New Music: Ways of Seeing – Cruel, Naturally

Cork quartet Ways of Seeing wear the influences lightly, as new single Cruel, Naturally reverberates with the music of Manchester – and their hometown – in their 80s musical prime.

When it comes to Manchester, you can hear The Smiths’ influence, but lyrically James O’Donnell and the band go back to one of the original sources – the poetry of Philip Larkin.

Add to that a very Cork sensibility – a very literary and undulating realism that seems inhabited by the spirit of Microdisney and Cathal Coughlan – and you get something that skirts on the edge of post-punk and at times shoegaze but always charts its own course.

“Cruel, Naturally explores the idea of inherited trauma, the emotional patterns and unresolved wounds that pass from one generation to the next, often without intention or awareness,” states O’Donnell.

“It was inspired in part by Philip Larkin’s This Be The Verse: the song delves into the tension between empathy and burden, love and legacy.”

“The song unfolds in fragments: glimpses of childhood, disillusionment in adulthood, and that creeping realisation that some experiences never fade. I suppose the line ‘No one ever makes it, to save themselves and save the born’ sums up the difficulty of breaking cycles while carrying this weight.”

“The song recognises the rage that can come with that burden and the quiet resignation that often follows. It also points to the subtler inheritances – silence, emotional absence, or unspoken expectation – that shape people just as powerfully as obvious trauma.”

Ways of Seeing are set to release their new album The Inheritance Of Fear on the 10th of October. The band worked with producer Christian Best, with assistance from Daniel Fox of Gilla Band on the LP.

Cruel, Naturally and previous releases from Ways of Seeing can be heard on SoundCloud, YouTube Music and Spotify. For all the latest band and album news, be sure to check out Ways of Seeing on Instagram.