whenyoung

Whenyoung, a trio playing indie pop with Irish roots, came together in Limerick but first found momentum after relocating to London, where a rapid rise led to a contract with Universal once they had issued several early singles that made up the '90s-styled EP "Given Up." Their style fuses punk and new wave with classic pop and soul, resulting in bright, angular indie pop carrying distinct Brit-pop echoes of Sleeper and Echobelly, while Aoife Power's singular voice prompted comparisons to Sinéad O'Connor and Björk.

Power, who handles vocals and bass, guitarist Niall Burns, and drummer Andrew Flood first encountered one another as teenagers inside Costello's Tavern, the sole indie venue in Limerick, after entering without meeting the age requirement. Drawn together by a mutual enthusiasm for older guitar-driven music, they formed a close friendship and chose to start a band. Performing at first under the name Sisters, they shifted to Dublin to benefit from its active music environment, yet eventually separated. Once Burns settled in London during 2016, the other two followed, prompting the launch of a new project there. Their initial show materialized after Power, then employed as a gardener, mentioned her singing background to a client who proved to be a music promoter.

Before Felix White of the Maccabees heard them and offered to put out their next track, "Pretty Pure," on his Yala label, the band had self-released the singles "See How They Run" and "Actor." Sending Shane MacGowan their version of the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" earned them a spot at his 60th-birthday concert in Dublin's National Concert Hall. Less than two years after assembling, they secured a deal at the close of 2017 with Virgin EMI, an imprint under Universal, and performed at several major festivals the next summer. Affected by the sudden accidental death of Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries, another Limerick native, they recorded a cover of that band's "Dreams" as a tribute, with Power delivering an eerily accurate reproduction of O'Riordan's delivery on the track. It featured on the 2018 major-label debut EP "Given Up," and their first full-length album, Reasons to Dream, followed the year after.