North Coast trio release their debut album

Formed in 2010, Irish punk rock trio Good Friend released their highly anticipated album last month and so far sales have been going well.

The band, formed by vocalist/bassist Adam Carroll from Coleraine, was comprised of old friends from the Northern Irish music scene - Andy Reid from Ballymoney on guitar and Leon Connelly from Loughgiel on drums, in 2012.

With punk focused lyrics based on Irish mythology, earnest vocals, melodic licks and hard-hitting drums, Good Friend set out to create their own brand of music, which they dubbed ‘Lion hearted rock and roll’.

The local students are Adam, who attended Coleraine Inst., Andy, a Dalriada pupil, and Leon from Cross and Passion College in Ballycastle, and they explained: “Good Friend was formed back in 2012 with the intention of not releasing anything. We were three friends from Northern Ireland that knew each other through playing shows together from an early age, who just wanted to release our frustrations in life by beating away on our instruments for three hours a week on our days off work.

“But things began to happen and songs were getting churned out and led to us playing around Newcastle where we are now located. That would lead to us touring around the UK and slugging away in the rehearsal room until we had ourselves a debut album. And after a now legendary night drinking in Philadelphia, we ended up signing with Red Scare Industries. And here we are.”

Speaking about their home towns Adam continued: “We are pretty much a product of our environment. We grew up in a very unique DIY punk scene on the North Antrim coast so we were always surrounded by the mythology with the Giants Causeway only a stone’s throw away. What sets us apart? We lived this album. We put every penny we had into it and recorded it. We believe in it. There isn’t anyone out there doing what we do.”

Over the last three years, Good Friend has played with a number of high profile acts, including Goldfinger, Gnarwolves, Sundails and The Muderburgers, building a loyal UK following in the process.

Speaking about the writing process for their album, they continued: “The album was written over the past three years by the three of us in our rehearsal room in First Avenue Studios on Chillingham Road. We just wrote and wrote. We then would fly back home into Belfast Airport and head to Manor Park where we would hook up with our producer, Neal Calderwood. It feels incredible to finally be here with the album done.”

For fans of bands like The Gaslight Anthem, Good Friend could be one of the best up-and-coming bands they could discover all year. This fantastic 10-track album is available on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon. or find them at www.facebook.com/goodfriendofficial