If you listen to Amble‘s new EP Hand Me Downs, or any of their prior releases, you’d think Robbie Cunningham, Oisin McCaffrey, and Ross Mc Nerney have known each other since their schoolyard days. That is not the case. Roughly less than three years ago, Cunningham and Mc Nerney were school teachers, and McCaffery was a data scientist.
Videos by American Songwriter
A few messages and practice sessions later, Amble came to be, and following their first supporting slot back home in Ireland, Mc Nerney made it very clear that their music was “too good not to pursue.” He was indeed, undoubtedly, correct, as Amble scored a No. 1 hit in Ireland with their debut album and has supported Hozier on his U.S. arena tour.
Accolades and accomplishments aside, these guys are achieving something far more important, and that is an atmospheric connection that invites through honesty, not dismissal through grandeur.
The Makings of A Simply Complex EP
Amble’s music, including their new EP Hand Me Downs, has a certain existential capacity to it. A certain existential capacity that makes a sunset car ride feel like your last, that makes an average kiss feel like your first, and ultimately, makes life and life itself feel far more intensely romantic than it actually is. Why is that? Who can truly say? Whatever it is, Mc Nerney says, “We’re kind of a less is more band,” and Cunningham added, as he divulged, “It’s all about the words then and the melody.”
To create their new EP, Amble headed to Brooklyn and churned out their album in a matter of three days. It was the first time they had used a producer. Despite this, they held true to “that Amble tradition of being raw, live, and [using] the best take,” says Mc Nerney.
Again, Amble’s aim is to seemingly not use the stage as a pedestal, but more as a welcome mat. And Cunningham said it no better when he told us, “We want to write something that’s, you know, deep and meaningful to us, and something that will make people think and feel. And then on the simple side of things, like, if anyone ever asked us for chords for our songs and stuff. They’re generally very doable, you know.”
The Unconscious Influence of Home
Robbie Cunningham, Oisin McCaffrey, and Ross Mc Nerney all grew up in different parts of Ireland, but Ireland nonetheless. If you know anything about the lovely country, then you know that words and storytelling are a rudimentary foundation of the public’s being. The list of novelists, poets, and songwriters to come from the country is highly decorated, and consequently, a bit intimidating when one, such as Amble, is trying to trek a similar terrain.
“It’s part of the folklore, it’s part of the stories. It’s part of, like, the conversation in the pub. And I think it’s like a subconscious thing. If you’re an Irish person, writing a song like it has to be of a certain standard, because, you know, there are so many who have gone before you,” shares McCaffrey. This “standard” is certainly being met, as Amble’s music is “Just adding to the literature” of their homeland, Ireland.
Fans of John Prine and Kris Kristofferson, Amble’s influence expands far beyond the water surrounding the country. However, avoiding the influence of home is impossible, and Cunningham attested when he said, “It’s just we can’t help it. That’s just all we know. That’s where we come from, and that’s where we get inspiration from.”
Amble Is in Love With the Game…Plain and Simple
In light of this album’s creation, Amble spoke on an invaluable sentiment that is often overshadowed in the pursuit of creating great art. So often do we hear about the tortured souls who hate their own work and endlessly chase a phenomenal artistic product that doesn’t exist, simply because they won’t allow themselves to let it exist. Refreshingly, that is not the case with Amble.
McCaffrey stated, “I love every song we’ve put out to date, and that’s obviously very important.” And Mc Nerney added, “I love our music, and I think that’s hugely important. I think that’s like, I should, I think we should love the music we make, because if we don’t listen to it ourselves, then why the hell are we doing it?… I’m our biggest fan anyway.”
Any aspiring musician, actually, anyone for that matter, would be in awe if they were in the shoes that have climbed rather swiftly to success, and that are currently climbing for more. Though don’t mistake these three genuine guys for musicians whose vaulting ambition sacrifices their foundational aspects, because that is not the case in the slightest. Rather, Robbie Cunningham, Oisin McCaffrey, and Ross Mc Nerney are as down-to-earth as dirt, and their music has the potential to infuse the American music scene with some long-forgotten poetic and musical richness.
On behalf of the band, we’ll leave you with these parting words—”We’re only getting going.”
Their EP is out now. To learn about their tour and other details, visit their website HERE.
Photo Credit: Adam Heffernan
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.