• Way Out West Festival 2013

    August 15, 2013 - By 

    Our Malmö, Sweden-based photographer Ian Pearce (above) hit up this year’s Way Out West Festival, undoubtedly the Scandanavian country’s best annual showcase of musical and culture. Having took place in Göteborg from 8-10 August, this year’s line-up was something else altogether. Headlined by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, the bill featured everyone from The Knife and Godspeed You! Black Emperor to Haim and Public Enemy. Take time to sift through Mr Pearce’s extraordinary trove of visual awesome below!

  • Watch: Kim Deal – Are You Mine?

    August 15, 2013 - By 

    Having recently left the Pixies and been busy touring Last Splash as part of its 20th anniversary with the Breeders, Kim Deal has found some time to record some new solo material. Paired with ‘Wish I Was’ – available via her website on 7″ vinyl – ‘Are You Mine?’ has been released with a accompanying video. Undergoing a fit of creativity of sorts, Deal also recently unveiled the tracks ‘Walking With a Killer’ and ‘Hot Shot’. Watch the video to ‘Are You Mine?’ – directed by Kurt Ralske – via Vimeo below.

  • A Fight You Can’t Win, Dutch Schultz, Bellos @ Voodoo, Belfast

    August 14, 2013 - By 

    The massively talented Diarmuid Kennedy captured Edinburgh alt-rock quartet A Fight You Can’t Win stop off at Belfast’s Voodoo Bar recently in what turned out to be an unforgettable show (particularly for an otherwise unremarkable Sunday night). With the Matthew Bakewell-fronted foursome delivering a storming – highly entertaining – set, the equally riff-fuelled wrath of Bellos and Dutch Schultz proved themselves to be perfect support at either end of the travelling band’s raucous set. Check out Diarmuid’s photos below!

  • The Chancer’s Guide To… Sebadoh

    August 14, 2013 - By 

    Are you constantly in need all powerful knowledge yet can’t be arsed with the little detail of actually putting in any effort? Do you always have to have an opinion during the latest online/pub/party based music debate but don’t have the time to do the homework? Maybe, you’re the bass player with a third division landfill indie band who, following an old school, major label hype, managed to get a poxy novelty cover version to number 37 in the real charts then, with your renowned comic manner and hilarious monkey face, you’ve found yourself invited on Never Mind the Buzzcocks…

  • Festival Mixtape: Stendhal Festival

    August 14, 2013 - By 

    Taking in place in Limavady’s Ballymully Cottage Farm this summer, Stendhal Festival of Art celebrates its third birthday on the weekend of Friday 16th and Saturday 17th of August. Headlined by Duke Special and Neil Hannon of Divine Comedy, the incomparably scenic showcase is all but set up to succeed the departing Glasgowbury as the go-to Northern Irish festival of the summer. With the tagline “experience the syndrome” Stendhal is much more than a festival of homegrown musical talent. Comedy, theatre, visual art and poetry also play a huge role in ensuring a comprehensively enjoyable experience for people of all ages. Speaking of…

  • Interview: Swans

    August 14, 2013 - By 

    “I used to hate people, generally,” says Michael Gira, fifty-nine year old commander-in-chief of seminal New York post-punk band Swans. In the final stages of touring their critically-acclaimed, monumentally accomplished twelfth studio album The Seer, the outfit are currently undergoing perhaps their best period in thirty years both as a creative unit and in achieving widespread acclaim for their stunningly severe craft. Not altogether unexpected, something evidently running parallel with this is Gira’s own disposition nowadays: a thoroughly agreeable and self-effacing personality that unravels in conversation with Brian Coney ahead of the band’s hugely-anticipated Belfast show. Having just concluded a…

  • In Utero Reissue Tracklisting Unveiled

    August 13, 2013 - By 

    Twenty years on from its original release, the tracklisting for the four-disc reissue of Nirvana’s seminal third studio album In Utero has been unveiled. Set for release via Universal on September 24 the 3 CD and 1 DVD release will contain 70 tracks of demos, rarities, live recordings and a remastered version of the original album, almost exclusively mixed by Steve Albini. Perhaps most exciting of all is the track ‘Forgotten Tune’, an unreleased, recently discovered instrumental rehearsal track that features on disco two. View the full tracklisting below. Disc 1: remastered album with b-sides and bonus tracks 1. Serve the…

  • Getting Re-acquainted: The Cult – Electric

    August 13, 2013 - By 

    With the release of Electric Peace, we take a look at one of British rock’s true underdogs – The Cult. Unfairly maligned in the 21st century, but still possessing a devoted hardcore following, they blazed a trail through the 80s, winning back the soul of rock from the ashes of punk. With the re-release of Electric, the group’s 1987 masterpiece, now is the perfect time to look at the making of this incredible album, and the long lost unreleased album that should have preceded it, Peace. 1985 had been a very good year for The Cult. Having originally evolved out of the London based ‘positive punk’ band, Southern Death Cult, they then became Death Cult, before dropping the ‘Death’, and adopting the definitive article. 1984’s Dreamtime had been a promising debut, a…

  • Forfey 2013 Roundup

    August 14, 2013 - By 

    Miles from civilisation, in the scenic Fermanagh countryside, the Forfey Festival  is the destination for music fanatics around the country. The small farm site which plays host to the festival provides a communal atmosphere, where strangers are family and the reasonably small crowd overflows with passion and enthusiasm for each act. Early on Friday evening, Enemies’ semi-instrumental showcase of melodic math-rock impresses with a soulful ambience coupled with sheer head-bopping tunes. Usage of two drum kits heightens the intensity and kick-starts a seemingly tremendous weekend. Next up in the aptly named ‘Hayshed’ stage, Sons of Burlap put together a globe-spanning…

  • Track Record: Tree (Kasper Rosa)

    August 13, 2013 - By 

    In the first installment of Track Record, Belfast musician, photographer and filmmaker Colm Laverty captures James Bruce AKA Tree, drummer with Belfast-based prog quartet Kasper Rosa choosing a section of his favourite and most treasured records from his collection – everyone one from Barbara Streisand to obscure big beat duos hailing from Birmingham. Nice. ___ Rush – A Farewell To Kings A proper Rush record of over the top pro rock greatness. Tough to pick a Rush record out the discog but I decided on this one simply for the triumphant cry of “XANADU”. Barbara Streisand – Classical   This holds…