ifitbeyourwill Podcast
“ifitbeyourwill" Podcasts is on a mission to talk to amazing indie artists from around the world! Join us for cozy, conversational episodes where you'll hear from talented and charismatic singer-songwriters, bands from all walks of life talk about their musical process & journey. Let's celebrate being music lovers!
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ifitbeyourwill Podcast
ifitbeyourwill S05E08 • Fionn Montague of Bedrooms
Fionn Montague from the Dublin-based band Bedrooms takes us on a journey through their musical evolution culminating in their 2024 album "Perfectly Still." The conversation opens with memories of childhood weekends filled with disco, soul, and ballads—musical foundations that unconsciously shaped his approach to songwriting and melody.
Meeting vocalist Dev in high school (coincidentally the same school where U2 formed), the pair began crafting songs influenced by melody-focused artists like The Smiths, R.E.M., and U2. What began as punk-infused indie rock gradually transformed into something more atmospheric and distinct. A formative summer in Seattle exposed them to the Pacific Northwest's rich musical landscape, planting seeds for what would become their signature sound.
The turning point came through collaboration with producer Bill Ryder-Jones on their 2021 EP "Afterglow." This partnership allowed Bedrooms to consciously shape their sonic identity—creating space for Dev's unique vocals while incorporating elements of shoegaze and folk influences from artists like Duster, Galaxy 500, Big Thief, and Slow Pulp.
Without label support, Bedrooms self-funded "Perfectly Still," prioritizing artistic fulfillment over commercial considerations. For Finn, success manifests in creating music he genuinely enjoys and receiving authentic appreciation from listeners. The sold-out album release show at Dublin's historic Wheelans venue proved particularly meaningful, with fans traveling specifically to see them perform.
Looking ahead, the band hopes to release their album on vinyl while continuing to explore new sonic territories. As Finn notes with a laugh, "Every artist wants to have their David Bowie Berlin phase where it's like I'm going to go completely obscure and do something totally different."
Discover the beautiful, atmospheric world of Bedrooms on Bandcamp and immerse yourself in their meticulously crafted soundscapes that bridge nostalgic influences with contemporary indie sensibilities.
Music. You've got it out of your teeth. I can see you're only perfectly still All right.
colleyc:Here we are, people, welcome back to another episode of If it Be your Will podcast. We are in season five. I have Finn coming in from Ireland. We'll find out exactly where from bedrooms, an amazing indie pop shoegazy drenched with love music that we're going to talk about. His latest record came out in 2024. So just not that long ago, called Perfectly Still, and it's such a beautiful record. Um finn, thanks so much also again for hopping on here and carving a little piece of your day out for us no problem, my pleasure to be here.
Speaker 3:Um, I love talking about all this kind of stuff, you know me too.
colleyc:So here we go. So I love to start off kind of just kind of your roots, you know of like some tangible moments that happened in your early years that kind of led you to where you are now. Are there some moments that kind of stick out in your memory as to you know, foundational or tipping points where music really was like OK, this is, I need to have this in in my life absolutely.
Fionn Montague:I think it's very fitting that we're my time talking on as kind of Saturday afternoon evening because, uh, growing up so neither my parents play music but my dad is a huge music fan.
Fionn Montague:So growing up at the weekend, spending a lot of time, you know, with my parents, there was always music on when I was a kid and even still now, on Saturdays, my dad would always make he's a great cook and he'd always make some sort of pasta dish, lasagna or spaghetti or something, and he'd always have music on and it was usually disco and soul music.
Fionn Montague:So, growing up, chic, niall rogers, bernard edwards when I hear lost in music, or uh by sister sledge, or I want your love by chic, it really brings me back to that place.
Fionn Montague:And so that was kind of saturdays. And then on sund he would make a big, you know, like a roast dinner and we would listen to Dionne Warwick singing, burt Bacharach and Hal David songs and that's what I grew up with and you know I didn't start thinking about I kind of wanting to when I started writing music that I it was songs that I wanted to write that had strong melodies and that were catchy and structured really, really well. So that stuff, I kind of realized I was like, oh, that had a big impact. And it wasn't until years later, when I kind of started to go and out and listening to dance music, that I ended up coming back to like chic and then somewhat to like Dion Warwick and being like oh well, yeah, I really love this music and it has this like nostalgic aspect to being a kid and by first kind of taking in music, um.
