The Sleeveens Ignite the Punk Scene with Their Raw New Single

Music Review | 25th Aug, 2025 The Sleeveens

The Sleeveens officially came together in December 2022, but their story kicks off a few years earlier. Back in 2019, Stiff Little Fingers guitar tech James Mechan crossed paths with Irish punk troubadour Stefan Murphy. The plan back then? Record a solo album in Mechan’s Nashville studio. Then, the pandemic happened.

Fast forward three years and relocating to Nashville the pair got to work on some recordings with the help of Ryan Sweeney on Drums and Eli Steele on lead guitar.

Their debut 7-inch, Give My Regards to the Dancing Girls, quickly became a favorite on underground radio. That buzz carried straight into their self-titled debut album, with singles like Aretha Franklin and Metallica Font racking up plenty of love from the indie airwaves.

Now, the band is back with a new single, Downtown, and its fiery B-side, Drowning. Both tracks are everything you’d hope for from The Sleeveens, gritty, high-energy punk with distorted guitar riffs, snarling vocals, and that lo-fi, DIY rawness that makes their sound so addictive.

It was one of the first songs I ever tried to write. I put out a very different version of it back in the late 2000s. Little did I know I’d end up in the US, playing with three Nashville punks, and breathing new life into it. It’s a real thrill to have it released on Goner, with a cover of one of Greg Cartwright’s songs as the B-side.

Recorded in Nashville during a short US tour in late 2024, these tracks perfectly capture The Sleeveens’ wild, unpolished energy — a mix of Irish punk roots and Nashville grit. If you haven’t checked them out yet, now’s the time. - Murphy

The Sleeveens - Downtown

The single, Downtown/Drowning, is available through all streaming platforms.

Photo Credit: The Sleeveens