Villanelle, the rock trio led by Gene Gallagher, has officially released its debut single “Hinge,” marking the group’s transition from live buzz to recorded output. The band, which formed in early 2024, has steadily built a following through club performances across Europe, where audiences relied on fan-filmed videos to learn the songs before they were formally available.

Gallagher, the youngest son of Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, fronts the project alongside guitarist Ben Taylor and bassist Jack Schiavo. Together, the three musicians have developed a sound that draws on grunge, shoegaze, and alternative rock traditions while leaving space for their individual influences.

The single arrives as a deliberate nod to 1990s alternative music, blending distorted guitars with a dense, atmospheric edge. Gallagher has cited Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr., and My Bloody Valentine as central inspirations, and those references are clear in the track’s structure and tone.

“‘Hinge’ is about paranoia derived from sleepless nights,” Gallagher said in a statement. “I was probably hungover when I wrote it. That’s my favorite sort of music, so there’s some of that in everything I write.”

Villanelle’s internal balance rests on contrasting creative approaches. Taylor, who favors structure and organization in his playing, described Gallagher as operating with the opposite instinct. “Gene brings the most unique perspective on both life and music of anyone I’ve ever met,” Taylor said.

Schiavo noted that the trio’s intersecting influences form the foundation of their sound. “Where we meet is this mix of grunge, shoegaze, punk, and alternative rock,” he explained. “Ben’s influences are more in that English alternative rock space, mine’s more of that Sixties and Seventies rock space, and then Gene’s are like ‘90s American rock bands. In the middle is where we all interact.”

Before “Hinge” was released, Villanelle’s reputation was built almost entirely on their concerts. Schiavo recalled a Nottingham performance where fans surprised the group by singing along to unreleased tracks. “There was a group of lads who’d learned all our lyrics from live videos on YouTube,” he said in an interview with NME. “They were starting moshpits, and we were just watching going, ‘What?’ Their commitment was crazy. It just got us so excited.”

The band also gained visibility earlier this year when they opened for Liam Gallagher during his Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary tour. The exposure placed them before stadium-sized audiences at a formative stage in their career.

More recently, Villanelle members have attended shows on the ongoing Oasis reunion tour, which Taylor said served as a reminder of how music with roots in the past can still feel relevant. “Even though they’re playing songs that are 30 years old, it doesn’t feel nostalgic at all,” he said. “With Oasis and Richard Ashcroft, those songs are timeless. It still sounds like the future of music.”

With the release of “Hinge,” Villanelle is moving toward establishing itself as more than a live curiosity. The group has announced a headline U.K. tour set for December, staged in smaller venues as part of what they are calling an underplay run. Tickets will go on sale September 17.