Irish Basement is the post-punk project of Washington, D.C.’s Mike Toohey, a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer who has spent years moving through the seams of indie, punk, and pop scenes. Born in 2021 during the quiet chaos of the pandemic, the project began as a late-night experiment and turned into something sharper, louder, and harder to ignore.

Irish Basement draws from C-86 guitars, shoegaze haze, and new wave synths, while carving out a sound that resists nostalgia cosplay. Their lyrics reflect a sense of emotional detachment, alienation, and romantic fatalism; often using small, specific moments to hold memory up to the light and let the cracks show.

The project has grown steadily through a string of releases, beginning with the debut EP Surfin Serotonin (2022), followed by two full-length albums, Heaven or Hell (2023), and Patterned Behavior (2025).

With more than 3 million streams on Spotify, underground press attention, and urgent, synth-driven live shows, Irish Basement has become a steadily rising presence in the the post-punk and gothic rock underground.