Enola Gay: Tracks That Shaped Our Sound

After their acclaimed debut EP, Gransha, marked them as one of the hardest-working bands, Enola solidified their reputation by selling out a 32-date UK Tour and supporting Therapy? on their arena tour. In the summer, NME dubbed them "one of the most-booked new acts for European festivals," making them the most-booked new Irish band of 2022, with tent and stage capacity being the only limitations to their success. Their energetic performances have earned them praise from the likes of Iggy Pop and Jehnny Beth.

For their new EP, Enola enlisted producers Johnny Hostile, known for his work with Mercury Prize-nominated Savages, and electronic producer Mount Palomar. The EP also involves engineering by Mount Palomar, Robert Watson, and Rian Trench of Dublin noise band Panikataks, who have collaborated with multi-Academy Awards nominee composer Philip Glass. Enola continues their journey toward world domination, with debut US appearances at Chicago's Metro, supporting Viagra Boys, and performing at Riot Fest alongside Jehnny Beth, Death Grips, Queens of the Stone Age, and The Cure.

The Boom is Back - Panik Attaks

Having heard PTS.DUP and Leeches engineers’ Rían Trench and Robert SCAN Watson’s Dublin based band Panik Attaks, we naturally approached them for the EP. Leeches was our attempt at writing a PA song with it as dubbed “Panik” on early set-lists. We wanted to conjure the same ferocious energy their EP scalded our ears with upon our first listening. The distorted vocals, driving rhythm and off-kilter glitchy guitar are quite comparable.

We will testify that their debut EP White Water Rafting is one of the best EPs ever.

Come to Daddy by Aphex Twin

It was a starting point for writing PTS.DUP. We wanted breakbeats you could dance and mosh to whilst being hunted down by the bass-line. By the time we got into the studio, we had been listening to a lot of Wu-Lu’s debut LOGGERHEAD. The drum textures are so varied so we experimented using different snares for overdubs, bringing out the ringing overtones in the snare for the breakbeats.

We tried to implement some of the drum break-core elements on LOGGERHEAD but instead we applied the idea of chopped sped up sampling with the guitar loop that you hear creep up in PTS.DUP at the 1:54 mark.

Savages - Sad Person

Roughly 10 years ago, Savages were the first band we heard modernising post-punk the way we wanted it to be done. A cacophony of slick rhythm and atmospheric noisy guitars that came together to sound like composed chaos. They’ve been a big influence on our sound in general and a great production reference point to resort to, so you can imagine our bewilderment when producer Johnny Hostile approached us about working together… we jumped at it. Mount Palomar - Simmer

Belfast producer of Casement’s two-part closer terra firma and co-writer of terra firma (single), Berghain veteran Neil Kerrr aka Mount Palomar frequently remarked how we were yet to explore our more somber side. For Enola’s first year we shared a studio with Neil where he witnessed us finding ourselves and Fionn’s folk tendencies. With the first two tracks sounding hellish we needed something dynamic, and Neil had already proven his innovative nature as displayed when he wrote Simmer for local folk act Joshua Burnside. Being aware of this, we knew writing a song with Neil would be a great opportunity for us to explore untapped potential.