Irish musician and producer Mark McCausland, best known as one half of The Lost Brothers, has released his latest album, The Spin. The project follows a busy few years for McCausland, who has been recording under his solo name McKowski, collaborating with artists including Nick Power of The Coral, and forming the trio Geckøs with M. Ward and Howe Gelb.
The album ties closely to a film of the same name, which began life as one of McCausland’s short stories. He not only wrote the story but also composed the full musical score.
“The music and the movie were both written simultaneously,” explains McCausland. “At times the music and the story fed into each other, informing one another where to go next. We worked closely together and kept ping-ponging ideas to each other, which egged us on to the finish line.”
It was during one of these creative sessions that director Colin Broderick heard Laughs for the Lonely, a track McCausland had recorded with his friends in Dead Goat.
“I was working mostly on the musical score, which is mainly instrumental,” reflects McCausland. “But we still needed a song for a pivotal music scene in the film. I had just recorded Laughs For The Lonely the day before with my friends, Dead Goat. Unrelated to the movie, I played the track to Colin. I turned around and with tears running down his cheek he immediately said, ‘I don’t need to hear any more songs. This is the one.’”
The song, McCausland says, turned out to fit the film’s themes perfectly.
“I didn’t realise it when we were writing or recording it, but the lyrics in the song – mainly the ‘a good friend is hard to find’ chorus – pretty much sum up a lot of the themes of friendship in the film. It was one of those meant-to-be moments. And it was completely by accident.”
The Spin also features contributions from Jolie Holland, John Parish, Pieta Brown, Nick Power, Gemma Doherty of Saint Sister, and McCausland’s cousin Niall Moore, who makes his debut on trumpet.
The album is available now through Deltasonic Records, with a full-length record from Dead Goat set for release in early 2026.