• Premiere: Rebekah Fitch – Another Show

    April 6, 2017 - By 

    We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: we’re not above straight-up pop music here at The Thin Air. For us, a killer chorus and gleaming production can easily be as potent as the the heftiest riff or most left-of-centre experimentalism. And why should it be any different? Steadily established herself as an artist who is honing her strong penchant for hook-heavy pop, Belfast singer-songwriter Rebekah Fitch is a perfect case in point in the defence of music that fully embraces its strengths. Launched at Belfast’s Pavilion tonight (with support from Brash Isaac and Amy Montgomery) her new single, ‘Another Show’, sees commanding vocals…

  • Stream: Beach – Bram Toker

    April 5, 2017 - By 

    In the best possible sense, Dublin five-piece Beach – one of our featured 17 for ’17 acts – have always been one to pin down. Marrying left-of centre psychedelia with the imprint of electronic, Krautrock and indie rock influence, their increasingly earworming craft caught our ear and then some at the tail-end of last year on single ‘Ono Noh‘. With its Goat-like incanted psych, propulsive groove and sub-bass sorcery, its follow-up, ‘Bram Toker’, goes one further, confirming the band as an act to be considered alongside fellow Irish sonic diviners The Altered Hours and Elastic Sleep.

  • Come On Live Long Announce New Album ‘In The Still’

    April 5, 2017 - By 

    Dublin’s Come On Live Long have announced the release of their long awaited second album In The Still.  Having released their debut Everything Fall in 2013, the band took their time before returning for their sophomore effort. In that time we have heard teasers for the record without even realising, with ‘For The Birds’ and the breathtaking ‘Trough’ both set to appear on In The Still. Nonetheless, aside from playing scatters of gigs here and there, the past four years for Come On Live Long were spent largely on the periphery of the scene. Making a big impact whenever they did return however meant they were…

  • Body & Soul Reveal New Acts

    April 4, 2017 - By 

    In just over 11 weeks, Body & Soul will return to Ballinlough Castle for its annual three-day summer solstice festival. Having already announced the likes of Metronomy, Lambchop and Sleaford Mods, today the festival have revealed a host of new acts set to appear at the Co. Westmeath event across June 23-25. As well as genderqueer performer, activist and poet Mykki Blanco, Austra, The Moondlandingz, Sinkane, Æ Mak, Mario Batkovic, BARQ, Shookrah, Le Boom, Katie Laffan and Sing Along Social will also perform. Elsewhere, Reckless In Love, Homebeat and more will also join those taking care of things as proceedings edge into evening across the weekend. Check out…

  • Watch: Elder Druid – Rogue Mystic

    April 4, 2017 - By 

    When it comes to doom and sludge metal, the island of Ireland more than holds it own. Staking their claim in such a healthy scene is Ballymena five-piece Elder Druid, a band who formed in early 2015 via a mutual love of riffmasters general Black Sabbath, the impossibly heavy Electric Wizard, desert masters Kyuss and the almighty Sleep. Lifted from the band’s latest EP, Magicka, the band have unveiled the video to their pulverizing new single, ‘Rogue Mystic’. Featuring suitably warped, arcane archive imagery courtesy of Gryphus Visuals, the six-minute effort conjures the fuzzed-out, hazy heft of everyone from Down at their most vengeful, Come My…

  • Stream: New Jackson – Anya’s Piano

    April 4, 2017 - By 

    In the lead up to the release of his debut LP under the New Jackson monicker, David Kitt has released a 12″ led by album track ‘Anya’s Piano’. From Night To Night is set for release on May 19th through the terrific All City label. ‘Anya’s Piano’ is an expansive and atmospheric cut, chock with groove, hypnotic double bass and a lavish saxophone part from Terry Edwards [PJ Harvey/Gallon Drunk]. The other two tracks on the 12″, which will not appear on From Night To Night, are equally rich. ‘In My Room’ boasts a deep, basement energy and mechanism while ‘Leave Me Making’ incites a swaying, breezy feeling amid its…

  • Watch: Neil Flynn – J.E.N (feat. Katie Kim)

    April 4, 2017 - By 

    Kilkenny native, Berlin based producer Neil Flynn, has released a visual accompaniment for ‘J.E.N.’ The track, which appeared on his EP for Berlin based label Lossless last October, is a driving, club ready cut from an artist whose penchant for deep, melodic house music has seen his releases getting played out by the likes of Dixon and Âme. The track also features a typically haunting guest vocal from Katie Kim.  The video, a stark black and white accompaniment was shot in various forests from Berlin to Norway, Sweden and Iceland. Flynn, who we interviewed back in 2015, has also just released a remix of VIMES’ ‘Rudal’ which can be heard here.

  • Watch: A Lilac Decline – Mountain Rages

    March 31, 2017 - By 

    The anagrammatic musical pseudonym of West Coast-based Swedish visual artist and dreamfolk musician Cecilia Danell, A Lilac Decline’s debut album, The Mountain Rages, has just been released via Galway imprint Rusted Rail. Having come together during sessions in the spring and the wet summer of 2016, the album was recorded via one microphone and a selection of borrowed and found instruments in a Galway attic room and a remote cabin in Norway. Melding Danell’s brittle ruminations with  ‘gazey soundscapes, check out the title track – and its video – from the album below.

  • Premiere: Autre Monde – Customs

    March 30, 2017 - By 

    We’re delighted to premiere the debut single, ‘Customs’, from Dublin-based indie supergroup of sorts, Autre Monde. The quartet comprises revered songsmith Paddy Hanna on vocals, Ginnels‘ Mark Chester on guitar, Land Lovers‘ Padraig Cooney on bass and Eoghan O’Brien on drums. Harking toward minimal ’80s college rock and esteemed chiming CBGB’s guitar reinventors like Television, Suicide and Pere Ubu, with a saturated Neil Young crunch, it’s an idiosyncratic, dynamic number; it’s also the first of a series of releases planned for spring and early summer, stemming from their time in the studio with Jamie Hyland & Girl Band‘s Daniel Fox. ‘Customs’ will be initially released on their Bandcamp next week, and available on Spotify the following…

  • Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival 2017 Programme Launched

    March 30, 2017 - By 

    At a time when the very heartland of the city’s creative community is under threat, Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival is an even more vital annual proposition of first-rate arts and culture. Set to take over the quarter from April 27 to May 7, today saw the launch of the typically-eclectic programme for this year’s outing, featuring everyone from Booker T Jones, K-X-P and Richard Herring to Brix & The Extricated, The Divine Comedy (pictured) and New York avant-garde master William Basinski. Split between music, comedy, words & ideas, theatre, visual arts and more, you can check out the full line-up and…