Julie Dawson of NewDad on writing again with the band after her solo debut album and the release of ‘Safe’

NewDad. Photo credit: Peter Eason Daniels

Jordan Royal (Sonic Alien 4ZZZ) caught up with Julie Dawson of NewDad to chat about writing with the band after her solo debut album, themes of holding your ground and remaining true to yourself throughout the EP and what ‘Safe’ would look like if it were a place.

Interview aired on Sonic Alien 4ZZZ 11 June 2025.

Jordan: I'm joined by Julie from NewDad, chatting about their stunning new EP Safe, which dropped May 2nd. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat, I really appreciate your time, so thank you so much.

Julie: Thank you for having me, excited to be here.

Jordan: I want to talk about, so starting with, you released your solo debut album Bottom of the Pool in between Madra, NewDad's debut album, and Safe. What was it like stepping back into this band dynamic, and did your experience with your solo album shape how you approached this EP in any way?

Julie: Yeah, that's a great question actually. I guess I kind of started that Bottom of the Pool over lockdown actually with Jack, and we just were doing it remotely, like I didn't meet Jack until our first gig that we did together. But I think, yeah, I think it's just good to always be writing and to try put out an album where I wasn't tying myself down to any like of the usual things I would. You know, like the way that I have to feel like I would have to write a song for NewDad, I didn't feel like that with this, it was a lot more loose. So I guess it kind of probably just helped develop my songwriting a little bit. But I'm just a big advocate for, you know, writing as much as you can, even if half of the time no one will hear anything. It's just the best way to, I guess, get better and learn how to say what you want to say, you know?

Jordan: Of course, it must have been very freeing, as you said, to just be able to go down any rabbit hole that you wanted to in a solo project and I guess bring that experience back to the band. But Safe is your first release as a trio. I was wondering if that shifted dynamic, how that changed how you guys wrote the EP compared to writing Madra in any way?

Julie: Yeah, so like, it didn't massively change the dynamic I suppose. A lot of these songs were, I wrote them just myself with Sam, who produced the EP, and also Justin Parker, who I did a few tracks on Madra with him. But Madra was like a collection of songs that were so old, like, most of them were written in Galway before we even got to London. And yeah, I guess it was like, we had a lot of time for that, whereas with the EP, it was kind of like in the downtime when we weren't touring, I was kind of like, people, you know, they're like, you need to go to a session, make sure you're still writing. Because I've always, you know, that's always been my main thing, bringing a demo to the band, and then they'll come and you know put their twist on everything. But it didn't change it massively. But I'm just really grateful to have two really brilliant songwriters that I can bounce ideas off of because I think for a long time, when we were writing new material, I was just kind of going in circles. I felt like I'd said all these things before, and I'd sung all these melodies before. So to have two really great songwriters who I can bounce off of, who will kind of push me to try different things and to try using my voice in a different way, it was really fun and helpful. And I think I've learned a lot from it you know.

NewDad. Photo credit: Peter Eason Daniels

Jordan: Yeah, amazing. I guess that respect between your peers and your friends and your band members, and being able to bounce ideas off and seeing where different things take you, would be a really, really fun way to evolve through songs. But you sort of touched on it in your answer that Safe was very much born in London and captures the tension between navigating a city and an industry and your sense of self. It very much comes through on ‘Entertainer.’ I was wondering if that was a cathartic process to explore those themes, and what you were hoping to capture with them?

Julie: Yeah, it really was cathartic. Whereas Madra felt like it was me kind of looking back on my angsty teenage years, these new songs are about navigating my 20s and being in a big city that's so drastically different from where I'm from. And I guess writing these songs made me understand myself better. Even like, I could see that when I was writing these things, the way that I'm talking about always feeling the need to please people. And noticing that in myself has kind of pushed me to try and be a bit, I don't know, to like, have my own back more and just say no and to not always be just trying to pander. So it was important for me I think to learn that. And I don't think I would have had I not been writing these songs, you know?

