Girls just wanna get things done
Wyvern Lingo’s soulful harmonies belie a steely social conscience
THEY first came to attention as backing singers to Hozier, standing out as a regular support act to their fellow Wicklow native. Soon though, Wyvern Lingo’s own dark-themed and moody brand of folk music, embellished with perfect three-part harmonies, made them a hotly tipped act in their own right.
Then came the change-up. For their most recent singles, the Bray trio have undergone a stylistic metamorphosis. I Love You, Sadie was one of 2017’s best tracks and deservedly nominated for RTÉ Choice Song of the Year.
It was an electropop earworm, that became a staple of daytime radio. The follow-up, Maybe It’s My Nature found them travelling further down the modern r’n’b highway.
Now with their self-titled debut album destined for an Irish number one, they tell me over mineral waters in a Dublin restaurant that they trusted their instincts musically and are relieved and delighted that it has paid off.
‘When we started, we were just happy to be making music together. We hadn’t yet decided what kind of band we wanted to be or how to marry our influences with what we wanted to produce,’ keyboard player and vocalist Karen Cowley says.
‘It’s been four years of trial and error. We’ve always been fans of r’n’b,’ says Caoimhe Barry, who doubles up on drums and vocals. ‘It’s taken four years to make something that reflects us and we’re really proud of it.’
They are about to embark on an extensive Irish tour, including their biggest headline show at Dublin’s Button Factory.
But with the directional change it was inevitable that some fans would fall by the wayside. ‘Letter To Willow was a definite change from what we’d released before,’ Caoimhe says. ‘I got comments saying “too over-produced for me. Sorry.” All, I could say was, “cool, see you later”.’
‘People have in general embraced the change and how we’ve developed over the years,’ guitarist/vocalist Saoirse Duane says.
‘People might have got into us because they thought we were like an Irish version of [English folk trio] The Staves and now they are sorely disappointed,’ Caoimhe says.
‘But when I imagined what sound I would like to make, it sounds like our album.’
The band name, they say, they chose randomly from a dictionary. A Wyvern is a type of dragon and they’re all huge Game Of Thrones fans. Coincidentally, there is an area in Bray called Wyvern.
The three, who first met at Loreto College in Bray as teenagers, are socially aware and politically savvy.
The opening track on the album, Out Of My Hands, examines what they see as an apathy inherent in certain people they encounter. I Love You, Sadie plays with expectations in terms of masculinity and femininity.
‘People, especially on social media can be very disparaging about people who are trying to bring about change through activism,’ Karen says.
‘That cynicism needs to be confronted or it just festers. Another thing I’ve noticed from the small bit of campaigning I’ve done is that when you meet politicians they will often say “I can’t do anything. It’s out of my hands.”’
‘I’ll never feel energised to write a song unless I’m trying to present a new way of looking at a subject,’ Caoimhe says. ‘There is no excuse these days for not being informed.’
Finally, it seemed only fair to ask the trio if they were tempted to inveigle their friend, platinumselling pal Hozier, to lend his distinctive vocals to any tracks.
‘Not this time. It would have been forced if he we had. It’s not something we would rule out in the future if it happened organically,’ Caoimhe says.
For now, they are sticking to their own lingo.
Wyvern Lingo’s debut album is out on Friday. They play Tower Records Dublin at 5.30pm that day and, later, Dublin’s Button Factory.
‘People on social media can be very disparaging about trying to make changes through activism’