• Incoming: Myles Manley

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    In the latest installment of Incoming we shoot the proverbial breeze with singer-songwriter Myles Manley, a completely one-of-a-kind artist born in England, raised in Sligo and currently based in Dublin. Idiosyncratic, offbeat and hugely accomplished, he evokes everyone from Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel and Bright Eyes and is a brilliant and unconventional poetic mind on the brink of breaking through.  Hi Myles. First off, what are your earliest memories of wanting to be a musician and performer? Are there any defining first moments? I started playing the bass at about 15 because there were around 20 electric guitar players in my year in…

  • Belfast Music Week 2013 launched

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    The fourth annual Belfast Music Week was officially launched at a ceremony at Belfast’s Waterfront this afternoon. Featuring performances from Alana Henderson and the Emerald Armada, the opening ceremony including speeches by Lord Mayor of Belfast Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, broadcaster and DJ Rigsy and Belfast Music Week co-ordinator Stuart Bailie. Amongst the announcements for the annual showcase, set to take place from November 11-15 across 70 venues in Belfast, Van Morrison (above) was unveiled as the main event. Following Belfast City Council’s decision on Monday night to grant the Freedom of Belfast to the 68 year old East Belfast native, it…

  • Saints Row IV (Deep Silver, Multiplatform)

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    “With great power comes great irresponsibility” should be the motto of Saints Row IV, which escalates mischief-making to ridiculous levels in a series of increasingly over the top missions. The central mechanics should be familiar to anyone who has invested even a few minutes in a “sandbox” title: you are presented with a fully accessible city packed with challenges such as timed races, shooting galleries and escort quests. However, you will more likely spend your time running riot by blowing stuff up, gesticulating rudely at pedestrians and generally acting the jackass. Saints Row IV stretches this idea like silly putty…

  • Video Preview: Róisín O – Hold On

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    Having warranted comparisons to the likes of Joni Mitchell, Joanna Newsom and Kate Bush, Dublin singer-songwriter Róisín O, has just finished a 14 date US tour off the back of her majestic debut album, The Secret Life of Blue. Ahead of its official release on Thursday, September 20, we have a preview of the video for her new single, ‘Hold On’. Directed by Simon Eustace, the video evokes spirit of the video for ‘All I Want’ by Kodaline and features a suitably fed-up couple of characters fleetingly breaking free from the soul-crushing confines of night-shift monotony to tempt the laws of love. Do…

  • Girls Names @ Musikcaféen, Copenhagen

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    Currently based in Sweden, Dublin photographer Ian Pearce captured Belfast four-piece Girls Names play Musikcaféen in Copenhagen as part of a brief string of European dates at the weekend just past. Heed how well young Cathal Cully and co. scrub up in his photos from the night below.

  • Adam Buxton presents: BUG Radiohead Special

    September 17, 2013 - By 

    Having brought The Best of Bug to Belfast in May as part of Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, English comedian, writer and broadcast Adam Buxton returns to the city with a special BUG show focusing on Radiohead. This unique show will see the band’s amazing music video output celebrated on the big screen – their greatest videos, their collaborations with directors such as such as Jonathan Glazer, Grant Gee, Shynola, Garth Jennings – and BUG’s very own Buxton – and also rareties, seldom seen on the big screen, or indeed any screen. Don’t miss what promises to be a very special night…

  • An A-Z Playlist of Grand Theft Auto

    September 17, 2013 - By 

    With the release of arguably the most anticipated video game of a generation, Grand Theft Auto V, Shannon Delores O’Neill casts a nostalgic ear back at some of the best music from GTA – a series that vividly captures the sounds of the era in which each game is set, from the pop and funk of Vice City to the alt-rock and hip hop of San Andreas. And what better to do that than with an A-Z Spotify playlist kicking off with Alice In Chains and ending with Zapp & Roger (“who?” we hear you cry)? NB: don’t forget to do…

  • Gig of the week: Sea Pinks, September Girls, Affleck

    September 17, 2013 - By 

    After much deliberation and chin-rubbing, our gig of the week this week takes place at Belfast’s Oh Yeah Centre on Friday, September 20. Surely set to be a highlight of this year’s Culture Night Belfast, Belfast-based surf-pop band Sea Pinks will headline a three-band bill also featuring fast-rising Dublin all-female noise-pop quartet September Girls and new-fangled Belfast electronic trio Affleck. Doors are at 6pm and admission is free. Go here to learn more. Check out the poster for the show below. Stream the excellent Freak Waves by Sea Pinks below.

  • Arctic Monkeys – AM

    September 17, 2013 - By 

    You have to hand it to the Arctic Monkeys. Most artists who have achieved accelerated success at such a tender age remain gobby guttersnipes with an admirable desire to grind axes but a significant lack of axes to grind. They rarely make it beyond the second album, confined instead to an occasional mention in a question on Never Mind The Buzzcocks. Not so with the ever prolific Alex Turner et al., who have now released five full-lengths, several EPs, a live record, a soundtrack and a wealth of b-sides which could be justifiably included on a mainstream release. Further, the quality control is…

  • Lesser Known Pleasures: The Boo Radleys – Everything’s Alright Forever

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    Lesser Known Pleasures is a look at albums that live forever in the shadow of a classic. An artist’s “other”. Great records that were possibly a little too far ahead of their time. Perhaps fame had dimmed but the artist peaked creatively outside the spotlight. Maybe a grand artistic statement was greeted by bemused critics with disdain or worse, a cold shoulder. Lesser Known Pleasures won’t be found on the latest Best Albums Ever! list. They aren’t obscure enough to be Great Lost Albums either. They are albums that are less revered than they might be and deserve a wider…