Ways of Seeing

Songs through the looking glass

Alt/Rock band based in Cork, Ireland

email

THE INHERITANCE OF FEAR

THE NEW ALBUM - OUT OCTOBER 10TH

Cork-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist James O’Donnell formed Ways of Seeing, an ever-evolving musical project following an eighteen-month-long creative boom culminating in two masterful albums. Experimenting with an array of interfaces, plug-ins and virtual amps in his home studio, O’Donnell is constantly innovating and broadening Ways of Seeing’s commanding arrangements. This Autumn, Ways of Seeing will release their excellent second album, The Inheritance of Fear, which follows the project’s 2022 debut, End Comes to Light, which garnered radio play from Dan Hegarty and Tom Dunne. Working with renowned and in-demand producer Daniel Fox, O’Donnell drew from a variety of influences, such as Philip Larkin, Karl Ove Knausgaard, to Whipping Boy, Deafheaven and Microdisney, inspired O’Donnell to expand the breadth of Ways of Seeing’s infectious alternative rock-focused arrangements, bolstered by hints of shoegaze, post-punk and indie rock. Ways of Seeing’s forthcoming LP is a striking artistic statement which sees a marked maturation in the lyrical and sonic expression. After a successful year of live shows in 2024, featuring sell-out performances in both Whelan’s and Mike The Pies, as well as opening for The Frank and Walters - 2025 is set to be the year Ways of Seeing leave an indelible mark on the Irish music scene.

Speaking on the album the O'Donnell explains: “This album explores the ways fear is passed down — through generations, through relationships, through the stories we tell ourselves. It looks at the psychological weight of inherited anxieties, the way past traumas shape our present, and how we either break free or become trapped in these cycles. It examines past memories and re-imagines the lives of those that may have influenced the people we are today. It was an exercise in self discovery, unearthing all those skeletons….so to speak! Doireann Ní Ghríofa's 'To Star the Dark' inspired many of the album’s themes as did the surrealism of TS Eliot's “The Wasteland” and Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot'."

UPCOMING GIGS - ‘THE INHERITANCE OF FEAR’ TOUR

DALI, CORK                                          8PM                  FRI, 13TH FEBRUARY, 2025                          € 12          TICKETS

WHELAN'S, DUBLIN                          8PM                SAT, 28TH FEBRUARY, 2025                           € 15          TICKETS

ROISIN DUBH, GALWAY                          12PM                FRI, 13TH MARCH, 2025                                     FREE ENTRY

GREYHOUND BAR, TRALEE                     8PM                 SAT, 21ST MARCH, 2025                           € 15          TICKETS

Album

End Comes To Light

Ways of Seeing

The record was made over two years with its humble beginnings in an attic space in Kerry. Once the songs were written, I worked with many talented musicians in Cork and Dublin to develop the ideas - their musicianship Read more

The record was made over two years with its humble beginnings in an attic space in Kerry. Once the songs were written, I worked with many talented musicians in Cork and Dublin to develop the ideas - their musicianship really helped to tie the album together and hopefully give the album its own unique sound. It is an album about change, the slow realisation that something is coming to an end, the process of grieving this end and seeing it as the start of something else. It also explores the idea of arriving in the place where you started but seeing this place in a whole new light.

0:00/???
  1. 1
    Intro 1:16
    0:00/1:16
  2. 2
    Who Do You Love 3:23
    0:00/3:23
  3. 3
    Every Night 4:09
    0:00/4:09
  4. 4
    Walk Through The Crowd 3:39
    0:00/3:39
  5. 5
    This Moment 1:52
    0:00/1:52
  6. 6
    The Fall 4:42
    0:00/4:42
  7. 7
    You Could Have Died 3:48
    0:00/3:48
  8. 8
    Lemontime 3:59
    0:00/3:59
  9. 9
    Dream A Life 1:55
    0:00/1:55
  10. 10
    The Other Side Of Summer 5:03
    0:00/5:03
  11. 11
    Sunlight (when it's over) 5:44
    0:00/5:44

Press photos

Videos

Contact