Following on from the spotlight shone on Modern Rome, I’ve decided to highlight another local band – The Caged Hearts
The Caged Hearts were formed in 2019 by St. Mary’s University Belfast student Eoin Agnew, who quickly added Patrick Holmes to the band’s line up on bass. 2020 saw Harley Mulholland join on guitar, Emile Wilcox picked up synth duty and Shea McAuley joined as drummer.
The band had just begun to pick up some momentum playing live venues when the Coronavirus pandemic stopped them in their tracks. However they amassed a selection of prestigious venues played before the pandemic halted them, including The Empire, Voodoo, The Pavilion, Atlantic in Portrush and Fibbers in Dublin. Read on however, as they’re back with a headline show!
The band draws influence from many different realms with each member having their niche. You can notice Eoin drawing inspiration from eccentric frontmen such as Brandon Flowers and Bono, whilst the band in general are influenced by indie mainstays such as The Killers, The Strokes, The Vaccines, Bloc Party and older established acts like New Order, Genesis, The Cure and Depeche Mode. Harley’s guitar playing is influenced by Alter Bridge’s Mark Tremonti, and fellow Myles Kennedy collaborator Slash whilst Emile adds in influence from Vangelis.
Their first single On Your Shoulder begins with a subtle almost 8-bit synth before the crooning lyrics take you to a catchy chorus. You’ll notice yourself singing “tell me something baby I’m on your shoulder” not too long after listening to it, which. With the 8-bit influence, it would not sound out of place on the soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim vs The World.
This has since been followed by (She Always Loved) Karen Carpenter which has more of a rock influence to it than anything with the introduction being reminiscent of peak-emo era My Chemical Romance, before mellowing a bit to a more indie singalong accompanied by screeching guitar.
Check out their catalogue to date in the playlist below, and look out for future music as the band recorded an EP over the summer with producer Sam Morgan
With a headline show in Voodoo coming up, the Caged Hearts would love it if you could come out and show your support, they promise a punchy energetic show. Tickets can be purchased here.
Photography credit: Niall McCloskey, Trevor Wilcox