• Belfast Film Festival 2014

    February 3, 2014 - By 

    Now in its 14th year, the Belfast Film Festival makes its return to various cinemas, theatres and venues across the city from March 27 to April 6. With the bulk of the this year’s line-up yet to be announced, there has already been three special screenings confirmed to whet our collective film-going appetite: a live soundtrack performance of zombie classic Dawn of the Dead at the Waterfront on Saturday, April 5, a one-man show by Jon Ronson on being the keyboard player in Frank Sidebottom’s band and the debut film by Benedikt Erlingsson’s, Of Horses and Men. Go here to learn more…

  • TTA Session #003: Affleck

    February 3, 2014 - By 

    In the third installment of our live session series, hotly-tipped Belfast-based experimental electro three-piece Affleck performs two tracks (including the brand new, unreleased ‘Ravenholm’) and grant us a brief but very revealing interview into the band’s formation, their songwriting process and much more. As ever, the session was filmed and edited by the masterful Colm Laverty and its audio recorded/mixed by Clark Philips.

  • Watch: Two Glass Eyes – Mend

    February 3, 2014 - By 

    Northern Irish alt-rock trio Two Glass Eyes have unveiled the DIY video to their new single, ‘Mend’. Shot and edited by the band’s drummer Mark Easton (of TinyBird Media), the video was shot on zero budget, the band aiming for a “feel-good tour/studio video”. Two Glass Eyes are currently booking their European tour for later in the year. They also officially launch ‘Mend’ at Belfast’s Voodoo on Thursday, February 6, with Past Victories, Dog Will Hunt and Abandcalledboy. Go here for the show’s event page. Watch the video for ‘Mend’ below.

  • Interview: Cymbals

    January 31, 2014 - By 

    C Having just released their long-awaited second album, the stellar The Age of Fracture, London DIY ‘tropi-disco’ four-piece Cymbals have spent the last two months carefully re-imagining their decidedly danceable electro-indie craft. Inspired by the decaying nature of semantics and everyday meaning in the modern age – as written in the book of the same title by Princeton academic, Daniel T. Rodgers – the album is challenging and resolutely enjoyable in equal proportion. Ahead of their Belfast show at Belfast’s Limelight 2 on Thursday, February 6, we talk to the band’s bassist Luke Carson to discuss concepts, inspiration and the band’s implicit “manifesto”…

  • Other Voices: Derry Music Trail

    January 31, 2014 - By 

    Returning after the success of last year’s proceedings, the Other Voices Music Trail will take pace in Derry/Londonderry again this February 7 to 9. Having had over 450 entries from acts from across the country wishing to perform at the four-day showcase, the panel hand-selected 60 acts to perform right across the city’s innumerable venues, bars, cars and cultural landmarks. Featuring the likes of Bell X1, East India Youth, Public Service Broadcasing and dozens of Irish artists, check out the poster and full line-up for the trail below. Thursday, February 7 Annie Mac w/ Ryan Vail, Dollface Devereaux, Deep Fried…

  • Watch: TVVINS – You Better

    January 30, 2014 - By 

    Having emerged on Monday via a Soundcloud stream, Dublin side-project TVVINS have unveiled the old school video game-esque video for their ridiculously infectious forthcoming single, ‘You Better’. Created by Kevin Freeney of Vibes, the video features Conor Adams and Lar Kay in a malfunctioning Atari netherwold. Are they trapped? Have they died on tour and gone to the Commodore 64 in the sky? Nobody knows but what we can say for certain is that the video is a brilliantly inspired accompaniment to the track, the duo’s second single since forming last year. Check out James Hendicott’s introductory interview with the band…

  • Slint to release remastered Spiderland boxset

    January 30, 2014 - By 

    Touch and Go Records have announced that they are to release an extensive, remastered boxset of Spiderland by pioneering Louisville post-rock band Slint. Remastered from the original analog master tapes by Bob Weston and pressed on 180 gram vinyl, the record will be accompanied by fourteen previously unreleased outtakes and demos personally selected by the band and pressed on two 180 gram vinyl albums, a 104 page book with 100 never-been-seen photos documentary the band’s entire history, as well as lyrics to the songs on Spiderland and a forward by Will Oldham. It will also include a remastered version of…

  • Watch: The Mighty Stef – Nightwatchman of the Iveagh Flats

    January 29, 2014 - By 

    Bearing the influence of its producer, Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures) Dublin rock band The Mighty Stef have released the video to their masterfully moody new single, ‘Nightwatchman of the Iveagh Flats’. Propelled by frontman Stefan Murphy’s gruff vocal tones – think Mark Lanegan via Nick Cave, Ian McCulloch and (good) Bono – the song is set for a worldwide digital release on February 14. Reflecting the band’s passion for horror movies and culture, the video was shot at various locations around Dublin City in January and is “the tale of a local rock band who incur the wrath…

  • Inbound: Cruising

    January 30, 2014 - By 

    Comprised of members from Belfast and Dublin respectively, Cruising reared their head back in November with a scuzzy, two-chorded burst of overcast garage-rock in the form of ‘You Made Me Do That’. It pricked our ears and spiked our inner eye from the first crashing cymbal, the four-piece’s albeit “early days” vibe positively promising some great things in the making. Ahead of their debut Belfast show supporting September Girls at the Menagerie on Saturday, February 1, we fired a few questions to band (featuring one or two familiar faces) and they fired some answers back. Hello, Cruising. Whilst we could be…