Emerging Creatives: TELEBOX

Written by Sophie Lee . Founder . 04/01/26

Some bands feel like they’re constantly reaching for something. A version of themselves they think they should be. Telebox don’t feel like that. They feel present. Grounded. Like a band more concerned with making music that makes sense to them than with explaining what it all means. That’s why Telebox make sense as An Seomra Ceol’s Emerging Creative of the Month.

Telebox are a four-piece indie band from Galway, formed while still in school. The band came together quickly in 2022, almost instinctively, and played their first show not long after. That early momentum matters. It points to a band who weren’t overthinking things from the outset, more interested in playing than planning. Much of that early groundwork happened in a rehearsal space they jokingly referred to as The Bunker: a small, contained place where songs were tested, confidence was built, and the band learned how to exist together.

That shared history runs deep. Joe Kelly (vocals and guitar) and Stevie Healy (drums) had been playing music together long before Telebox existed, with Conall Ó Floinn joining on guitar and Eoin Killeen on bass to complete the lineup. You can hear that familiarity in how naturally they play together, in the absence of awkwardness or overcompensation. They sound like people who’ve spent years learning each other’s quirks. They don’t present themselves as a project or a concept. They feel like a band in the most literal, uncomplicated sense of the word.

What Telebox represent is a quieter kind of emergence. At a time when young artists are often expected to arrive fully formed with a defined image, a clear message, and a perfectly packaged sound, Telebox allow themselves time. They’re not rushing to sum themselves up. Instead, they’re letting repetition, live shows, and writing shape who they are. There’s something deeply reassuring in that approach. It feels honest. It feels sustainable.

Sonically, Telebox sit comfortably within alternative indie, drawing from melodic indie pop and softer shoegaze textures without leaning too hard on any one influence. Their songs are guitar-led, carried by Joe Kelly’s soft, understated vocals.

Their debut EP, What Is the Point?, introduced a band with a clear emotional centre. Even the title invites interpretation. Is it questioning life, ambition, or the act of pursuing music itself? It plants uncertainty before you even press play, and that sense of reflection carries through the record. The EP leans occasionally melancholic, but it’s offset by wiry, infectious, feel-good guitar lines. “Patricia” stands out immediately, with fast-paced drum beats driving a song that feels restless without tipping into chaos. It’s scattered in the best way. The title track’s intro captures the EP’s emotional core perfectly, that siren-like guitar tone sets a mood that’s quietly uneasy and instantly absorbing.

Follow-up EP When Night Turns Into Day moves into darker territory, leaning further into atmosphere. Tracks like “House on Fire” feel more urgent and fast-paced, highlighting how central rhythm is to Telebox’s sound. Their drum-forward approach works, there’s a constant push beneath the songs that never overwhelms them. On “House on Fire” in particular, the contrast between the urgent playing and Joe Kelly’s soft vocal delivery is striking. Stevie Healy’s drumming feels instinctive here, slotting into whatever the song needs without drawing attention to itself. “Glow” is a standout! its intro, with small, metallic, almost xylophone-like beats, is deeply comforting in an unexpected way. It’s on this EP that the band’s cohesion becomes most apparent.

Telebox’s music comes into sharpest focus live. They’ve built their reputation through consistent gigging, playing festivals such as Electric Picnic, Sea Sessions, and Galway International Arts Festival, alongside shows in venues like Whelan’s, Róisín Dubh, Cyprus Avenue, Dolan’s, The Spirit Store, and the Ulster Sports Club. On stage, there’s no sense of overperformance. You get the feeling this is where Telebox learned how to be a band: in rooms, in front of people, figuring it out as they go.

Telebox are emerging not because they lack substance, but because they’re still in motion. They haven’t arrived, and they’re not pretending they have. They’re writing, releasing, and playing consistently, building something at their own pace. This is the point where attention still matters, where being noticed feels meaningful rather than retrospective.