McGrath Shows His Songwriting Maturity on Poignant New Single The Parrot

By Chris Kennedy | Published 4th Oct, 2026

McGrath

2026 has certainly been a breakthrough year for Belfast-based Irish singer-songwriter McGrath. Since dropping his debut single, Rotha, at the beginning of the year, he hasn’t exactly been hanging around. Burn Daylight and Home quickly followed, with each release adding more weight to the feeling that McGrath is one of the most exciting new names coming through the Irish music scene right now.

Those early releases haven’t gone unnoticed either. McGrath has picked up some serious support along the way, with airplay stretching far beyond Ireland and the UK to the US, Canada, Germany, Belgium, Lithuania, France and Australia.

He’s been making his mark on the live circuit too.

Appearances at Dublin’s renowned Ruby Sessions and Irish Music Week - where he was one of just 50 artists selected from around 1,000 applicants - have helped establish McGrath as one of Ireland’s standout emerging live performers. Throw in an appearance at the acclaimed Other Voices festival and an August support slot with fellow Irishmen KINGFISHR in Derry, and it’s fair to say things are moving pretty quickly.

There’s plenty more to come.

McGrath is currently preparing for the release of his debut EP, SÁSTA, due to arrive on January 22nd, 2027. Before then, we get another taste of what to expect with his latest single, The Parrot.

The Parrot Finds Strength in Simplicity

The Parrot begins simply, with a melodic sequence of isolated notes setting the mood before McGrath’s vocal arrives alongside a steady beat.

The backing remains nicely understated. A strummed acoustic guitar joins the percussion without crowding the track, leaving plenty of room for McGrath’s voice and lyrics to take centre stage.

That melodic riff from the opening continues to drop in and out as the song progresses. It’s a small touch, but an effective one, giving ‘The Parrot’ its own identity while tying everything together.

Rather than going for a huge production, the arrangement knows when to hold back. That restraint becomes increasingly important as McGrath’s vocal performance begins to build.

There’s a noticeable rise in emotion as the song develops, with additional vocal layers appearing towards the end and giving the closing moments extra weight. What begins as something relatively sparse gradually becomes richer and more affecting without ever losing the intimacy established in those opening seconds.

A Song About What We Don’t See

It’s lyrically, though, where The Parrot really lands.

Wistful and melancholic, the track displays a maturity that continues to underline just how sharp McGrath’s songwriting already is.

The song was inspired by watching a close friend hide their struggles with mental health behind a permanently cheerful exterior. It’s an experience that led McGrath to consider the difference between what somebody projects to the outside world and what might really be happening underneath.

As McGrath explains:

I knew someone who was the life of the party. Always making people laugh and spreading love everywhere they went. This person turned out to be in the depths of depression and had managed to hide this from all of us. It really opened my eyes as to how mental health issues come in many forms. - McGrath

It’s from there that the song’s central image emerged.

I thought that the colour contrast between a parrot and a pigeon was an interesting metaphor for this. Just because someone looks bright on the outside doesn't mean that's the whole story. - McGrath

McGrath The Parrot Cover Artwork — McGrath - The Parrot (Cover Artwork)

Final Verdict | McGrath - Parrot

The Parrot is a beautifully understated and emotionally intelligent release from McGrath. Built around gentle acoustic textures, a memorable recurring melody and a vocal performance that grows in intensity, it gives its subject matter the space it deserves.

With four strong singles, growing international airplay and an increasingly impressive live reputation behind him, McGrath’s breakthrough year looks set to lead naturally into an even bigger 2027.

And with debut EP SÁSTA now just around the corner, The Parrot gives us another very good reason to keep listening.