Before they played at The Road To The Great Escape at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut we caught up with Iona Lynch and Gavin Dawkins, from up-and-coming indie-rock band Cliffords. We were also lucky enough to catch them play at Sound City in Liverpool the previous Saturday, where they attracted a promising crowd at the Arts Club.
Cliffords have been a band for three years now after winning a battle of the bands competition in their home city of Cork. We asked vocalist/guitarist Iona what bands have inspired their music: “Bands such as SPRINTS and NewDad have definitely been an inspiration for me, but also the Cork music scene is thriving.” Gavin chips in, “there is a fellow Cork band The Love Buzz that they really like.” Gavin plays bass and trumpet in the band, as he tells us enthusiastically “we think the trumpet adds a sweet sound and is not something you see much in the indie rock scene.” We totally agree, bands such as James and Red Rum Club do the same thing and it seems to create more of a connection with the crowd.
For those who remember Clifford the Big Red Dog, the band’s name took inspiration from a similar theme, as Gavin points out: “I have a friend who has a big red setter named Clifford, so we stole his name for the band.” The band changed their name from The Cliffords, dropping the ‘The’ to ensure they sat higher on alphabetical festival line-up lists, as they told Under The Radar Mag.
Iona has been involved in music since she was a child, beginning with musical theatre. “My mum and the family are coming down from Lewis for the performance today – and yes I am named after the island of Iona.”
The one and only Dermot Kennedy flew the band over to Australia for a St Patrick’s Day weekend. “It went really well, we played at a St Patrick’s Day festival and really enjoyed the experience,” Iona tells us. The band also played shows in Sydney and Melbourne, showing their music is in demand far and wide.
Cliffords released their new EP Salt Of The Lee last month, but what does the title mean? “It is a play on salt of the earth, the river that runs through Cork is called the Lee,” Gavin explains. We’d been looking forward to new music from the band, having heard Dungarvan Bay and the excellent Bittersweet. We think that Cliffords have a very unique sound and hope that can carry them forward to bigger things during 2025 and beyond. Is there an album on the horizon? “Yes probably during 2026, but we haven’t written it yet, watch this space!” says Iona.
