Soda Blonde Deserve More Recognition

Sophie Lee
Nov 18, 2025
4 min read

Why one of Ireland’s most exciting bands still isn’t getting the recognition they deserve.

By Sophie Lee · Founder · 18/11/25

There are bands you like, and there are bands you genuinely can’t understand aren’t everywhere. Soda Blonde fall firmly into the latter.

Made up of Faye O’Rourke, Adam O’Regan, Donagh Seaver O’Leary and Dylan Lynch, the Dublin four-piece formed in 2019 from the foundations of the critically acclaimed Little Green Cars. Rather than continuing what came before, they rebuilt their sound entirely. Across two albums and four EPs, Soda Blonde have crafted a body of work that is distinctive, ambitious and consistently evolving.

What Sets Them Apart

One of Soda Blonde’s most striking qualities is Faye O’Rourke’s unmistakable voice. There’s a choral, almost ethereal quality to it. It's immediately recognisable and central to the band’s identity within the growing Irish alternative landscape.

Musically, Soda Blonde resist easy categorisation. They’re often placed under the alternative pop umbrella, but their sound is far richer than that, blending electronic textures, sharp guitar work and emotionally precise songwriting. They experiment across styles, making it difficult to pin them to a single genre.

Bassist Donagh Seaver O’Leary is a crucial part of what makes the band work. Instead of fading into the background, his bass lines drive the songs, they're melodic, fluid and always intentional. Paired with Adam O’Regan’s guitar, the two create a tight, cohesive foundation.

Soda Blonde operate less like four separate musicians and more like a unit that instinctively understands how to build around one another.

Little Green Cars to Soda Blonde

The shift from Little Green Cars to Soda Blonde is significant. The earlier project held a youthful rawness, Soda Blonde is its more mature, sharpened evolution. The chemistry is still there, but now it feels refined, the sound of a band who know exactly what they want to say. Their writing carries the clarity that comes with experience: relationships ending, choices that echo longer than expected, and the self-awareness that follows.

Photo by Lucy Foster, courtesy of Soda Blonde

Photo by Brendan Canty, used with permission for editorial purposes.

Notable Tracks

Terrible Hands

“Terrible Hands,” from their debut album Small Talk, was my introduction to Soda Blonde, discovered unexpectedly in an old playlist of my ex-girlfriend’s. On the surface, it’s rhythm-driven, but not in a club sense. Instead, it’s the kind of track that slowly asserts itself, taking control of your brain.

This is where Soda Blonde’s explosive dynamic reveals itself. The song begins with a steady rhythmic base — bass, drums and synths weaving together, before Faye’s vocal rises above the arrangement, lifting the entire track.

The production is immaculate, but it’s the lyrics that leave the mark:

“I’d take the bad parts of you over the good in me.”

It captures the unsettling, familiar feeling of loving someone you know is wrong for you and choosing them anyway. Nothing about it is romanticised, it’s painfully self-aware.

What makes “Terrible Hands” exceptional is the tension between what you hear and what you feel. It sounds euphoric, something you could dance to in a crowded room, but underneath lies a knot of longing, compromise and self-betrayal.

Try

“Try,” taken from Small Talk, is one of Soda Blonde’s most affecting songs, and possibly my favourite. Faye O’Rourke’s vocals on “Try” hits a specific, almost indescribable part of the brain, that rare combination of softness and sharpness that feels both soothing and shiver-inducing. Her tone carries the ache of the lyrics, a controlled emotional release that makes every lyric stick with you.

The arrangement begins simply, scattered piano notes, a gentle pulsing beat, before building gradually. The guitar slips in slowly, tying everything together without overwhelming the mix. It’s a slow build rather than an explosion, and by the time it reaches full form, it hits with surprising impact. In the most accurate, if unprofessional terms: it fucking slaps.

I Still Have Feelings for You

“I Still Have Feelings for You,” also from Small Talk, is one of their most stripped-back tracks, understated, almost fragile, and all the more affecting for it. I first gravitated toward it during a breakup, and its simplicity made every word feel heavier.

The lyrics carry a self-critical honesty, a willingness to sit in discomfort rather than mask it. The final section feels like an emotional unravelling in real time, quietly devastating without tipping into melodrama.

Musically, the track is deceptively simple: gentle acoustic guitar lines, soft piano notes, and Faye O’Rourke’s voice laid bare. In this stripped-back form, her delivery becomes even more affecting, intimate, confessional, impossible to turn away from.

It’s proof that Soda Blonde don’t need explosive arrangements to leave an impact. When they strip everything back, the strength of their songwriting is showcased.

The Queen of Mercy

“The Queen of Mercy,” from their People Pleaser EP, is one of Soda Blonde’s most immediately engaging tracks. The rhythm section locks in from the outset, bass and drums creating a groove that’s subtle but addictive.

What stands out is how much is happening in the arrangement without it ever sounding cluttered. There are multiple melodic lines running alongside each other, yet everything sits exactly where it should. It’s the kind of balance that only comes from musicians who know their strengths.

A particularly effective detail is how the instrumentation follows Faye O’Rourke’s vocal as it climbs. When she pushes into a higher register, the instrumentation lifts with her, the synths brighten, the guitar shifts slightly, the whole track moves upward in response. It creates a cohesion that feels natural rather than forced.

Conclusion

Soda Blonde have the talent and the vision to become something huge. What they’re missing is the level of recognition their work genuinely warrants. They are one of Ireland’s strongest modern bands, not up-and-coming, not promising, but already delivering. The rest of the world simply needs to catch up.

They're playing in Cyprus Avenue Cork on the 15 Dec, there are still tickets available and I can assure you it's going to be a phenomenal evening.