Reader's Wives are the kind of band we've all missed. Their music is result of the four people involved, both musically and socially. They are Dubliners Niall James Holohan, Chris Morrin, Doug Farrell and Disko, and Reader's Wives is where these four guys' hectic lives meet.
In the summer of 2006, songwriter Niall James Holohan produced an album of his best twelve tunes with a view to starting a band called Reader's Wives. Once tracked, Niall passed rough mixes of the album among friends in the Dublin underground, looking for the right combination of beautiful madheads to build on it's musical blueprint of eclectic, tidy indie rock tunes with teeth. The satirical twists, topographical references and lyrical bite Niall showcased in his songs was already evident on the recordings, but in a modest admission of the limitations of his work as a solo artist, Niall knew he had to build a band who would follow him into war with the world.
Niall's vision was of a band whose no nonsense approach to their work, and down to earth patter would allow them to tackle taboos and issues with humour and candour. Niall's still morelikely to talk to you about Doug Stanhope than Bob Dylan as a lyrical influence, as he's genuinely trying to break the songwriting mould: "I think I've done it. Many times, with an acoustic guitar" he says "but to expand what you can do with a song, not just lyrically, but with a band is the real challenge"
Many of the fans of Niall's early acoustic shows wondered if a band could do justice to his discernable point of view. It is, after all, extremely ambitious to attempt sonic innovation while effectively showcasing a writer who really has something to say. Bass player, Niall Diskin (known to his friends as "Disko") was one such fan .. "I'd seen Niall play a few times. It was such a breath of fresh air and still I wondered if you could stick such an original dude like that in a band. Even when he asked me to join the Wives, I openly voiced my concern because I'd hate for him to have a band just for the sake of it, and for the band to take away from the impact of what he's got going on. Thankfully, Niall was never going to let that happen either" With a bass player in the bag, so to speak, Niall continued to play acoustic songwriter nights, seeing how he could dismantle himself and his songs in front of an audiences, honing his skills. It was at a charity event that Niall met singer/songwriter Chris Morrin, with whom he had an instant rapport. Almost immediately, they began composing together. Niall fed on Chris' enthusiasm and Chris devoured Niall's leads into crazy stand up comedians, novelists, obscure music and more: things that brothers share…
"I love the guys in Reader's Wives. They're my brothers. Niall was like an older brother to me, from the moment we met. We've stood close to each other through a lot of shit" All the band needed now was a drummer, and on the advice of a fellow musician, Niall got in touch with a chatty chap - a family man called Doug Farrell. "Niall sent me the album he'd made, which I liked, but meeting Disko and seeing how excited he was about doing stuff with the Wives got me really excited about the future. We started out doing these tidy acoustic versions of the tunes in Niall's old flat. Then we had a stint in a rehearsal studio, where we got to play really loud, and since then, we've been marrying the two. Niall obviously had his own thing going on, but the four of us, as a band, have really got a sound that's all our own now ..I think it's going to be really fucking special" The band took to the road, fast becoming one of Ireland's most active bands in Europe. Niall knew, instinctively, that if these boys played his tunes long enough, they would eventually make Reader's Wives their own. It worked. Eighteen months on, Reader's Wives are now a solid four piece with a sound like no other independent band doing the rounds. At the behest of legendary producer Steve Albini, the quartet are currently recording the second Reader's Wives album, (due for release in 2010) in their apartment building in Temple Bar, in Dublin, which understandably feels like another debut, since it will be the first the four piece will have written and recorded together.
Dublin's Balcony TV have been providing an insight into the process and the band's development in their "The Band Downstairs" series which can be viewed on YouTube. Following two landmark nights, playing to full houses at Ireland's Electric Picnic, 360 Degree Music (UK) will release their debut 'Secrecy and Sex' EP on 9th November.
There will be London dates to coincide and a prestigious industry showcase at the Odessa Club in Dublin on Saturday 21st November.