Happy songs make Julie Dawson sick to her stomach

In the fog-whipped English hillsides during the summer of 2024, a handful of Irish bands had Glastonbury in a vicegrip.

Fontaines D.C., then the center of the punk-rock world with Favourite, broke necks, while Kneecap, Belfast’s notorious hip-hop trio, brought the same unfiltered politicology that spurred an international incident in 2025. And NewDad, the dreamy alternative rock band fronted by Galway-born singer-songwriter Julie Dawson, made Glasto feel "Just Like Heaven" for tens of thousands of fans.

“I just think they’re the greatest band in the world, of course,” said Dawson of The Cure, whose ethereal single NewDad covered for the Woodsies Stage audience that summer. "They were the band that really got me into music. It really influenced the kind of music that I wanted to make. That kind of dreamy … woozy, but kind of dark, but also kind of light.”

Those shoegaze elements of The Cure’s music that Dawson most admires are found in abundance throughout NewDad’s two full-lengths, Madra (2024) and Altar (2025). So much so that even Robert Smith is a fan.

The Cure founder revealed his mutual admiration during a 2024 radio interview: “I liked the NewDad album (Madra), I thought that was really good. That’s been on in my car for a long time.”

The fast rise of NewDad

Formed in 2018, NewDad’s ascent from amateur to darling status was rapid. A pandemic bump in popularity ten-x’d NewDad’s fanbase in fewer than five years.

In March 2020, Dawson was publicly boasting about the three cents they’d made off a single. By March 2022, they’d completed a sold-out European tour, become a BBC Radio 6 favorite and released their first and second EPs, Waves and Banshee. Since then, NewDad has performed on some of music's biggest stages.

“It definitely was quick going into playing live shows for us,” Dawson said, “I feel like I blinked and this [happened]. During lockdown we were writing everything, recording everything at home. It’s been a nice, steady growth for NewDad. Still, it feels like it's happened really quickly.”

From Coachella Valley to Casey’s country

Lead guitarist Sean O’Dowd, alongside touring bassist Marie Freiss and guitarist Maddy Salter, joined Dawson for a North American tour beginning April 10, with Tom O’Sullivan subbing in for core drummer Fiachra Parslow. British indie sleazeball Freak Slug, a massive stuffed teddy, and the band tagged along for 17 of NewDad’s 20 non-California dates.

The NewDad crew was intentional with their route for this tour, deciding to downscale just a tad after playing packed, large capacity venues in the U.K.. A healthy percentage of their U.S. stops boasted ‘Club’ in the name. I caught up with NewDad at the only ‘Bar’ on the flyer: recordBar in Kansas City.

“It's nice to feel close to the crowd and not have that bigger separation that we might have back across the pond,” said Dawson, one month into a tour which kicked off on Coachella’s Gobi Stage.

Despite the long hours confined to a splitter van, Dawson enjoys taking in the natural scenery and “different terrains” as the band loops through the U.S. and Canada. Dawson is truly grateful for every tour experience, calling the practice a “luxury” these days, when so many bands are having to cancel them outright.

Anthony Scanga

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Studio One

For this tour, NewDad rehearsed a rendition of an American alt rock standard that was unveiled at their New York City show in Manhattan. At Webster Hall, the band paid tribute to NYC legends Yeah Yeah Yeahs with a cover of their 2000 hit, “Heads Will Roll."

“I heard it, I think the way loads of us did, on the remix in the Project X movie,” said Dawson. “That was my first time hearing Yeah Yeah Yeahs. We prepared it for New York and we were like, let's keep it rolling, because people are really enjoying it. It's one of the songs I think everyone wishes that they'd written. It’s her delivery, it's so iconic. I don't really know another song like it.”

Heads did roll at NewDad’s recordBar show. The band finished out their set with three songs: an unreleased track believed to be called “Kerosene,” “Heads Will Roll” and Altar banger “Roobosh.”

What the hell is a Roobosh?

