• Hozier w/ Little Green Cars @ Belsonic, Belfast

    August 25, 2015 - By 

    A sell-out crowd at Belsonic witnesses a solid performance from an artist who has transcended initial industry buzz to become a genuine star. This is the world we live in now. Once the final support act Little Green Cars (frontwoman Faye O’Rourke pictured below) finishes their set it becomes “selfie-stick” time in the crowd. Andrew Hozier expressed dismay in an interview earlier this year at, “the very fact that an instrument (the selfie-stick) exists at a music festival so that you can take pictures of just yourself … the whole point of live music is to enjoy the experience and you take…

  • Stream: A Bad Cavalier – Moving On

    August 24, 2015 - By 

    Almost two years on from unveiled his debut EP, Ex Libris, Niall Kennedy and his band AKA A Bad Cavalier have went several steps further with with their stupendous new single, ‘Moving On’. A nigh on four-minute slab of deliciously tight, totally triumphant alt-pop, the track is the follow-up to the band’s July single ‘I’m a Wreck’. Judging by the awesome trajectory of his output to date, a forthcoming full-length release is something we would very happily lap up indeed. Stream the single below via Bandcamp. Moving On by A Bad Cavalier

  • RIP Twisted Pepper

    August 13, 2015 - By 

    What’s the end of another venue? There’ll be others. Others survive. There’s still stalwarts like Whelans, The Olympia and the ever metamorphosising Button Factory. But things happened in The Twisted Pepper. That thing, sure, but I mean the other 99.9% of the time. Like just this year when The Rusangano Family climbed all over the seats panting, raving, surprising and enthralling at our second birthday party. Like the fact that it hosted ephemeral bands like Croupier who bookended their short but sweet career with memorable shows in the Middle Abbey Street venue. That And So Watch You From Afar played…

  • Metropolis Festival

    July 24, 2015 - By 

    Taking place over the 7 & 8 November at Dublin’s RDS, the Metropolis Festival boasts an incredible lineup spread across 6 rooms, taking in live music, performance, discussions & talks from selected creatives, and installations geared towards transforming the RDS into an audio-visual playground. Chic, featuring Nile Rodgers – about whom nothing further needs to be said – headline the Metropolis stage, so expect one of the richest and tightest sets in the world. Performing during the weekend are hit machine Mark Ronson, Jamie XX – fresh off the back of his excellent new In Colour LP –  The Roots, Giorgio Moroder, Finnish maestro Todd Terje, Kaytranada, Matthew Herbert, Dorian Concept, Kerri…

  • Roving Eye: Le Galaxie in Brighton

    July 16, 2015 - By 

    The latest Roving Eye trip took me to Brighton to get a little taste of The Great Escape with party time favourites Le Galaxie. Brighton – nicknamed “London by the Sea” – has witnessed huge gentrification over the last decade, albeit without losing its notorious licentiousness. It has a charming seaside resort exterior, with beautiful Regency architecture converted into guest houses or pied-à-terre for London bourgeois weekenders. However, a gentle scratch of the surface reveals an undercurrent of bohemian non-conformist attitudes and the UK’s largest recreational drug market. Seemed like the perfect location for the UKs leading music industry festival,…

  • Interview: Charlie Caplowe (Xtra Mile Recordings)

    April 29, 2015 - By 

    In a revealing conversation, Will Murphy talks to Charlie Caplowe, founder of one of the finest independent record labels around, Xtra Mile Recordings. Based in London, the imprint is responsible for putting out some stellar records from Reuben, Frank Turner/Million Dead, Future of the Left, Against Me! and many more. Hi Charlie. What’s the early history of Xtra Mile? What led to the creation? Who were the key players? I was working as a PR for many years handling the press for many acts including Million Dead, Frank Turner’s old band. No labels were signing them, so I said, “Well, sod that.…

  • Q+A: Mylets

    April 29, 2015 - By 

    At just 20 years of age, Henry Kohen AKA Mylets’ debut album has just been released via Sargent House. Having received exceptionally warm reviews from the likes of NPR and the New York Times, he’s just left California to tour Europe with And So I Watch You From Afar. Koken talks to Niamh Hegarty about some of his time at Sargent House to date and the evolution of his new album, Arizona. Your standard of musicianship is particularly high. When did you first pick up a guitar? I found my dad’s old 3/4 scale off-brand acoustic in a closet when I was…