The tragic circumstances, intense emotion, and catharsis poured into The Murder Capital’s 2019 debut album When I Have Fears would’ve caused any other band to call it a day after one release. Indeed, it seemed to have turned out that way for the Irish five-piece – save for a few festival appearances and support slots over three years, all was quiet on their front.
Thankfully, this silence was broken, with news of their sophomore effort’s release. Scheduled to drop on 20 January 2023, Gigi’s Recovery is the story of just that – a 45-minute journey through the process of healing, acceptance, and progression following the painful grief of When I Have Fears. Having spent the best part of half a decade exploring both their internal and external relationships, The Murder Capital have returned with a renewed and revitalised sound that provides the perfect soundtrack to James McGovern’s bittersweet lyricism.
‘Crying’, the first full song-proper, is the perfect introduction to this new soundscape. While the track is still very heavily based on the rhythm section of Diarmuid Brennan and Gabriel Paschal Blake in the vein of When I Have Fears, what accompanies them has certainly changed. In place of the crystalline-yet-abrasive sustained guitar melodies of Damien Tuit and Cathal Roper are warm synth pads and more textural guitar work, favouring chords with shoegazey effects applied and intricate, whirling licks that spin in the background. Opening with a song that asks “Is this our end?”, The Murder Capital answer their own question – yes, but only if you were expecting more of the same.
This new synth-laden idiom is well-explored by the Dublin post-punks. From the brooding and thumping ‘The Stars Will Leave Their Stage’, through the plaintive love song ‘Belonging’, to the heartstring-pulling-yet-headnodding ‘We Had To Disappear’, The Murder Capital make sure to utilise every colour that their expanded sonic palette now has to offer. Second single ‘A Thousand Lives’ is their most successful foray in this regard, with the swelling keys and Radiohead-esque drums marrying perfectly with McGovern’s poetic declarations of love: “Crystals forming on your cheeks, my love / A thousand lives with you and I won’t be enough”.
Long-term fans of the band since the debut days need not worry, however. The heavy-hitting guitar-band energy of When I Have Fears is still present in abundance, albeit also in new, more optimistic shades. ‘Return My Head’ is this era’s ‘Don’t Cling To Life’, a whirlwind two minutes that will have gig-goers crowdsurfing right after they were crying; ‘Only Good Things’ completes the album’s story of recovery with joyful relief; and ‘Gigi’s Recovery’ is a six-minute slow-burner that feels like a thankful sigh to close the record proper.
There are many highlights in this comeback record, but The Murder Capital’s aptitude for building up to an emotional climax makes these moments far and away the most memorable. Third single ‘Ethel’ is more than arguably the best track the band have ever released with its final blast of sound, and ‘The Lie Becomes The Self’ switches up electric and acoustic textures to great effect, building and releasing tension with ease. The latter track contains some of McGovern’s most heartrending and honest lyricism too, making each climax hit harder around his words: “Fuck standing at the foot of your mirror / A clown’s reflection and I’m revealed / Don’t get it twisted, it’s no existence / The lie becomes the self”.
Existence and what it means to exist are central themes in Gigi’s Recovery. It crops up at several points, including the above lyric, the chorus of ‘A Thousand Lives’ (“I’d like to remind you of this / Beside you I die to exist”), and the short tracks ‘Existence’ and ‘Exist’ that bookend the album. Travelling from McGovern’s opening “Strange feeling / I’m dealing with” through the journey of recovery that the album forms, ‘Exist’ finishes powerfully with McGovern declaring his “New feeling… I’ll stay committed, I’ll make it stick / This morning, took ownership / To stay forever in my own skin”.
In listening to Gigi’s Recovery therefore, we are witness to the recovery of a band both as individuals and as a group. Through a testing few years – not just for the band but for the world – The Murder Capital have stayed committed to their vision, their art, and each other, and have produced a beautiful, soul-bearing work through that commitment. It might only be January, but it would not be surprising to see this record named in end-of-year lists come the winter.
Words by David Harrold
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