In Brighton, they opened their polished and electrifying set at The Prince Albert with an emphatic and merciless number that was driven by the punchy rhythm section, displaying an effortless and impressive energy considering their minimalist line up. The rim taps of the drums to the legato of the bass withdrew from their intensity but knew exactly how and when to give the energy the audience was craving with driving and dissonant guitar parts, breaching the melodic norms but always resolving back to that nostalgic and familiar progression. 

The share of vocals fluctuated between the drummer and the guitarist, giving us different dimensions in the delivery, combining to find some welcoming harmonies as well as effective doubling on the more indie dream tracks. The fourth track ‘Too Much Time’ was a standout, providing some remarkable modulation manipulations generating these high-end end ambiguous textures that gave the track some dynamism in its rigid in-your-face sonic atmosphere.

Each member provides a tasteful and mature impact on the sonic microcosm they generate through their instruments, with the vocals taking less of an individual limelight but rather blending as another refined layer in their soundscape. Jack Condon provides tasteful and unrelenting dynamic conscious drum grooves that sit as the driving force for a lot of the songs to credit his unyielding stamina. The incredible use of cymbal colouration and varied rudiments allow for really captivating grooves and fills that coincide well with his impressive vocal chops, filling in on awe-inspiring harmonies or taking the helm with some of the tracks such as ‘Too Much Time’. 

The newly added Robbie Stickland has cemented himself seamlessly into the lineup with an ability to keep the band unified at all times with his moody basslines. The elements I enjoy most about Robbie's playing, and the band as a whole, for that matter, are his ability to configure when he needs to come through with this aforementioned assertiveness in the band's playing, but also know when to sit back into the song and play a simplified but remarkably effective part that makes the songs so majorly enjoyable. 

Fionn Brennan adds some catchy yet inspired chord progressions, fluctuating between lead and rhythm guitar, generating a complete and cohesive performance with the other members. His playing taps into some experimental elements with modulation manipulation from his pedalboard to dissonant yet well suited guitar solos, adding a bold and dynamic texture to their output. He adds a texture of charm with his lilting Irish accent coming through on the vocal intonations, really benefiting their sonic soundscapes.

Before the gig we had the pleasure of speaking with Search Results to find out more about their creative process and mentality about their music.

Where are you from and how did you all meet?

Fionn: After moving from Sligo to Dublin in 2019, Jack (drummer) and I met and started jamming together around September of that year when we met in college. We started gigging post-Covid and utilised that time in lockdown to write as much as possible.

Robbie (bassist) joined the group in February of this year. There have been a couple variations to the lineup since we first started but the music has remained consistent throughout.

What are the thoughts behind the name Search Results?

Fionn: Well Jack came up with the name and it was vague enough for it to give us some creative freedom. With a name like Search Results there are no expectations from the listener when they are just discovering us, we weren't put in a box to play to a specific genre.

Following that, would you say your genre does fluctuate and are quite liberal with how you create music?

Jack: I think so, I don't think we try to make what sounds like Search Results ever we are pretty liberal with our songwriting.

What's an album that's shaped your musical trajectory as a band>

Fionn: Has to be Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band from The Beatles. We listened to it in the car yesterday and across this tour we’ve listened to every Beatles album in their discography. Sgt Peppers in particular is really nostalgic for me and reminds me of when I was around 15 or 16 and cranking it in my headphones when on a long trip with my family. I really connected to it and appreciated what each member brought to the music and I remember feeling really emotional for the first time whilst listening to a song which really made me care about my writing. It gave me a sense of what the holy grail is and what to achieve from songwriting.

What's your dream venue to play

All: Red Rocks Amphitheatre! It's absolutely beautiful.

How does your most recent single ‘Excruciating Heights’ compare to your first EP Mirrors?

Jack: I think they’re pretty similar to an extent. When Mirrors came out me and Fionn were still learning how to write songs, learning how to write pop songs specifically. From then on the next few releases saw more experimentation with stuff because neither of us were really songwriters before so it was very much a learning experience. ‘Excruciating Heights’ kind of takes us back to our roots a little with similarities drawn from Mirrors and our earlier work. A lot of the stuff coming out on our new album will be pop songs again, there's not too much in regards to experimentation in the songwriting. We have definitely elevated the way we approach this style of writing and we all prefer it to anything we have done before!

In the writing process are there any lyrical motifs that you usually lean towards?

Fionn: There are repeated lines across different songs but I wouldn’t say our lyricism has many themes we keep being drawn back to.

Robbie: As someone who doesn't write the lyrics, I’ve noticed that they're relatively all over the place and in the context of Search Results as a band, the words themselves aren't actually all that important. Before I joined the band I noticed the lyrics were more about the delivery and that generated the emotional impact by blending in with the soundscape.

Jack: I read a really cool quote from David Lynch the other day on when he gets asked about his movies and the meaning behind them. I’m gonna mis-quote it, but it was along the lines of, “if I knew everything about my movies I wouldn't have to make them”, which I thought was really interesting. It's definitely a way to communicate all the things we can’t articulate via conversation.

How do you maintain morale during tours like these?

Fionn: Just doing nice things with each other! We have been playing a lot of darts, making sure we get enough sleep.

Robbie: Listening to the entire Beatles discography on the car journeys.

What can people expect from your live shows?

All: Passion and bombasticism.