For a band with a combined age of 120, the achievements of Little Green Cars is impressive. The indie quintet has clocked up two albums, seven tours of the US, and one appearance on the The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – and all in their early twenties.

However, having met in secondary school and gigging since the age of 16, the group’s success was certainly not instantaneous. “It was a long time before we got signed or did our first tour of America or any of that,” says guitarist Adam O’Regan. We started in 2007 and we’ve been writing our own songs since then. We wrote a lot of music before we wrote one really good song, and then our album.”

Known for their songwriting and harmonising talent, the group – which comprises Stevie Appleby, Faye O’Rourke, Adam O’Regan, Donagh Seaver O’Leary and Dylan Lynch – released their first album, Absolute Zero, to critical acclaim in 2013.

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Their latest album, Ephemera, was released earlier this year. A more introspective record than their first release, it deals with loss and heartbreak experienced by the band during the past few years.

“It’s a very personal album for us. We went through a lot when we were writing it. We are a lot more pensive in some ways. The music emulates that. In a lot of ways, for us, it feels like a bigger record, more expansive, because the themes we are singing about are universal,” says Adam.

Adam’s father passed away just before Little Green Car’s first album was released.

“My dad died in 2012, around three months before the first album came out. Then everything started and turned into a rollercoaster. I was experiencing all that, and travelling around the world with the same five people, trying to make sense of these emotions. There was a lot of growing and learning,” he adds.

Adam wrote the song Brother, which is based on dealing with the loss of his father and the impact on his family. When he was a teenager, his father encouraged Adam to learn to play guitar as a way to express himself.

“I never really did well in school and I never felt I had an aptitude for studying – I would be sitting in geography class and wondering why I was there. It felt like a waste of time for me,” he says.

“I enjoyed drawing, or playing and listening to music. My dad suggested that I pick up the electric guitar as an avenue . . . just to ignite a passion and to give me some direction. He was always about that, following dreams, as corny as it might sound. He was always trying to encourage me to do what I wanted to do.”

The group is managed by Daniel Ryan, who was formerly a guitarist with The Thrills.

“He heard some of our music on MySpace and he came out to our show,” says Adam. “We were around 17, in fifth year, and he met us afterwards and said, is this what you want to do with your lives? After that we started to take it really seriously.

“My dad bought me my first CD Walkman, and one of the albums he gave me was by The Thrills. I was actually a big fan of his music, long before I met Daniel. It was funny how the planets aligned,” he adds.

Little Green Cars are now working on new music and gigging across the country, with Adam a believer in old-fashioned graft to make it as a musician.

“First and foremost, focus on writing music. Bands nowadays get caught up on having a social media presence and try to get videos and EPs out, but you should have good music in place first. That’s the most important thing for a songwriter: the songs,” he says.

“Overnight successes do happen, but equally something that you think is great might not get any traction. The most important thing is to make the music that excites you.” CL

>> Sligo Live

Little Green Cars join the line-up at Sligo Live, which includes Rodrigo y Gabriela, Paul Brady, the Saw Doctors, Lynched and Sara Watkins, Mairtin O’Connor, Cathal Hayden & Seamie O’Dowd. Little Green Cars will perform live on Saturday 29 October in the Knocknarea Arena, IT Sligo. Tickets are €26.50 plus service charge (standing) and a very limited number of tiered seated tickets at €29.50 plus service charge are on sale from www.sligolive.ie, Ticketmaster and the Hawk’s Well Theatre. Telephone: (071) 916 1518.