Quick-fire Questions: 10 minutes with Bleech 9:3
In an age poisoned by stale irony, earnest, affirmative rock attack and open-hearted lyrical confessionals hit with sharper pertinence than it has for a long time.
Bleech 9:3 are a case in point. An Irish four-piece founded by frontman Barry Quinlan and sharing guitar duties with Sam Duffy, the two met at an Alcoholics Anonymous session in Dublin before heading to London to kickstart the band. With Duffy having sponsored Quinlan during the recovery process, an unfiltered and vulnerable honesty fuelled their creative dynamic, as well as providing the potent lyrical well for their debut single
Released via Ra-Ra Rok records, boasting the likes of Wu-Lu and Bingo Fury to their roster, ‘Ceiling’ hurtles with unabashed sincerity into the world of grunge attack at its most emotionally resonant, wielding heavy but stirring riff heft against Quinlan’s anthemic howl over a former AA friend who passed away before gleaning the path to sobriety.
“It’s not something I’ve ever purposefully sat down to write about,” he stated. “It’s all those types of things which try to make contact with me through the writing. It’s like it’s trying to manifest itself to be released or something. Some things you hold on to for a long time before they finally find their way out”.
Bleech 9:3 are staking bold thematic and musical ground from the word go, already nabbed by Shame to support their upcoming Ireland dates, as well as a slot at Rotterdam’s Left of the Dial festival. With time to spare, we caught up with the pair to natter about The Replacements, dead prime ministers, and the indie score to our end times. Check out our Quick-fire Questions below:
Quick-fire Questions: 10 minutes with Bleech 9:3:
What song would you want played at your funeral?
Quinlan: “‘Heroes’ by David Bowie”.
Duffy: “‘When I Get to Heaven by John Prine”.
Are there any influences that would surprise us for the new single ‘Ceiling’?
D: “The guitar solo in ‘Ceiling’ was very much inspired by Irish folk music. If you hear it on its own without the band, it’s much more obvious. Then, when the band comes in with the progression, it manipulates it into sounding more alternative”.
If a living filmmaker of your choice could direct your next video, who would you choose?
D: “Ingmar Bergman. We’re big fans”.
What was the first song you ever wrote?
Q: “It was called ‘No’. I was 15 and I used to sing it in an Alex Turner accent”.
Coming from Dublin, is there a quality to London you’ve spotted that perhaps missed by long-time Londoners?
Q: “Because London is so big, naturally, there is a wider variety of music to go see. Multiple different scenes happening at once. However, there is a sense of community in Ireland which London is void of”.
What’s your favourite bad lyric in a fantastic song?
D: “In The Replacements song ‘I’ll Be You’, Paul [Westerberg] says, ‘I dreamt I was Surfer Joe / And what that means I don’t know’. Beautiful”.
How do you think the world will end?
D: “‘It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)’ by REM will start playing from the cosmic speakers, and then we will all know that time’s up”.
What’s the best venue in Dublin?
D: “It depends on the size of the show. For bands starting out, the one with the most character is The Workman’s Club”.
What’s the best gig you’ve attended so far in 2025?
“Baz and I saw Wu-Lu play at the very start of the year. Most inspiring band I had seen in a long time”.
Would you rather have hooks for hands or wheels for feet?
“Wheels for feet. Could make for some interesting Bleech shows”.
If you could punch a figure of history, who would it be?
“Margaret Thatcher”.
Is there an album that offers a window into ‘Ceiling’s biggest influence?
“No. The life events which make up its subject are its biggest influences”.
Is mystique important in music?
“Yes. If you give too much of yourself away, there’s nothing left to figure out”.
What’s your karaoke go-to?
“‘Kitty’ by The Pogues”.
Are The Beatles overrated?
“Never heard of them”.
