The Murder Capital

Album: Blindness
Release Date: 2025
Ireland


Listening to Blindness feels like standing at the edge of something vast and unknowable, where instinct takes over and calculation fades away. It’s a record that captures The Murder Capital at their most raw and uncompromising – alive in the turbulence, unafraid of what lies within and around them. In this space between certainty and chaos, they’ve realized something vital and profoundly human – that sometimes, to truly see, you must close your eyes and trust your gut because something true, beautiful, and ferocious might lie within. [More on Beats Per Minute]

When we arrived in LA, we kind of wanted it to act as a bit of a tongue-in-cheek flippin’ the bird on the record. In parts it still is. John, knowing us well however, encouraged us to let the song offer more than being one-dimensional. That’s when the bridge was written. I think that’s what makes the song. Along with the gogo bells lol.

GPB on the making of A Distant Life

You once said that Blindness was one of the best rock records ever made when you listened to it on a plane. Are you still of that opinion, how do you feel about the album now?

100%. I felt that a few weeks before it came out and I still feel it now. One of the most incredible things about being an artist is making things that don’t exist, exist. You can literally create your own favourite tunes. We really did that for me on this record.

I don’t know how many times I’ve listened to our loop song selection from the album, A Distant Life, since its release. The sense of separation in the song feels both deeply personal and universally relatable here. Was it more of a personal outpouring, or did it take shape collectively? How did the song come about?

I definitely think it is a deeply personal outpouring from James lyrically. But as you said, the feelings are pretty universal. That feeling of separation from our partners, friends and family is really on going. When we’re on the road or away. We’ve been either working or recording in the States two Easters on the bounce now. I feel so grateful for those opportunities but also, as I get older, I realise that it will be a lifetime sacrifice to give up so many of those intimate and defining moments of family life, for something less conventional. What we do is a sacrifice for those who love us too. I feel like A Distant Life at least names that in our journey as much as in some way maybe apologises for it.

Musically I think it began as an almost lighthearted blues guitar progression Irv had and then he and James started writing it together in a freezing warehouse venue in Liverpool, that doubles as an ice rink at Christmas. A fittingly lonely and cold setting for that song to act as the warm fire for. We crystalised it then in Dublin and furthermore in LA.

When I first heard it, I thought, “You m*******s kept it too short on purpose so we’d have to play it on loop all day”. Given that your music often carries a raw intensity, how do you decide when a song like this is finished? And how did that process play out for this particular 2:40 track?

I honestly think that track was shorter before we got to the studio ahaha. I don’t even think it was the full 2 minutes. When we arrived in LA, we kind of wanted it to act as a bit of a tongue-in-cheek flippin’ the bird on the record. In parts it still is. John, knowing us well however, encouraged us to let the song offer more than being one-dimensional. That’s when the bridge was written. I think that’s what makes the song. Along with the gogo bells lol.

It’s hard to say when a song is finished honestly because we would keep polishing it forever if we were allowed to. That’s why budgets, deadlines, and producers are so important. James and I were hanging out with our friend and former studio colleague Anthony Cazade, an outstanding engineer and overall human hailing from La Frette Studios, on the outskirts in Paris. He’s worked on records from ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’ by Arctic Monkeys and more recently ‘Romance’ by Fontaines D.C. We met when we recorded ‘Gigi’s Recovery’ in La Frette, also produced by John Congleton, and a great insight he shared with us is the philosophy that a recording can be done at any moment. One should be open to the idea that a track could be done in one take and it doesn’t need to be touched – not even mixed. It also may take months. But there is a moment that it will be done. And it’s important to be open to the idea that could happen at any time in the process.

A song titled A Distant Life- which can imply many things- feels like it could never be bad. Was there ever a conversation about naming the album after it?

This was the first time we have ever gone into a recording session for an album without having the title beforehand. So, after we were done, there were many things on the table. I’m pretty confident that was one of them.

The Irish music scene, particularly with bands like Fontaines DC, has gained international recognition for its raw exploration of identity, struggle, and cultural reflection. How does your Irish background influence the themes in A Distant Life and maybe your overall sound?

It’s a trait of Irish art is that it needs to be appreciated abroad before it may even recognised at home. Not even just art – workers from Ireland have been flocking to London for years to prove themselves to their community back home. It’s happening with the mass immigration from Ireland to Australia and New Zealand today. 

I feel like the narrative of ‘A Distant Life’ fundamentally comes from a place of being away from home, trying to make a living. It could for sure be said that is directly because of our Irish background. Valid.

Speaking of Fontaines DC and other Irish bands, do you see a sense of kinship or somewhat shared purpose with them in how you approach themes of alienation or identity or emotional distance in your songs, or do you see your work as a completely individual statement?

Of course. John taught us that as well. That’s why bands hold such a unique place in music. No one can make the sound of that particular group 2, 3, 4, 5+ of people do, truly. No one can write a TMC song bar us. No one can write an FDC song bar them. Same goes for Just Mustard, The Cranberries, My Bloody Valentine, or Wolf Alice. That’s why bands are special.

Assuming you’ve seen the video of James playing Winner Stays On. Would you agree with his Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds comparison, or would you land on a different name?

The real-life education Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds gave us is something I’ll never be done being grateful for, so, no. Being invited to sit at The Bad Seeds table is an occasion. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds would have been my answer too.

You’ll be touring all over the world this year. Is there a specific show you are looking forward to the most?

Beat Kitchen, Chicago. October 3rd, 2025.

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