• Deep Down South: Few Gigs There, Lads

    January 26, 2015 - By 

    Irish metal has been having a few years of exponential growth, with the rise of all-dayers like The Siege of Limerick and bands like Primordial, Murdock and Coldwar representing the island’s riff community on the world stage, and quality stuff materialising from the woodwork everywhere, from Ilenkus and Kawtiks to veterans like For Ruin and Mael Mordha. But at the forefront of all this has been Limerick prog-metal monoliths Shardborne, coming to the Cork Community Print Shop this Saturday care of PYRE Promotions, with Ealadha and Mannequin Republic in tow. Launching upcoming LP ‘Living Bridges’, the instrumental quartet’s combination of…

  • Track Record: Brian Cash (Halves)

    January 26, 2015 - By 

    Featured arguably the most eclectic choices to date (and there’s been quite a few of those) Brian Cash from Halves chooses and talks about his all-time favourite records, including Mogwai, The Redneck Manifesto and a Disney compilation. Photos by Aidan Kelly-Murphy. Super Furry Animals –  Mwng Tim from Halves, to his credit, got me into the Furries. I was always slightly confused by them before that. Pretty much all their records are amazing but I have a special place in my heart for Mwng (above): it’s the sound of a band doing exactly what they want to do without pandering to expectation. An…

  • EP Download: Hot Cops – #1 Babes

    January 26, 2015 - By 

    Few young bands excel at their respective genre as convincingly as Belfast-based indie-rock trio Hot Cops. Set to play our Independent Venue Week show at Oh Yeah Centre on Friday night, the band have just unveiled their new release, #1 Babes, a four-track EP of cunningly off-kilter, slacker-soaked anti-anthems that instantly evoke their main influences in Pavement, Deerhunter and Cloud Nothings. The EP was recorded by the band’s bassist Nathan Rodgers and mixed/mastered by Chris Ryan. Stream/download it (for free, if you so like) via Bandcamp below. #1 Babes by Hot Cops

  • ASIWYFA Announce Fourth Album Details, European Tour

    January 26, 2015 - By 

    Globetrotting North Coast quartet And So I Watch You From Afar have announced details of their forthcoming fourth studio album. Set for release via Sargent House on May 4, Heirs is the follow-up to the band’s third album All Hail Bright Futures, released back in 2013. The album will be the first featuring material written by guitarist Niall Kennedy, who replaced founding member Tony Wright back in 2011. The band have also announced an extensive European Tour to coincide with the album release. Check out the artwork for Heirs above and read our exclusive fature-length interview with the band in the first…

  • TTA Session #006: R51

    January 25, 2015 - By 

    Following on from our recent live session with Jape, our latest audio-visual snoop falls at Belfast-based alt/gaze-pop five-piece R51. Featuring the band in conversation, as well a performance of the pummelling ‘I Hate That Too’, the session was filmed and edited by Colm Laverty, with sound by Stevie Lennox and Michael Hanvey R51 release their forthcoming EP, Pillow Talk, on March 25. Make sure to check back for our premiere of the release and watch the live session below.

  • Stream: Le Carousel – Destroy Us

    January 25, 2015 - By 

    Belfast-based producer and DJ Phil Kieran isn’t one to rest on his laurels. Having dropped some of the biggest techno bombs around over the years, Le Carousel has seen Phil moving in a slightly different creative direction, with the focus more on the possibilities of live production and building layers of groove. ‘Destroy Us’, his latest single under the Le Carousel alias is snappy, tight and the flourishes of melody are so bright and cheery, you’d be hard pressed not to tap along. It’s a slice of electro-pop loveliness, basically. Don’t take our word for it though, have a listen…

  • Monday Mixtape: Claire Miskimmin (Girls Names/Cruising)

    January 26, 2015 - By 

    Following on from Aghagallon singer-songwriter Ciaran Lavery and And So I Watch You From Afar guitarist Niall Kennedy, the latest willing subject of Monday Mixtape is Claire Miskimmin ofGirls Namesand Cruising. Traversing U.S goth rock pioneers Christian Death, Melbourne garage punk five-piece Total Control, Detroit post-punk quartet Protomartyr and more, the ten-track playlist is a half-hour sojourn of wonderfully doom-laden proportions. Cruising play Belfast’s Menagerie on March 14 as part of Sunglasses After Dark. Claire Miskimmin DJs at her night, Bad Vibes, at Belfast’s Woodworkers every second Thursday night. If you like what you hear below, make sure to hit it up this…

  • Pragmatic Greatness: The Continuing Saga of Echo & The Bunnymen

    January 27, 2015 - By 

    For one glorious moment, Echo & The Bunnymen stood on the precipice of the world, and it seemed like Mythic Glory was theirs for the taking. Then they had an extended holiday, released a commercial sell-out album, and broke up. About ten years later, they found themselves in a similar position, at the forefront of perhaps the most spectacular comeback in pop history, Doing it Clean. But what happened in the next fifteen years? “I know the reality of life, and where we are in the world. I’m not an idiot, you know,” Will Sergeant tells Steven Rainey. More than…

  • Cork Heads: F I L T E R

    January 27, 2015 - By 

    F I L T E R espresso and brew bar in Cork city has quickly become the go to spot for coffee lovers in Cork city. They are situated on Georges Quay and promote a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere with banging tunes and regular exhibitions promoting local creatives. In the latest installment of her column Cork Heads, photographer Brid O’Donovan captures an average day in F I L T E R and chats to owner Eoin MacCarthy and barista Alex Bruce. Can you blindly tell what kind of coffee you’re drinking? Alex: Maybe not the specific region but maybe the…

  • Val Normal – Fly The White Flag of War

    January 25, 2015 - By 

    The importance of editing should never be underestimated. It takes a lot for a person in any creative medium to step outside themselves and be able to recognize that, while you may be intensely proud of what you’ve made, some of it needs to be cut off to save the rest; a kind of apoptosis. Never forget that, while a cheeky wee guitar solo can be essential, after a point it’s just diminishing returns. It’s nigh on impossible to count the number of genuinely interesting prog rock songs that have been lost to unwieldy length and arrogance on the part…