Dublin rock band Big Sleep release new single "Old Friend" the final preview from their debut album 'Holy Show' out February 20th on LAB Records
LISTEN HERE
DEBUT ALBUM ‘HOLY SHOW’, OUT 20TH FEBRUARY 2026 VIA LAB RECORDS
PRE-SAVE ‘HOLY SHOW’ HERE
PRAISE FOR BIG SLEEP
"Its summery sun kissed vibes prove irresistible, foretelling festival fields and good times" – HOT PRESS - 9/10 ALBUM REVIEW
THE INDEPENDENT - ‘SPOTLIGHT ARTIST’
“the band have dropped the latest in a series of singles…to whet the appetite ahead of what’s set to be a huge year.” - CLASH – NEXT WAVE
“infectious, blissfully melodic” - THE FORTY FIVE - 45's of the Week
“Whatever you do, DON’T sleep on Big Sleep.” — DISTRICT MAGAZINE
Dublin alt-rockers Big Sleep return with “Old Friend”, the final preview of their hotly anticipated debut album ‘Holy Show’, out February 20th via LAB Records (*new release date). Rooted in the band’s signature blend of heartfelt lyricism and soaring, guitar-driven arrangements, the track offers a powerful closing statement that’s both intimate and expansive, grounded in love and loss.
“A song about friendship, grief and gratitude; for those we love who’ve passed away and for the real ones who are still alive and kicking,” says the band.
Opening gently and gradually unfurling into a cathartic, arms-wide anthem, “Old Friend” acts as the emotional bookend to ‘Holy Show’s journey through chaos, connection, and change. It’s the sound of looking back without bitterness and forward with resolve, a full-circle moment that underscores the thematic heartbeat of the record.
At its core, ‘Holy Show’ is an album about transience; the messiness of love, the beauty in impermanence, and the constant transformation that occurs as we stumble through connection, heartbreak, and growth. Named after the Irish expression “a holy show” (a scene of emotional chaos or public embarrassment), each track on the album becomes a chapter in a coming-of-age story grounded in vulnerability and cinematic lyricism.
Over the last 18 months, Big Sleep have featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday, The Other List, and All New Rock, while clocking up consistent international radio play, being named one of RTÉ’s Rising Artists of 2024, and appearing at Forbidden Fruit, Indiependence, All Together Now, Beyond The Pale, Latitude, and Electric Picnic.
“Old Friend” joins a string of acclaimed singles, including the frenetic “Bruiser,” “Don’t You Wanna”, Crude and the doo-wop-tinted “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo,” all pointing toward a record that doesn’t shy away from contradiction or vulnerability.
ABOUT BIG SLEEP
Big Sleep are a Dublin-based rock band making their name the old-fashioned way; through tireless gigging and a shared passion for live performance. From underground tunnel shows beneath the M50 to sold-out European tours, their journey is one of instinct, connection, and constant evolution. Formed by lead vocalist Rónán Connolly and Italian drummer Matteo Poli, the band later solidified with bassist Aidan Gray and guitarist Naiara Clarke LaFuente, who joined after a chance encounter involving an illegal rave, a forest, and a homemade stage.
Their debut album ‘Holy Show’ is a conceptually rich and emotionally vulnerable collection that explores love, loss, and identity. In Ireland, a “holy show” refers to a messy situation, and each of the album’s ten tracks delves into its own emotional chaos. Whether it’s the Whether it’s the dream state melancholy of ‘Top of the Pops’or the more volatile, rhythm-heavy cuts like “Flatline” and “Bruiser,” Big Sleep balance introspective storytelling with raw unpredictability.
Split into two thematic halves, ‘Holy Show’ moves from youthful nostalgia and idealism on Side A, to heartbreak and disillusionment on Side B, before circling back to hope and gratitude closing tracks “Be Alright” and “Old Friend.” It’s a bold, dynamic debut that draws on influences from The Cure to Pixies to Bon Iver, but remains distinctly their own.
Having already earned fans from Bristol to Copenhagen, Big Sleep are currently on their biggest UK and European headline tour to date. With a live show that transforms their studio sound into something visceral and raw, the band are quickly carving out their place in modern rock.
FOLLOW BIG SLEEP