• Festival Preview: Indiependence

    Cork’s major entry on the national festival calendar (and therefore the most important), Indiependence has established itself as one of the major festivals of the summer, typically by serving up diverse, quality line-ups in a relatively intimate setting, limiting admissions to 5,000, amid the fields of Deer Farm in Mitchelstown, the festival’s home since moving out from the town square way back (early iterations of the festival featured headline sets from Coolio and Dannii Minogue, among others, before it truly hit its stride as a camping weekender). This year’s announcements so far have been nothing short of quality, with Ash,…

  • Q+A: The Vincent(s)

    It’s a gorgeous, sunny afternoon in Cork City and I’m about to interview a band that describe themselves as death pop and bleak drag. In person, they are far from bleak but some of the most uplifting people you could ever meet. Cork’s The Vincent(s) had me in stitches laughing. Tell me a bit about your musical background. How did you all start getting into making music? Marc: My mother bought me a four track, when I was really young – it was like one of those Fisher-Price four tracks with drums and stuff, I started messing around with that. It…

  • Deep Down South: Mag Launch, Busy Town, Streaming Sounds

    After last week’s column promising more music and such didn’t materialise, this week’s is a wee bit of a catch-up. However – plug, plug, plug! – we’ll kick off by putting in a shout for our Cork launch on Saturday at the Crane Lane for the mag. Issue 5 of the mag (the cover pictured) features a full-length piece on the Altered Hours, from their beginnings and debut release ‘Downstream’, to their upcoming album and time in Berlin. We’ll also have an Inbound on Leeside multi-piece groove ensemble Shookrah, among so, so much more, and it’ll be available exclusively at…

  • Deep Down South: Like Light to a Fuse

    Cork City has been a fuse waiting to be lit. All this time, exciting, inimitable, indomitable people, have been creating, and facilitating, providing space, trying, and failing, learning, and improving, and resolving to do better. Coming together, helping each other. This weekend was a light to that fuse. The Quarter Block Party didn’t just meet or even exceed expectations, it utterly transcended them. A huge and varied multimedia programme, spanning music, art, theatre, discussion and good vibes, it delivered on all fronts. There’ll be a review with all the details and critique either tomorrow or Wednesday, and your writer will…

  • AAA: The Minutes & The Vincent(s) @ Whelan’s, Dublin

    In this installment of AAA (Access All Areas) we go behind the scenes with indie gents The Minutes for their headline gig at Whelan’s in Dublin last Sunday night, with support from Cork’s finest death pop pioneers The Vincent(s). Our intrepid photographer Carlos Daly spent the evening with the lads as they set up their gear, soundchecked, setlisted, knocked back a few glasses of wine for good measure and put on an awesome show. Check out the comprehensive gallery below for a unique overview of the gig.

  • Stream: The Vincent(s) – Song for the Sea (Courtney Taylor-Taylor Mix)

    “Is this not the sickest and most totally believable heavy rock motherfucker ever?”, are some of the words The Dandy Warhols’ Courtney Taylor-Taylor used to describe The Vincent(s) new belter, ‘Song for the Sea’. So enamoured was the Dandy’s frontman by The Vincent(s) at Sea Sessions, that he contacted FIFA Records and asked if he could remix one of the tunes he caught during a blistering set. The result of this collaboration is a remix of ‘Song for the Sea’ – originally released on the band’s ‘Valley of the Sun’ EP – by Courtney and Brandon Eggleston (Swans, Modest Mouse).…

  • Dan Hegarty: Time Travel

    I’m still trying to figure out where the past couple of weeks have gone. The much anticipated Longitude festival has been and gone. Some of the highlights included Mark Lanegan Band, Foals, MØ, Half Moon Run, and excellent performances by our very own Young Wonder, MMOTHS, and The Cast Of Cheers. Bring on Castlepalooza, Indiependence, Oxegen, and Electric Picnic! Proving that geography is no obstacle, Cork/Sydney duo In Valour have been working on new material. They’ve also made a video for new track ‘Slow Crunch’. The visuals are stunning, as is the track.   Speaking of Cork, The Vincent(s) are…

  • In conversation with… The Vincent(s)

    In the first installment of  In Conversation With..., photographer Brid O’Donovan captures Margus and Shane from Cork “death pop” five-piece The Vincent(s) visually and in conversation about the band and their music. This is where we would say “awesomesauce” if we sucked – which we do so … awesomesauce. _____ [On discovering music as a kid] Margus: “I had a friend around the corner. We moved into this estate when we were young and you’d see someone wearing a band t-shirt and you would be obsessed. You call round to their house when you’re not invited. Then I found his…