• The Thin Air’s Top 50 Irish Releases of 2020

    In years to come, when someone asks me what The Thin Air was and represented, I’ll likely direct them to features like the one you have just opened. Much like other publications of our ilk – Nialler9, The Last Mixed Tape, Goldenplec and others – we spend 52 weeks of the year relentlessly championing what truly makes Irish music special and, very occasionally, genuinely world-beating. We all do it in different ways, and to slightly different audiences, but the impetus and desire to shine a light on what we have is one and the very same. Although they’re almost never…

  • LP Premiere + Q+A: Kilian O’Kelly – Luzhny’s Layer

    It’s been a busy couple of years for Dublin-based guitarist, Kilian O’Kelly. In between joining Girl Band for a few dates on their 2019 tour, releasing a critically acclaimed debut record Fad with his band Silverbacks this past summer and setting up an independent label, Central Tones, he somehow managed to find time to write and record an exceptionally dynamic solo album entitled Luzhny’s Layer. The instrumentally-led body of work contains multitudes across nineteen immersive arrangements. Within, O’Kelly conveys a myriad of moods via floating guitar riffs, unnerving string accompaniments and utterly magical piano lines all masterfully performed. It ventures…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – July 17th

    See in the weekend with the very best Irish tracks released this week, from Silverbacks, Nealo & Uly, to Swimmers Jackson God Knows featuring BONY & MuRli. God Knows (feat. BONY & MuRli) – We Move The Needle Who’s Asking? II EP by God Knows Nealo & Uly – You Can’t Go Home Again Silverbacks – Drink It Down Fad by Silverbacks Swimmers Jackson – Birthday Girl Bitch Falcon – Gaslight The Zang – Football Sundays Comrade Hat – Summer of Glove

  • A Litany of Failures: Volume III Announced

    Two years on from its second volume, islandwide independent music compilation series A Litany of Failures has opened pre-orders and announced the tracklisting for Volume III in the series – out Friday, October 2nd. More eclectic, and more export-ready than ever, the compilation features brand new music from 22 acts across Ireland, including the first recorded output from Fifty Years of Hair (Postcard Versions/Girl Band’s Dara Kiely), The Golden Cleric (Shrug Life/Girlfriend/That Snaake) and Grave Goods (Girls Names, Pins, September Girls), as well as many of our favourites – Robocobra Quartet, Silverbacks, Rising Damp, Percolator, Extravision and many more. With cover art by Nathanaël Roman, it will be accompanied by…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – June 26th

    This week’s round-up of Irish songs features new music from the wonderful, fast-rising likes of CMAT, Silverbacks, Thumper, Ailbhe Reddy, Nevvv, Goodtime John, and the comeback single from Belfast’s Charles Hurts. Silverbacks – Up The Nurses CMAT – Rodney Charles Hurts – Living Under Lockdown Squashed by Charles Hurts Thumper – Topher Grace Ailbhe Reddy – Time Difference Nevvv – Passionate/Stupid Goodtime John – Black Sunrise Hang On by Goodtime John

  • Monday Mixtape: Silverbacks

    From Broadcast to Sonic Youth, Kilian and Daniel from Dublin indie rock five-piece Silverbacks take us on a guided tour of the acts and tracks that made an imprint on their recent singles ‘Drool’ and ‘Sirens’. Stones by Sonic Youth At the time we wrote Drool I have been listening to Sonic Nurse a lot. Similar enough drumbeat to Stones too ey? – K Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups I’ll be honest, I don’t know any other songs by this band but this song used to be in an old iTunes library on Daniel’s laptop years ago. The noodly guitar riff…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Tracks of 2019 (#50-26)

    In the second of a four-part series, we continue our island-spanning, genre-leaping countdown of the best Irish tracks released in 2019, from the spectral chamber pop of Rachael Lavelle to the masterful indie sway of Tandem Felix. Catch up on #100-76 and #75-51. 50. Rachael Lavelle – Perpetual Party 49. Zeropunkt – Bitch Nails Bitch Nails (free download) by ZEROPUNKT 48. Like Chandeliers – Scars 47. Rachael Boyd – Blind Spot 46. Kitt Philippa – Fahrenheit 45. Cherym – Abigail Abigail by CHERYM 44. Jordan Adetunji – Questions 43. Tau – Craw 42. James Joys – Fugitive Wound Fugitive Wound…

  • Silverbacks and Somebody’s Child Set For The Great Escape

    Two Irish acts feature in the First Fifty line-up announcement for the Great Escape. With more acts from our neck of the woods expected in the next line-up, Dublin indie-rock heroes Silverbacks and multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Somebody’s Child have made the first cut. The Great Escape returns to Brighton across 13-16th May 2020. Check out the full first line-up reveal here and revisit Silversbacks’ ‘Pink Tide’ below.

  • A4 Sounds presents: Silverbacks & Extravision

    Since 2009, Dublin hub A4 has went above and beyond in their mission to transform the means by which cultural works are produced, accessed, and understood in Ireland. Their latest initiative – a new bi-monthly gig night – is one that we’re fully behind. Curated by Matt Hedigan, an artist and member of Hands Up Who Wants To Die, No Spill Blood and Elk, the next installment of the series unites two of our very favourite fast-rising bands from Dublin on Friday, April 5th: Silverbacks and Extravision  It’s BYOB and runs from 8-11pm. Go here for the gig’s Facebook event page and check…

  • Stream: Silverbacks – Just In The Band

    Back in January, we featured Dublin five-piece Silverbacks as one of our ones to watch in 2018. Having underscored their ascent with the release of the blitzing indie-rock of ‘Dunkirk‘ shortly afterwards, the band have since been working alongside Girl Band’s Daniel Fox on their debut album, which is set for release next year. In the meantime, the band’s new single, ‘Just In The Band’, has us very excited. Over four minutes, it’s sharp and shapeshifting guitar music from a band whose knack for filtering the imprint of New York’s art-rock elite – without neglecting what makes their own sonic tact great – continues unabated. Artwork…