The final album from kodaline
Saying goodbye is never easy, but Kodaline have written the perfect closing chapter to their story with We Were Only Young, their fifth and final album. The Irish rock band, who triumphed against the odds and who have enjoyed an extraordinary career spanning more than a decade, offer listeners this last statement, a contemplative and hugely moving work that explores pertinent themes of growth, connection, love and closure, as they look towards a bright and hopeful future.
It’s an incredible run, one that many bands would envy. Kodaline formed in Swords, Dublin, when its founding members were just 15. “It’s pretty wild looking back, particularly at those early shows where it’d just be our schoolmates coming to see us,” frontman Steve Garrigan says. “We’ve got fans who feel like family, who’ve grown up with us and played our music at their birthdays, weddings, funerals, the births of their children… It’s a strange feeling, reflecting on all of it now.”
The band had decided that We Were Only Young would be their final album – as well as being their first since 2020’s One Day At a Time – long before they set foot in the studio. “Every song tells a different story – there are some goodbyes in there, and a few tracks that look back at the music we were releasing at the very beginning,” Garrigan explains. “So many of our songs have travelled further than we could ever have imagined.” Recorded at the state-of-the-art Black Mountain Studios in Dundalk, Co Louth, with its stunning views of the Irish sea, the album was created with a close-knit group of trusted, longtime collaborators. There’s a clear narrative arc, as it opens on a darker, brooding tone before expanding into something altogether more reflective and hopeful.
“It’s a great feeling to be releasing new music, giving the fans something new before we go our separate ways,” May said. “I think we owe it to them – some of them have been with us from the very start, supporting us through thick and thin, and we wouldn’t be who we are without them.”
The album certainly has its share of emotional moments. ‘Back to Me’ opens with Garrigan’s pared-back vocals and tender piano notes that fall like autumn leaves: “I should have called, I should have asked, I should have said that I was there,” he sings. “I would have stayed, I would have made more time if I only knew.” The lyrics are steeped in sorrow, and that sharp sting of fear at the possibility that it could be too late. But as the song builds, with swoons of strings and layered harmonies, Garrigan’s own voice grows stronger, urging: “You’ve got a whole lot of life left/ So don’t give up quite yet, come back to me.”
“It’s amazing to be going out on our own terms, and I think the decision has given everybody a lot of time to reflect on what the band’s meant to them,” May says. “We’ve been in this band for over half our lives, and we’re definitely ending it on a high.” Garrigan agrees that “a lot of bands can fizzle out, and I think it’s better to call it a day yourself, and step away with intent into a new era”. The band who formed in Swords are laying down their arms, and leaving with peace in their hearts.
