Wynona Bleach Turn Up the Volume on Animal Style
Emerging from Belfast, Wynona Bleach have spent the last few years establishing themselves as one of the most exciting names in the new wave of Irish alternative music. Blending power-pop hooks, shoegaze textures, indie rock energy and a distinctly British melodic sensibility, the quartet continue to refine a sound that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly modern.
Released on May 29, 2026 through Fierce Panda Records in the UK and Propeller Sound Recordings in the United States, Animal Style sees the band fully embracing their identity as a guitar-driven force. It is a record packed with huge melodies, soaring choruses and walls of guitars that balance power-pop immediacy with shoegaze atmosphere.
The band, consisting of Melyssa Shannon, Jonny Woods, Carl Gilmore and James Foy, arrived at Wynona Bleach with plenty of experience already behind them. Before adopting their current name, the members performed under the banner of R51, earning appearances at major festivals including Reading Festival and Leeds Festival while sharing stages with artists such as Alice in Chains and Ash.
That experience is evident throughout Animal Style. The album feels confident and focused, delivering songs that immediately connect while still offering plenty of depth beneath the surface.
Recorded in a disused ballroom above a Belfast working men's club before being mixed at Battery Studios in London, the album carries a sense of space and character that perfectly complements its sound. There is a rawness to the guitars, but also a clarity that allows every melody to shine through.
Musically, Animal Style thrives on contrasts. Bright power-pop choruses collide with layers of fuzz and reverb. Melancholy sits alongside exhilaration. The songs often feel emotionally complex while remaining remarkably accessible.
Tracks such as “Religion,” “I Deserve That,” “Swim In The Bay” and “Not Cool With It” showcase the band's ability to write memorable hooks without sacrificing atmosphere. The melodies arrive quickly and stay lodged in the listener's mind long after the album has ended.
There are clear echoes of classic 1990s alternative rock throughout the record. Elements of shoegaze, indie rock and guitar pop weave naturally together, creating a sound that feels familiar without ever becoming derivative. Wynona Bleach understand that great songwriting remains at the heart of everything, no matter how many layers of distortion surround it.
Lyrically, the album explores themes of anxiety, obsession, uncertainty, relationships and emotional contradiction. Even when dealing with darker subject matter, the band maintain an uplifting sense of momentum. Their songs acknowledge vulnerability without becoming consumed by it.
One of the album’s greatest strengths is its balance between emotional honesty and pure musical enjoyment. The band never lose sight of the fact that great alternative rock should move both the heart and the feet.
Following tours across Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States, including appearances at festivals such as SXSW and New Colossus Festival, Wynona Bleach sound like a group reaching a new level of confidence.
Where their previous album Moonsoake often leaned into dream-pop and shoegaze textures, Animal Style feels sharper, louder and more direct. The guitars hit harder, the choruses arrive bigger and the band's personality shines through more clearly than ever before.
For fans of Ash, The Breeders, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and The Cranberries, this is an album that deserves immediate attention.
Animal Style captures Wynona Bleach at a moment when all the pieces are falling into place. Confident, melodic and packed with heart, it is a record that proves Belfast continues to produce some of the most exciting guitar music around.
© Thusblog
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