Laura Quirke and Claire Kinsella overlooked the Skellig Islands, off the southwest coast of Kerry, as the concept behind their second studio album was born.
Under the name of Lemoncello, the Irish duo’s latest record, Perfect Place, is out now and speaking to Erazer ahead of the launch, guitarist and vocalist Laura said it was unusual for the release to be so soon after the recording process.
“We went to a studio on the south side of Dublin,” Laura said. “We commuted and made it a real job. We were still playing shows, but any time we had off, we would go to the studio.”
Recorded throughout 2025, Perfect Place follows the band’s critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, which came out in 2024.
Not to be confused with the traditional liqueur, Lemoncello was formed when Laura and Claire met at university while studying music. After nights out resulted in sing-alongs together, the pair eventually took to the stage at a local open mic event.
“One of the nights we [performed], some Italians came in, and they had Limoncello, and we didn’t have a name at that stage. We needed something to write down on the blackboard, and they called us Lemoncello, because of Claire’s cello.”
In hindsight, Laura said the band name can come back to haunt them.
“What does Lemoncello have to do with Ireland? Even the Italians are mad because it’s not the right way to spell it. Maybe we cut ourselves out of the Italian market, who knows?”
Perfect Place’s opener – and lead single – is Articulate Animal, which is accompanied by a music video filmed in the Sean O’Casey Community Centre in Dublin.
“The architecture is really nice. There’s a sort of retro vibe even though it’s quite new. To me, the lines of the court are the lines and boundaries of our mind,” Laura revealed.
Articulate Animal’s noticeable feature is Claire Kinsella’s cello drone, a feature inspired by a workshop with Scottish singer Rachel Sermanni.
“Rachel gave us a task and told us to write something to a cello drone. It was an exercise in not thinking too much about the song. If you tell yourself you’re going to write a song in five minutes, what will come of that?”
The band recently wrapped up a support tour with fellow Irish folk group Ye Vagabonds, but will be performing their own headline show at Theatreship in London on Tuesday, May 12.
They will also be hitting the road for a full UK tour in October, stopping off in Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Birmingham, Bristol, London, Brighton, Southbourne and Belfast.
Perfect Place by Lemoncello is out now via Claddagh Records.
