The latest in a popular string of Dublin post-punk acts taking the rock scene by storm, TV People have the dingy backdrop that’s common to the genre, their music a poetic airing of greicances delivered through abrupt, snarling tones and intense intros.

Very much embedded in the city, like the predecessors Girl Band and Fontaines DC, they’re another glance at the darker side of city life, something that shines in their videos as well as their tone. I caught up with them following the release of new single ‘Nothing More’.

Hi folks, congrats on the new single – can you tell me a little bit of the story behind it?

Paul – We wrote ‘Nothing More’ at the start of the lockdown in March. We usually write together in our rehearsal room so it was a new experience for us. We didn’t see each other in person for nearly two months but were constantly sending voice recordings and ideas over and back to each other on Whatsapp.

It was a bit of a mad way to bring the song together and it was definitely frustrating at times, but it was extremely rewarding to watch everything fall into place as we got used to writing in that way. The lockdown put me in a really reflective and introspective headspace and I think that brought out the existential side to the lyrics as well. We probably would never have written a song like that if we hadn’t been put into lockdown, so it’s nice to have something to show for that period and to look back on it.

I assume the track predates the whole 2020 shitshow, but it does seem oddly appropriate. There’s a real ‘lostness’ to the music – is an outlet for that side of things for you?

Paul: We definitely try to channel our surroundings into our songwriting. Writing this song was the only real focus the four of us had for the first few weeks of lockdown, and I think the tune was an outlet for the frustration, stress and apathy we were feeling at that time.

Those emotions can be felt in the music and the lyrics of the song. For me, lyric writing is a way to break down and express how I’m feeling so that I can manage it. The lyrics and music of this tune are emotionally woven together. I think it’s an expression of how the four of us were feeling when we wrote it.

Have you managed to function as a band since March, with everything that’s going on?

Paul – The last few months have been fairly chaotic. We had studio time and plenty of gigs canceled overnight. It was obviously frustrating but COVID has impacted everyone and some are much worse off than us. We’ve tried to stay positive and focus on writing to keep ourselves busy over the last few months.

In a way, it’s been nice to have a bit more time to dedicate to working on new tunes. We played a recorded gig in Central Arts Waterford for the Artbeat – Summer in the City festival a few weeks ago which was great craic. It was really nice to get back playing live again and hopefully we’ll be able to get a few more gigs in over the next few months.