Dublin newcomers Magazines’ new single “Pink and Blue” is one that’s easy to get swept up in

Magazines keep a softness to every element on “Pink and Blue”, from the jangle of guitars to the coo in Cath Leahy’s vocal that adds a fluidity. A smooth dreaminess means the song comes out as something like shoegaze tuned into pop music - a meeting of the two genres at a midpoint between them. “Pink and Blue” is a song that pulls its power from the rush, from the sum of all its sounds flowing together and sweeping the listener along with them.

“I’ve always wanted to be in a band,” says Leahy. “I’ve been writing songs alone in my room for the longest time and have always looked to bands like Wolf Alice, The 1975, The Cure, and The Smashing Pumpkins for inspiration. But there was that evident divide between fans and musicians when I was younger, which sort of saw bands 'over there' and listeners 'over here'. I never really felt I would be the type to connect that divide, even on a tiny scale.

“I never really felt I fit the mould of 'front person' or anything like that. But I did always want to create music and I wanted people to listen to it. It’s scary to step into a role which you’ve already pre-empted that you won’t fit. So I guess ‘Pink and Blue’ is sort of me talking myself out of that headspace, and out of that worry. Because as I got older I started to see that there isn’t a 'one size fits all' in music. And if there was, it’d be pretty boring”.