Born in rural North Yorkshire and raised in the Scottish Highlands, Dubinski is a quartet of four inseparable siblings: Eugene, Fergus, Donal, and Eoin Gaine. The Gaine brothers spent their childhood in atmospheric and social isolation. A shared love of music was the common thread amongst the four, so they spent their adolescent years writing and performing songs for the sheer joy of it. Eventually the brothers moved to Edinburgh, having decided to raise the bar of their childhood music ‘hobby’ to make a proper go of it. Taking on the band name Dubinski (their late mother’s maiden name), the band recorded their debut album at RAK Studios in London, working with Grammy Award winning producers/engineers Mike Horner (Yonaka, Franz Ferdinand, Hot Chip) and Robbie Nelson (Beck, Jarvis Cocker, Rolling Stones). Having recently released the eponymous album worldwide through Gnu Roam (Kartel Music Group), Dubinski have taken their high-energy show on the road as an international touring act.
On their sophomore offering, What Is Your Definition Of Happiness?, the brothers have created an album that opens with a synthpop banger about societal injustice then takes a host of intriguing twists and turns before concluding with the achingly beautiful finale “Safety In The Comfort Zone.” Everything is set to a compelling, invariably infectious soundtrack which fuses elements of LCD Soundsystem, Parquet Courts, The Clash, Maximo Park and Paul Simon. Those influences meld into Dubinski becoming their own unique force, while being able to stand alongside socially conscious, fierce bands such as Fontaines D.C., Benefits, and Yard Act as artists whose music combines big anthems with strong principles. “A lot of these songs have something bittersweet to them,” considers singer Eugene, the youngest of Dubinski’s four brothers. “It’s a record of love, happiness, pain, sorrow, grief, healing, growth and acceptance.” We wanted to tell a story with this album, and the flow is similar to the way the seasons change.” Synths are at the fore across these 12 songs, with mellotron helping to fuse Dubinski’s new and different elements. The anthemic “Physical Scars” and swaggering funk of “Mistaken For Trouble” help sonically set the tone in establishing a groove to the album. There’s also room for more lyrical, chilled moods, like the tender “Making Luck.”
“Single ‘Feel It’ is a brisk two-minute ripper of a song, tailor-made to get toes tapping and bodies jumping… Perhaps it’s the band’s lifetime of companionship or genetic bonds that are responsible for their outrageous musical chemistry? Maybe they’re just great players who write crazy good songs?” – Get Some Magazine
FCC WARNING: Track 6, “New York Arizona and This.” Digital servicing includes clean version.
Recommended: Track 5, “Feel It,” Track 8, “Homesick,” Track 1, “Downtown Operation,” Track 13, “New York Arizona and This [clean edit]”
Label: Gnu Roam
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