• Video Premiere: THUMPER – The Loser

    March 24, 2017 - By 

    Set to play their first ever all-ages gig at BIMM Institute’s showcase at Workman’s Club on April 1, Dublin quartet THUMPER unveiled their fuzzed-out latest single, ‘The Loser’, at the start of the month. Arguably the foursome’s finest effort to date, it’s a starry-eyed burst of noise-pop harking back to Blur’s more riotous earlier efforts, filtered through the the Dublin band’s own brand of bubblegum scuzz. The first single to be taken from the band’s upcoming POP! GOES THE WEASEL EP, have a first look at Alan McCarthy’s tripped out visuals for the track below.

  • Premiere: Percolator – Crab Supernova

    March 15, 2017 - By 

    Taken from their forthcoming debut album, Sestra, ‘Crab Supernova’ by Dublin-based “Krautophiles” Percolator is a track that – stemming from the band’s love of the likes of Neu! and Stereolab – conjures up a thick miasma of ‘gazey Kosmiche textures and Motorik groove. Accompanied by a video courtesy of Thom McDermot, the single is one of many highlights on Sestra, which was recorded in-house at John ‘Spud’ Murphy and Ian Chestnutt’s Guerilla Studios. The album is out via Penske Recordings on April 14. Have a first look and listen to ‘Crab Supernova’ below.

  • Premiere: Cat Palace – Peddle It

    March 13, 2017 - By 

    Ever since the release of their self-titled debut EP (one of our Irish releases of 2015, no less) we’ve been keeping a close eye on Dublin’s Cat Palace. The music-making moniker of David Blaney, his output to date has struck a keen balance between perfectly sardonic social commentary and coded personal revelation, framed by his incredibly listenable brand of darkly alt-folk ruminations. With a band in tow, Blaney has returned with another stellar offering in the form of ‘Peddle It’, a single whose tropical, a e s t h e t i c-soaked visual accompaniment is perfectly at odds with the single’s shadowy tone and…

  • Video Premiere: Gumshoe – Forgotten Weapons

    March 13, 2017 - By 

    Wicklow based ambient hip-hop duo Gumshoe have returned with ‘Forgotten Weapons’, their fourth release since they breezed into existence last year. The track is another glistening slice of spacious, throbbing electronics and sliced up vocal samples. The pair’s penchant for lush atmosphere is once again on display here as it was on their previous cuts ‘Yom Kippur’ and ‘Ninbasu’. It is accompanied by a suitably trippy and at points unnerving video directed by Sean Gallagher and starring Miriam Keegan. As she ventures through an eery forest, a darkened house and a hallucinatory mental landscape, the haunting flutes and bass create a sizzling…

  • Premiere: Sissy – Nice Guy

    March 10, 2017 - By 

    Featuring the likes of Trust Fund, Lower Slaughter and Milk Crimes, today sees the release of Put Ears on Yourself, the first in a new 7″ single series curated by Sligo imprint – and easily one of our favourite Irish labels – Art For Blind Records. Each 7” will feature 4 bands from Ireland and the UK and will be housed in a series of limited edition screen printed sleeves designed by emerging artists, designers and illustrators. Our favourite of the four tracks on Put Ears on Yourself is ‘Nice Guy’ by Dublin three-piece Sissy, which we’re pleased to premiere here.…

  • Album Premiere: Our Krypton Son – Fleas & Diamonds

    March 10, 2017 - By 

    Four years ago Derry songsmith Chris McConaghy AKA Our Krypton Son released one of the all-time great Irish debut solo albums. A self-titled release, it traversed an extraordinary palette of heart-wrung balladry and fervent, at times quite remarkable pop majesty. Today McConaghy returns with its highly-anticipated follow-up, Fleas & Diamonds. A wonderfully refined release – in both senses of the word – it betrays the hallmarks of an artist whose knack for weaving exquisite, emotionally potent songwriting with crushingly resonant lyrics is unparalleled on this island at present. Conceived over two days, from a tent pitched in an abandoned building on…

  • Premiere: WASPS – Future Endeavours

    March 1, 2017 - By 

    Having bonded over their love of North Coast post-rock machine And So I Watch You From Afar, Belfast-based “math-punk” duo Charlie Cairns and Danny McClelland WASPS released their debut single, ‘Godzilla is Dead’ back in December. Three months on, the pair are back with ‘Future Endeaours’, a three minute burst fusing almost ballad-like heart with zealous, intricate instrumentalism. The single is released on March 17 and launched at their first headline show at Voodoo in Belfast on March 18. Have a first listen below.

  • Premiere: Field Trip – Evening’s Over

    March 1, 2017 - By 

    The title track from their forthcoming, Eoin Dolan-recorded EP of the same time, ‘Evening’s Over’ is a wonderfully restrained slice of jangle-pop from Galway’s Field Trip. All but lullabyesque in its sleepy lo-fi tone and pace, Sean Walsh from the band said, “The song reflects on the scenario of a night of drinking. You’re on the couch, it’s 5am and getting bright, the birds are singing, you’re comrades are passed out around you and now you get the chance to gather your thoughts and reflect on the evening. The song is sort of sigh of relief that the night is…

  • Premiere: Ro Gang – Smoking

    February 28, 2017 - By 

    Having previously went under the name Mr. Rosso, Dublin two-piece Isaac Clarke and Henry Ernest AKA Ro Gang will release their second album, H.E.R. – an album reportedly informed by everything from Young Thug to Burt Bacharach – via Little L Records on March 15. The first single to be taken from that, ‘Smoking’ is a typically riotous affair melding far-out lo-fi tangents with chorus-pedal-soaked tones. We’re sold. Have a first look at the video for the single – a VHS-shot effort featuring Clarke and Ernest trying, and failing, to crash a party – below.

  • Premiere: Scenery – Fool For You

    February 10, 2017 - By 

    Counting their main influences as Jeff Buckley, Amy Winehouse, Tame Impala, Matt Corby, Mac DeMarco and The Beatles, new-fangled Derry outfit Scenery have already struck a keen balance between throwback and contemporary. A slickly-produced single conjuring at least a couple of the aforementioned acts, ‘Fool For You’ is a swooning ballad that, falling comfortably into the former camp, reveals the band’s pop prowess and melodic flair. Scenery launch ‘Fool For You’ alongside Orchid Collective and Emer McLaughlin at Bennigans in Derry tonight. Have a first listen to the single via Soundcloud below.