Jordan: That's such an amazing lesson. It's so easy to do I feel like, especially in the music industry. And I think, I guess I could see a common theme or a common line of like, amongst the chaos, reclaiming your space. And I think that’s so integral and important to the EP. But as well, there’s such a beautiful and gorgeous push and pull between intimacy and scale on Safe. I mean, you guys have strings in there and textured synths and swelling and gritty guitars. It’s so much fun. Like four songs that are so fun to listen to. I was wondering if you have a favourite sonic moment that you incorporated into the mix of it?

Julie: That’s such a good question. You have such good questions. Probably, I love the bridge of Entertainer. Just the back guitar, the way it dips down, and then that kind of like, it almost sounds like a string part, that guitar line. Yeah, I guess also just all the parts that are like, you know, strings mimicking guitar lines and stuff, like in Puzzle, there’s a line in the pre-chorus that, I don’t have any musical knowledge or anything, so when I write something, it’s purely just if it’s good, that’s good enough for me. But then when we had these incredible string violins come in to play on the tracks, they were like, OK, so I don’t know what this means, but you just point when we need to change because there was no rhyme or reason to the changes that were happening in the line. And just for me to be telling them where and how to play it was very, yeah, that was a trip. Because I was just like, you know... but no, it was just really cool. It felt very like, I don’t know, it made us feel kind of confident in ourselves to be able to bring musicians like this in to help us expand the sound. It was really exciting.

Jordan: It fits in so amazingly with your NewDad sound as well. I feel like as I was listening to the EP, my jaw just kept dropping. And it’s really amazing that you touched on it as well, there were times where I was like, am I listening to guitar or strings right now? I’m not a musician, so they interplay very nicely.
But you’ve also spoken about how this EP leans more into nostalgic influences. You mentioned Sonic Youth and Pavement. I know that you guys are big Cure fans, and I feel like Cocteau Twins comes in a little bit too. I was wondering if these bands were formative in your growing up, or in what ways did you incorporate them specifically into the EP? And do they manifest?

Julie: Yeah, I guess. I mean, you know, those bands are the reason we wanted to be in bands. Like, when we first started doing music, like how many years ago it was now, it was like, those were the bands we were listening to. Like Pavement and stuff. We wanted to be like a kind of grungy, scuzzy guitar band. And I guess then on the EP, sound was such a massive part of it because I mean, obviously I wrote two of the songs on there with him but like, his knowledge of synthesizers and everything is just like we never would have known how to capture a truly magical synth sound on our own. Because it’s so easy for a synth to sound wrong and out of place, but he’s just so brilliant. And the way he can intertwine them with the guitar parts, it was just a joy to watch him there in the studio doing it. It was just hypnotic, the sounds that he could create. But yeah, I guess like we’ve always, I’m trying to think now, like what kind of like even Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a massive influence. But it’s kind of like their balance between rock and synth music is so amazing. And I guess we were trying to go down that route rather than trying to be a synth pop, like 80s synth pop band. But it’s a hard balance to strike. But Sam really is the best, that was his doing. He’s just brilliant.

Jordan: You guys balanced it so well, because I think something that I really noticed, especially with NewDad, is that you can pull influences from so many different places but merge them into a collage that’s all your own. And it still sounds very NewDad-esque. It’s beautiful.
The last question I had for you is sort of a silly, funny one. The artwork is a house, but I was wondering, if Safe was a place that you could inhabit and go to, what would it look like and feel like when you walk in? What would it be?

Julie: Oh, that’s such a fun question. Probably like a really cozy little cottage in the countryside with loads of books and like five dogs running around the house and a fire going and stuff. But honestly, Safe place is always home. It’s always Galway. It's like, I have a little, we have an L pouch. So we’ll always just go into the squishy corner, right in the crack, and just stay there and not leave. And my dog would jump on top of me and I’d just stay there all day. And that’s the best place.

Jordan: I can like imagine this space. But the cottage picture that you painted as well, like I want to go there. I want to go to Safe.

Julie: Yeah, also, we’re not built for the cities, man.

Jordan: Well, thank you so much for your time. It’s been amazing having a chat with you, so thank you so much.

Julie: Yeah, of course. Thank you for having me. It was really, really nice. Thank you Jordan.

Listen to NewDad’s latest EP ‘Safe’ and Julie Dawson’s debut album ‘Bottom of The Pool’ below.