was already well-known in the Cork music scene as a singer-songwriter, and “Carraig Aonair” was a staple of her set. Pebbledash have now adopted the song and recently released their interpretation of it as a single. The audience is rapt as Asha sings powerfully and movingly about a drowning off Fastnet Lighthouse, as the rest of the band drone steadily underneath before jumping in, in a burst of sound that evokes the waves crashing against the rocks of the lighthouse. “Carraig Aonair” is the moment in every Pebbledash set where they indulge their passion for experimenting with sound - for example, Fionnbharr begins the song drawing a violin bow over his guitar strings - and as such, no two performances of the song are ever quite the same.
Pebbledash follow “Carraig Aonair” with “The Waltz”, another one of Asha’s songs, which the band have only recently added to their repertoire. This song is a fan favourite at Asha’s solo performances, and she usually closes her set with it. At her own gigs, Asha usually plays it solo on acoustic guitar (although she has sometimes been accompanied by a friend on keyboard), and Pebbledash’s arrangement of her song transforms it into something new, with Fionnbharr and Micheál’s dual guitar parts and Cormac’s synth in particular - along with Asha’s trademark striking, haunting vocals - imbuing the song with quite a spooky vibe.
Undoubtedly, one of the highlights of the night is the band’s performance of “Killer Lover”, released as a double A-side with “Carraig Aonair” in August. The celebration of Cork City continues as Fionnbharr introduces the song as “about Cork, and all the people in it and the places.” Each musician gets their moment to shine as the song unfolds, building to its impactful climax. The audience are so caught up in singing the line “I don’t want you / I want you to want me” along with the band that they accidentally keep singing after the band have finished. You could imagine Pebbledash ending their set on this crowd-pleaser, but instead they choose to end on the slow-building, incredibly beautiful “Soak”, another carefully-composed five-minute wonder that shows off each musician’s skill in turn, as well as the tight-knit unit the band are. It’s a fantastic culmination of the band’s set - from the vivid, nature-filled lyrics, to the on-point harmonies, to each musician’s distinctive part, each standing out yet blending perfectly together. Ending on “Soak” also reminds the audience of what is to come for Pebbledash and leaves us wanting more - this is their next single, coming out on 15th November, and their second single off their upcoming EP, due to be released in January 2025.
Throughout this gig, there is a distinct sense of community among all the performers and the audience. We’ve all come together to experience this excellent local art, in its different forms. From this vantage point, the future certainly looks bright for both artists, and the Cork creative scenes.