Moncrieff drops new EP & announces Belfast show this year
We're obsessed with Moncrieff's new single ' Young Men'
Last updated 12th Jun 2023
Irish-born singer-songwriter Moncrieff has released his incredible new EP ‘Highways & Hurricanes’ and just announced a show at Mandela Hall in Belfast.
Following the massive success of last year’s ‘Warm’ EP, ‘Highways & Hurricanes’ is an unflinchingly honest, deeply personal collection of songs that deal with love, loss, struggle, vulnerability and finding inner strength.
Moncrieff’s latest body of work offers an intimate sonic portrait of an exceptional musician who isn’t afraid to address his demons in the studio.
‘Highways & Hurricanes’ Track Listing:
1.Perfect
2.What Am I Here For
3.Young Men
4.9 Lessons
5.Broken
On the surface, new single ‘Young Men’ is a slice of exuberant, summer pop that encapsulates the carefree feeling of a road trip; meanwhile, the lyrics deliver an important message around mental health and speak of painful experiences of growing up in rural Ireland.
Moncrieff says: “Young Men is a song centred around what it’s like to grow up as a man in a small town. I wrote this song after losing one of my oldest friends to suicide in late 2021. Losing him broke me and my whole group of friends, and I think I initially wrote this song to help us remember him and so that we never lose another one of us again.
"Where I’m from, the status quo is If you have a problem, you just have to man up and deal with it or failing that, as is so common where I’m from, all problems are pushed down and drowned with pints, joy-riding, drugs, fighting and other destructive behaviour. As a result, young men don’t talk and have become experts at camouflaging their pain, often until it’s tragically too late.
"I’m tired of it being the same tragic story, where it feels like guys fall off the face of these small towns like flies, when it doesn’t have to be that way.
The song was written so that young men can feel seen and hopefully do something to normalise reaching out when you’re struggling. You’re a human being not a machine. You can’t hold the world on your own - Turn on the light and talk to someone.”
Elsewhere on the EP, Moncrieff presents his own rules for life on ‘9 Lessons’ (addressed to his late brother), offers an intimate confession on ‘Broken’ and soundtracks the rush of excitement and pitfalls that come with romantic relationships on previous singles ‘Perfect’ and ‘What Am I Here For’.
After his sister and older brother passed away when he was a teenager, a young Chris Breheny (aka Moncrieff) turned to songwriting as an outlet and way to heal, and has been on a mission to connect with people through music ever since.
Moving to London to pursue his music career, Moncrieff was quickly noticed by Sir Elton John who played his debut single on his radio show, and success continued when his single ‘Warm’ went top 10 on Irish Radio, where it remains on heavy rotation.
The subsequent 12 months saw him perform on the main stage at Electric Picnic, supporting The Script on their European tour, selling out Dublin’s 1,600 cap Olympia Theatre in just nine minutes, performing sold-out headline shows in London and Germany, and seeing in 2023 with a live TV performance at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on New Year’s Eve.
With more music to come and exciting live shows yet to be announced, Moncrieff is undoubtedly one to watch for 2023.
Moncrieff will perform at Mandela Hall in Belfast on December 13th 2023, tickets on sale Thursday at 9am from ticketmaster.ie****
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