• AAA: Ed Zealous Farewell Show @ Voodoo, Belfast

    Featuring support from A Bad Cavalier and the Wonder Villains, Belfast-based quartet Ed Zealous bowed out in fine fashion at their sold-out farewell show at Belfast’s Voodoo on Saturday night. Our photographer Joe Laverty was there to capture the band’s (decidedly sweaty and cathartic) swansong.

  • The Thin Air Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2014 (100-75)

    Twelve months, a billion tracks (probably) and a ridiculously impressive crop of new, emerging musical talent the island of Ireland over: yes, 2014 was been very generous indeed on the ol’ new music front. In a year when (the altogether sonically disparate) Girl Band and SOAK signed with Rough Trade, Adebisi Shank broke hearts in parting ways and Hozier “did a Kodaline” by going positively stratospheric – more on that later – innumerable lesser-known acts have also been slogging away in the garage, creating some of the very best sounds here or anywhere else on the face on the planet. In the first of a two-part feature,…

  • Ed Zealous Announce Split, Final Show

    Having released their long-awaited (not to mention, altogether stellar) debut album, Wired, back in February, Belfast-based electro-rock band Ed Zealous have announced they’re to split. With a final farewell gig – hosted by yours truly – set for Belfast’s Voodoo on February 7, the band said in a statement: “To our Fans, Friends & Family as Ed Zealous, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to call it a day as a band. What an unbelievable adventure it has been. What started life as a little drunken banter has taken us to playing the Odyssey with Snow Patrol, to Glastonbury,…

  • Shortlist revealed for Northern Irish Music Prize 2014

    With Bangor singer-songwriter Foy Vance having scooped the inaugural award last year, the twelve-act shortlist for this year’s Northern Irish Music Prize has been revealed. Recognising the very best albums released in the last twelve months by a Northern Irish act, this year’s ceremony will see Belfast-based singer-songwriter Robyn G Shiels (above), alt-rock heroes Mojo Fury, the Smalltown America-signed More Than Conquerors, Derry indie-pop quartet Wonder Villains, transatlantic indie-rap duo Malibu Shark Attack, singer-songwriter Tony Wright AKA VerseChorusVerse, electro-pop band Ed Zealous, Nathan Connolly’s Little Matador, singer-songwriter duo Sullivan and Gold, Dungannon folk songstress Alana Henderson, Belfast doom masters Slomatics and multi-instrumentalist Peter McCauley AKA Rams Pocket Radio vie for prize. The shortlist was compiled…

  • Gig of the Week: Ed Zealous album launch w/ Go Wolf and Affleck – Limelight 2

    Belfast-based electro/indie-pop four-piece Ed Zealous will finally unleash their highly-anticipated debut album, Wired, at Belfast’s Limelight on Thursday, February 20 – our Gig of the Week. Support on the night will come from fast-rising Belfast indie-pop band Go Wolf and the latest act to grace us with a Thin Air live session, electronic three-piece Affleck. Mixed by Eliot James – who has worked with the likes of Noah and the Whale and Bloc Party – check our exclusive track-by-track review of the album here. You can also stream it here. While you’re at it, have a go at winning a pair…

  • Stream: Ed Zealous – Diamonds For Eyes

    Belfast-based quartet Ed Zealous have released ‘Diamonds The Eyes’, the latest single to be taken from their forthcoming debut album, Wired. A typically starry-eyed slice of dancefloor-flooding electro-pop, the three-and-a-half minute track comes after the release of the singles ‘Medicines’, ‘Thanks A Million’ and ‘Telepaths’. Check out our exclusive track-by-track preview of Wired here. Wired will be officially launched at Belfast’s Limelight 2 on Thursday, February 20. Go here for the show’s Facebook event page and win tickets to the show here. Stream ‘Diamonds For Eyes’ via Bandcamp below.

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013 (35-1)

    Sixty-five increasingly exceptional songs in, we’re pleased to round up our first ever countdown of the Top 100 Irish Tracks of the year. Truth be told, this list could have been much, much longesear – such was the extent and quality of the output from our homegrown musical talent over the last twelve months. From unassuming bedroom artists treading the often very thin line between absolute anonymity and mass recognition to genre-defining, decades-spanning bands that fall comfortably under “legendary” status, we’ve been very happily bombarded with some truly extraordinary Irish music over the last year. Until next time… listen, enjoy…

  • Track-by-track preview: Ed Zealous – Wired

    In advance of its release on February 3, we have the honour to bestow upon your lovely eyes a track-by-track preview of Wired, the momentously-anticipated debut album by Belfast-based indie/electro-pop quartet Ed Zealous. Having released ‘Thanks A Million’, ‘Telepaths’ and ‘Medicines’ from the ten-track release, over the last couple of years the band have given us a steady taste of what their full-length debut album has in store. Let’s just say: if you enjoyed any of the aforementioned singles to date, there’s a very good chance Wired will leave you intent upon an immediate second listen. Check out the artwork and our track-by-track preview…

  • Video exclusive: Ed Zealous – Telepaths

    Belfast-based electro-indie four-piece Ed Zealous having gave us an exclusive first look at their DIY video for their new single ‘Telepaths’ – and what a visual delight it is they’ve come with. Speaking about the video, the band’s drummer Paul Irwin said “We wanted to see what we could come up with having absolute zero budget, so we found an old warehouse full of strange lights and props, brought in a console and lit ’em up!” With the single itself released back in November, ‘Telepaths’ will feature on Ed Zealous’ forthcoming eagerly anticipated debut album, Wired – set for released…