In Their Thousands EP Launch Review

I first stumbled upon In Their Thousands in a damp Whelan’s on a cold November’s night last year at Hot Press and 2FM’s Play on the Day final. Having seen The Hot Sprockets blaze through the Leinster leg of the finals I was all set for a repeat performance from the Dublin soul brothers. Queue In Their Thousand’s, a band with such beautiful harmonies and incredible synchronicity that you could have heard a pin drop on the Wexford Street venue’s floor while they played their opening number. A crowd left stunned and in awe.

Fast forward almost a year later as they launch their second EP, ‘Between The Waters’ in the romantic surroundings of Dublin’s Odessa Club, and the lads have grown in depth and sound while still managing to hang on to that unique togetherness in performing  that makes them such a spectacle.

Support duties on the night came from their amazing fellow Donegal native Rosie Carney. A wise man once said that true beauty is about being unapologetically true to whom you are and throughout Rosie’s set we saw glimpses of that intermittent with shyness and an unfounded lack of confidence. Undoubtedly comparisons will come in their throngs with Laura Marling but to be likened to such a brilliant artist this early in her career should be nothing but a massive pat on the back. There was wonderful warmth in her guitar playing and accompanied with the fragile beauty of her voice her music really suited the mood in the room and set up the night well. Highlights would definitely be her hair rising cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’.

In Their Thousands approached the stage with passion pumping through their veins. They smashed out their first three tracks with such ferocity and hunger that Jim McGuinness would have been proud to have them in the black and gold jersey against Monaghan earlier in the month (ouch too soon?). Here we find a band that can do no wrong at the moment going from strength to strength with what seems like effortless ease. The new material taken from ‘Between The Waters’ furthers the claim that they are the most versatile band in Irish music right now with the ability to jump between genres like a frog across lily pads.

With the two front men already brimming over with vocal talent when the drummer then weighs in with his own piece of lead singing on one of the newer songs you can’t help but think that this wealth of talent in one band is a little unfair. With the excitement over flowing from their energy on stage you can tell the band have been living for this night.

In Their Thousands have been everywhere the past few months from magazine covers to radio stations and all the in-betweens so I suppose it should come as no surprise to us that the lads need a bit of a break. A sentiment confirmed by lead singer Declan as they closed the set with the fantastic ‘The Pattern’ he said “When we finish everything with the new EP we’ll be having a little break so if anyone’s looking for me I’ll be in a kayak somewhere of the coast of the West”, writing more songs we hope. 

A brilliant night held by a brilliant band and it won’t be long now until they will be filling venues much bigger than The Odessa with fans coming in their thousands (sorry I just had to get one now in didn’t I?).

Words: Adam Higgins