• AAA: King Kong Company @ The Sugar Club, Dublin

    December 1, 2014 - By 

    In this installement of AAA (Access All Areas) we hang out with King Kong Company before they performed to a sold out to capacity Sugar Club in Dublin last Saturday night. We sent our photographer Shaun Neary to the venue to document the goings on from set up and sound check, as well as catching support from The Casanova Wave and Nanu Nanu who were more than capable of warming the crowd up before the main act took to the stage. Check out the gallery below for a comprehensive overview of the night.

  • Track Record: Benni Johnston (Cruising)

    December 1, 2014 - By 

    Benni Johnston is currently making noises with Cruising, having fronted Logikparty and lending her vocals to a couple of tracks on Bantum’s 2013 debut Legion. Along with a stint as a successful DJ in Dublin having shaped her eclectic taste, it’s only natural that the record collection she has amassed over the years is impressive. We hang out at her apartment in Dublin and have a chat about her favourite albums from Joy Division to Laurel Halo. Photos by Shaun Neary. Gang of Four – Entertainment Gang of fucking Four. Nuff said. Pity about that new record though eh. Fucking DISASTER.   Jon Hopkins – Immunity It’ll come…

  • Track Record: Daniel Paxton (Buffalo Sunn)

    December 3, 2014 - By 

    Daniel Paxton has been a staple in the Irish music scene for over ten years now having played in Mainline, The Brothers Movement, Sweet Jane and his current band Buffalo Sunn, so it’s no surprise he’s amassed quite an impressive record collection ranging from the pioneering country of Neil Young, alt-folk favourites Fleet Foxes and harmonic generators The Byrds. We spend the evening with him in his house in Dublin and chat about some of his most prized possessions. Photos by Shaun Neary. The Flying Burrito Brothers – The Gilded Palace of Sin How cool do these guys look on the cover…

  • Classic Album: Cocteau Twins – Treasure

    November 28, 2014 - By 

    When was the last time you heard something that sounded like it came from another world? We can often be blasé about things now, and with everything being up for grabs and accessible thanks to the ol’ information superhighway, it’s that little bit harder to find something fresh. So try and imagine what it was like when a band from the Scottish industrial town of Grangemouth arrived with something that sounded like it had fallen directly from the kingdom of heaven itself? Minds were, indeed, blown.In no uncertain terms, the first two records by the Cocteau Twins can be filed under ‘goth’. You…

  • Track Record: Bobby Aherne

    November 28, 2014 - By 

    Bobby Aherne is one very busy lad who can be found bouncing between various bands such as No Monster Club, Ginnels and Women’s Christmas to penning a hilarious book about Dublin legends. We caught up with him and his Kalamazoo synth-pop house guest,  M.Sord for a fun flip through his record collection. Photos by Isabel Thomas. Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam I got more and more into Animal Collective as I grudgingly made my way through university – with a particular fondness for the one in which the only lyric is the drawn-out line “You don’t have to go to college”. During the (very welcome)…

  • Track Record: Jen Connell (Cave Ghosts)

    November 26, 2014 - By 

    We hang out with Jen Connell from Cave Ghosts in her bedroom and discuss some of the most important records in her collection and how they’ve influenced her from Leonard Cohen to Beach House, and everything in between. Photos by Aaron Corr. Blue – Joni Mitchell Joni Mitchell has the purest voice I’ve ever heard and this is such a perfect record, from start to finish. I learned a lot about songwriting and singing from Joni, she’s a true storyteller. I think my favourite tracks from this are ‘Case of You’ and ‘Blue’. She paints such a detailed picture with her…

  • Inbound: Little Hours

    November 26, 2014 - By 

    With their first headlining gig and EP launch to take place this Thursday (November 27) at Dublin’s Sugar Club, Joe Madsen chats with folk duo Ryan McCloskey and John Doherty AKA Little Hours about the rollercoaster ride of a year they’ve been having since their formation back in February. Photos by Isabel Thomas. How long have you guys known each other and how long have you been playing together? Ryan: “For about five or six years.  We’ve played with a lot of different cover bands over the past few years, but the original thing came into formation at the start of this…

  • Classic Album: The Raincoats – The Raincoats

    November 25, 2014 - By 

    1979 was the peak year for post-punk. Picking up the torch from the already stale and fast dying punk scene, adopting its spirit but injecting it with a new sense of invention, artistry and a range of eclectic influences in place of punk’s self inflicted limitations, there were genre defining debuts from Joy Division and Gang Of Four, as well as classic follow ups from the likes of Wire and Public Image Ltd among many others. The Fall even released not only their first but also their second album that year, featuring two almost entirely different lineups, immediately starting as…

  • Classic Album: The Dismemberment Plan – Emergency & I

    November 24, 2014 - By 

    “The only thing worse than bad memories, is no memories at all” – Travis Morrison, “Spiders In The Snow” Emergency & I is a legitimately great record. It’s one of those rare, incredibly charitable records that just keeps on giving and giving. Repeat listens reveal so many layers and nuances to each of the songs. Musically, everything seems to work. Eric Axelson’s basslines are genuinely inspiring, so good in their own right that they could carry the songs on their own, and often do. This is offset by Joe Easley’s drumming acting perfectly as Axelson’s foil and sliding effortly between…

  • Transition Cinema: Outburst 2014 Review

    November 24, 2014 - By 

    The film programme of the 8th annual Outburst Queer Arts Festival, screened at Belfast’s QFT, offered a showcase of some of the most interesting additions to international queer cinema. A running theme in this year’s films is that of identities in transition. Characters move from female to male, naive to mature, adolescent to adult, loser to big-shot, in to out. Sometimes they escape their current identities through bravery and curiosity; other times they are forced to by events out of their control. New identities and arrangements promise liberation and novelty, but navigating the changes brings unseen problems. Sometimes they make…