• Foo Fighters – Concrete and Gold

    The Internet loves a good pop culture theory right? Tarantino films all share the same universe. Ed, Edd n Eddy is actually a metaphor for hell. People actually enjoy listening to Father John Misty. The list goes on. I’d like to put forth my own one which I think holds some water:         The quality of a Foo Fighters’ album is inversely proportional to the number of members of the Foo Fighters. Let’s look at the evidence shall we? We can all agree that the first album is probably the best thing that the group has put…

  • Album Stream: Kieran O’Brien – Turn

    Galway’s Kieran O’Brien has been honing his style for some time now. From the atmospheric folk that defined last year’s After The Storm to the dream-pop leanings of June’s ‘Only A Dream’, the songwriter’s work to date has been explorative, sincere and endlessly refreshing. Returning now with his second EP, Turn, the ventures into a full-band sound are becoming more sure-footed and assertive, taking as many cues from the likes of The War On Drugs and Real Estate as from stalwarts of the Americana folk tradition. Speaking of the new EP’s thematic foundation, O’Brien said: “After The Storm reminisced heavily on the ocean and past events. These songs look ahead, towards…

  • Watch: Eraser TV – Golden Boy

    The astutely-named debut EP, Buzzfeed Depression Quiz, from Limerick indie rockers Eraser TV now has an accompanying video for its nine minute centrepiece, ‘Golden Boy’. A composition reminiscent in scope and mood to David Pajo’s Papa M, or slowcore greats Codeine, ‘Golden Boy’ never drags as much as it could; Functioning as something as a Freebird as far as rock epics go, it bucks the trend by saying more in its sole lyric than all the confederate flagwavers the ’70s could muster. The video itself eschews a potentially overdriven narrative or the dreaded ‘live performance video’ in favour of grainy, intensely frisson-inducing archival footage of war, giving the song…

  • Video Premiere: Chirps – Pink Noise

    It’s been seven years since their debut album, Future Static Prologue, but Ballina-formed, Dublin-based shoegazey alt. rockers Chirps are finally gearing to follow it up with a second LP, from which we’re delighted to premiere first single ‘Pink Noise’. Featuring members of esteemed noisemakers like Hands Up Who Wants To Die, Wild Rocket, Crowhammer and Oilbag, their new album has been in the works over the last few years, gradually recorded by John ‘Spud’ Murphy – who’s also behind many of the finest independent Irish releases in recent years. A definite progression from previous work, Chirps have clocked up an astounding number of nods toward underground subgenres – most evidently shoegaze,…

  • Album Stream: Ger Fox Sailing – Ger Fox Sailing

    Released today, the self-titled, self-produced debut album from Wexford quartet Ger Fox Sailing is a richly-woven, nicely eclectic collection of songs from a band who have just set out their stall and then some. From the contemplative precision of ‘Nowhere Without You’ and the poppier tangents of ‘What It Is’ to blistering closer ‘Best Friend’ via a stream of scuzz-laden, occasionally prog-leaning rock, reverberations from the likes of Longpigs, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age, Grandaddy and, in parts, Northern Irish alt-rock band Pocket Promise (though we suspect the latter is something of a total coincidence) coalesce with the band’s own…

  • Stream: Hvmmingbyrd – Gozo

    Dublin-based ethereal pop duo Hvmmingbyrd have shared ‘Gozo’, their first new music in nearly a year. Ahead of a string of Irish dates starting this month, Deborah Byrne and Suzette Das’ latest outing is a warm, R&B-tinted slice of soulful pop. With vocal harmonies and delicate rhythms invoking the likes of fellow Dublin act Saint Sister but with their own electronic flavours giving it a life that is entirely its own, ‘Gozo’ is a step in the right direction for the duo and one that is making us eager to hear more. Hear the track below, and have a look at the marvellous poster for details…

  • Watch: SÍOMHA – July Red Sky (Live in the Burren)

    Lahinch, Co. Clare based musician Síomha Brock has shared a striking visual accompaniment for ‘July Red Sky’. A fitting and really rather mesmeric pairing, the song’s neo-soul and jazz influenced flow brings the marvellous pinks, reds and oranges of the Burren’s coastal skyline to life. The performance, shot live at sunrise on what looks like quite a spectacular morning, is as natural and breezy as the landscape suggests, making for an intoxicating combination that puts you right there with Brock and her band, wind billowing through your very core. Irresistible.

  • EP Stream: No Monster Club – Kaluli – Mexico

    Champion of rusty pop production with more than one knack for a catchy hook Bobby Ahern has shared the latest instillment of his encyclopedia collection. Kaluli – Mexico is the seventh EP to come from the No Monster Club camp since January and is yet another serving of witty and infectious indie pop with lyrics that are equally so. Proving once again that he is one of the country’s most precious, odd and necessary musicians, ‘Factor 50’ and ‘Scouts Anthem’ are the perfect accompaniments for the summer days that are not-that-sunny-but-sunny-enough-like. As the man himself has said: “If you have any respect whatsoever for the summertime…

  • Album Stream: Blake’s Fortune – Hello World

    In March of this year, Dublin based musician John Lennon aka Blake’s Fortune quietly released Hello World, a modest collection of contemporary folk that is at once charming and nostalgic for summers long past. Aptly described by the man himself as a “road trip” album, there is more than a light dusting of the quintessentially “Dublin” early naughties folk trend in this album, a tone that soundtracked many’s the gravelly, bumpy drive in a packed Ford Fiesta along the Irish coast. Think drinking cheap tins while your mate scrambles to build a dodgy fire on a beach, all to the tune of David Kitt‘s The…