Brothers-in-arms as The Plea for Navan's Swan Lane

Music seems to come naturally to Irish guitar-rock outfit The Plea. After hearing debut album The Dreamers Stadium, it's hard to imagine a time when you hadn't sung along to 'Oh Ah Yay', leapt about to 'Feel It Ticking', or felt shivers down your spine from the majestic 'The Glass Waltz'. Brothers Denny and Dermot Doherty grew up in Ballyliffin, Co Donegal, which is the kind of place where, according to lead-vocalist and guitarist Denny: "If someone's born, there's music. If someone dies, there's music." Anecdotally, Denny and his older brother, guitarist Dermot, had a gran who was a promising opera singer. "She had 16 children instead, which put a hitch in that plan, but she still sings in a choir", says Denny. No such hitches as yet for the Doherty brothers. The Plea have produced such a powerful album of wondrously sky-gazing anthems, one can almost envisage the rolling hills and majestic landscapes of their childhood haunts. Speaking to them, it's clear that music has enhanced their upbringing in a big way. Dermot says: "A lot of people in our family play music. Our older brother was first to get a guitar in the house - an electric cream fender copy with a small practice amp. He's a carpenter now and we're musicians, but he still can play a mean one string ballad. Then Denny started playing as well. I was in a school band and Den sang with us in a rehearsal one night - it was pretty obvious that he was the best singer of the bunch. We've been playing music together ever since." Following a long period spent travelling and playing in bars together, the Dohertys recruited childhood friend and fellow Ballyliffiner Paul Toland on bass, then swiped drummer Gerry Strawbridge from another local band, and set about the act of making music with as much ambition and as little fuss as possible. "Everybody is self-taught in the band," says Denny. "For us it makes the music freer. Paul doesn't even consider himself a bassist - he played it upside-down for about five years, but he's damn good". It's a combative, competitive, but ultimately positive relationship that drives The Plea's songs. Their underlying tenderness is captured in the finale of the exhilarating track 'Out Like A Light', where they take turns to namecheck their favourite albums and songs by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Smiths and co. Their debut album showcases the scintillating raw power that The Plea's four members are able to amass together, echoing the scope of The Verve, the swagger of The Rolling Stones and the communal stadium mood of Led Zeppelin. There's even a smattering of the starry Arcade Fire. The combination of Denny's strong, wide-ranging vocals, coupled with the polished layers of hypnotic guitar riffs and resplendent piano melodies has produced an album of highly expressive music that's big, bold and vivacious. The Dreamers Stadium is produced by Chris Potter, who has overseen albums from The Rolling Stones, The Clash and The Verve, as well as working with new acts such as King Charles and The Rifles. Since forming five years ago, it's been a long, hard journey to get The Plea's album released, and there have been the familiar tales of hardship along the way, as well as a collapsed label deal. They toiled in labouring jobs for long periods whilst taking covers gigs at Irish bars and clubs in England and America. They'd sneak in new songs in the middle of those shows and found "they'd always blend in well" - no mean feat against audiences wanting to sing along to every word of all the familiar classics. Having been together for so long, they've amassed enough material to cover four albums. From these, the tracks on 'The Dreamers Stadium' have been chosen as their most personal songs, and the ones that fit together the best. The album's centerpiece - the seven-minute climactic ballad Windchime is a highlight. The Plea will be performing live at Swan Lane, Navan, on 16th June.