A few months after the release of their album Murmurations, Waterford quartet Under Starling are in good form for their show at The Workman’s Cellar on Friday – that is to say, ready to stir-up some feelings, and sway a few hearts along the way.

thanks mom supprorting Under Starling at The Workman's Cellar / copyright Patrik Meier

Properly warmed-up by the fun and riotous melodies of Thanks Mom, and the dreamy, show-stopping rock tunes of Yes, Chef!, the crowd is in perfect shape to welcome the first distorted sounds that make up the start of Under Starling’s set, slowly building up into the gentle arpeggios, soft vocals and lingering bass lines of ‘Bird Watching’.

Yes Chef! supprorting Under Starling at The Workman's Cellar / copyright Patrik Meier

Quickly, the energy bursts into something unruly, drums and guitar chords getting heavier by the second, suddenly tainted with a sentimental weight that creeps up the chest and accumulates in the ribcage, sitting somewhere between a deep emotional release and a sharp stab to the heart.

If the hefty instrumentation of Under Starling’s live performance does a good part of the heavy-lifting in bringing fervent soundscapes to The Workman’s Cellar, it is frontman’s Danny Dunford’s scintillating vocals that tie it all together. Soul-stirringly powerful on heavier tunes like ‘Changeling’ or ‘The Hunger’, and buttery-smooth on slower tracks like ‘Heads Up, Kid’, the singer demonstrates an impressive range that gives each tune an irrevocable intensity.

Under Starling at The Workman's Cellar / copyright Patrik Meier

The band’s well-crafted, passionate formula also relies on a wide array of extraordinarily moving guitar solo-filled bridges, deftly executed by guitarist Neil O’Carroll and allowing for the incredibly moving and hauntingly beautiful sounds that make up most of the band’s discography.

Under Starling at The Workman's Cellar / copyright Patrik Meier

Another strength of the set lies in Under Starling’s capacity to balance quiet gentleness and loud intensity, taking the time to slow down on their verses and exploding with all-encompassing, breathless depth on choruses and bridges, like on the exhilarating track ‘Icarus’.

Within the set, the gratifyingly angry ‘Rat King’ reads like a fantastical, masterfully executed outlier, with its heavy bass lines, rageful, almost spoken vocals and lyrics along the lines of “Get the fuck our of my face” and “you big rat bastard”. Effectively demonstrating the band’s imposing range, which oscillates between deep melancholy and furious heat in a matter of seconds.

Under Starling at The Workman's Cellar / copyright Patrik Meier

With the crowd properly riled-up, Under Starling jump into the last couple of tunes of their set without missing a beat, instrumentation now unapologetically fiery and Dunford visibly ready to whip up a storm. His performance now sitting at the crossroad of singing and relentless shouting, the frontman matches the powerfulness of the final tracks’ basslines – ruthlessly intense and profoundly cathartic, closing a set that leaves The Workman’s Cellar deliciously shaken up.