• Ultramantis Black – S/T

    June 24, 2014 - By 

    Pro wrestling isn’t necessarily the first port of call in terms of informed and conscientious political and social commentary, with non-jingoistic fans for years putting up with dated “evil foreigner” gimmicks, gang-like groups repping colours and flipping hand signs, and myriad other misrepresentations of a reality from which the artform was originally supposed to provide escape. Call it a fucking huge surprise then, when UltraMantis Black, masked wrestler and staple of leading American independent company CHIKARA, broke his silence to yowl in a political straight-edge hardcore band, out of character, yet within mask, in a surreal clash of the king…

  • Hope is Noise @ The Pavilion

    May 2, 2014 - By 

    In the process of getting out to this gig, venturing out on a wet Thursday night, your writer wrenches his ankle, and as a result, spends the next 20 minutes hobbling to the Pavilion, just in time to miss most of debuting Cork/Italian lads The Order of the Mess‘ power-duo noise-rock assault. Their stuff on Soundcloud paints a rough but promising picture, that of a multifaceted, but bludgeoningly weighty aural attack. They’re well-received here. Settling in for Hope is Noise getting on with setup, it’s a decent crowd that litters the bar of the Pav, especially right before a Bank…

  • Elastic Sleep – Leave You E.P.

    April 29, 2014 - By 

    The first thing that slaps you about the face about the debut E.P. from Elastic Sleep, is not the shimmering, foggy beauty they can conjure, hinted at in their dream-pop debut bijou, ‘Anywhere’, but the weight and conviction behind its execution. Cork shoegazers with a serious pedigree gleaned from their time in popgaze supermachine Agitate the Gravel/Terror Pop and synth-poppers Superblondes, the band’s collective experiences, disappointments, and refined vision have crystallised here in the form of six tracks that quickly embody a wide palate of influences, that not so much form the next stage of an ongoing evolution for the…

  • The Complete Guide to Therapy?: Part 6

    April 1, 2014 - By 

    And so we’ve arrived at the final part of our trawl through the Therapy? discography (which has gone over the allotted week owing to time/work commitments, apologies to all reading/following!). As with any band worth its salt, in delivering fourteen albums, there’s bound to be tunes that have slipped through the cracks, been deemed “not right for the album”, or been tried out in various embryonic forms throughout the years only to be recorded by someone in the crowd, as well as supplementary live releases, bonus bits, DVDs, radio-taped bootlegs and much more, all kept in trading circles and generally…

  • The Complete Guide to Therapy?: Part 5

    March 29, 2014 - By 

    PREVIOUSLY: After getting it all out of their systems with Suicide Pact-You First, the band pack up and head to Seattle for two months, and hit the studio with Jack Endino. The result is the oft-derided Shameless, which, in retrospect, is the sound of the band cutting loose and having fun after a long uncertain spell. The promise and hope that emerge after the sessions, however, are tested by record label faux-pas and difficult touring. By the end of 2001, drummer Graham Hopkins quits, and early 2002 sees them without a label again. Moving quickly, the band contacts Keith Baxter…

  • The Complete Guide to Therapy?: Part 4

    March 28, 2014 - By 

    PREVIOUSLY: Having almost burned themselves out after six years of constant activity, drummer Fyfe Ewing leaves Therapy? in January 1996, almost halting touring for the rest of the Infernal Love album-cycle (eugh). Moving quickly, the band auditions for a new sticksman, and decides on Graham Hopkins, formerly of My Little Funhouse. Filling out the line-up is new addition and longtime collaborator Martin McCarrick, on cellos and guitars. After jaunts to the U.S. in 1996, including supports for Ozzy Osbourne, things get quiet, as the second line-up gets used to a new dynamic while demoing and writing. Pursuing a broad new…

  • The Complete Guide to Therapy?: Part 3

    March 26, 2014 - By 

    PREVIOUSLY: Signing with A&M (now part of Universal’s maze of industry-quashing acquisitions), Therapy? begin setting about making debut full-length Nurse, a mongrel of industrial production, noise turbulence and well-honed pop that immediately makes an impact, from charting to making a cameo in Seinfeld. ‘Teethgrinder’ charts in Ireland, and touring continues apace. The grunge bandwagon comes calling, however, and Therapy? do the right and appropriate thing: fuck off and write a punk album for themselves. Troublegum and the slew of singles that precede it transform the boys in black into chart-bothering, festival-headlining titans, with ‘Screamager’ leading the Shortsharpshock E.P. into the…

  • The Complete Guide to Therapy?: Part 2

    March 25, 2014 - By 

    PREVIOUSLY: Guitarist Andy Cairns and drummer Fyfe Ewing meet at a Battle of the Bands and start jamming after talking about bands they like in common. First demo tape 30 Seconds of Silence showcases a wide variety of ideas, and soon they’re joined by Ewing’s classmate Michael McKeegan, for the recording of second demo tape Meat Abstract. The intrepid trio set off on tour around Ireland, and with the release of their debut single, also entitled Meat Abstract, the UK. While in London, the band gets airplay from John Peel, and begins to garner label interest. Signing with Wiiija, Therapy?…

  • The Complete Guide To Therapy?: Part 1

    March 24, 2014 - By 

    Your writer would have been six years old when, at the end of The Den, the video for Nowhere came on. It was unlike anything. From the kaleidoscopic visual onslaught, to the menace of frontman Andy Cairns and his bob ‘n’ goatee combo behind his black Gibson SG, to the wailing police-siren lead that overlays its rollicking chorus. There are times when you can’t explain what makes sense, but it just does, especially at that age. And it stayed with me, lying dormant through childish flights of fancy through Britpop, nu-metal, assorted electronic pop and whatever else was handy to…

  • Everything Sucks #008: Radio

    March 4, 2014 - By 

    Over the course of doing a rant column in the hopes of entertaining others, you realise very quickly that while your first draft is often the most satisfying to get off your rotten little chest, it’s also the most stupid thing you could possibly put into the atmosphere. I was supposed to have a column in for Friday that would set the recent debate on radio right. It would accomplish this by dismissing radio as an artform entirely, citing podcasts, streaming, and many more external factors, combined with radio’s own greed and narrowing remit, as it block-programmes itself even further…