Multiple outlets have reported that “Roobosh,” the first single from the band’s latest album, Altar, is a silly nonsense word, but that’s not the whole story. Dawson explained that, while working on the demo, former bass player Áindle O'Beirn was sipping on a cup of rooibos tea, which he’s keen to mispronounce.

“It was just a demo name,” said Dawson. “Whenever we’re making a demo we’d name it something stupid that’s either on the table or something. [O’Beirn] always called it 'roobosh.' And we were like, that's definitely not the right way to say it.”

While they had a world class title and beat for the track, Dawson needed lyrics. And confidence. “Roobosh” was actually one of NewDad’s earliest works, but never made it onto Madra.

“We had that instrumental for so long,” said Dawson. “I was very apprehensive to write to it because I didn't feel like I could match the energy of it. It took me until the second album to muster up that kind of energy. And because it had been called ‘Roobosh’ for so long, we couldn't find another name.”

“Kick the Curb” / Back to basics

In December 2025, just months after Altar's release, NewDad notified Atlantic Records (UK) of their intent to leave the label and return to being independent. It was under Atlantic that NewDad unleashed their full-length debut upon the world.

In an April 7, 2026, Instagram post from the band that shared the news and expressed gratitude to the label, Dawson added: “I had become very disillusioned, struggling with my identity when it came to NewDad and the music. Since [parting ways], I knew we made the right decision and have felt very happy, fulfilled and self assured about the music we’re making. It feels special, nostalgic and exactly like us.”

This departure inspired the band’s latest single, “Kick The Curb,” a collaboration with Irish singer-songwriter Liam McKay, AKA Sign Crushes Motorist. NewDad arranged somber chords to accompany McKay’s beat, all tied together by Dawson’s reliably morbid lyrics and haunted tone.

"It was born out of coming out of our record deal, trying to bring it back to basics in a way," said Dawson. "We used to record everything at home — very minimal budget. Just make the music that you're feeling in your soul, not considering, ‘How does this fit on an album? What am I missing from the album? Blah, blah.’"

On the dark nature of “Kick The Curb,” Dawson admits that bleak, depressing vibes are her bread and butter. Dreariness is how she gets out her angst.

“I don’t know if you can tell, I’m quite chipper,” Dawson said, beaming. “I think it’s just my way of processing any kind of grievances I have. [Sad songs] are easier to do. It's really hard to write something happy. Something I really admire in artists is when they can write a happy song that isn't really ... I don't know, cringey. I hope that one day I can write a really happy song and I don't feel sick to my stomach when I hear it.”

Once NewDad reclaimed their independence, they did what countless independent artists do: logged back into Bandcamp, where they hoped to do better than three cents a single.

Julie Dawson’s solo debut, Bottom Of The Pool

Upon receiving a batch of instrumentals from producer Jack Hamill, Dawson remembered thinking they were “so gorgeous.” While not quite aligned with NewDad's established rock sound, Hamill's beats instead inspired Dawson to pursue her first individual effort, replete with experimentalism.

Dawson’s debut solo album, Bottom Of The Pool, is a sweeping, electronic dance-pop gem that fans of NewDad — as well as spill tab, Sylvan Esso and Water For Your Eyes — would love. The project navigates the same dreamy dimension as NewDad’s music, especially on tracks like “I Get Lost In This House” and “ATF,” but with a bedroom pop feel. Throughout, Dawson’s voice is pronounced, yet muffled, as if held underwater.

The lyrics of Bottom Of The Pool’s sixth track, “Hailee,” predate even the formation of NewDad. Dawson had just been waiting for the right vehicle for her message about yearning and denial.

As for a follow-up album, Dawson says, “I would like to produce my own second record. I've got some songs that ... I wanna do something completely different again. I don't think it'll be electronic. It'll be maybe more of a folky thing. But, we'll have to wait and see.”

Watch the full NewDad interview on Studio One's YouTube today!