• Cruising – Cruising

    August 14, 2015 - By 

    Sometimes a band name can elucidate the direction in which its songs will travel.  Cruising are a case in point, named after a book/film delving into the dark underworld of a serial killer who picks up homosexual men from the New York S&M scene to murder.  EP cover emblazoned with a black leather biker jacket, band name studded across the shoulders, and PVC leather hat a la Jesse “Boots Electric” Hughes, worn in promo photos runs with the theme. There’s more than a whisper of iconic female rockers like Joan Jett, Siouxsie Sioux and Poly Styrene.  Understandably so, given that…

  • Albert Hammond Jr. – Momentary Masters

    August 4, 2015 - By 

    Albert Hammond Jr. is a man whose solo work is put under severe levels of scrutiny because of his musical pedigree: son and namesake of a highly distinguished and decorated musician, and a key figure in the success of one of the most influential bands of a generation – in one sense it’s a badge of honour; in another, an encumbering lineage. It’s fair to say that previous albums, although competent, haven’t quite lived up to those somewhat daunting standards. The album’s first single, ‘Born Slippy’, opens proceedings, and is very different to the now 20-year-old track from Underworld, forever synonymous with Trainspotting.  Evocative of the intro to ‘Macho Picchu’ from The Strokes’ 2011 album Angles, it’s a nod to seminal New York insouciant…

  • Sleaford Mods – Key Markets

    July 7, 2015 - By 

    Fresh from well received performances on the festival circuit, particularly the BBC-broadcast Glastonbury, Sleaford Mods have been exposed to a wider audience and remain masters of polarisation. They have become poster boys for the disenfranchised: they’re proud of their roots but they don’t want the music to be undermined or people to misconstrue their working-class stance as validation of lout culture. They are quick to disassociate themselves from the hooligan element, or as vocalist Jason Williamson put it: “If you’re expecting some kind of cross between This Is England and Twycross Zoo mixed in with The Firm then please do…

  • Tame Impala – Currents

    June 24, 2015 - By 

    Australian Kevin Parker is the inventive mind behind Tame Impala; a band among the new wave of psych-rock revivalists.  It began as a solo venture, as he wrote, recorded, produced and performed the music, before expanding to become the outfit we know it as today.  Most psych bands nowadays fit into two categories: they’re either a throwback to classic psych instrumentation, making use of feedback, and often get too caught up in clichés; or they operate like Deerhunter or Tame Impala, touching on the past but managing to make use of modern electronics to add a depth of tone and…

  • Festival Preview: Open House Festival

    June 22, 2015 - By 

    This year’s Open House Festival has once again delivered a strong blend of music and arts to charm audiences throughout the month of August.  An array of top-class talent is brought to Northern Ireland during the course of the year under the Open House banner, but the annual festival is the pinnacle for its promoters; when they round-up a list of traditional and cutting edge folk artists to perform in Bangor.  Taking place from August 1-31 there will be over 100 events in 26 different locations within the seaside town.  A whole range of concerts, performances, film screenings, talks, exhibitions…

  • Primavera Sound 2015

    June 11, 2015 - By 

    This year Primavera Sound celebrated its 15th birthday, in which time it has established itself as one of the foremost music festivals worldwide. Every year festival curators have aimed to deliver a top class line-up offering a diverse range of musical talent. Always interesting, they manage to blend exciting contemporary artists with auspicious greats who have paved the way. Scanning a list of legendary acts who have graced the Primavera stage is overwhelming; it’s like a who’s who of groundbreaking artists from the past 50 years, including Lou Reed, Iggy and the Stooges, Patti Smith, Television, Motorhead, My Bloody Valentine, Pavement,…

  • Sun Kil Moon – Universal Themes

    June 8, 2015 - By 

    It’s fair to say Sun Kil Moon guitarist and vocalist Mark Kozelek is a multi-faceted and somewhat temperamental individual: he wears his heart on his sleeve and bears his soul through song. He had a well documented spat with The War on Drugs last year after their sound bled on to his stage at a festival, and has even criticised his own fans for being a bunch of hipster “guys in tennis shoes” [ed: see Laura Snape’s recent piece on his on-stage response to her attempts to interview and profile the artist]. Last year’s release Benji was an emotionally wrought…

  • Joanna Gruesome – Peanut Butter

    May 26, 2015 - By 

    As a band alleged to have formed at anger management classes, Joanna Gruesome are a surprisingly jovial, albeit dark-humoured group when interviewed.  The band’s guitarist/singer Owen Williams summed this up describing the album when, he said: “This is our second record.  It is about 20 minutes long and aims to expose the radical possibilities of peanut butter.”  This tongue-in-cheek adolescence also runs through the core of the music, which displays glimpses of emotional depth but quickly resorts to bursts of noise, redolent of a teenage temper tantrum. Debut album Weird Sister was a mixed bag that threw up the occasional odd-ball…

  • Psych-Rock Revolution: Ireland and Beyond

    April 16, 2015 - By 

    When you consider Ireland’s rich history of iconic rock bands, those of a psych-rock persuasion don’t feature heavily on the list. Bands labelled as psychedelic were emerging in the US and Britain as early as the 1960’s. At the beginning it was defined by experimental songwriting, mind-altering drug culture, and a penchtant for flamboyant silk shirts. Tracing its roots back to the 1960’s you find bands like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Yardbirds, Jimmi Hendrix, The Doors, Soft Machine, Sly and the Family Stone and The Grateful Dead. Although Ireland could not be seen as a psych-rock hub, it has…