SAOL is a personal musical journey for Irish artist Zoë Gough. Her debut album, currently in the works, offers a unique blend of indie, grunge, shoegaze and folk, highlighted by her rich, emotional vocals and skilled textural and expressive guitar work.
This collection of songs comprises a number of tracks reflecting Irish identity and addressing critical social issues like the housing crisis, politics, and discrimination, alongside more personal narratives about mental health, sexuality, and the concept of self in society, while drawing inspiration from Ireland's folklore, history, and rugged landscape.
SAOL has so far been compared to artists such as Hole, The Cranberries, My Bloody Valentine, Sinead O'Connor and Garbage in various reviews by blogs such as Tits Upon Tyne, Analogue Trash, We Love That Sound, MP3 Hugger, and has twice been featured on Buzzy Band's Sound Waves showcase for their favourite tracks of the week. She has also been played on RTE 2xm, Galway City Flirt Fm and received national radio play on Ireland's Radio Nova.
SAOL's output to date serves to showcase her genre-bending talent as she weaves in and out of shoegaze and heavier grunge rock, all while maintaining strong melodic appeal which resonates with listeners across generations. Her vivid lyrics, gazey guitar tones, and deliciously catchy hooks have so far laid the foundations for a very interesting sound shaping up.
This project is a result of SAOL's dedication to engaging with music as a social platform and documents her journey to situating herself within an Ireland that has undergone such rapid change - holding onto the strands of the past that tie together the future, and finding a new way forward.