Lemoncello, the Dublin-based duo of Laura Quirke and Claire Kinsella, have announced their second album, Perfect Place, due May 8th via Claddagh Records. Alongside the announcement, the band have shared their new single and video for Articulate Animal, the album’s opening track, following earlier single Meet Me Halfway.
Co-produced by Ruth O’Mahony Brady (Lisa O’Neill, Gorillaz) at her studio in Cabinteely, Dublin, Perfect Place evolves from the folk-soaked roots of the duo’s critically acclaimed 2024 self-titled debut, confidently weaving synths and electronic percussion into their staple organic sound. Written and recorded over two years, the album began during an artist residency in late 2023 in a cabin overlooking the Skellig Islands off Kerry’s southwest coast. From there, Quirke and Kinsella spent a year exchanging voice notes and demos before bringing the material into the studio.
The result addresses both the personal and the collective — the way external pressures find their way into intimate relationships, and the difficulty of navigating an increasingly unstable world. Quirke explains: “In the past I think I’ve abandoned songs a little bit too soon. I hid behind flowery language instead of getting to the heart of the thing. With this album we wanted to express things that are difficult and messy. Sometimes to be clear emotionally you need to be abstract lyrically but you can’t be afraid to take everything off and just stand there completely vulnerable.”
Articulate Animal opens with a solo vocal over a cello drone — a recording that originated in a five-minute creative writing exercise designed to bypass the critical mind and access instinct directly. The central motif that emerged, “Wish I could stop telling myself things,” forms the song’s core. Kinsella subsequently developed the production, layering electronic percussion, synths and cellos, with contributions from Cormac Begley on concertina and Joe Doyle and Lorcan Byrne on bass and drums. “We decided the solo vocal line coming seemingly out of nowhere over a drone would be a good song to start the album,” the duo say. “A manifestation of shedding layers to get to the heart of things.”
Reviewing the debut for KLOF Mag, Danny Neill noted that the duo’s sonic ambition hinted at bold developments ahead, writing: “Lemoncello are really going places musically, and this is one journey we should all hitch a ride on.” Perfect Place sounds like the destination that journey was heading towards.
Following their current Irish dates supporting Ye Vagabonds, Lemoncello head to the UK in May to support Joshua Burnside, whose recent album It’s Not Going to be Okay is one of KLOF’s Featured Albums of the Month. Album launch headline shows follow in Liverpool and London, with festival appearances at Night & Day, Deer Shed and WOMAD later in the year.
Pre-Order/Save Perfect Place (Claddagh Records – May 8th): https://lemoncello.lnk.to/PerfectPlace
Lemoncello Tour Dates
Thu 26 March – Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny, IE (Ye Vagabonds support)
Fri 27 March – Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny, IE (Ye Vagabonds support)
Sat 28 March – Dolan’s, Limerick, IE (Ye Vagabonds support)
Sun 29 March – Dolan’s, Limerick, IE (Ye Vagabonds support)
Wed 6 May – Glasgow, UK (Joshua Burnside support)
Thu 7 May – Leeds, UK (Joshua Burnside support)
Fri 8 May – The Jacaranda, Liverpool, UK (Album Launch Headline Show)
Sat 9 May – Stroud, UK (Joshua Burnside support)
Sun 10 May – London, UK (Joshua Burnside support)
Mon 11 May – Bristol, UK (Joshua Burnside support)
Tue 12 May – Theatreship, London, UK (Album Launch Headline Show)
29–31 May – Night & Day Festival, Roscommon, IE
24–26 July – Deer Shed Festival, UK
23–26 July – WOMAD Festival, UK