Irish Hardcore Duo Spearside Announce New EP

Irish hardcore band Spearside have announced their new EP Couldn’t Be Told for release on Wednesday 22nd October 2025, available to pre-order now here. Marking the announcement the Trim, Co Meath brother duo Oisín Walsh and Cian Walsh have released the video for the lead single and title track. Listen to ‘Couldn’t Be Told’ here

Tearing out the blocks with heavy and frenzied punk rock ‘Couldn’t Be Told’ sets the pace for the self-produced EP. Channelling influence from the likes of Judge and Youth Of Today the riotous track reflects on growth and childhood.

Regarding the single songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Oisín Walsh says, “The title encapsulates the meaning of the song; the arrogance of youth, the consequence of misplaced effort, and watching someone wilfully go down a sad road. Steve Albini once said something about the music industry that has always stuck with me because it applies to life in general. He said “If you can understand somebody else’s mistake and not make it, then you’re ahead of the game.” 

‘Couldn’t Be Told’ is ultimately about trying to learn from others’ mistakes. We also want to counter that with some positive references to our childhood. Times where you look back and are grateful for guidance you got whether or not you wanted it in the moment. Our Mam would always sing “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to” at us when we were throwing strops as kids. Definitely an unorthodox disciplinary technique but it worked.

The music video was shot in the gym we built in our shed during Covid. For better or worse, we’re showing people our lives and telling our story as best we can. Perhaps we weren’t brave enough to fully embrace that in our early singles. From this point on, honesty is our song.”

Journeying further into the Couldn’t Be Told EP, as the righteous din of the opening track ebbs away, Oisín’s melancholic guitar riffs are juxtaposed against Cian’s inquisitive bass line to bring ‘Sentimental’ into being. Packing an emotive melodic punch along with an intoxicating anthemic chorus Spearside open things up for some contrasting psych-induced breathing space before diving back in for a riff-induced knockout.

Cian Walsh takes to the driving seat to deliver powerful vocals on ‘Stuck Into Me’ with chugging verses echoing the wrought-iron malevolence of Helmet before breaking into powerful self-deprecating honesty in another huge inescapable chorus from Spearside. The EP closes with a homage to one of their favourite bands, Agent Orange, with Spearside delivering a rambunctious take on ‘No Such Thing’.

The Couldn’t Be Told EP follows swiftly from the Hatchet Man EP in June, a record which further demonstrates Spearside are no one-note bruisers and has been described by SPIN Magazine as, “a cross between Queens Of The Stone Age and Pinkerton-era Weezer.”

The Hatchet Man title track is all sharp-lines and bared teeth, ‘Planning Our Escape’ reveals the groups vulnerable underbelly and it’s all tears in the mosh pit with the stop-start new wave in ‘All The Same’. It finishes with another cover further demonstrating their wide-reaching influences as they honour Gary Numan with a punked up rendition of ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric’.

“We almost feel we need to get as much new music out there as possible, to make up for a year of relative inactivity,” says Oisín. “With Couldn’t Be Told we’re doubling down on the heaviness of the last EP while also reintegrating some of the influences that got us excited about writing music in the first place, back when we were teenagers.”

“The cover art is a picture of our dad and grandfather in the crowd watching a long jump competition in Cavan, back in the day, taken around the same period as the cover art for Hatchet Man which is a photo of our Dad’s marching band, the Breffni Boys Band, taken during the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin in the 70s. He is one of the boys playing accordion. Our Grandfather was the band master.”

Today (October 8^th) sees Spearside making their live return at Cultúr 20.0 festival at The Sound House in Dublin, this is followed by a headline show at the Thomas House in Dublin on December 12^th.  The band are currently recording their debut album for release in 2026 with more music and live shows to be revealed soon.

COULDN’T BE TOLD EP TRACK LISTING

1. Couldn’t Be Told
2. Sentimental
3. Stuck Into Me
4. No Such Thing

Feature Image Photo Credit: Joshua Mulholland 

Spearside’s new EP Couldn’t Be Told for release on Wednesday 22nd October 2025, available to pre-order now here.