The Northern Irish pair swap blues-rock roots for sharper alt-rock on a confident sophomore turn…

Words by Felix Bartlett | June 02, 2026

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That Hate That I Care is the album Dea Matrona always sounded capable of making is no surprise. That they’ve made it this confidently, this early, is the real story. Having caught Mollie McGinn and Orláith Forsythe play a sweat-drenched SXSW showcase in Austin way back in 2022, I’ve been keeping a keen eye on the Belfast pair, pumped for everything they’ve put out since. Three years on, they’ve gone further than anyone could have called.

Written, produced and recorded entirely between the two of them, Hate That I Care wears its independence like armour. The blues-rock backbone that powered their early busking days is still in there somewhere, but this record steps cleanly into sharper, more contemporary alt-rock shapes. The guitars hit harder, the choruses lift higher, and the lyrical knife is twisted with far more intent. It’s the sound of two musicians who’ve decided exactly who they want to be.

Lead single ‘My Own Party’ sets the tone, a deceptively bright belter built around stacked harmonies and a chorus that lodges itself in your head for days. Beneath the gloss lurks something darker. The line “always feeling like an outsider at my own party” lands like a quiet gut punch, and that contrast between glittering hooks and bruised lyrics runs through the whole record. ‘Aisling’ stretches out into a five-minute rock workout that earns every second, ‘John Doe’ slows the tempo into a sleazy swagger without losing any weight, and ‘Summer Rain’ is a jealousy anthem with teeth. Elsewhere, ‘Wait’ and ‘Magic Spell’ pull at the album’s two competing instincts, mythological storytelling on one hand and unflinching modern confession on the other.

What makes Hate That I Care so compelling isn’t just the songwriting leap, it’s the chemistry. McGinn and Forsythe’s vocal interplay remains the band’s calling card, equal parts effortless and emotionally loaded. It isn’t a flawless record, the twin pulls between myth and modern day occasionally leave a track stranded somewhere in the middle, but the hits land hard and there are plenty of them. With Wolf Alice supports, a European tour with Sting and an Isle of Wight slot on the horizon, the timing couldn’t be sweeter. Hate That I Care doesn’t just continue Dea Matrona’s rise. It cements it.

Verdict: 💀💀💀💀

For fans of: Wolf Alice, The Last Dinner Party, The Pretty Reckless

Hate That I Care is out June 5th via AWAL Recordings