• Blur Retrospective: Leisure (1991)

    April 22, 2015 - By 

    Examining the runt of a band’s musical litter is a never fun. Looking at this small, misshapen thing and comparing it to its stronger, better formed siblings, you almost develop a strange affection for it; a kind of pity. The perpetual adolescence nature of them, acne ridden and still trying to discover what they are and who they could be. Sometimes these little creatures contain more depth and warmth than their cooler, better developed counterparts. Other times they are the like visiting a social media ghost town and seeing all those images and ideas that you were so proud of…

  • The Hefty Fog: Retrospect Is Vital

    April 21, 2015 - By 

    Retrospect is the cruellest of inner dialogues because it’s always haunted by those most biting verbs, ‘should’, ‘could’, and ‘would’. So when a Christian music venue in Orlando FL, booked the blatantly anti-Christian, pro-Satan Vital Remains for a show, one has to wonder what kind of shoulds, coulds, and woulds were floating around when frontman Brian Werner decided that a crucifix hanging above the stage wasn’t the most appropriate ornament for the proceedings.  It’s no surprise that Werner’s humbling of the son of god didn’t go down very well with the organizer, who, the footage itself testifies, looks exactly like…

  • Deep Down South: Instrumentals, Jet Setters & Midweek Mixers

    April 20, 2015 - By 

    The big announcement last week as we went to post the column was that PLUGD Records and the Triskel were bringing a live performance of Arthur Russell‘s ‘Instrumentals’ to Cork, happening at the arts centre on May 22nd. The 1974 concert piece, perhaps the most important of the avant-garde icon’s body of work, will be performed by an all-star nine-piece ensemble, including original collaborators: Peter Gordon, composer and bandleader of Love Of Life Orchestra; Rhys Chatham, composer; Ernie Brooks of The Modern Lovers; Peter Zummo, formerly of The Lounge Lizards; David Van Tieghem, formerly of The Steve Reich Ensemble &…

  • Exclusive: Stream Three Record Store Gay Tracks

    April 17, 2015 - By 

    Fast becoming an Irish music institution Dublin’s Record Store Gay has some obvious added import this year ahead of the forthcoming Marriage Referendum. Now in its fourth year, the self-proclaimed celebration of music and diversity will host a mini-music festival, poster exhibition and pop-up music shop for international Record Store Day tomorrow at Dublin’s Outhouse LGBT Community Resource Centre. Hosted in association with Little Gem Records, the annual Record Store Gay CD covers compilation will also be released on the day, featuring some excellent tracks from the likes of Hi Fashion, Kate’s Party, I Heart The Monster Hero, Florence Olivier, Katherine Lynch…

  • Rave New World (17/4)

    April 17, 2015 - By 

    It’s Friday, the sun is shining (kind of) and Antoin Lindsay, befitting his custom, is here to deliver Rave New World, his weekly dose of all things electronic. Get stuck in. GIGS Twitch & Nocturne present – Move D at The Bunatee, Belfast Saturday, April 18 Move D’s been in the game for over two decades so you can be assured you’re in safe hands if you make the wise decision to head to Twitch on Saturday. Expect the finest and funnest selection of house, techno and disco from Mr. Moufang who gets as into it as the crowd does.…

  • Primer: Burn After Inking

    April 17, 2015 - By 

      In the latest installment of Primer, Eoghain Meakin takes a look at Burn After Inking, an exhibition of illustrations and paintings from Gavin Fullerton, Christina O’Donovan, Melissa Malone, Patrick Semple, Fiona Meade and Daniel Spencer at Dublin’s The Mart. Photos by Aine O’Hara MART continues to shine as one of the city’s premier, not-for-profit creative spaces. Spread out over the venues two main rooms this eclectic mix of styles and ambitions are linked by the fact that they could all find a home in story books from Beatrix Potter to the positively post-modern. Reading the room like a text,…

  • Track Record: Paddy Hanna

    April 23, 2015 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record, we poke around the house of Paddy Hanna in search of his favourite records. Photos by Brian Mulligan. Kevin Devine and The Goddam Band – Bubblegum I played a show with this dude at the Roisin Dubh in Galway, following the performance he and I went back to the apartment which is provided for the bands. We spoke for about three or so hours, I drank ice cold Zaconey left in the freezer by the previous nights band while he enjoyed herbal tea and a packet of cheese and onion hunky dory. after another ill…

  • ‘Traditional’ Discrimination Is Still Discrimination

    April 16, 2015 - By 

      I’m not sure if I’ll ever get married; never-say-never and no-one knows what the future holds of course. I’m not against marriage. I’m not anything-for-it really in terms of my own life right now. It’s just not something that’s on my agenda at this point in time. However the notion that I have the luxury of the option while some of my closest friends do not simply because of the gender of their partner makes me feel really really sad. In fact I wouldn’t want to get married in a country where it is a privilege of mine over…

  • 10 Picks for Belfast Film Festival

    April 16, 2015 - By 

    Kicking off this evening with Mark Cousins’ I Am Belfast, and running from April 16 to April 25, this year’s Belfast Film Festival boasts a programme traversing ever genre and sub-genre of modern and classic cinema. With screenings and one-off events taking place in venues large, small and altogether curious across the city, there is (as their full programme attests) quite literally something for everyone on offer. In fact, so dense is the schedule that we’ve enlisted the immeasurably tasteful Conor Smyth to whittle it down to ten of their most unmissable screenings and events. Delve in. I Am Belfast  The question…

  • Track Record: Tape Waves

    April 17, 2015 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record, we hang out with Kim and Jarod from South Carolina based dream pop band Tape Waves as they select their favourite records from Beach House to Brian Wilson. Photos by Jen Stevens. Kim Mary Timony – Mountains This is one of the first LPs I ever bought. I bought it my first year of college. I had been listening to Helium all through High School and when I got this album I felt like it was such a transition for Mary Timony. There are more simple songs with pianos and keyboards, and less guitars. Helium always sounded magical…