Fionn Montague:So, yeah, that stuff had like a massive impact on me and then, kind of when I was 11, then I started learning to play guitar and a few years later, you know, trying to write songs, nice and what your first songs like do you remember some?
colleyc:of those and like how they came together and what inspired you to.
Fionn Montague:You know find the lyrics in this in the music for it it was, I think, as well with the bands that I've always been referencing, like, along with that, like the kind of like trifecta core for me in terms of wanting to very much influence in how I play guitar and writing songs, were like you two or em and the smiths, um, three like great guitar players who were very much so focused on the songs and bringing melody to the songs. And, okay, johnny mara, for the smiths, is a bit of a virtuoso but, but, but. But they were so focused on bringing stuff to the song. So, anyway, that was my always my jumping off point. So when I started writing songs it was just all my music musical skill is like kind of foundationally found in learning songs on guitar by osmosis, realizing that core, certain chords go together. Now that I know music theory stuff, I'm like, oh, there's reasons they go together. But at the time I was like, oh, this is just, these chords seem to come up a lot, so I'll just copy, you know, I'll copy what they're doing and try and put my own kind of originality or take on it.
Fionn Montague:So, um, in terms of like with bedrooms devin, who's the lead singer, he and I went to high school together and, uh, we and we actually went to the high school that you two met and became band in. Wow, yeah, that's cool. Yeah, yeah, and it kind of fits if, if, when people know the school, it's a very artistic kind of liberal, progressive kind of high school, so it fits that lots of artistic people come out of it. But we started writing songs together when we were like 16 and you know that's pretty amazing.
Fionn Montague:Yeah, yeah, it's been a long journey together and I think, while obviously it's changed a lot, the kind of foundation and core of, as I already said, like songs and wanted to write strong songs with melody. That's always been at and core of, as I already said, like songs and wanted to write strong songs with melody. That's always been at the core of, like what we want to do. So that was there. It's so good. And back to your question, that was there in the early days, but you know we were also listening to the sex pistols, so we were like, let's like, throw these chords together and just make some straight up rocking punk songs.
Fionn Montague:You know, bangers yeah, exactly like uh, like mash the kind of the choruses of like you two or something, but then also just like get a bit gnarly with it and for sure I think everyone has those foundational bands like nirvana and the sex pistols and the smiths and stuff you know yeah, yeah and and finn, what?
colleyc:what's um structure? Structure? Or I was talking the other day with another artist and we were talking about the formula of writing songs. Do you find that you and who's your lead vocal? Can you shout out?
Fionn Montague:Yeah, devin is his name.
Fionn Montague:Originally born in Toronto, actually.
colleyc:Okay, so an expat Canadian, exactly, and did you guys come up with a formula that worked well together for the two of you when you were writing songs?
Fionn Montague:That's a very good question. I would say it just came through repetition and, again, just kind of emulating what the people we were influenced by were doing, always, just kind of starting with basic chords for a song and, because he's the singer, he'd always bring a lyric or a melody and then maybe if I brought something, it would be a riff and a set of chords. But it kind of in our early, we were in a band in high school and it was very much one of us would write like a full song and a whole set of lyrics and and then play the whole thing. But then when we started bedrooms, it over time started being more like we'd bring an idea to a practice space and then between us all like jamming out and try and work out where it would go, um, and like trying like yeah, we spent like a lot of time, particularly with this album, like the songs.
Fionn Montague:The core of the songs was pretty much there from the start, but we were like constantly trying to make it better and when do you know a song is appropriate to bring into that practice space and to, like, introduce it to the other members?
colleyc:Do you like, when you're, when you're thinking of a riff or a series of chords, do you get a sense of when it might have legs to it and when it just might not? You got to shelve it, like, do you get that sense of? Okay, I'm on to something here you get it.
