The Altered Hours and the artfully abrasive / emotionally curated power of "Turn Away"

 

"I've got no money / all sent to me  / but I want to go / let's take a while / and it's got me thinking / the city / are you gonna show?"

The artfully abrasive / emotionally curated power of "Turn Away", by Irish alt rock shoegaze quintet The Altered Hours, is so magnetically potent, feeling at once, alt rock indie current and nostalgic at the same time. The pulse pounding dreamy crush (for whatever reason) has me feeling an amalgam of old school punk, alt rock and sophisticated indie rock, maybe because it is incredibly raucous yet has shades of art punk romance sprinkled throughout, like a blend of Buzzcocks / Fontaines D.C. / Yo La Tengo. Not only that, I am a sucker for indie bands that have boy / girl vox like The Dead Weather, Yo La Tengo, Pixies, Los Campesinos!, just to name a few. I also love Cathal MacGabhann's vocal countenance that has softer inflections counterpoised against the musical heaviness with Elaine Howley's voice feeling equally interesting, sort of twee to me. In this regard, their non screamy vox feel sort of Sonic Youth to me. However you want to describe it, it works tremendously well. 

About "Turn Away" (Liner Notes- excerpted / bracketed):

[“For me, this track really captures a lot about what we’re aiming for with this record sonically,” says vocalist/guitarist Cathal MacGabhann on “Turn Away.” “We wanted the vocals to really pop out – to be honest with the listener and not hide any personality. We did this track in two takes and just really leaned into trusting who we are as a band.”

Written in a flash of inspired imagery, “Turn Away” pairs radiant guitar textures with lyrical vulnerability and cinematic flair.

“I had this movie-like scene in my head,” says Cathal. “Someone’s waiting on a low-lit city street for a date to arrive. And all these doubts, hopes, and flickering thoughts pass through them while they wait. We co-wrote the lyrics in one sitting based on that image and the full idea flowered really quickly.”

Drawing inspiration from artists like Frank Black & The Catholics, Stereolab and My Bloody Valentine the band aimed to stay close to their roots, crafting a sound that feels comfortable, immediate and totally their own. “The sound is something we’ve played with before on earlier albums,” Cathal adds. “With this one I wanted it to feel effortless, like we’re totally at home in our own sonic world.”]

"Turn Away" is a glimpse of The Altered Hours eagerly awaited 'self-titled' third album dropping on November 7th via Pizza Pizza Records.

-Robb Donker Curtius

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0UNk763Kw96Dd3pC3coKm3

https://soundcloud.com/alteredhours

https://www.youtube.com/user/thealteredhours

https://www.instagram.com/the_altered_hours/

https://www.facebook.com/thealteredhours


The Altered Hours are a 5 piece alt-rock group from Cork, Ireland. Their third studio album is set for release on November 7th 2025.

The Altered Hours, alt rock, shoegaze, post punk, indie rock, 90's indie, 2000's indie, dreamy, intimate, pulse pounding, jagged, angular rock, "Turn Away", girl / boy vocals, vocalist/guitarist Cathal MacGabhann, Cork Ireland,