• Culture Night Belfast: Ten Must-See Events

    September 20, 2013 - By 

    With 250 events set to take place across 100+ to over 30,000 people this evening, it’s safe to say we’re spoiled for choice at this year’s Culture Night Belfast. With an understandable leaning towards the more musical end of the spectrum, we have scratched our heads to no end to whittle down the plethora of happenings to a mere decad worthy of your consideration. See you in the streets, rooftops, cathedrals, etc. 1. 101 Sessions Some of Belfast’s finest musicians will quite literally congregate at the wonderfully intimate church on 101 Donegall Street from 7.00pm. As well as music from…

  • Stream: Rory Nellis – Mind Control

    September 20, 2013 - By 

    When he’s not making sweet music with his band, Belfast-based indie pop foursome Seven Summits, Rory Nellis is also a fully-fledged songsmith in his own right. Whilst we somehow missed the initial release of this last week, we’ve been spinning his new track ‘Mind Control’ over and over this week, ever more in anticipation of a full-length album, expected to be released early next year. Featuring Phil D’Alton of Master & Dog on keys – who also recorded and mixed the single – and Dave Kennedy on drums, stream the track via Bandcamp below (and purchase for it a paltry…

  • Insidious: Chapter 2

    September 20, 2013 - By 

    “So that’s what that was about.” When a film contains a piece of dialogue that’s as offensively condescending to its audience as that, it’s going to be hard to take seriously. But perhaps Insidious: Chapter 2 isn’t meant to be. While most of the film stays true to its shock-horror roots, things jumping out of closets and screeching violins intending to jolt the viewer, the film is dotted with moments of comedy. Some of these are intentional and, unfortunately, ultimately jarring while serving no purpose other than to remove all of the tension from many, many otherwise great moments. Inversely,…

  • Blue Whale – Blue Whale EP

    September 20, 2013 - By 

    Having released three wonderfully wayward “in the studio” live tracks last year Belfast-based four-piece Blue Whale are steadily earning their stripes as one of the country’s most thoroughly forward-thinking bands of a generation. Almost exclusively instrumental in nature, their wonderfully unorthodox brand of hook-filled jazz-punk betrays a collective mentality to stretch the confines of standard deviation, with fun (and having it) unmistakably at that mentality’s root. The question remains, however: how accurately does their four-track self-titled debut EP capture the sheer energy and ingenuity of their live shows? Opening on teasing lead single ‘Was’, there is an immediate sense of transition…

  • The Last Generation – Torann EP

    September 20, 2013 - By 

    The first thing that pops into your writer’s head when hearing Torann’s opening gambit, ‘Chromosome’, is how properly likeable it all is. Sabbath-esque riffing married to a short and sharp alternative package that, while obviously verging on nostalgia for some, such is its proximity in places to the nineties alt-rock influences it proudly wears on its sleeve, its rawness and sheer drive and verve lift it above the usual yarling and wordplay. Post-hardcore and math influences subtly make themselves known, and go surprisingly well with the double-bass assault that peppers the song’s undercarriage, before the whole thing goes into a…

  • Everything Sucks #006: The Problem With Arthur’s Day

    September 19, 2013 - By 

    Last time your columnist went on here to decry something he found was directly harmful to music in Ireland, he well overshot his mark and wound up dividing camp a little. So, let’s try a different tack, shall we? Arthur’s Day is coming up and already hundreds and thousands of casual drinkers are plotting their whereabout at 1759 hours that day. That’s just it, though: casual drinkers. This make-believe “holiday”, that was manufactured, not only in our lifetimes, but four years ago, is nothing more than another stupid ploy designed to shill alcohol to a society that already suffers from…

  • Tour Diary Exclusive: Tied To Machines

    September 19, 2013 - By 

    Having recently returned from their first ever tour – a week-long trek across Scotland and the North of England – Banbridge hardcore quartet Tied To Machines have given an exclusive first look of the accompanying tour diary. Filmed and edited by the band’s guitarist Jordan Davies (above, far right) the ten-minute video features the footage of the band performing at different shows and talking about various aspects of the tour. Check out the video below!

  • The First Time: VerseChorusVerse

    September 19, 2013 - By 

    In the latest installment of The First Time we get the virginal sonic lowdown from North Coast songsmith extraordinare Tony Wright AKA VerseChorusVerse. Traversing his wide-ranging tastes and first-time musical experiences with everyone from John Denver to Public Enemy, we get an invaluable insight into the musical DNA of a homegrown songwriting giant. First Album I Ever Bought: Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. I was 9 years old and heard ‘Straight Outta Compton’ by NWA at my big brother’s friend’s house. It had been out a couple of years at this stage and…

  • Julianna Barwick – Nepenthe

    September 19, 2013 - By 

    Early morning. Almost dawn. A ghostly figure emerges from an old country house. She passes across the landscape humming to herself. Rivers. Mountains. Forests. She seems to glide above them all, integrating their songs and sounds into her own. Broken branches. Animal cries. The whispering wind. At points, the early light of dawn can be seen crashing through the trees with tremendous force. The light casts shadows upon her face. It is during these moments that the beauty of her song radiates the most. But all things move towards their end and she ceases progressing before eventually turning silent. The…

  • Soundgarden @ 02, Dublin

    September 19, 2013 - By 

    Three years and one surprisingly decent album into one of the lesser ill-advised “iconic” reunions of recent times, the return of Seattle four-piece Soundgarden has been met with a largely positive response from critics and fans alike. Where many legendary, genre-defining acts have faltered in the disparate gleam of contemporary life – where every action made, word said and note played is scrutinised no end by the hyper-mythologising masses – the Chris Cornell-fronted band have fared admirably. The question remains: how will their long-awaited return to Irish shores play out on the ninth date of a heady European tour? Following a crowd-winning…