Electric Picnic debut for The Wha this weekend
They might look like a boy band, but The Wha deliver a not-so-innocent guitar-driven pop rock sound!
And Innocents, the impressive debut single from this Kilkenny band, out now via Chess Club, proves it.
All aged just 18-years-old The Wha are dual vocalists and guitarists Finn Cusack and Sam Cullen, joined by Marek Lech (bass) and Abe G. Harris (drums).
Childhood friends Finn and Sam met in primary school, eventually forging a songwriting partnership aged just 15 years-old that would go on to form the nucleus of The Wha.
Influenced by the evergreen greats – The Beatles, Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan – and contemporary auteurs like Julian Casablancas, Alex Turner and Father John Misty, as well as playwright Sarah Kane, satirist Flann O’Brien and novelist Jack Kerouac; The Wha find humour and understanding everywhere – piling it high alongside buoyant riffs, tempestuous rhythms, and Finn and Sam’s wry lyricism.
Currently home to the likes of Alfie Templeman, Bloxx and Phoebe Green, with previous discoveries including Wolf Alice, Jungle, Billie Marten and Sundara Karma, Chess Club has proven a fertile breeding ground for exciting new emerging talent – and The Wha are no exception.
The Wha’s attachment to their hometown remains strong. “Growing up in Kilkenny has its ups and downs,” the band begins, “It’s a small city, you can’t really run away from anything. I think lots of young people here get to the point where they want to leave, whether it’s for two years or forever. It is a fun town to grow up in. Some nice spots, some nice pubs. It’s easy to waste time here.” However, with little to no interest in school – other than the opportunity to hang out with one another – the four friends left immediately after finishing their exams this summer to focus on writing, recording and honing The Wha’s energetic, raw, and playfully chaotic sound. The first fruits of those labours is ‘Innocents’. A paean to growing up, the Catholic Church’s well-documented scandals and addiction, ‘Innocents’ is a perfect distillation of The Wha’s mantra: “fucking great songs played with fucking great energy.”
See The Wha live in 2019:
1 Sep | Electric Picnic Festival, Stradbally
14 Sep | Upstairs @ Whelans, Dublin, Ireland*
Oct 14 | Olympia Theatre, Dublin^
Oct 15 | Olympia Theatre, Dublin^
Oct 16 | Telegraph Building, Belfast^
