Conor Lumsden does quality over quantity. Best known as one of the driving forces behind Dublin’s The Number Ones (who finally returned with new music last year) and recently parting ways with power pop sensations The Speedways, he now steps out with Music City. It’s been over seven years since he first released music under this moniker, and I’ve been waiting for its next step ever since. It’s finally here, and given its timeless sound, it could have been released anytime in the past six decades. Welcome To Music City sounds less like a side project and more like a parallel universe where classic songwriting gets a fresh jolt of electricity. Lumsden gets it: rock ‘n’ roll isn’t something to preserve, it’s something you play because it still absolutely works.
Lumsden’s writing thrives on everyday moments and small observations, ones that don’t distract from his killer hooks. This is guitar music that wears its influences lightly but proudly. Ask Lumsden to namedrop influences, and you’ll be here for a while: Buddy Holly, The Beatles, T. Rex, Elton John, Big Star, Todd Rundgren, Carole King, Steely Dan, Judee Sill, The Clash, Tom Petty… You can hear echoes of all of them, but nothing feels retro for the sake of it. Music City moves with confidence, built on chiming guitars, sturdy rhythms, and hooks that land without trying too hard. There’s a warmth and polish to the production that gives the record mainstream radio appeal, and songs like the rock and rolling Common Sense and the soulful pubrocker It’s Alright could slide right into a ’70s AM playlist or a modern indie station without raising an eyebrow. At the midpoint of the record sits the major pop hit Pretty Feelings, the song that started it all seven years ago. It still sounds timeless in 2026.
Welcome To Music City is out now on Redundant Span Records.
Welcome To Music City is more than the working of one talented musician. Evan Walsh and Pete O’Hanlon (of The Strypes) are part of the band, Paula Cullen and Ceeva Derwin shine their vocal talents throughout the record, while friends from across Lumsden’s musical life chip in on specific tracks. This includes Tina Halladay (on the designated hit Common Sense) and Hart Seely from Sheer Mag, Alastair MacKay (Dick Diver), Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh and her brother Fiachra, Jay Arner, Leigh Arthur.
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