Photo credit: Ro Mesones
Following a powerful run of releases in 2024, Dublin-based four-piece Dose return with their third single, ‘After This’, out April 25th. The band — comprised of Lizzie Fitzpatrick (Bitch Falcon), Lauren Heron (Merpire), Aoife Spratt, and Nicki Meehan — continue to forge a sound that’s as emotionally resonant as it is sonically expansive, drawing from dream pop, post-punk, shoegaze, grunge, and synth-pop.
While Dose’s earlier singles were adaptations of pre-existing material, ‘After This’ is their first song written entirely as a band. With members scattered across different locations, the track came together through a series of WhatsApp voice notes — fragments of guitar and bass ideas shared and built upon in real-time. The foundation was laid by a striking bassline from Lauren Heron, around which the rest of the song took shape. The result is a brooding, layered track that showcases the band’s growing creative cohesion.
Lyrically, the song explores the aftermath of sexual abuse and the way trauma can be misunderstood or dismissed by the communities closest to it. Written by Lizzie Fitzpatrick, the narrative centres on a woman who, after surviving abuse by a man known to her community, becomes agoraphobic and isolated. “I wanted to explore the quiet judgment and whispers that can surround survivors,” Lizzie explains. “She’s seen almost like a clown figure, someone people talk about in hushed tones instead of supporting — ‘ah you know what she’s like, sure she’s stuck to the bed.’ The story isn’t hers alone; it’s told from the outside, by the people around her.”
‘After This’ is Dose at their most lyrically daring and sonically immersive, confronting uncomfortable truths with unflinching empathy and a sound that feels both intimate and immense.
To mark the release, Dose will take to the road for a string of live dates this spring, including three nights supporting Throwing Muses:
TOUR DATES
May 21 – Cyprus Avenue, Cork (supporting Throwing Muses)
May 22 – Róisín Dubh, Galway (supporting Throwing Muses)
May 23 – Whelan’s, Dublin (supporting Throwing Muses)
June 6 – The Complex, Dublin (supporting Thumper)
Dose’s debut EP is due later this year.