M(h)aol - Attachment Styles

The rising Dublin band M(h)aol are a testament to the vitality of Ireland’s current post-punk scene. Their set was thrilling, characterized by easy camaraderie between the four members and their audience. They opened with “Laundries,” a sublimely horrifying track about the infamously abusive womens’ institutions known as the Magdalene Laundries, with lines like, “The stain of our secrets/The stain of those days,” set to taut basslines and sawlike electronics. Their howled vocals, throbbing percussion, and simplistic-bordering-on-absurd lyrics (see: “Dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs/Dogs are full-time job!,” about drummer Constance Keane’s now-departed canine) were all reminiscent of their peers Gilla Band. But there is a decidedly more melodic, haunting side to M(h)aol, most notably in their performance of Irish folk song “Óró Sé do Bheatha ‘Bhaile,” with bassist Zoe Greenway using a bow to turn her instrument into something menacing and spectral. – Pitchfork

“[Attachment Styles is] a series of fearless moments that centre on intersectional feminism and reclamation of power, underpinned by a soundtrack of clattering drums and jagged, dissonant guitars.” —The Guardian

“Like the best protest music, Attachment Styles champions a positivity sorely needed when confronting the darkest parts of human nature.” —POST-TRASH

“Attachment Styles rips up the rules on gender, queer joy, desire, performing femininity, biphobia, sexual abuse and everything in between.” —Hot Press

“M(h)aol’s ‘Therapy’ proves the band need to be on your radar ASAP” —Alternative Press

Hardly content to rest on our laurels at this late stage of 2023, Merge Records is happy to announce the signing of post-punk firebrands M(h)aol—namely, Constance Keane, Jamie Hyland, Zoë Greenway, and Sean Nolan! We’re celebrating the news by becoming the North American home of their 2023 full-length debut, Attachment Styles, which arrives on November 17!

The Merge Records reissue of Attachment Styles features the previously unreleased song “Jack,” which is both a staple of their mesmerizing live set and the first song M(h)aol wrote together as a band.

“We wrote ‘Jack’ in a tiny room in a block of artist studios that definitely probably weren’t meant for music-making, so we’d have to go in at night time when everyone else was finished working,” Keane explains. “Having the first song you ever wrote being part of your live set every show, even eight years on, feels like quite a rare thing, so we’re really excited that ‘Jack’ is finally getting the release it deserves.”

Attachment Styles is an album about social connection, queerness, and healing, taking the listener on a journey through various stages of self-acceptance and community-building. The album was hailed by NPR, Stereogum, The Guardian, and others, hitting just before M(h)aol captivated American audiences at a number of SXSW showcases. One of those showcases was headlined by Superchunk, which set the stage for their signing to Merge Records.

“The fact that we can say we got signed from a show at SXSW makes me feel like we’re in a movie that I would have been obsessed with when I was 16,” Keane says.

If M(h)aol’s story is like a movie, then we’re just at the beginning. Along with the Attachment Styles reissue, the band is closing out 2023 with a number of festival appearances including a Pitchfork Music Festival London date with Sleater-Kinney and U.S. Girls.

(pronounced “Male”)