French punk rockers Tagada Jones played The Grand Social at the weekend with support from Mutefish. Photos by Carlos Daly.
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Belfast-based folk singer-songwriter Michael McCullagh AKA Meb Jon Sol has been on something of a far-reaching musical expedition since his Colenso Parade days. A far cry musically from the starry-eyed indie pop of the latter – now defunct – Omagh five-piece, McCullagh’s debut solo album bears the lyrical and thematic imprint of wisdom and experience throughout, each track underpinned by the inner workings of wanderlust or quixotic wondering. Preceded by “yeo!”-generating singles ‘Leave All Your Troubles With Me‘ and ‘Captain of this Ship‘, Southpaw Niños strikes a keen balance between self-reflection and knowingly cavalier abandon, McCullagh’s quasi-mystical, eager tales of the open road and distant…
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For the last couple of years, Richie Egan has been residing in the Malmö, Sweden, recording material that will rear its head on Jape’s forthcoming fifth album, The Chemical Sea. As was perfectly illustrated in Ian Pearce’s photo feature with Egan last year, there was no shortage of equipment and sonic gadgetry at the latter’s disposal in the studio, something that is more than evident on ‘The Heart’s Desire’, a new track melding Hot Chip-esque electro musing and forward-moving synth-pop that is unmistakably Jape. The Chemical Sea will be released in January. Stream ‘The Heart’s Desire’ right here.
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Strabane alternative/indie-pop trio White Male Actors release their long-awaited debut EP, Ghosts, through Broken Melody Records on October 20. The band started well when they sent their single ’31 Years’ to the R.E.M. offices in April of 2013 in tribute to their breakup, catching the attention of erstwhile drummer Bill Berry, and now they release their anthemic brand of guitar-led indie-pop to the world, launching it with a Hidden Machine show at Voodoo on October 30. The EP was recorded and mixed in Staffordshire’s Burntwood Studios, as well as in Derry’s Blast Furnace and the one track released so far, ‘Mysteries and…
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Taking place from November 14 to November 22, the eighth annual Outburst Queer Arts Festival will return with eight days and nights of world class and new local, theatre, performance, film, visual art and discussion, celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender creativity in venues across the city of Belfast. From neo-cabaret duo Bourgeois & Maurice (pictured) and a screening of 52 Tuesdays to David Hoyle’s Queer History Tour and Gayllifrey: a queer celebration of Doctor Who, the festival traverses each and every creative medium to deliver a festival “sharing and exploring LGBT experiences and bringing exciting, entertaining and challenging new work to…
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Shellac don’t operate like a normal band. Releasing albums every seven years in between Steve Albini and Bob Weston’s day jobs as recording engineers; no fanfare, no previews or singles; no accompanying tour. One thing they can be relied on for, however, is their consistency. You could essentially arrange Shellac’s discography into any order and it would be difficult for a newcomer to work out the correct sequence. This is no bad thing – no one wants to hear a Shellac album that doesn’t sound like Shellac – it’s a testament to how consistently strong they’ve been over the last…