What the Founders of ASC Are Listening To This Week

By Sophie Lee & Emma Cody . Founders . 07/01/26

At An Seomra Ceol, we’re constantly listening, searching, and discovering new music. We know how frustrating it can be to find something new that actually sticks, so we thought we’d start sharing what’s been living rent-free in our heads recently.

Here’s what the ASC founders have had on repeat this week.

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 Sophie’s rotation

1. The Greatest Man – Lucy McWilliams

This isn’t a new find for me, but it might be for you. The Greatest Man is the song I reach for when I’m feeling nostalgic and a little bit introspective about life. It might sound dramatic to say a song can make you feel that way, but Lucy’s storytelling is so vivid and intimate that she earns it.

The intro alone is unforgettable, I catch myself humming it all the time, and it’s that same intro that keeps pulling me back. Listening to this song feels like sitting with a friend who reminds you it’s okay to choose a different path, to be uncertain, to fall for the wrong person, and still hold onto the impression they leave behind. It’s soft, honest, and vulnerable in a way only Lucy McWilliams can deliver.

2.  Better Day – Ocean Colour Scene

I don’t rave about Ocean Colour Scene as much as I should on An Seomra Ceol. Emerging during the Britpop era, they gained global traction but were often overlooked with Blur and Oasis dominating the charts. Better Day is easily one of their best tracks.

It opens on sombre keyboard notes before gradually building in intensity, driven by Steve Craddock’s methodical guitar playing. There’s something about it that just makes me happy.

Simon Fowler’s vocals are deeply emotive, and the band manage to blend Britpop with a subtle 70s rock feel effortlessly. I’ve been listening to OCS since I was quite literally in the womb, and I’ve never once stopped loving them.

3.   Lord, Let That Tesla Crash – CMAT

It feels like every shade of grief hits this song at once. CMAT offers a glimpse into her own personal grief and somehow makes it deeply relatable. It’s a beautiful track that needs nothing more than its acoustics and that melancholic slide. Her lyrics do all the heavy lifting.

CMAT is one of the best songwriters of our generation. She doesn’t rely on layered production, synths or beats to draw us in, her words alone are enough, and they’re genuinely heart-wrenching.

The shift from “I don’t miss you like I should” to “I don’t miss you because I can’t” sends shivers down my spine every time. That change in energy feels painfully real. It has weight, and it has substance.

4.  Figure You Out – Djo

This song has been a staple for me since April 2024. Djo’s use of synths feels deliberate and perfectly placed, while the underlying bassline keeps everything moving, it’s the kind of track that has you nodding along even though the lyrics are deeply reflective and make  you think.

To me, Figure You Out is all about distraction. That moment when you finally let intrusive thoughts creep in. For me, it connected to a breakup, the urge to understand someone’s thoughts, followed by overthinking every word, action, and reaction.

The drums and bass really drive the track, working together to create something that stands apart on the Decide album. It’s introspective without being heavy-handed, and a credit to Djo’s artistry.

5. Come And See – Gurriers

I won’t lie, this is my favourite Gurriers track. It tricks you into thinking it’s going to be softer, opening with what I can only describe as a mirroring guitar effect. One note rings out, then echoes back on itself, before the song slowly grows more urgent.

Gurriers really use having two guitar players to their advantage here. The track moves between quiet and loud, then back again, creating this sense of spiralling. It feels unstable in the best way, like losing control and learning to sit with it. Using music itself as a way of measuring emotion feels incredibly intentional.

There’s something oddly comforting about that tension. The constant shift makes the chaos feel intentional, and somehow, that makes it feel okay.

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Emma’s rotation

1. Daddy’s Gonna Pay For You Crashed Car – U2

I keep coming back to this song because it sits in the uneasy space where U2 sounded fearless and slightly unhinged. It feels cynical without being preachy, and sonically it still sounds confrontational decades later. Sometimes I don’t want comfort from music, I want tension and this song delivers exactly that with something that makes you feel good.

2. Delete Ya – Djo

Djo is an artist I’ve had a massive attachment to over the last few months. Every second of every day I have one of his three albums on repeat, but Delete Ya is a song I listen to and think about constantly. It captures that specific post-breakup limbo to perfection.

3. The Scythe – The Last Dinner Party

The Last Dinner Party haven’t really been on my personal radar when it comes to listening to music, but ever since Sophie put me onto this song I’ve gained a new found respect for the band of incredibly talented women.

This song unfolds slowly, letting the weight of grief and longing sit without rushing toward a release. There’s a quiet dread to it, but also tenderness, as if loss and devotion are inseparable. It’s a song that I didn’t know I needed to feel and to heal.

4. Stay For Something – CMAT

Anything CMAT will forever be a 10/10 piece of art to me. “Stay For Something” perfectly captures that messy mix of nostalgia and regret that comes with looking back on a relationship you shouldn’t have stayed in — yet somehow did. It’s that time of the New Year where nostalgia swallows you whole, that’s probably why it’s on constant repeat for me.

5. Video Killed The Radio Star – The Buggles

   
   

This song has always been a song I’ve absolutely adored. Everything about it, from it’s sound to it’s lyrics and the meaning behind it’s lyrics, is 80s perfection. This song is in the end credits of one of my all time favourite movies “The Wedding Singer”, I watched it over Christmas and it revived a love for the song I forgot a had. Total classic!