• Gascan Ruckus – Narrow Defeats and Bitter Victories

    January 18, 2016 - By 

    Armagh’s Gascan Ruckus are long overdue their time in the sun having spent the better part of a decade honing their skills and carving out their place in the scene. Operating in the same range as Fighting With Wire, Twin Atlantic or Dinosaur Pile-Up and a live show that beggars belief, the group has long been teetering on the brink of mainstream acceptance. With their debut album, Narrow Defeats and Bitter Victories, they’re primed and ready to be pushed into the spotlight. Among the record’s stronger cuts are songs such as the PigsAsPeople inspired ‘Goodbye’ or the mammoth riff of…

  • 16 For 16: Naoise Roo

    January 18, 2016 - By 

    In the latest installment of 16 For 16 – in which we profile sixteen Irish acts we’re convinced are going to do great things this year – Stevie Lennox lauds Dublin chanteuse Naoise Roo. Photo by Pedro Giaquinto Dublin’s Naoise Roo is a rare talent who arrived seemingly fully-formed, arriving last year with her debut release in the form of the full band LP, Lilith, resulting in slots at Electric Picnic, Vantastival and Valentia Island. She’s fortunate enough to possess one of the most evocative and texturally-rich voices on the island, and skilled enough to match it with a knack…

  • Premiere: Tuskany – Better Time

    January 15, 2016 - By 

    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…

  • The Gloaming Announce Second Album Details

    January 14, 2016 - By 

    The follow-up to their Choice Music Prize-winning, 2014 debut album, The Gloaming have announced that they will release their second album, The Gloaming 2, on February 26 via Real World Records. Effortless marrying traditional Irish music with jazz, contemporary classical and experimental sounds, the band have, for many, re-defined contemporarily Irish traditional music over the last couple of years. Their forthcoming second full-length was recorded in December past, produced by Thomas Bartlett (Sufjan Stevens, Glen Hansard) and engineered by Patrick Dillett, who has previously worked with David Byrne & St Vincent and the National. As with their debut album, The Gloaming 2 will feature artwork from Robert…

  • Stream: Wyvern Lingo – Run (Hozier Cover)

    January 14, 2016 - By 

    One of our favourite Irish acts at the minute, Bray trio Wyvern Lingo will launch their debut, four-track EP, Letter to Willow via Rubyworks on Friday, March 4 – three days after playing their biggest Dublin show to date at Dublin’s Button Factory on Friday, April 1. Currently on tour in the UK with Hozier, the trio have unveiled a rendition of their fellow Wicklow artist’s ‘Run’. Very nicely capturing their keen ear for harmony, it’s a first-rate re-imagining from a band who came to the forefront of our attention with the release of ‘Subside‘ last year. Wyvern Lingo also play Galway’s Roisin Dubh on…

  • Watch: Exploding Eyes – We Need Love

    January 14, 2016 - By 

    Tipping their sonic to everyone from Mountain and Blue Cheer to Andromeda and Thee Oh Sees, Dublin heavy psych trio Exploding Eyes are streaming their emphatic new single, ‘We Need Love’. Evoking the likes of Jon Spencer and The Doors at their most resounding, it’s a wonderfully urgent, blue-soaked throwdown. In direct contrast, its b-side ‘Madman’s Lament’ is a restrained yet no less fervent effort from the three-piece. Out on Friday, January 22, We Need Love is the first single to be taken from Exploding Eye’s debut self-titled album, which is set for release via Big Neck Records in the summer.…

  • The Altered Hours – In Heat Not Sorry

    January 14, 2016 - By 

    About 20 seconds into In Heat/Not Sorry, it dawns on you that you’re in for something else entirely. For a band that’s drawn with such fearless and bold strokes in previous singles and EPs, opener ‘Who’s Saving Who?’ impresses and awes with its restraint and confidence, setting the tone for the whole record. What we have here is the sound of a band coming into itself, the Cork psych-rock outfit arriving at a destination of sorts after years of exploration. Raw and feral, yet considered and focused, the album hits its stride as its opening gambit of mid-paced movers comes…

  • 16 For 16: Joni

    January 14, 2016 - By 

    In the latest installment of 16 For 16 – in which we profile sixteen up-and-coming Irish acts we’re very excited about this year – Eoin Murray introduces Wicklow vocalist Joni. Photo by Brian Mulligan Genres like grime, garage and bass music in the broadest sense are rarely thought of as being the most flourishing in Ireland.  This however was seen to be a less than accurate view following Dublin’s very successful first Boiler Room event in May 2015 which showcased some of the best that Ireland had to offer in the underground scene. While Bray vocalist Joni was not involved…

  • Toby Kaar Announces Debut EP Release Date, Streams New Track ‘SnapDragon’

    January 12, 2016 - By 

    The above photo of Cork producer Toby Kaar couldn’t be further representative of our reaction when we discovered today he’s set to released his debut EP, the interestingly-titled via Dublin imprint Music Is For Losers on March 18. Having been weaving some magisterial electronic sounds for the last few years, the news will be very happily-received from Kaar, who also released the spiralling ‘SnapDragon’ from the release today. Speaking about the release, Kaar said, “The EP was made on a 9 year old computer, which has started to pack in. A lot of the samples were things I found in libraries, pretty basic…

  • Watch: New Solar Bears Album Trailer

    January 12, 2016 - By 

    Having had the head down over the last while, Dublin electronic duo John Kowalski and Rian Trench AKA Solar Bears have unveiled a trailer for their hugely anticipated third album, Advancement. Set for release via Rob Da Bank’s Sunday Best Recordings in March 18, the album – which took a year to make – was recorded in various locations and, according to the label, “[emphasises] the sonic quality of different spaces, plus incorporating and manipulating indigenous instruments to “[mirror] the widespread decay of the natural world.” Sounds pretty sweet, eh? Peer further behind the veil via the album trailer below. Photo by Dorje De Burgh