Three-piece rock band, Really Good Time released their debut album, Affirmations, earlier this month. Following a string of singles dating back to 2022, ‘Shit One’ became the first of these to feature on the album in late 2025, with three more singles following in 2026. Across its ten tracks, Affirmations has been self-described as an album that “ultimately seeks a rejection of navel-gazing nihilism”.
Notably a trio who kit themselves out in matching jumpsuits, the band previously spoke about their signature look explaining how “it’s workwear” for them. Similarly, Interpol once spoke about taking particular pride in their appearance on stage, viewing it as “part of their job” to be well-dressed while performing. Really Good Time seem to be embracing a similar mindset, albeit with more of a blue-collar approach.
This sense of intention is then carried into the music itself. From the opening track of the album onwards, Affirmations takes its listeners on a journey, with a storyline conveyed partly through lyrics and partly through emotion. Shaped by intensity and a rebellious ambience, instrumentally the album resembles the soundtrack to a Hollywood thriller, despite its contrastingly calmer vocals.
Interestingly, in a 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, the band stated that “you have a really good time in the midst of some chaos”. It is fitting that, even back in 2024, Really Good Time were mentioning the notion of chaos in their music. An everlasting theme throughout the album, first introduced in the opening track ‘On Dublin Bus’, a teeth-grinder of a song, echoed in their accompanying music video on Spotify, where we see things from the narrator’s perspective as they look out from the top deck of a bus at a city up in flames.
This uneasy sense of anarchy and menace is prevalent particularly in the first half of the album, with fellow standout tracks such as ‘Do It’, and ‘Love Song’. Second track ‘Do It’ takes over from “On Dublin Bus”, still early in the album’s storyline, the track gives off the impression of our narrator “taking action”, as though this is playing in their earphones, spurring them on. ‘Love Song’ continues this rebellious theme with the track built around sirens that echo throughout, evoking the unwanted noise of Gardaí, ambulances or fire brigades approaching.
Considering the band’s earlier description of the album as one that “ultimately seeks a rejection of navel gazing nihilism”, the theme of anti-conformity and rejection of societal/peer expectations is apparent. However, equally telling are the titles ‘Shit One’ and ‘Dig Up Stupid’. This time without having to examine dynamics within the track, these two highlight the themes of Affirmations by title alone. ‘Shit One’, a familiar heartless comment thrown around, the title really stresses a “tough luck, get on with it” mentality, in an age where people are often quick to feel wronged or hard done by.
‘Dig Up Stupid’ serves a similar purpose, another unapologetically harsh and sergeant-like call to action. The song, however, also marks a tonal shift in the album. By far the most calming verse and melodic chorus, the track is followed by the similarly natured ‘Toadman’. These back-to-back tracks feel like a turning point for Affirmations. Anarchy has calmed and we can begin to evaluate the new dynamics of the storyline. Weirdly, the album’s closing track ‘Life, Life’ puts another spin on the Affirmations’ trajectory. What was first a hectic revolution against modern societal ways, the halfway point marks a halt to the chaos as if the initial shock of the revolt has eased and the listener is able to process the story. However, ‘Life, Life’, brings a return to this tension, but not to the extent of the earlier parts of the album. With nearly a four-minute stalemate of monotone noise seeing out the remaining moments of the album, Really Good Time leaves the listener with a giant question mark over how they are supposed to feel. Neither convincingly optimistic nor pessimistic, the ambiguous ending leaves us with a strange sense of uncertainty after the first listen.
A fascinating collection of songs, one of the earliest thoughts that crossed my mind when first listening to the album was how Affirmations seems like it will thrive when performed live. Considering Really Good Time’s already acclaimed reputation for their audience also having a “really good time”, you can almost hear the album being played live even when listening to the studio recording.
A few years ago, when attending a Fontaines DC concert, following their release of Skinty Fia, despite having the album on repeat for months, it was only upon attending the live show that I realised two tracks were among the album’s true standouts. Only to then listen back to the studio version and not be able to understand how they could have possibly gone so underappreciated before the live show. This memory came into my head, when listening to Affirmations last week. When I first heard the album, I could highlight songs that caught my attention, only to find myself coming back to a different set of songs midweek, and then another round of songs towards the end of the week. With this variety in preference happening whilst listening to the same studio version, I then considered which songs would then standout live, and if they would differ completely or at all from what I deemed standout at first glance.
With a stacked rest of the year laid out for Really Good Time, including a European tour to places such as Leeds, Amsterdam, Madrid, Paris and Scandinavia, Affirmations looks to skyrocket the bands presence on both the Irish and European rock music scene. Reminiscent of an iconic 90s/2000s teen-rebellion rock anthem, the album has a clear sense of purpose, both in how the band want Affirmations to be heard and in the impression they hope it leaves behind.
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