• Incoming: Myles Manley

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    In the latest installment of Incoming we shoot the proverbial breeze with singer-songwriter Myles Manley, a completely one-of-a-kind artist born in England, raised in Sligo and currently based in Dublin. Idiosyncratic, offbeat and hugely accomplished, he evokes everyone from Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel and Bright Eyes and is a brilliant and unconventional poetic mind on the brink of breaking through.  Hi Myles. First off, what are your earliest memories of wanting to be a musician and performer? Are there any defining first moments? I started playing the bass at about 15 because there were around 20 electric guitar players in my year in…

  • Belfast Music Week 2013 launched

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    The fourth annual Belfast Music Week was officially launched at a ceremony at Belfast’s Waterfront this afternoon. Featuring performances from Alana Henderson and the Emerald Armada, the opening ceremony including speeches by Lord Mayor of Belfast Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, broadcaster and DJ Rigsy and Belfast Music Week co-ordinator Stuart Bailie. Amongst the announcements for the annual showcase, set to take place from November 11-15 across 70 venues in Belfast, Van Morrison (above) was unveiled as the main event. Following Belfast City Council’s decision on Monday night to grant the Freedom of Belfast to the 68 year old East Belfast native, it…

  • Saints Row IV (Deep Silver, Multiplatform)

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    “With great power comes great irresponsibility” should be the motto of Saints Row IV, which escalates mischief-making to ridiculous levels in a series of increasingly over the top missions. The central mechanics should be familiar to anyone who has invested even a few minutes in a “sandbox” title: you are presented with a fully accessible city packed with challenges such as timed races, shooting galleries and escort quests. However, you will more likely spend your time running riot by blowing stuff up, gesticulating rudely at pedestrians and generally acting the jackass. Saints Row IV stretches this idea like silly putty…

  • Video Preview: Róisín O – Hold On

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    Having warranted comparisons to the likes of Joni Mitchell, Joanna Newsom and Kate Bush, Dublin singer-songwriter Róisín O, has just finished a 14 date US tour off the back of her majestic debut album, The Secret Life of Blue. Ahead of its official release on Thursday, September 20, we have a preview of the video for her new single, ‘Hold On’. Directed by Simon Eustace, the video evokes spirit of the video for ‘All I Want’ by Kodaline and features a suitably fed-up couple of characters fleetingly breaking free from the soul-crushing confines of night-shift monotony to tempt the laws of love. Do…

  • Girls Names @ Musikcaféen, Copenhagen

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    Currently based in Sweden, Dublin photographer Ian Pearce captured Belfast four-piece Girls Names play Musikcaféen in Copenhagen as part of a brief string of European dates at the weekend just past. Heed how well young Cathal Cully and co. scrub up in his photos from the night below.

  • Lesser Known Pleasures: The Boo Radleys – Everything’s Alright Forever

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    Lesser Known Pleasures is a look at albums that live forever in the shadow of a classic. An artist’s “other”. Great records that were possibly a little too far ahead of their time. Perhaps fame had dimmed but the artist peaked creatively outside the spotlight. Maybe a grand artistic statement was greeted by bemused critics with disdain or worse, a cold shoulder. Lesser Known Pleasures won’t be found on the latest Best Albums Ever! list. They aren’t obscure enough to be Great Lost Albums either. They are albums that are less revered than they might be and deserve a wider…