With her stunning 2024 release Come As You Are, Niamh Regan has cemented herself as one of Ireland’s most distinctive songwriters. Nominated for the RTÉ Choice Prize for Irish Album of the Year, Come As You Are is a masterwork of intimate storytelling, rich arrangements, and unflinching emotional honesty. The album marks a bold evolution from her debut Hemet (2020), which garnered nominations for the RTÉ Folk Awards and the Choice Music Prize.
Come As You Are, produced by Tommy McLaughlin/Attica Studios, is an album full of vulnerability and unflinching introspection. As the title suggests, it invites listeners to embrace their true selves, confronting personal doubts, complicated relationships, and questions about life's direction. Each track is a delicate balance of delicate folk instrumentation and expansive soundscapes.
Niamh Regan first caught the attention of listeners with her 2020 debut Hemet, a strikingly collection that showcased her gift for penning folk-tinged songs with emotional depth and reflective sincerity. That album paved the way for a whirlwind of performances across Ireland, the
UK, Australia, and beyond. Opening for artists such as CMAT, Villagers, John Grant, SOAK, Patrick Watson, James Vincent McMorror, and Sam Amidon, Regan honed her live performance chops and began to embrace the joy and catharsis of sharing her music with a wider audience.
With Come As You Are, Regan's vision grew. She sought to create a richer, more expansive sound, inspired by artists like Julia Jacklin, Caroline Rose, and Wilco. The result is an album that feels both intimate and cinematic.
Niamh Regan has always been a storyteller at heart, and Come As You Are proves that her voice, both literal and musical, is one that demands attention.
With Come As You Are now available worldwide and the RTÉ Choice Prize nomination in the mix, 2025 is poised to be a banner year for Niamh Regan. Niamh continues to evolve as an artist, and there’s much more to come.
‘Come As You Are’, is out now via Faction Records
“Niamh Regan is becoming a quietly assured national treasure with that sure fingered approach to her craft” – Jim Carroll, RTÉ Culture
“Come As You Are has Niamh Regan in total control of her artistic faculties and at the top of her game; she will be one to watch in the coming years... this is an album that needs to be heard, a project teeming with quiet intensity and resonance..." 9/10 The Line of Best Fit
“A powerful second album...Come As You Are’ is a delightful album full of delicate vocals, subtle hooks and exquisite instrumentation.” CLASH Magazine
"A beautiful, breathtakingly candid indie folk record of self-acceptance, Niamh Regan's 'Come As You Are' is an intimate, emotionally charged invitation to embrace ourselves for who we are and lean into our light – even when it's dark outside." Atwood Magazine
"There's a touch of Laura Marling in her voice, something of John Martyn in her intonation and Nick Drake in her guitar picking, the influence of everyone from Jeff Tweedy to Josh Ritter in her crafted storytelling…"
8/10 UNCUT Magazine
With guest How I Became A Wave
How I Became A Wave is the solo project of Cork-based artist Pat Carey, formerly of the acclaimed indie band, The Hard Ground. Blending literary and natural world influences with lush strings and steel pedal guitars, the music of How I Became A Wave speaks to the soul through considered lyrics and quietly rousing melodies.
This is aggressively quiet music that by its very nature provides an antidote to the cacophony of today’s world.
Drawing inspiration from writers like Mary Oliver, Eavan Boland, Max Porter, Sylvia Plath, Seamus Heaney, Doireann Ní Ghríofa and Sara Baume, and musical influences such as Paul Buchanan, Bon Iver, Big Thief, Nils Frahm and Anaïs Mitchell, How I Became A Wave reflects on love, loss and the quiet significance of everyday moments.
How I Became A Wave’s forthcoming debut album features contributions from some of Ireland’s most respected musicians, including Carey’s former Hard Ground bandmates Davie Ryan and Hugh Dillon, pianist Rory McCarthy, cellists Laura McFadden and Aoife Burke, and multi-instrumentalist Brian Casey, among others. RTÉ Concert Orchestra composer Cormac McCarthy has arranged a number of pieces on the album. Each musician brings a quiet depth to the record, enriching its layered, reflective sound.
