Ruth Mac & Naoise Roo

Black Gate Presents

Ruth Mac & Naoise Roo

Galway Mechanics Institute
8pm Thursday, December 7th
Tickets: €15
Early Bird: €12.50

Doors at 7:30pm

Ruth Mac
Ruth Mac is a slacker rock artist from Galway, Ireland now based in Berlin. With a sound described as “idiosyncratic soul-infused indie”, Mac’s music ties an engaging simplicity with thoughtful, off-kilter lyricism exploring the big themes through small details.

Following the release of her debut EP, released in 2021 on Beth Shalom Records, Mac has been gigging consistently, notable dates include showcasing at Ireland Music Week 2023 and support slots for Hot Chip and Ye Vagabonds. In Winter 2023, Mac embarks on an EU tour through Germany, the Netherlands, and finishing with two Irish dates in December 2023.

Mac’s music has been praised by Nialler9, Paste Magazine, HotPress, The Last Mixed Tape, and Golden Plec. Her latest single ‘Home From Home’, which explores her evolving relationship with home, was released in October 2023, featured on RTE Radio 1, 2XM, Dublin City FM, Cork 96FM and Galway Bay FM’s TOTW.

Naoise Roo
Having underscored her status as one of Ireland’s most singular songwriting voices on her acclaimed debut album, Lilith, Naoise Roo returns with her highly-anticipated second album, Emotionally Magnificent.

Equally enthralling and exploratory - at turns personal and brimming with pathos - the eleven songs that make up the Dublin-raised artist’s full-length return delve deep into themes surrounding depression, the challenges of the music industry and the oppressive stereotypes that burden women experiencing mental illness. Staring down reality with rare, forward-pushing power, it doubles as a new invitation to get on board with a vocalist and songwriter at her all-time most vital.

For the album, the Belfast-based artist once again conspired with well-respected collaborators who have helped to define the sheer immersion of her sublime and shapeshifting sound to date. Produced by Liam Mulvaney (Girl Band, The Radio, Fionn Regan) with Jamie Hyland assisting (Gilla Band, Mhaol), Emotionally Magnificent features Daniel Fox (Gilla Band) on bass and guitar, Rian Trench (Solar Bears) on drums and synths and Karl Tobin on guitar. Paired with the sorcerous groundswell of Naoise Roo’s voice - which sits firmly centre-stage - highlights such as ‘Whoever,’ ‘Razor Sharp Shirt’ and ‘Nobody Can Make Me Do What I Don’t Want To’ are as carefully crafted as they are exquisitely candid.

Released via North Carolina label Schoolkids Records, Emotionally Magnificent is offered as the culmination of a chapter of a journey that takes in both Lilith and Naoise Roo’s 2020 Sick Girlfriend EP, whose four tracks are incorporated here. Combined, it honours the full, sprawling majesty of Naoise Roo as a singular artist. Rather than some throwaway snapshot, released as a mere means to an end, Emotionally Magnificent is a slow focus triumph of reflection and resolve.

“The Sick Girlfriend EP had a lot to do with my mental health and how I felt about navigating the music industry,” says Naoise Roo. “‘Falling Stars,’ for example, is about watching all these talented people around me hitting the wall and leaving music because it’s just too hard to keep going. ‘Sick Girlfriend’ itself is basically about the trope of the manic pixie dream girl and how that’s exploited, sexualised or slandered.”
“I think the difference between this new album and the last is that I'm not as frustrated as I was on Lilith. I was overwhelmed and struggling to reconcile my own sense of self and the expectations of others. There was definitely a feeling of acceptance when I wrote Emotionally Magnificent. In a lot of ways, Lilith is more outward-looking, pointing out the sources of my feelings, this album is more introspective. The call is definitely coming from inside the house.”

On one hand, Emotionally Magnificent is a deeply personal account that sees Naoise Roo peer deep into a thicket of epiphanies and anxieties, both coded and open-hearted. On the other, it’s an intensely exploratory release - in both senses
of the word - with friends and long-time collaborators Mulvaney, Hyland, Fox, Trench and Tobin in tow. As a unit, they elevate a brand of experimental rock that is as looming, dark and heavy as it is unapologetically sensual and emotional. With it, preciousness over the music falls by the wayside to glorious effect.

“This album is a collage of so many different things,” says Naoise Roo. “We took so many tiny elements, from playing drawers and hitting loads of random things to build a real textural soundscape. For me, one of the most fun and nourishing things is bringing together people who are infinitely talented and just working it out together as we go. It’s all about having an idea and playing around with it.”