Hailing from various parts of Ireland, Gurriers met in Dublin. They believed they were destined to connect creatively in a meaningful way, so they formed a band. Taking their name from an antiquated and somewhat charming Irish term for lout, ruffian, or street urchin, Gurriers formed in January 2020.
Inspired by timeless first records by The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, The Chemical Brothers, and Black Midi, Gurriers’ first album ‘Come And See’ is no ordinary debut, but an exhilarating statement of intent by five people fed up with tiptoeing politely around the chaos.
Forming in early 2020, a bizarre and difficult time, you seized this time to ambitiously hone your sound which led to your first ever gig being a sold-out night on Halloween 2021. Do you think that being forced into this slow pandemic-effected way of communicating ultimately made the band the strong unit it is today?
Yeah I think it did have an effect on us. In a way we could use all this time to fine tune and create a sound we felt really happy about. We always kept the band at the forefront of our minds over long zoom calls about music we are influenced by what we want to achieve, just trying to keep the idea and dream of the band alive. It was bittersweet.
Take us back to that very first gig … what was it like performing in front of an audience live for the first time after being formed for so long prior?
Our first show was in the Workmans club in Dublin and it was sold out. It was just as the restrictions from covid had lifted enough for gigs to go on again, and we had the great honor to play on Halloween of days too. It was an incredible experience of catharsis and pent up anger that needed to come out.
Which artists did you all find inspiration from in those initial chats when exploring your sound?
It always varied but main ones for us where, Nine Inch Nails, The Strokes, Gilla Band, Tribe Called Quest and always Kate Bush for me. The list could go on.
2024 has been an exciting one for you with the release of your debut album ‘Come And See’. Can you tell us what story the album tells; and how the songs resonate with you?
I think the world is incredibly disillusioned and I fear we are just going further and further into the gutter with how things have been turning out. I wanted to write something that wasn’t just me and my mates drinking in a pub and chatting about how the world felt like it was in the bin, go home afterwards and just feel like that conversation was fun to have, i wanted to make something out of that anger and frustration, so I wrote a lot of the lyrics based on that. Come and See is an album of fear, frustration and desperation but also love and loss, the world is a funny place I thought why not talk about it.
You have recently performed your track ‘Approachable’ live on Jools Holland (congrats!), what was this experience like?
It was like a fever dream I will never forget, I cried listening to Laura Marling. We played our hearts out and really hoped to make something special for us to hold on to forever. We are so grateful of the Jools team giving us this opportunity too.
We love your artwork … where did this visual identity for the band stem from? Is consistency across your visuals important to you?
We had tried a few different ideas for the album cover but nothing was really sticking with us and then at some point Ben came with the album artwork and we all dug it so we went from there. I don’t think he had necessarily planned to have it be a consistent theme across the singles but it made sense to keep a similar style across the singles and the artwork to really help it feel like a completed body of work. Thank God for Photoshop.
You’ve been busy touring Europe over the past month and are heading on your UK tour this November with additional dates added in 2025. How can you describe your gigs to fans who have never seen you live before?
Abrasive, loud, fast and welcoming.
Gurriers will be taking their 2025 headline tour to Liverpool Arts Club on Friday 4th April. Tickets are on sale now!