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EP Review - BOLD LOVE – Dancing & Loving - Big Feelings, Bigger Choruses


WORDS HARRY K



EP Review - BOLD LOVE – Dancing & Loving - Big Feelings, Bigger Choruses




BOLD LOVE


"DANCING & LOVING EP"







Dublin’s New Romantics Dance Their Way Through Chaos


A confident, cinematic debut from a band with heart, swagger, and something real to say.




There’s something stirring in Dublin again. Out of the city’s bars, basements and rain-slicked side streets comes BOLD LOVE — a six-piece band with widescreen ambition, big emotions, and even bigger choruses. Their debut EP Dancing & Loving, released on October 17th, isn’t just a statement of intent; it’s a heart-on-sleeve manifesto from a group who know exactly what they want to say, and how to make you feel it.


Led by the emphatic single “All The Lives”, BOLD LOVE arrive fully formed — swaggering guitars, cinematic synths and that rare chemistry you can’t manufacture. It’s the kind of song that feels destined to echo across festival fields, the sort that makes you look around mid-chorus and think, “Yeah, this is something special.” You can hear why they’ve already lit up stages at Latitude, All Points East and All Together Now — it’s music made for those moments when everything clicks and the world briefly makes sense.


But Dancing & Loving isn’t all big lights and sing-along crescendos. Beneath the gloss, there’s a raw honesty that keeps things grounded. “It’s about youth, love, death and a sense of place and belonging,” says frontman Cian Ó’Maonlaí — and that thread runs through the whole record. On “Feel You Close”, the band strip things back for a tender, slow-burn reflection that aches with loss and nostalgia. It’s beautifully restrained, letting Ó’Maonlaí’s voice do the heavy lifting while Megan Nic Ruairí’s harmonies twist delicately around him like smoke.


Then there’s “I’m Home” — a soaring, heartfelt ode to Ireland itself, equal parts longing and release. It feels like standing on a Kerry cliff edge with the Atlantic wind in your face, a song about escape and belonging all at once. Elsewhere, “Talking & Drifting” stretches out into widescreen territory, all shimmering guitars and cinematic melancholy, while “The Streets Are Sleeping” closes the EP in hushed reflection — a late-night wander through quiet city streets, when your thoughts are louder than the traffic.


Produced by Richie Kennedy (Interpol, White Lies, Celeste), the EP sounds huge but never over-cooked. There’s space in the mix — guitars chime and drift, synths hum like neon, and the rhythm section locks everything together with understated precision. It’s confident, ambitious indie that nods to The National, War on Drugs and early Inhaler, but still feels unmistakably Irish — emotionally intelligent, unpretentious, and bursting with life.


For a debut, Dancing & Loving feels remarkably sure of itself. You can hear a band hitting their stride in real time — still experimenting, still stretching, but already capable of moments that stop you in your tracks. There’s grit under the gloss, a sense that BOLD LOVE aren’t chasing trends; they’re chasing connection.


If this EP is any indication, Ireland’s next great export might already be here — and they’re dancing and loving their way through the madness with open arms and wide eyes.


★★★★☆ (4/5)



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TRACK LISTING


  1. All The Lives


  2. I’m Home


  3. Easy


  4. Feel You Close


  5. That’s Where The Heart Is


  6. The Streets Are Sleeping








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