#Soldout: Orla Gartland left no crumbs at Third Man Records in Detroit!
We didn’t want to have a decent weekend; we wanted a kick-ass time, and it was another place we would rather be than at Orla Gartland’s show. Four hundred fans pack the legendary Third Man Record store waiting to see Orla rocking out. Between waiting for the opener Emma Harner and Orla, fans shop the record store picking up legendary finds and new gear (We may have also picked up a find ourselves curtsey of Third Man Record’s Oblique Strategist).
Orla hit the stage with no time to lose, hitting us with Kiss Your Face Forever, Codependsy, and You’re Not Special, Babe. From that, we were ready to get the party fully started. One of our favorite moments, was when Orla introduced the audience to her wheel filled with favorite songs. Picking a couple of the fans, they got the chance to spin the wheel in the hopes that their favorite song would be played. The first fan was our instant favorite as she was adorned in wheel attire.
Our personal favorite was the spinner hat she created in that Orla would spin it (She did). After choosing they were to do a little dance before spinning the wheel. The two songs were Flatliner and Over Your Head. Just when you thought she was done with the wheel, think again as an encore she flipped the wheel around to reveal a different set of songs. For the first time on tour Orla had dealer choice, something she was excited to test out. The night ended with Little Chao and Zombies before hanging out with the fans after the show
We had the chance to chat with Orla before our Rayban’s caught her attention. With that, here is a bonus video from the point of view of Orla.
Orla Gartland 2024 Tour Dates
Thursday, November 21st - Polaris Hall - Portland, OR - SOLD OUT
Friday, November 22nd - Fox Cabaret - Vancouver, BC - SOLD OUT
Saturday, November 23rd - Barboza - Seattle, WA - SOLD OUT
Monday, November 25th - Rickshaw Stop - San Francisco, CA - SOLD OUT
Tuesday, November 26th - Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA - SOLD OUT
Everybody Needs A Hero, out everywhere now via New Friends.
Listen To Everybody Needs A Hero
Everybody Needs A Hero tracks the journey of self-discovery and establishing independence within the confines of a long-term relationship. Often a struggle, and one that may remain internalized, Gartland voices all these intimate intricacies and more detailing the inescapable collective and individual compromises. By embracing the positives and bluntly sharing the struggles we all endure, her vulnerability and self-awareness is sure to deeply resonate and foster a connection with listeners.
Previously-released singles such as “Little Chaos,” “The Hit,” and “Late to the Party (feat. Declan McKenna)” proved to listeners that Everybody Needs A Hero is truly the loudest she has been, sonically and lyrically, as she steps into newfound independence. These songs, along with the rest of the album, mix brutal honesty with tongue-in-cheek humor that sometimes acts as a defense mechanism for when things start to get a little too real.
The whiplash-inducing bassline on “Three Words Away” and the drum-heavy track 2 “SOUND OF LETTING GO” stand out on the album as bold, high-energy anthems. Meanwhile, tracks such as the vulnerable, stripped-back “Simple” and “Mine,” featuring a haunting strings arrangement, are more mellow yet pack an impactful lyrical punch. Title track and album closer, “Everybody Needs A Hero,” ends the record on a humble note as Gartland, backed by soaring guitars, admits that despite her confidence and independence, she could use some help.
“This record is about one relationship and detailing the multitude of feelings I had about that person all at once,” she shares. “One feeling doesn’t cancel another out but instead they co-exist; that has been my experience.”
Written over the course of a year – Everybody Needs A Hero – sees Gartland reunite with frequent collaborator Tom Stafford who crafted Woman On The Internet with her during the pandemic as well as Peter Miles, who took the reins on last year’s FIZZ debut The Secret To Life. Using a variety of both analogue and digital recording techniques with ideas born in Orla’s London studio and realized down at Miles’ creative sanctuary Middle Farm Studios in Devon, Everybody Needs A Hero is direct and feels bigger than the sum of its parts.
About Orla Gartland
Bold, brash and increasingly self-assured, Dublin-born, London-based artist and producer Orla Gartland ushers in a new chapter with Everybody Needs A Hero; a testament to her artistic growth, burgeoning confidence and fastidious sense of independence that has received early praise from The New York Times, Billboard, and more. From career streams nudging towards a quarter of a billion, sold-out tours and festival appearances at Glastonbury and Latitude; to her Top 10 critically acclaimed self-released debut album Woman On The Internet; taking in a huge viral hit ‘Why Am I Like This,’ (700 million views and nearly 400,000 TikTok creations, and counting); and through to last year joining musical forces with longtime friends dodie, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown to release The Secret To Life as new band FIZZ.
Amassing a dedicated fan-base and creative community including her notable 'Secret Demo Club', Orla has forged an even deeper relationship with her fans as she unveils her work-in-progress tracks, some of which have gone on to feature on the upcoming second record. Her brutal honesty and pragmatic realism have always been present in her songwriting but become even more prominent when paired with the louder, more angular alternative sound Orla has embraced this time around.
Orla's debut album Woman On The Internet charted in the top 10 of the UK Official Charts, at #3 in the Irish Album Charts and was nominated for the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2021. The culmination of many years honing her songwriting and production skills, the record was praised by the likes of The Observer (“This beautifully crafted debut spans pop-punk to indie rock, with knife-sharp lyrics all the way”), NME (“a hard-won celebration of perseverance and artistic freedom”) and many more.
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