• Ciaran Lavery – A King at Night: The Songs of Bonnie Prince Billy

    May 5, 2017 - By 

    Will Oldham, aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, releases his new album Best Troubadour this month, a collection of covers of songs by Merle Haggard , who Oldham describes as his “forever hero”. Yet the prolific Oldham is something of a hero himself to many, name-checked in songs by Half Man Half Biscuit and Jeffrey Lewis, cited as a primary formative influence on a young Arab Strap and covered by the likes of The Frames, Mark Kozelek and even Johnny Cash, yet he remains firmly in the “cult favourite” bracket, where in a more fair and just world he’d surely be subject to the…

  • Stream: Ciaran Lavery – New Partner (Bonnie Prince Billy Cover)

    April 12, 2017 - By 

    With Record Store Day 2017 next Saturday fast approaching, Aghagallon artist Ciaran Lavery is primed to to release his own contribution in the form of A King at Night, an EP featuring covers of Bonnie “Prince” Billy songs. The lead single from that, ‘New Partner’ – which featured on BPB AKA Will Oldham’s 1995 album as Palace Music, Viva Last Blues – makes for an exquisite, wonderfully reflective rendition, where swooning streaks of string, lush harmonies and Lavery’s impeccable vocal delivery marry in very impressive fashion.

  • Vault Lines: Ciaran Lavery

    December 19, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of playing a special one-off show with strings at Belfast’s The MAC tonight (Monday, December 19), Aghagallon singer-songwriter Ciaran Lavery waxes lyrical on his love of a lesser-known Luke Kelly gem, ‘The Sun Is Burning’. I’m somewhere between 14-16 years old and I’m standing in the kitchen of my house. Luke Kelly is playing. We grew up with some version of Luke Kelly and The Dubliners’ Greatest Hits or collection of songs to as far back as I can remember.  I’m not sure if I understood the depth of the music or lyrics but I do know that I…

  • Gigs of the Week: Teleman, Peaches, Buzzcocks, Saint Sister, Sarah Neufeld

    November 3, 2016 - By 

    Teleman Limelight 2, Belfast/Workman’s Club, Dublin Friday, November 4/Saturday, November 5 Having released their first-rate, second studio album, Brilliant Sanity, back in April, London indie-pop quartet Teleman stop off at Belfast’s Limelight 2 and Dublin’s and Dublin’s Workman’s on Friday and Saturday. Total newcomer? Well worth checking out on a whim. Peaches w/ Cut Once The Academy, Dublin Sunday, November 6 Supported by Dublin duo electronic duo Michael Hefferman and Aisling Browne Cut Once, electro-pop Queen par excellence Merrill Beth Nisker AKA Peaches plays hands down the best show in the country on Sunday night at the Academy. Brought to…

  • “I hate to stay still and pat myself on the back”: An Interview With Ciaran Lavery

    October 3, 2016 - By 

    Having spent the last few years steadily carving out his standing as one of the country’s most-loved and increasingly established solo artists, Aghagallon singer-songwriter Ciaran Lavery commands sensitivity and candour like very few songsmiths, Irish or otherwise. Despite confirming his arrival with his sublime debut album Not Nearly Dark and Kosher EP in 2013 and 2014 respectively, it was Sea Legs, his collaborative mini-album with Derry producer Ryan Vail, that positively underscored Lavery’s knack and versatility as artist that has often said he has zero desire to be solely filed under “acoustic guitar-wielding singer-songwriter”. But it’s Lavery’s second full-length album…

  • Ciaran Lavery – Let Bad In

    May 19, 2016 - By 

    With his rumpled suit, rural back-story, and battered guitar, not to mention the genre-hopping back catalogue and considerable streaming success it appears to be so far, so peak-beard for Ciaran Lavery. On his second full-length album Let Bad In, the Aghagallon singer-songwriter seamlessly welds together hip-hop beats, chamber balladry and soulful pop across ten addictively melodic tracks that demand repeated plays. This genre-hopping could sound calculating and impersonal but the album is more than held together by that glorious voice. Lavery’s enunciated delivery on album highlight ‘Return to Form’ transforms into a soulful rasp by the time the chorus comes round. This…

  • Stream: Ciaran Lavery – Return To Form

    February 17, 2016 - By 

    At the risk of (really) repeating ourselves, Ciaran Lavery is easily one of the country’s most naturally gifted, hugely endearing singer-songwriters. From his days in Captain Kennedy up until the present day, we’ve seen the Aghagallon songsmith silence the most bustling venue with the the slightest of syllables and all but seduce innumerable crowds with his brilliantly charming badinage. At the root of all that is Lavery’s extraordinary grasp of the human condition, masterfully bolstered by an enviable harmonic grasp and compositional flair that continues to blossom unabated. The latest – and quite possibly greatest – manifestation of that is his new single, ‘Return To…

  • Reeling In The Year with Ciaran Lavery

    November 12, 2015 - By 

    2015 has been a real breakthrough year for Aghagallon singer-songwriter Ciaran Lavery. Having zig-zagged across the UK and Europe over the last few months, he has been hailed far and wide as one of the most naturally gifted, utterly engrossing songsmiths of his generation. Touching on everything from life on the road, the weight (or lack thereof) of expectation and special Christmas shows “With Strings” at Belfast’s MAC, Lavery chats to Brian Coney. See below for premiere of Lavery’s ‘Little More Time’ With Strings. Hi Ciaran. It’s been a really busy 2015 for you. Looking back to the start of the…