• Festival Mixtape: Indiependence 2014

    July 29, 2014 - By 

    Hands down one of Cork’s finest annual festivals, Indiependence returns to Mitcheltown’s Deer Park across the weekend of August 1-3, headlined by hip-hop overlords Public Enemy, London post-punk trio White Lies and Tom Odell. Better still, this year’s festival boasts some of the very finest acts, of every conceivable ilk and genre, that fall comfortably under the banner “homegrown”. Whether you look to the cosmically-inclined rapture of Cork’s The Altered Hours or Belfast-based indie-pop quartet Go Wolf, amongst several others, the veritable cream of Ireland’s musical crop will be nicely represented across the weekend. Check out the full line-up for the festival…

  • Boyhood

    July 29, 2014 - By 

    Richard Linklater’s Boyhood is both an aesthetic and logistical triumph. That it exists at all is a victory of sorts, considering the (much-hyped) eccentricities of its production. The film is an impressionistic time-lapse of human development, charting the growth of a young Texan boy from primary-school to college age and the evolution of his surrounding family. To achieve an honest chronicle of this temporal stutter effect, Linklater returned to the small troupe of actors every year or so for eleven years to shoot a handful of scenes, guessing ahead and developing the narrative on the fly. In a neat folding…

  • Watch: Oh Volcano – See No Evil

    July 28, 2014 - By 

    Ahead of their debut headline show at Belfast’s Voodoo on Saturday night (August 2), Belfast-based band Oh Volcano have unveiled their second single, ‘See No Evil’. Maintaining their tight-lipped presence thus far, the video – featuring stock footage and some nifty editing – was created by Edward Butler. The band, comprised of ex-General Fiasco members/brothers Owen and Enda Strathern released their debut single, ‘Oceans’, back in February. Watch the video below.  

  • Watch: Ghost Estates – In Your Dreams

    July 28, 2014 - By 

    Set for Castlepalooza at the weekend, Dublin quartet Ghost Estates have unveiled the rather filmic video for their single, ‘In Your Dreams’. Created by ultra-talented Second Frame Films, the visual accompaniment is like something out of a comic book, disjointed, dreamlike imagery melding with the song’s weaving tangents in fine fashion. Watch the video below.  

  • Watch: His New Atlas – His Young

    July 28, 2014 - By 

    Taken from his forthcoming debut EP, Torn Out Lungs, Armagh singer-songwriter Eoghan O’Hagan AKA His New Atlas has unveiled the video for his new single, ‘His Young’. Filmed and edited by Darren Lee of Maverick Renegade, the video is nautically reminiscent of ‘Can’t Make You Come Back’ by Our Krypton Son, ‘Cathedral Street’ by Feet For Wings and ‘Holy’ by Frightened Rabbit. You can buy the single (including a remix by Krimson) via Bandcamp here for £1 (or more) and watch the video below. Eoghan will also be playing the Belfast launch of ‘His Young’ on August 7, at his…

  • Inbound: Jamie Neish

    July 28, 2014 - By 

    Ahead of his solo performance at the latest Volume Control show at Belfast’s Oh Yeah Centre, Rebekah Wilson sits down with the sonically ambidextrous Jamie Neish. Not merely content with drumming in one of Northern Ireland’s finest and most promising alt-rock outfits,More Than Conquerors, Neish is also an auspicious unaccompanied artist in his own right – something he happily discusses alongside the rise and restlessness of the aforementioned Belfast band. Photos by Sam Stronge Hey Jamie, how’s it going? It’s going very well, thanks! Good stuff! So, for anyone who hasn’t heard your music before how would you describe your…

  • In Photos: The Wonder Villains @ HMV Belfast

    July 28, 2014 - By 

    The latest in a series of in-house performances at Belfast’s recently-imagined HMV, Derry pop four-piece The Wonder Villains bestowed upon photographer Liam Kielt and others their insouciant, sun-kissed craft on Saturday afternoon (July 26). Check out Mr Kielt’s photos from the performance below.

  • Arnocorps, Scimitar @ The Speakeasy, Belfast

    July 28, 2014 - By 

    “GET TO THE CHOPPA!”, an excitable fan bellows outside Queen’s Students Union as I’m getting out of a taxi. At least, I can only assume he’s a fan. Not only is his hollered missive straight out of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 classic muscles-n-monster movie, Predator, but it is delivered in a faux Austrian accent with a decidedly South Belfast twang. Oh, that and the fact that he is dressed from head to toe in military style tactical gear, his side-arm swapped out for a Nerf Maverick revolver. And he has a squadron of similarly attired comrades backing up his six. At…

  • Stream: TOSKA feat. Aran Glover – Polyforms

    July 28, 2014 - By 

    Comprised of three members of defunct post-metal five-piece Annapurna, TOSKA have unveiled their debut track, ‘Polyforms’ Featuring furious vocals from Aran Glover of We Are Knuckle Dragger, the track – impressively clocking in at just under ten minutes – traverses progressive metal tangents, intricate instrumentalism and cyclopean down-tuned chords, reminiscent of the band’s previous incarnation. Stream the track via Bandcamp below. Polyforms ft. Aran Glover by TOSKA

  • Stream: Boxcutter – Shea EP

    July 28, 2014 - By 

    The fifth release on his own imprint, Kinnego Records, the chameleonic Barry Lynn AKABoxcutter has returned with a garage-tinged new EP, Shea. Currently based in London, the Northern Irish producer’s latest, three-track release is the culmination of its lead track being streamed early last year via Soundcloud. It features kaleidoscopic sleeve art by Nia at Star Fu and was mastered by Bob Macc at Subvert Central Mastering. Stream the EP via Bandcamp below. Shea EP by Boxcutter