Fionn Montague:I would say, when you bring it to the practice, when you gauge people's reaction of whether they actually like something, you know if you might play something there's. I mean, there's so many songs we've probably played once and and then we'd, we'd all come back. Oh yeah, let's, let's maybe try that next week, and it's usually a sign of like we're never playing this again, that you know. But yeah, we would gauge it by like playing it together and like if we all had that kind of there's a look that you share with each other, where you kind of go like, oh, there's something happening here, right, and you can just tell that you know there's something's. So there's something happening here, right, um, and you can just tell that's. You know there's something catchy, there's something about it that's really appealing.
Fionn Montague:But I would say, like there's ideas. I've had where I've been like, oh, this is it, like this is our hit, and I bring it to a practice space and it's very quickly like oh, nobody else likes this, okay, great, um, and and vice versa. You know, you can kind of tell if there's muted, muted reaction of like, yeah, that's really cool, uh or like you know, if it's like oh, this is what you know.
Fionn Montague:If it's good, because somebody like this is what we should do, and you try this and let's, let's play that again nice, nice and like I was listening to afterglow, the, the little EP you put out I guess it was in 2021, right Three amazing songs on it.
Fionn Montague:Thank you, how is like? I wanted to ask you because I hear the difference right, like how is your song sound, evolved over those? You know, five years from that release to this, the full record that you guys just put out in in 2024.
Fionn Montague:It was. I would say that EP was the start of us on the kind of sonic wave that ended up with this album. Like when we started as Bedrooms, our first songs you can't we kind of came in with foundational, as I've always said, but like more like reference points, people like pavement for sure right, and like pavement guided by voices uh, you know, people like dinosaur junior, and so when we started as bedrooms still, the core was about writing good songs, but the first singles we recorded were just kind of like the two best songs that we had. And when we went to the studio I was just so excited to be like, wow, we're actually going to record a song. And by the time we did Afterglow, we were consciously thinking about the sound that we wanted for our music. That we wanted for our music.
Fionn Montague:We did that EP and our album with our producer, bill Ryder-Jones, who is an amazing songwriter and musician of his own accord.
Fionn Montague:He's from Liverpool and we wanted to work with Bill because we knew he has a certain sound and we wanted him to put that sound on us and we thought he could get the best out of where we wanted to go and get the best out of us, um, so it was really working with bill and pulling like it was a very conscious thing that we developed that sound. You know, our first singles were just like I just said, like our first singles, and then we had a song it was our third single called Bus Lanes, and at the time that was kind of like our like slow song and then we kind of started thinking about what if, like, we just kind of write every song in that a bit slower and with a focus on creating, like space, it was also a way to get the best out of devon's voice and he's a really really unique and special voice and it's it's so key to our sound that it was like we had to try and maximize it, and so that was kind of part of the reason. So, working with bill, the first time we worked with him on Afterglow, it was just so immediate, like we're huge fans of his music so we were quite nervous going to work with him. But on the first, so the first song of that EP For Today, I remember we were doing the first guide track and he just turned to us like, oh, this kind of sounds like Duster, do you guys like duster?
Fionn Montague:And we were like oh uh, yeah, we're, we're like really trying to reference them, and he's like oh yeah, I hear that and it was just immediate that we felt so comfortable with him and then that kind of he connected to your music as well completely.
Fionn Montague:yeah, we connected as it went from like us working with a hero to this guy's our friend and and collaborator and he wants to get the best out of us.
colleyc:Yeah, right, that's so cool, yeah, and I agree with the vocal that you're that you're referencing. It has almost this pastoral feel to it, you know, like very warm and connections to nature. I come to, you know like it brings me there.
colleyc:But on the earlier stuff there was much more of that sonic like in your face, you know which and it seems like you parted that back a little bit so that there's an, there's a, an evenality across the track where there's nothing one thing that's dominating over the other, and it just creates this like magical sonic landscape yeah, I agree, I think like we were trying to blend different styles together.
Fionn Montague:So like coming into the band, like I said, the foundations of people, like pavement, and also in terms of the nature thing, I think, well, one we're from ireland, so that's kind of like as much as like we're from dublin, we're from the you know, most urban part of the whole country but like that stuff is just part of our ecosystem.
