Album Notes

Herm’s debut album ‘Monsters’ was recorded over several months in several sitting rooms around Ireland. It features guest vocalists Nina Hynes (on the gorgeous Year Of The Horse) and Michelle Considine (on the unhinged Cellar Door) along with various other Hermanos past and present.

Inspired by albums such as Tom Waits’ Bone Machine and the Beatles’ White album as much as by his own short-attention span, Herm set out to document a range of styles and sentiments.

Jumping from shuffling country rock (The Way) to jangly indie pop (first single Heads), from self-loathing (The Long Way Down) to self-loving (The Best Bit), the album recognizes that a break-up can lead to feelings of joy and relief (Rearrange), as well as to bitterness and jealousy (Rosemary); that everyone is doomed (Scab) but that there are still things worth railing against (the title track); that a song can be playful and serious at the same time (The Sofa King).

Present at all times is Herm’s distinctive melodic inventiveness and lyrical quirkiness. The different elements are fused together and the monsters are born. Frankenstein himself would be proud…