• The End of an Era? How a Generation Got Beat Pt. 2

    November 28, 2013 - By 

    Over the years, ATP has become a watchword for a certain kind of classicism, an “accepted history” of what ‘good’ music is over the last 30 years. In this version of events, punk is good, rock is largely bad, unless it doesn’t take itself seriously, although “new” metal is ok. Electronica is generally given a by ball. Bands like Mission of Burma, Yo La Tengo (below), and The Flaming Lips are regarded as in the same way Mojo readers regard The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Eric Clapton, and many of the younger people there are aware they’re seeing something…

  • Spelunky (Mossmouth, PS3)

    November 28, 2013 - By 

    There are, so the internet viral says, so many dumb ways to die. This way of thinking inspires Spelunky, a shamefully retro platformer with a devious sense of humour that manages to bridge the elusive gap between “oh, just one more go then” and “oh, I want to impale my own eyes with my joypad”. Your character, an intrepid explorer in the Dr. Jones mould, can be crushed by a boulder, bitten by a snake, manhandled by a yeti, gobbled by piranhas, melted by an ancient mummy’s noxious breath, brain-fried by an alien’s gaze… the variety of deaths is almost endless,…

  • The End of an Era? How a Generation Got Beat Pt. 1

    November 27, 2013 - By 

    I looked down at my wrist. I held the scissors in my other hand, almost trembling with excitement. Or was it fear? I couldn’t say. Closing my eyes, I felt the pressure in my fingers, and heard the gentle sound of metal slicing through ribbon. After three years of wearing my ATP 2011 wristband, I removed it, like a surgeon operating on a tumour. I still hadn’t slept properly since The End of an Era Part 1, the first half of the festival’s great farewell, but the magic had been broken. If this was the end, then it was a…

  • Stream: Benihana – Patterns EP

    November 26, 2013 - By 

    Kildare electronic duo Will Molloy and Billy Archbold AKA Benihana have unveiled a stream of their debut EP, Patterns. Having released a couple of tracks throughout the year – including the spectral ‘Vanish’ – the pair’s five-track release veers between understated techno and synth-driven electronic pop, serving as a brief but brilliant introduction to a duo likely to concoct great things over the next while. Stream (or pay what you like for) the EP via Bandcamp below.

  • All Apologises: Translink’s Comedy of Errors

    November 26, 2013 - By 

    We’ve all been there. Underslept and shivering, kicking your heels to keep you occupied because the idea of blankly trawling through your phone yet again could send you into a spiral of technological self-condemnation. The banshee-like Enterprise train from Dublin roars past on the adjacent track, vengeful and creaking, when the immortal words come blaring over the tannoy in an irreducibly grand English accent: “We are sorry that the 8.55 train to Great Victoria Street has been delayed by approximately 8 minutes. Apologises for this late running and the inconvenience it may cause you.” A giddy pocket of school children elaborately…

  • Gig of the Week: Two Glass Eyes, Safe Ships, The Wood Burning Savages @ Radar

    November 25, 2013 - By 

    One of their final line-ups before Christmas, our gig of the week this week is the latest installment of Radar at Belfast’s QUBSU Speakeasy on Thursday, November 28. Headlined by alt-rock three-piece Two Glass Eyes, the bill will also feature performances from equally excellent Belfast-based punk band Safe Ships (above) and hugely promising Derry quartet The Wood Burning Savages. Check out the typically gleaming poster for the show: As you can see above, doors are at 9pm and admission is free. Stream ‘Fighting Fit’ and ‘Safest of Ships’ by Safe Ships below.

  • Gremlins @ QFT Belfast

    November 25, 2013 - By 

    Belfast’s Queen’s Film Theatre will host a special one-off screening of Joe Dante’s classic 1984 horror comedy blockbuster Gremlins on Saturday, December 14. Presented by BBC Radio Ulster broadcaster Ralph McClean the screening is one of a select handful of Christmas movies being shown at the film theatre this year and will also include complimentary Jameson cocktails, music and prizes (including an original print by Peter Strain). Doors are at 9pm, the film starts at 10pm and tickets are available to purchase right here. http://www.queensfilmtheatre.com/films/jamesongremlins/

  • Here we are now, Entertain us

    November 25, 2013 - By 

    ‘Why we Fight’ has always been my favourite episode of HBO’s acclaimed WW2 drama Band of Brothers. It deals with General Eisenhower’s decision to order as many men as possible witness the barbarity of Nazi concentration camps, so as, to help them better understand and rationalise the necessity of their actions during the war. Luckily there are no more wars of that scale and brutality and nothing anyone in my generation does will come close to rivalling what those people endured. We instead live in the most technologically advanced era in human history. We have access to more culture, learning…

  • Stream: Go Wolf – Voices/Even God

    November 25, 2013 - By 

    Belfast indie pop band Go Wolf are streaming their latest single,’Voices’ and its b-side, ‘Even God’. Whereas ‘Voices’ was featured on the fifteenth compilation by French electronic label Kitsuné last month, the version of ‘Even God’ is a re-recorded version from the version released last year. Here’s the artwork for the double single, created by Paul Irwin: Stream ‘Voices’ and ‘Even God’ via Bandcamp below.

  • Hannah McPhillimy: Freedom Songs @ Crumlin Road Gaol

    November 25, 2013 - By 

    Belfast Music Week has been host to many an interesting gig this year, from bookstores to bars, from balconies to boats, there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of quirky or fascinating venues, and now Hannah McPhillimy finds herself playing at The Crumlin Road Gaol. In conjunction with No More Traffik, ‘Freedom Songs’ is less of a traditional performance for the Belfast based singer/songwriter and more of an interactive journey through history. Tonight’s show is down in the depths of the now renovated and rejuvenated jail where Hannah uses all three corners of the triangular room to tell a capella…