Consolers Prepare to Make a Defining Statement with Deep Breaths
Belfast has long been a fertile ground for guitar music with something urgent to say, and Consolers are the latest band to emerge from the city carrying that sense of purpose. Their debut album Deep Breaths, due for release on February 20, 2026, arrives as a confident and carefully shaped introduction, positioning the five-piece as a serious new presence in the UK alternative rock and pop rock landscape.
Rather than chasing volume for its own sake, Deep Breaths is built around control, atmosphere, and emotional weight. Recorded at 1980 Something Studios, the album benefits from a production approach that favors clarity and tension over excess. Under the guidance of Jonny Woods, also known for his work with Wynona Bleach, the band’s sound is given room to breathe while retaining a sharp, modern edge. Final mastering duties were handled by Jon Moorehead at Moostronix, adding polish without sanding down the album’s raw emotional contours.
Consolers first began to attract attention in spring 2025, when their early releases quickly carried them beyond the usual debut-band buzz. Support slots alongside Fangclub and The Wood Burning Savages placed them in front of receptive audiences, while tastemakers including BBC Introducing, The Irish News, and Sunday Life helped amplify their momentum. The praise was not simply about promise, but about presence: a band already sounding assured, cohesive, and emotionally direct.
At the heart of Consolers’ appeal is their ability to balance urgency with melody. Fronted by Sonja Sleator, and completed by Daniel Lynch, Ethan Hanna, Sean McCann, and Iain Minford, the group leans into soaring guitar lines and tightly wound arrangements without losing sight of the human core of their songs. There is a clear post-punk lineage in their sound, but it is filtered through a modern pop-rock sensibility that prioritizes hooks, dynamics, and emotional clarity over genre rigidity.
Critical response has reflected this balance. BBC Introducing’s Taylor Johnson highlighted the band’s vocal power and presence, while David Roy of The Irish News pointed to the immediacy and infectious quality of their early material. Edwin McFee described Consolers as a band with genuine breakout potential, praising their blend of soaring guitars, sharp hooks, and subtle shoegaze textures. Meanwhile, Trust The Doc’s Neil March noted their ability to draw from post-punk foundations while sounding firmly rooted in the present.
With Deep Breaths, Consolers are not simply compiling their early successes into album form. Instead, the record feels like a deliberate statement of intent: focused, emotionally resonant, and unafraid of vulnerability. It captures the tension between restraint and release, intimacy and scale, marking the arrival of a band that understands both the weight of its influences and the necessity of forging its own path.
As the February 2026 release date approaches, Deep Breaths stands poised to confirm what early listeners have already sensed. Consolers are not just another promising new act from Belfast, but a band ready to claim space, connect deeply, and leave a lasting imprint on the contemporary alternative rock conversation.
© Thusblog
