• EP Premiere: Mike Paterson – Devils In The Water

    The third release on Homebeat Presents, Devils in the Water by Germany-based, Cavan indie-folk singer-songwriter Mike Paterson is an EP that bounds with nuance, conviction and heart. The EP – imbued with tones of Sufjan and Bon Iver – is a lo-fi tale of Paterson’s “flight from difficult times in Ireland to his new adopted home.” From opener ‘First Song in Germany’ to closer ‘Open Up’, it serves a emotionally-driven four-track introduction to an artist who, despite making his presence known as frontman of Travis Oaks, has re-emerged with a voice and touch all his own. Have an exclusive first listen…

  • EP Premiere: Bob Skeleton – If This Isn’t Love

    Galway young guns Bob Skeleton have returned with their second EP If This Isn’t Love. Following from their 2016 debut Shade, the four piece have continued on the path of confessional, bright indie-rock on this new EP. Adding some stylistic flourishes here though, the band showcases a tangible progression, suggesting a determination to grow and develop as a unit with each release in their still quite nascent stage. The opening title track is an uptempo pop cut while ‘Living In The Deep End’ is a jangling, dreamy and quaint offering that will satisfy fans of Real Estate and The Shins. The EP’s real highlight though is on the stripped…

  • EP Premiere: Brash Isaac – In Two

    A familiar face behind the kit of folk-rock band New Ancestors, Andrew Cameron’s Brash Isaac is a project that launched back in May. With their spirited brand of earworming, FM-friendly alt-folk, his latest two-track release, In Two, is the third and final mini EP to be released from June to October. Ahead of its official launch on Halloween, we’re pleased to present a first listen to the release – also featuring guitar by Christopher McKay and additional vocals by Beulah Kim – here. Feeling a bit bummed out? Have a listen.

  • EP Premiere: Paper Dogs – The Lost Art of Conversation

    If there’s one thing the island of Ireland has no shortage of it’s straight-shooting rock bands. But one such act that has developed that foundation to skilfully – and often very convincingly – accomadate the influence of blues, funk, indie rock and much more besides is Belfast quartet Paper Dogs. Counting such heavy-hitters as Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath, amongst their key influences, the Chris Rooney-fronted band – an increasingly established staple on the live scene up North over the last while – doth their collective cap to a certain grade of genre-defining greats whilst very consciously framing that imprint with their…

  • R51 – No Chill EP Premiere & Interview

    R51 are amongst the hardest working bands on the island right now; they’re taking this seriously. Falling broadly into a nu-gaze sound without ever losing sight of their carefully crafted & thoughtful pop sensibility, they’re a five piece with all the right components. In the studio, they’re all about pop perfection and live, it’s a padded mallet of sound. They’re led by the power coupling of frontwoman Mel Shannon’s soaring vocals – also band photographer & craftsperson – and lyricist & guitar wizard Jonny Woods – who records & produces everything in their studio – with the punk edge coming from…

  • EP Premiere: Warriors of the Dystotheque – Return To Coney

    A self-proclaimed “dystopian journey deep into the heart of modern trip hop and gloomtronica” Return to Coney is the second EP from multi-national outfit Warriors of the Dystotheque. Founded by Derry’s Jonny Mac, the quartet’s craft is a darkly blend of slick, lo-fi soundscapes in the vein of Massive Attack and UNKLE, rounded off by a deft cinematic scope and solid command of layered, trip-hop leaning instrumentalism. Released via Tigre Fair today, Return to Coney is inspired by cult 70s film The Warriors and particularly one of the final moments of the film, where The Warriors return to their home turf – Coney…

  • Premiere: Tuskany – Better Time

    Formed in mid 2015 as a writing project on the side from their respective musical ventures, Belfast indie-pop trio Tuskany are Owen McGarry, Mick McDowell and Thomas Bannon. A new-fangled act in the truest sense of the word, the band’s debut single ‘Better Time’ is a slick, funk-tinged effort that wastes very little time in declaring its FM-leaning intentions. With an EP set for later in the year, the band said: “The writing process was rather casual though after time we started to treat it like a full time job, giving ourselves certain days during the week to write as many songs as we…

  • EP Premiere: Maija Sofia – The Sugar Sea

    Having moved to London last year, Maija Sofia wrote and recorded The Sugar Sea during a solitary few months that came as a result of independently relocating to alien city. Dealing with the universal traits of loneliness and anxiety – but lightened by juxtaposition with Sofia’s empirical, fairytale mannerisms – the tracks on the Galway’s musician’s debut solo EP makes for a bewitching, almost voyeuristic listen. Three of the songs (‘The Girl Who Pulled the Sun Down’, ‘Hail Mary’, ‘I Will Not Be Worth It’) were recorded in Mowlem Street Studio, Bethnal Green by producer James Hare (Women in Love, Milk White White Teeth) and he…

  • EP Premiere: David C Clements – My Dear Mother

    David C Clements has always had an air of the mythical about him. An artist of pace and a craftsman of all but peerless repute in these parts, he has never dabbled in the kneejerk or haphazard, not least in his recorded output. With his highly-anticipated debut album, The Longest Day in History, set for release in early 2016, Clements has released a sampler of sorts in the form of My Dear Mother, a four-track EP that captures him at his most resolute. Speaking of the release, Clements said, “The idea with the My Dear Mother EP is to start introducing the new material…

  • EP Premiere: Grassfight – Please Don’t Tell

    With influences as downright venerable as Spacemen 3, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Spoon, New York quartet Grassfight meld cosmically-inclined indie-pop with a subtly anthemic moxie that’s positively strewn across their new EP, Please Don’t Tell – a release which we’re delighted to premiere in full ahead of its release tomorrow (Friday, October 9) Tempting the semi-inevitable Fleetwood Mac comparison (no bad thing in itself, surely), their new five-track EP documents the break-up between two of the band members. Naturally, then, a certain weight of import permeates the length and breadth of the release – the latter word faring pretty operative in the EP feeling not…