• Watch: Laura Sheeran – Light A Fire

    April 2, 2016 - By 

    Set to headline the second installment of Psykick Dancehall – our new Dublin night with Medium Presents at Bello Bar – tonight, Laura Sheeran has unveiled the video for her first single in four years, ‘Light a Fire’. Very aptly accompanied by its DIY, decidedly spectral video, the track wields space and texture in extraordinary fashion, with sparse beats and cloistered, portentous vocals dancing subtle shamanistic patterns across four minutes confronting fervid recollection and the workings of memory in the death and dying of love. Sheeran plays alongside BAD BONES and Katharine Philippa tonight. Event page here.

  • Tacocat – Lost Time

    March 30, 2016 - By 

    On first impression, Tacocat is a very unfortunate group. With their vaguely cutesy palindromic name and a clear sense of irreverence, they appear to be disciples of the worst kind of “lol, random” sensibility; the sort of Youtube videos and Tumblr posts that make you want to peel your skin off. On their most recent LP, Lost Time, the haphazard references to X-Files and REM don’t really do much to quell these concerns and, on initial examination, there is a sense that all they are is a flashy bit of fluff. While there is definite merit to that primary reading,…

  • Watch: Overhead, The Albatross – Indie Rose

    March 29, 2016 - By 

    As you might well know by now, Dublin instrumental six-piece Overhead, The Albatross don’t exactly to things by halves. A visual epic (we never use that word, so you know we mean it) traversing countless locations and individuals, the video for their new single ‘Indie Rose’ is a slow-burning, wonderfully shot accompaniment- directed by Luke Daly and produced by Bold Puppy that masterfully mirrors the impassioned, increasingly purposeful drive of their music. ‘Indie Rose’ is the opening track from Overhead The Albatross’ forthcoming debut album, Learning to Growl, which is released on May 13.

  • Primal Scream – Chaosmosis

    March 28, 2016 - By 

    Primal Scream are the definition of British indie-rock royalty: former Jesus and Mary Chain drummer Bobby Gillespie’s genre hopping crew – which has welcomed contributors as diverse as Kevin Shields, the Stone Roses’ Mani, Robert Plant and Kate Moss – have constantly evolved their sound, from the jangle of early singles such C86 standout ‘Velocity Girl’ to the generation defining acid house crossover smash Screamadelica. After refusing to cash in on its success with following records, the band have embraced Stonesy boogie – Give Up But Don’t Give Out, Riot City Blues -, pulsating Krautrock – XTRMNTR -, B-movie soundtrack – Vanishing Point–  and everything in…

  • Sheer Mag – III

    March 28, 2016 - By 

    Sheer Mag are essentially the Jackson Lo-Five; that’s not meant as a term of derision, rather one of the endearment. They’ve taken the best parts of the Jackson Five, which would be Michael’s vocal melodies, wrapped it up with early 1970s classic rock and punk music and filtered it through early 1990s lo-fi recording a la Pavement or Beat Happening. While there’s no denying that it is a great deal of fun, the group’s previous singles are a testament to that fact, with their most recent 7 Inch release, III, it’s becoming apparent that are signs of strain in their…

  • Stream: Participant – Leave Me Here

    March 25, 2016 - By 

    Last October we were very impressed by ‘A Change’ by Dublin-based musician Stephen Tiernan AKA Participant. Smitten by the track’s “curious, otherworld charm”, our verdict could well be – and is, in fact – equally applicable to his new single, ‘Leave Me Here’, a wonderfully nuanced effort traversing more brooding, inward-looking territory for the artist. An sublime outtake from his November, 2015 EP Content, Tiernan said, “[Its] lyrical ideas had served as the blueprint for Content for a long time. A fear of progress and happiness, the idea that you might need to struggle as an artist. I shouldn’t have been surprised when…

  • Album stream: exmagician – Scan The Blue

    March 25, 2016 - By 

    Having delivered a blinding set as part of our Output showcase with Nialler9 back in February, Belfast’s exmagician also featured as one of our 16 For ’16 acts back in early January. Re-launching from the embers of Cashier No. 9, Danny Todd, James Smith and co. fully  command in their psych-soaked, decidedly mesmerizing indie rock realm more than ever before, a fact perfectly illuminated on their debut album, Scan The Blue, which is released via Bella Union today. Buy it here and stream it in full via Spotify below.

  • Video Premiere: BAD BONES – LANG

    March 25, 2016 - By 

    In a short amount of time BAD BONES (Dublin-based producer Sal Stapelton) has carved out both a unique and mysterious sound and image. Her eerie, infectious beats and experimental-pop composition style have earned her comparisons to FKA Twigs, Arca, Maya Jane Coles and Robyn. At the same time her video work has cultivated a minimalist, yet enigmatic image. Her new single ‘LANG’ gives us a new glimpse into the dark and beautiful netherworld that Bad Bones seems to inhabit. The track takes its title and integral samples from David Lang’s piece ‘I Lie’ (written for the unforgettable opening Paolo Sorrentino’s…

  • Stream: Ryan Vail – Mirrors

    March 25, 2016 - By 

    Having successfully completed a pledge campaign to ensure the release of his forthcoming debut album, For Every Silence, Derry musician Ryan Vail is streaming one of its highlights, ‘Mirrors’. An all-too-brief, electro-ambient effort recalling the Jon Hopkins at his most reticent, balmy beats and broad washes of synth entangle over the track’s three odd minutes, acting as a bed upon Vail’s spoken omnipresence firmly takes centre-stage. You can still pre-order For Every Silence via Vail’s pledge page here.

  • Video Premiere: Contour – Oppression

    March 22, 2016 - By 

    “All too often, women are stuck in a vicious cycle of low self-esteem, depression, eating disorders, sexual harassment and addiction as a result of negative gender stereotypes and body image oppression enforced by the patriarchal system and the media. As the dust settles on another Paddy’s day we have had a taste of what is to come as the days grow longer. This video depicts a snapshot of an inebriated adventure around a sunny Dublin city. The song is like the stream of thought of the wild spirit who tries to negotiate the issues related to this cycle within the confines…