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Sprints
Sprints
	The band in 2022, left to right: Sam McCann, Karla Chubb, Jack Callan, and Colm O’Raghallaigh
Background information
Origin	Dublin, Ireland
Genres	Post-punk; garage punk;
Years active	2019–present
Labels	Nice Swan; City Slang;
Members	Karla Chubb; Sam McCann; Jack Callan; Zac Stephenson;
Past members	Colm O’Reilly;
Website	sprintsmusic.com

Sprints are an Irish garage punk band, formed in Dublin in 2019. The band currently consists of Karla Chubb (vocals, guitar), Sam McCann (bass, vocals), Jack Callan (drums) and Zac Stephenson (guitar).^[4]

Between 2019 and 2022, the band recorded and released a series of singles and EPs for the label, Nice Swan, before signing to City Slang. Their debut album, Letter to Self, was released in January 2024 to widespread critical acclaim.^[5] Following the album's release, founding guitarist Colm O’Reilly departed from the band in May 2024, citing "a desire to retreat from public performance."^[6]

Following O’Reilly's departure, the band were initially joined by a succession of guest guitarists during their summer 2024 tour,^[6] before Zac Stephenson permanently joined the band's line-up. The newly solidified four-piece recorded and released, "Feast", a stand-alone single exploring "gluttony, consumption and desire."^[7]

Biography

Singer, guitarist and lead-songwriter Karla Chubb, was born in Dublin but spent her early childhood in Düsseldorf, Germany before moving back to Ireland.^[8] Chubb, guitarist Colm O’Reilly and drummer Jack Callan are childhood friends. They have been playing music together since the age of 10.^[9] They then recruited bassist Sam McCann,^[9] who also sings on records and on stage.^[10] Frontwoman Chubb was inspired by the energy of punk rock. She mentioned the likes of Patti Smith, Siouxsie and the Banshees and PJ Harvey as vital forces.^[11] The band started to be professional in 2019,^[11] their first single "Pathetic" was intended to be a "straightforward song". They wanted to write songs that were "relatable [...] honest and raw and kind of just our take on life".^[10]

Their second single "The Cheek" followed in September 2019: it was reviewed as "catchy with a manic ferocious chorus".^[12] Another single "Kissing Practice" was released in February 2020,^[13] Daniel Fox from Girl Band was instrumental as producer for "embedding certain textures and layers".^[13] Chubb then described their music as a "melding of genres, from grunge to punk to garage. Anything we write is very rooted in a real story."^[13] They released in 2021 the EP Manifesto which was inspired by the campaign for Repeal The 8th in their country, and women’s ongoing fight for bodily autonomy.^[9] The band toured extensively in 2023: Clash magazine praised their "electrifying live show".^[14]

Their debut album Letter to Self was released on 5 January 2024,^[4] it received acclaim from critics.^[5] The band will be touring Europe, the US and the UK from February through till May.^[15] After selling out their British tour 5 months in advance, they have announced three UK dates for November, with shows in Bristol's Marble Factory (12th), London's Kentish Town Forum (13th) and Manchester's New Century Hall (29th).^[16]

At the final concert of the 'Letter to Self' album tour on the 4th of May in the Button Factory in Dublin, the band announced the departure of guitarist Colm O'Reilly. A public statement was released on the band's social media accounts on the 20th of May.^[17] Following O’Reilly's departure, the band were initially joined by a succession of guest guitarists during their summer 2024 tour,^[6] before Zac Stephenson permanently joined the band's core line-up. The newly solidified four-piece recorded and released, "Feast", a stand-alone single exploring "gluttony, consumption and desire."^[7]

Style

They have been described as punk-pop quartet but the music is "raw" and "ferocious".^[8] They are a guitar band.^[8] NME said that they married "intricate alt-rock with fierce bursts of noise-punk and grunge".^[18] Journalist Ed Power wrote that "Sprints songs are breathless pile-drivers, powered by Chubb’s ear for cut-glass melody and by their producer Daniel Fox’s ability to make intimate music feel huge". Listening to their music "feels like tiptoeing into a stranger’s room and reading their intimate diary entries".^[8]