January 2026 proved to be an eventful time for me that put a temporary halt to my work as a publicist. At my regular job I had a bad fall, which resulted in me completely shattering my elbow, causing nerve and muscle damage, and the icing on the cake: the ligament snapped off! Three surgeries, one metal plate, many pins and an artificial ligament later, the first half of 2026 took a lot of recovery, physio and painkillers. The incident has still left me with a permanent injury, but thankfully I can still type. Recovering from such a big trauma left my brain in this foggy, mushy state for the first two months, and it wasn’t ’til Springtime where I felt ready and sharp enough to resume doing the PR work that I had missed.
DazGak! landed in my submissions inbox, and I had never heard the name, or even knew what it meant (for those curious it’s an Irish saying that can mean “that sucks!” or “that’s rubbish!”). The Cork based punky post-hardcore quartet were putting out their new EP Stimpy on Joe Clayton’s Floodlit Recordings label, of whom I’ve already worked with for STILL and Trudger. DazGak! sound very different to the typically more experimental and atmospheric bands that Joe usually champions, but I really latched onto their sound through their infectious melodies, fiery energy and youthful spirit. Also, my family heritage stems back to Cork, so I already felt a little bit of a kinship happening.
For DazGak!, this EP represented a lot of firsts for them as a band – their first EP with new guitarist Jake O’Driscoll (also of God Alone), their first to feature vocals, and their first time working with a label and publicist. DazGak! toured the album hitting up Ireland, UK and even Berlin. I’m already excited to hear what they do next because I think they’ll go on to do BIG THINGS!
P.S. Anyone want to start a death metal band named Artificial Ligament!?
ACCOLADES
“DazGak! channel shared discontent into pile-driving hooks and whips to match, maintaining the raw emotion throughout each breakneck track.”
~ Out Of Rage – 8/10
“An organic sound that carries the bruises of a life spent on the board.”
~ Noizze
“DazGak! bring raw and pained screams into a classic alternative sound, balancing strong melodic sensibility with the grit of grunge and post-hardcore.”
~ Boolin Tunes
FROM THE PRESS KIT
Irish post-hardcore/skate punk quartet DazGak! have been making plenty of noise for themselves with their hi-octane live shows that often see them spilling out into the crowd. This sweat and chaos has seen DazGak! ollieing their way all over Ireland and embracing local skateboarding scenes. Self-described as “math pop”, their sound is fuelled with a biting metallic hardcore punk energy combined with the soaring melodicism and catchiness found in emo and pop-punk. DazGak! are back with a glow-up on their brand new EP Stimpy – their first release to feature vocals. “We’ve always wanted to have vocals,” confirms founding guitarist Jackson Weed; “The instrumental records were more from circumstance. We are much happier with the band going in a more vocal heavy direction.” This makes Stimpy an exciting level-up for the punky quartet, allowing them to completely refresh their approach to writing.
Released on July 24th 2026 on CD and Digital via Floodlit Recordings.
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