Oh Boland

Oh Boland is the scum-pop song writing of Niall Murphy.

Oh Boland came up through the rural bar scene of the Irish west coast threading effervescent power pop through a mess of blown out guitars and flying nun jangle.

Their debut LP Spilt Milk (Volar Records, San Diego, USA) was included in Pitchfork's Top 20 Garage Punk albums of 2016. Two US tours followed in 2016 and 2018 featuring two appearances at legendary punk label Goner Records’ festival Gonerfest in Memphis TN, and a 2017 tour of the UK supporting Detroit post punks Protomartyr.

Oh Boland have also made numerous Irish festival appearances including Electric Picnic, Castlepalooza and Indiependence, and supported artists such as Parquet Courts, Franz Ferdinand, Metz, and The Undertones.

In 2019, a relocation to Dublin and new live-band line up was followed by the release of sophomore LP Cheap Things in April 2022. Cheap Things garnered reviews from Post Trash (Brooklyn, NY) , received significant airplay on WFMU (New Jersey) and was featured on Merge Records best of list for 2023 (release discovered in 2023). The record was supported by Irish headline tours and a second tour with Protomartyr.

May 2024 will see the release of third LP Western Leisure on Meritorio Records (Madrid, Spain). The record marks a progression in Oh Boland’s sound with the familiar garage squall tempered by Wyatt-esque psychedelics, New Wave skronk and Bakersfield country all buoying personal songs of rural inertia and the dark edges of parochial life.

Western Leisure premiered on Brooklyn Vegan, Austin Town Hall and The Thin Air and was also featured on Nialler9, SeeSaw.Fun, and Jangle Pop Hub.

The current lineup of Murphy backed by Ross Hamer (Music City/Hamer Place) and Jack Condon (Search Results) will support Western Leisure with an Irish Tour, performances in Amsterdam and Rotterdam and an appearance at Electric Picnic 2024.

Quotes

"For my two cents, its not too far away from what Paul Westerberg wanted, taking this sort of rock-steady guitar sound and infusing it with a bit more punch and twang. At times, you’ll find it hard to ignore the sheer exuberance from the boisterous gang vocals that seem to celebrate life. Here’s your chance to turn it up and just have some fun"- Austin Music Hall on Here Comes The Order Of Malta (April 2024)

"This is, as they call it, "poppy but sloppy" rock 'n' roll defined by their buzzsaw guitar tone. These melodies are memorable and sweet, their vocal delivery drunken and approximate' - Evan Minsker- Pitchfork

“The band play it tight, with a cracking rhythm, and big time hooks reminiscent of working class punk anthems. Just as the vocals seem to mumble their way off the rails, the band jump into a ripping guitar solo, and this one just keeps ramping up the good times.”- Dan Goldin on Cheap Things for Post Trash (Brooklyn, NY)

“Western Leisure is another dynamic, lively record that feels spontaneous and loose. It plainly rocks, with several songs featuring those trademark gang vocals that will have you joining in even if you don’t know the lyrics. “ - Add To Wantlist on Western Leisure.

“ “Here Comes the Order of Malta” is more of a sing-along garage rock jam—“get down off the cross” as it turns out is a perfect phrase to paste over an earworm. The diamond of the album (other than the artwork from Protomartyr’s Joe Casey of course) is the title track, an old-fashioned Western barroom track with piano and steel guitar. “Western leisure it kills more than it saves,” goes the thesis statement. “ - Evan Minsker for See Saw.fun on Western Leisure- May 2024.

“They played Don’t Make It Easy and Cheap Things from their recent album, but seemed far more excited about their new songs, with the final one featuring Murphy indulging in a full-on, wonderful, guitar freak-out. It’s hard to fathom why this band hasn’t attracted more attention as they are something of an event in concert.” – Killian Laher- review of Button factory show-April 2022