Fionn Montague:A big like the genesis to bedroom starting was that devin and I spent a summer living together in Seattle and I think that just the like rich musical history beyond Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Alice and Chains, who had a big influence on us, but actually the landscape in the Pacific Northwest, all the amazing music that's come out of there for sure had a big influence on the sound that we aspired to and particularly like elliot smith obviously is like a big vocal influence for devon in terms of like double tracking all of his vocals, which when we first did it I didn't really know what double tracking was and now I love it and even sometimes when I'm recording music I'll triple track stuff because I love the sound of it, you know, um, but like I would say that had a big influence. So it's just kind of embracing different styles.
Fionn Montague:You know, we started off just an indie band started bringing in more kind of slower like people like duster, galaxy 500 or like shoegaze sounds, and then over this period that we wrote the album, bringing in more folk sounds, people like big thief or I don't know if you know slow pulp stuff like that yeah, that kind of big effect on us that's wicked, that's wicked.
colleyc:So I mean, this record's been out for for bit of time now. What do you guys think of it looking back on it, like, how has it been received in Ireland and you know Dublin, and what's been the kind of fallout from the release of it for you guys?
Fionn Montague:It's been amazing, to be honest, I like the day that it came out. I remember kind of thinking, oh, we've released music and even we'd released two singles up to that point from the album, and I was like, so I know what the feeling is like, but I I didn't, to be honest, like the day that it came out. It was just like just the fulfillment, I guess, is really what I would say Like the years of putting an effort to hone our craft, to listen to all the music that we study, you know. Um, that all came through and like I think what's always a good tell is like when people contact you and say like I'm not just saying this because you're my friend or because you're my whatever family member, I really like this. It's always actually I actually like this. So I had loads. It's always the same and sometimes it still happens People be like oh, I actually really like this. I'm not just trying to make you feel good about this.
colleyc:So that's always a good sign.
Fionn Montague:Yeah, um so like that's always a good yeah it's so funny that's always a good sign and lots of people said it to us and even like I just kind of knew I think I always knew that we could be a good band and that the music.
Fionn Montague:I guess I'm just honestly I'm so obsessive about music, I'm so passionate about art and the effects it's had on me and what it's given me in my life, and I take it so seriously that I'm like if I'm making music, it has to be good, it has to be of quality, and I think that I kind of the albums that I hold in a canon. I'm not saying our album is as good as that, but it is on a par, you know it. It has a cohesiveness, it has a sound. A good friend of mine said to me he was like you can tell that, because I said to him I was like, oh yeah, like I kind of wanted to make an album that I would like to listen to. You know, if I heard a band put this out, I'd be like, oh, this is great, I really like this.
Fionn Montague:And somebody said to me like you can tell that you can tell that you're fans of the music, that you know what you're trying to do well, it must be fun playing this in front of people as well, like, just like getting the energy from the crowd and also your excitement about creating that sound for them. Can you walk us through a little bit? Like what, what's a live show? Like when we go to bedrooms, what, what, what can we expect?
Fionn Montague:I would say it's far more shoegazy when we play live. Okay, which makes sense because you know you've got the energy. You're kind of being a bit louder. Devin can only have one vocal, so we don't have all the layered vocals going on. It's my time to shine. I'm like turning the pedals up to 100 and be like I'm gonna, I'm gonna go hard here for a bit and well, I'd let the songs do the talking.
Fionn Montague:We, when we released the album, we played a gig in a venue in dublin called wheelins, which is a really like historic venue, like so many people like jeff buckley, and so it's an institution in dublin, and we played there the week after and we sold it out and and it was amazing to have lots of family and friends. But there was also like fans there, people we'd never met, like people coming up to us being like, oh, we love your band, we drove from this part of Ireland to come see you and we kind of were like wow, oh, oh, my god, thanks so much like you actually came to see us. So it was like a really emotional and amazing, amazing night. So, yeah, I would say we just yeah, we let the songs do the talking and try and keep it a bit loose yeah, and what would success mean for you guys?
colleyc:like, what, if, if some order to say, okay, well, what's, what's your idea of success for bedrooms? How, like, what are your guys ideas of of feeling successful? I mean beyond making tons of money and, and you know, hitting stadiums? Like, how do you guys feel that internally that that you've I mean already, just with the music you put out, I'm super successful stuff? Do you guys have a vision for the future of where you would like to see yourselves down the road?
