Dublin four-piece Basht. announce debut album ‘Poor Advice’, out 9th October via LAB Records, alongside brooding lead single ‘Perfume’
Dublin four-piece Basht.. have announced their debut album ‘Poor Advice’, due October 9th via LAB Records, and shared its lead single ‘Perfume‘. The announcement caps a rapid ascent for the group, who have spent the past two years building a devoted live following across the UK and Ireland. Hot Press, one of Ireland’s most authoritative music titles, has already described them as “one of the most exciting young rock bands to emerge in Ireland in aeons.” The album marks the payoff of that groundwork. ‘Poor Advice’ was produced by Ali Chant, whose discography includes work with Dry Cleaning, Perfume Genius, and PJ Harvey. The ten-track record is a concept album, and it is one with considerable ambition. Vocalist and guitarist Jack Leavey describes it as a project that maps the relationship between institutional power and those shaped by it, moving from the Catholic Church’s grip on Irish private life through to what he calls its modern equivalent: “moral authority outsourced to boardrooms and barracks, with the military industrial complex running like a grim metronome: conflict brewed, weapons sold, grief managed, contracts renewed.” It is heavy material, handled with intent.
‘Perfume’ Opens the Campaign With Force
Lead single ‘Perfume’ sets the tone immediately. The track opens foreboding and spare, building patient tension before erupting in its second half, a dynamic that Chant’s production handles with the kind of space and weight that defines his best work. Lyrically, the song traces a son watching his parents’ marriage break apart, broadening outward into Irish social history. “Ireland also has a darker history, shaped by the strong influence of the Catholic Church over private life, particularly in cases of unplanned pregnancy,” Leavey explains, “where young couples were often pressured into marriage to preserve respectability and avoid shame. These unions were not always based on love or readiness, but on moral expectation and social control.” He adds:
This song reflects that reality, capturing how personal lives were shaped by external pressures, where duty could outweigh desire and a single moment could determine the course of an entire future”
Within the wider narrative of ‘Poor Advice’, ‘Perfume’ begins the story in childhood, before the album follows the same character through encounters with various bad actors and institutions. Leavey has described the concept as “a bruising concept album that traces the tangled wires between power and those crushed under it.” The title itself is blunt and precise: “Poor Advice is the title because it’s all the counsel handed down from above: keep your head down, say your prayers, trust the deal.”
A Band Built on the Road, Now Ready for the Record
Basht. formed around vocalist Leavey and bassist Louis Christle in 2022, with lead guitarist Lughaidh Armstrong-Mayock and drummer Ryan McClelland joining mid-tour after the pair met at the same Dublin music college. The current lineup locked in quickly, writing the songs that would become ‘Poor Advice’ as the band gained pace on the road. They supported DEADLETTER, Everything Everything, and Wunderhorse, appeared at The Great Escape, Other Voices, Truck, and Live at Leeds, and released their celebrated ‘Bitter and Twisted’ EP in 2025. “It’s mind blowing that these songs have connected with so many young people,” Leavey told The Line of Best Fit. “It’s a sign of the times, and a sign of the guitar rock revival.”
Their summer schedule is extensive. Confirmed dates include Rock Werchter in Belgium on July 2nd, Leeds Festival on August 30th, Boardmasters in Newquay, TRNSMT, and a run of European festival dates through May and September. ‘Poor Advice’ arrives October 9th. On the evidence of ‘Perfume’, Basht. are ready.
