DIVIL
- bizzarre
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Dublin trio DIVIL release debut single “Thanks A Million” and announce debut EP DIVIL I out June 19th.
DIVIL, a Dublin trio of childhood friends, Danny Dempsey McMahon (vocals), Jocelyn Vance (guitar) and Conor Cusack (bass), release their debut single “Thanks A Million” today and announce their debut EP, DIVIL I, coming 19th of June.
The band’s story is deeply personal. Spending their childhoods learning instruments together in primary school, the trio had fallen out of touch as adults.
They hadn't been in the same room together for nearly a decade, until the night of Danny's father's funeral. Late into the night, Conor watched Danny and Jocelyn sing "The Rocky Road to Dublin" to close friends and family.
Struck by the intensity of their musical bond, he knew that when the time was right, they should write music together. The following month, Conor is diagnosed with cancer. In the wake of these life-altering events, music becomes their way to reconnect, process grief, and lean on each other in ways words alone cannot.
“Thanks A Million” is the first song they write as DIVIL. The band recalls:
“The initial verse riff on the bass, Dun Dun Dun, came easy, but we just couldn’t figure out a way to turn it into a song.
We worked on it for weeks because we knew we had something special, but it just didn't fit together.
One night, we tried flipping it around and making the verse the chorus and then wrote a whole new verse part.
Then Danny came up with the chorus lyrics & melody, which solidified the song.”
The band adds that the title phrase is unmistakably Irish: people use it in almost any context. Someone serves you in a shop? “Thanks A Million.” It reflects the nation’s gentle, people-pleasing humour. Lyrically, the song is about falling into old, predictable habits and the frustration of being stuck in a loop.
Danny explains
“The song is about hope in the form of friendship. It’s about your friends checking in to see if you're alright after you’ve been in a self-inflicted depression. I have this image of being stuck in a box bedroom suffering, the door opens with the lads checking that I’m ok. I respond, 'I'll be right here, thanks a million'.”
The track balances the weight of despair with the reassurance of friendship, the kind that shows up in the everyday, in small gestures, and helps you through the hardest times.
Speaking on the music video the band said:
"The music video was shot by our dear friend and extremely talented director Aoife Leonard, at our old school Mount Temple.
Since we hadn't been in the building for over 15 years and it's due to be demolished soon, experiencing old memories there felt quite special and gave the performance an extra sense of gravitas.
Our wives and babies were also there on the day, helping, so it felt pretty special and prompted reflection on those who are no longer with us since we left school."
The music video's setting, Mount Temple School has built quite the reputation for its musical alumni over the years, playing host to not only DIVIL, but being the place that U2 formed, as well as Damian Dempsey, Gilla Band, and John Francis Flynn.
Musical connections run deep within DIVIL, with bassist Conor Cusack well known in the Irish music scene. He manages Saint Sister and Morgana, is closely involved with Ireland Music Week, and runs Merchy Christmas - an initiative supporting emerging Irish artists with a platform to sell their work. His influence is such that Gilla Band even name-check him on their early EP France 98, in the track “That Snake Conor Cusack”.
The upcoming EP DIVIL I draws from these sessions, featuring “Orang Utan”, a raw exploration of escapism, and “Chewing Gum”, which reflects on grief and defining life moments. Together, the tracks form an intimate study of reconnection, survival, and the quiet strength of long-term friendship.
"Thanks A Million" is dedicated to Brendan Lawler, Danny McMahon, Emmet Connolly, and Jamie Gill.
Picture by Meghan Law
