GALLUS: Life Is Bliss and Other Beautiful Contradictions.
Updated: 3 minutes ago
In the cramped studio beneath the M8—“basically underneath the M8,” as Eamon Ewins puts it—the Scottish alt‑rock outfit have carved out their second full‑length record, Life Is Bliss, a title that feels knowingly tongue‑in‑cheek for a band whose songs wrestle with tension, upheaval, and the strange poetry of everyday life. But that contradiction is exactly the point. As Eamon explains, the phrase comes straight from the album’s lyrical core: “Eyes are burning, life is bliss. And Gallus are very much a band who thrive in the contradictions.
A Wall of Sound You Can Sing To
From the moment O Contra detonates as the album’s opener, Gallus make their intentions clear. “We wanted to make something that is really, really like a wall of sound but extremely singable,” Eamon says.
That duality—ferocity with melody—is the backbone of Life Is Bliss. The band’s previous releases, the melodic We Don’t Like the People We’ve Become and the full‑throttle EP Cool to Drive, were stepping stones toward this fusion.
“We liked the heaviness of Cool to Drive, we liked the melodicness of We Don’t Like the People We’ve Become, so we wanted the best of both,” Eamon explains.
The result is an album where every track feels like it could be the opener. “Every song tries to have a haymaker,” he laughs.
Writing at Full Tilt
Gallus wrote the album fast—deliberately fast. Their new studio became a pressure cooker of creativity.
“We were gonna write this album in a short amount of time. And if the song isn’t coming to us, it’s gone,” Eamon says.
Barry backs him up: “If someone asked me next week, you’d get a different answer,” he says of his favourite track, highlighting how fluid and instinctive the process was.
This spontaneity birthed some of the album’s standout moments. “Something There was written in the last 30 minutes of a session,” Eamon recalls. “The best songs are farted out.”
Classic Gallus: self‑deprecating, chaotic, and brilliant.
Though Gallus resist being pigeonholed as purely local commentators, Glasgow’s pulse beats through the record.
“A lot of the discussions we were having were about Glasgow,” Eamon says. “It used to be thriving… and it’s been taken away as the years have went on.”
The band’s studio sits beneath the M8 motorway—a structure that famously carved through communities 50 years ago. That history echoes through tracks like Emmy, inspired by a story of two friends separated when their homes were demolished for the motorway.
“It’s such an amazing article and story,” Eamon says. “That one probably hits home the most.”
The album cover’s Finnieston Ash Tree—a 200‑year‑old survivor amid gentrification—became the perfect symbol.
“It’s seen Glasgow through deindustrialisation, poverty, and then gentrification. But this tree has just been there the whole time,” Eamon explains. “It felt like a good visual metaphor for trying to find stability whilst things are changing around you.”
“We wanted a wall of sound — but something you can still sing your head off to.” — Eamon Ewins
Recording With Blair Crichton: No Polite Pretence
Working again with Blair Crichton of Dead Pony brought an air of familiarity to the studio.
“That familiarity made the process a lot easier,” Eamon says. “That blank kindness you have to give people you don’t know well is gone.”
In other words, ideas could be shot down without anyone sulking.
Barry adds, “We lived with Blair over COVID… so going in a studio is not a problem.”
It’s the kind of relationship classic rock bands used to have with their producers—equal parts friendships and creative combat.
Gallus’ upcoming UK tour marks their most ambitious run through England yet. And they’re honest about the challenge.
“Scotland and England musically are very different countries,” Eamon says. “You can do quite a lot up here, and no one will give a fly down south.”
He recalls selling nearly a thousand tickets in Glasgow, then struggling to sell ten in English cities they drove past en route to a sold‑out Paris show.
“It can inspire you… it can also be fucking demoralizing,” he admits.
But things are changing. “Last year we finally did sell out a couple shows in England. Word is getting down south that our shows are fun.”
Their driving alt-rock thrives on grit—and Gallus have earned theirs.
MK Des: A Pub Legend Immortalised
One of the album’s most intriguing tracks, MK Des, comes from a night out in Milton Keynes.
“We met a guy, Desmond, at a pub,” Eamon says. “He kind of befriended us… we got very drunk with him and ended up going back to his house.”
His wife’s reaction—“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Des”—is the stuff of rock folklore. The band sensed he might be living vicariously through them, nostalgic for the Scotland he left behind.
The song became a reflction on missing out on something that’s no longer there. “MK Des is one of the many characters in the Gallus pantheon,” Eamon says.
Every great rock band has its cast of misfits. Gallus just write theirs into their music.
The Most Gallus Lyric Ever Written?
When asked which lyric best sums up the band, Eamon doesn’t hesitate:
“Brain is cerebrum.” A line that tries to sound intelligent but is gloriously wrong.
Or, as he adds, the equally iconic: “They watch you poo and they watch you pee.”
Self‑aware, and rough around the edges, Gallus to the core.
Life Is Bliss… Sort Of
Gallus aren’t here to tell you everything’s fine. They’re here to tell you life is messy, loud, hopeful, frustrating, nostalgic, and occasionally blissful in spite of itself.
Their new album captures that very essence.
As Barry puts it, “There’s a hopeful vibe to the song.” a hope, even when the world feels like it’s burning behind the trees.
Gallus are ready to take Life Is Bliss on the road. And whether you catch them in Glasgow, Manchester, or somewhere down south where the tide is finally turning, one thing’s certain:
Every song has a haymaker. And Gallus are swinging.
‘Life is Bliss’ is set for release 25th September 2026 on Marshall Records.
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Interview by Steve Harrison