Fionn Montague:I think that we've already achieved some of the success we, I think from my perspective, I would say that, like now that I've been in a band for a few years absolutely listen. Like when you start playing music you're like we're gonna conquer the world. You know everyone does. And then when you get into it and like you know, being in a band and the commitment that it takes is tough, you know, and especially like you know the modern music industry, there's so little money in it. It takes so much dedication and effort and that for us to, I think, like every little signpost along the way, like working with bill rider jones on that ep, that was a success. That was something we were like wow, he was kind of our dream person to work with, so and it happened like pretty quickly and and and then when it happened, you know it was like, oh, we click with this guy, he likes us as people and as musicians, so like that was the success. And then developing our sound and releasing this album, like that was a success.
Fionn Montague:I think it's such a big achievement, yeah it is and honestly, and I know why down, like I'll never be able to put into words what it means to me, but because it is just a feeling, but it is an achievement and I know how quick, you know, like anything in life, you move on so quickly you're on to the next thing but that's it. But for us, like to get that album out and get the reception it did, like that was, that was 100 percent of success for us. And in the future I'm who knows I honestly, like, I think I guess trying to like do that was such a big project, to like get it over the line. And, like you know, we don't have a label, so we funded everything ourselves.
Fionn Montague:And you know it's funny, it's like when I see my grandparents and they're like, oh, how's the band? Like kind of jokingly being like how much money you're making, I'm like the money that I've put into this band and the money I've gone out are drastically different. You know there is no comparison, um, but I would do it all again, you know, without, without a doubt. So, like, I think that album that's, you know, whatever else happens with us like that is our legacy and something that, like, we can like actually stand up on and and you know again, like I've had friends say that to me be like, wow, I was genuinely. And. And you know again, like I've had friends say that to me be like wow, I was genuinely like I thought you guys were good, but that I was really impressed, amazing yeah, so what?
colleyc:what does 2025 look like for bedrooms? What? What's coming down the pipe for you guys in this, this year of 2025?
Fionn Montague:I think I want to try and get the album out in vinyl. It was something that we want to do again. It's just the cost when you're funding everything yourself. Maybe if we could get like an irish label, like a small irish label, to give us some kind of backing, and that would be something that I would really want to do. We obviously wanted to try and tie it in, but and just financially it wasn't feasible at the time. And and you're also kind of like oh, what if we get a hundred copies printed and nobody likes it and then we've got a hundred finals sitting there.
Fionn Montague:But now that I know that it has gotten a good reaction, we're kind of like, okay, that would be something you know worth doing and I guess, trying to just like, yeah, still promote that as much as we can. We're kind of like that took so much effort. We're kind of taking like just a bit of time out for ourselves at the moment to like do other stuff in our lives. But that's something I want to try and do is like get that album out because it just it means so much to us.
colleyc:Yeah yeah, absolutely, absolutely. I think it'd sound amazing on vinyl too.
Fionn Montague:It's just I, I agree. And the guys who bill, and his engineer, nat, who makes the album like they. I saw them a few months ago. They were playing the gig in dublin and they were saying that they were like it sounds like you need to get this out on vinyl. Like it sounds, sounds like a proper album. So I was like, okay, I'm going to do that Right on.
Fionn Montague:Well, I wish you a ton of success and hustle to to get that done, but I mean, I I have this belief that this will get, we'll get done. Um, you guys seem like um a. You guys seem like a really organized band and focused on the prize, which is doing what you love, which is the music.
Fionn Montague:Absolutely. Yeah, I think it's just like that is always being, something. You know, that has been always been. Our focus is like making something that's good. You know, I know so many artists who play more gigs than us, but I'm like when it, when push comes to shove, if we have to write a good song, we'll be there like 100 and is the songwriting ongoing, as always, um, like, you're always noodling and and thinking about future?
Fionn Montague:yeah, yeah, definitely, and developing. You know, trying to take new approaches and change things up. Like the approach that we like took in bedrooms changed so much like a, like you already referenced in the ep, and like that was kind of the start of something. We were very influenced by someone like alex g and kind of like taking his frameworks and being like what if we tried that and try to bring in some of our sounds with that?
Fionn Montague:You know very, yeah, the choices we made in terms of the songwriting, like we're very conscious in the band and I think naturally, since then, like the week after we released the album, me and devin were kind of talking about, uh, you know, oh, you know if and when we do a second album. You know this is all the things you know we would do differently. And you know, bring if and when we do a second album. You know this is all the things you know we would do differently. And you know, bring in all the synthesizers and fuck everything up so it can be like you know. Oh, so it's not as beautiful and lush as the first album, but I think that's just Bringing some of your roots, some of that R&B and the disco back.
Fionn Montague:Yeah exactly.
Fionn Montague:It's just. Every artist wants to have their David Bowie burn-in phase where it's like I'm going to go completely obscure and do something totally different.
colleyc:Amazing. Well, I mean, this is a solid record. I mean I talked to you a little bit before we hopped on about just the ordering of them and the sequencing. It's a record that just plays through so easily, one song feeding into the next, into the next. It's a real accomplishment, finan, I mean congratulations on putting this out, thank you. And also thank you for putting it out.
Fionn Montague:It's made my life a lot happier when, I put it on and listen, and before I finish I have to.
Fionn Montague:if I don't mention Dane, our bass player I haven't just mentioned Devin so many times he'll kill me, but it was, you know, when we did the album, like it was such a different. The process when we were in the studio was so different because we mainly because we had time, you know, when you're recording like when we did that EP, we had four days to three songs. You know, you kind of just you just got to get everything done and we, we went to the studio for this album. We had 10 days and the kind of first couple days we we got the frameworks for every song and then me, devin, dane and bill and that just for that, whatever, it was week, just like every day, working on the songs and kind of you create a canvas and then it's like, okay, now what are we going to do with it?
Fionn Montague:And, like you said about the sequencing, you know, how are we going to make these songs flow? How are we going to make an album that sounds good and flows and is cohesive? And the three of us and the two guys like really locked in and and it's yeah, you're just like so obsessed for that 10 days doing the same stuff over and over again, and like it was a real, it was tough, you know, it was hard work and, like you're, you're challenging yourself to like do things, or how? Me, as a guitarist, how do I pull back and let the song breathe, and and when do I need to go for something a bit more?
Fionn Montague:but, um, but yeah, so anyway I had to give a shout out to dane, because, because the three of us today, I mean, yeah, amazing work. I mean the bass work is awesome. Um it, it really makes that thorough line and connects it all together you know, it's the foundation that everything's built upon, which is so great.
colleyc:Um well, finn, this has been a ton of fun. I've really enjoyed listening to a little bit about your earlier years, but how Bedrooms is evolving over time, and I really think that you'll get more listening of this record and don't stop?
colleyc:I hope so.
colleyc:Please don't stop. So people out there go and buy this record, get them a T-shirt, whatever they have out there.
colleyc:Get them some money their way. I have our merch on right now actually.
colleyc:Bingo. Go on Bandcamp.
colleyc:Is it up on Bandcamp there? It is indeed.
colleyc:Perfect. And also, if they're ever in a show, I mean, go and check them out. I'm sure it's a bombastic, emotional, sensitive show.
Fionn Montague:I would say that is very accurate.
colleyc:Right on, right on. Well, finn, all the best, Good luck with bedrooms and if you ever want to come, hop back on and give us an update. I'm totally into it.
Fionn Montague:Thanks, chris. I really appreciate the chat today. It's been great. Cheers, man, cheers thanks, chris.
colleyc:I really appreciate the chat today. It's been great. Let it all so I can get some belief. Maybe now you've got it out of your teeth I can see you're only perfectly still. Maybe now we're getting over the hill and we'll all get what you want and we'll all get what you want, hanging tight onto the memory still. Maybe now they're getting harder to kill.
