• Bookmark: Liam Geraghty

    March 22, 2016 - By 

    In this installment of Bookmark, we spend a morning hanging out with RTE radio reporter and CBBC’s Brain Freeze puppeteer Liam Geraghty around some of his favourite spots in Dublin, while he shares with us the books which have influenced his life. Photos by Pedro Giaquinto. Jim Henson The Biography – Brian Jay Jones I’ve been an obsessive fan of the Muppets since I was small. My parents would often wonder how I’d recognise stars of a bygone era like Roy Rogers (who guest starred on The Muppet Show) so it quickly became a joke in our family that I…

  • The Shape of Things To Come: An Interview With Anderson

    March 21, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of the release of his new single ‘The Existential Vacuum’ and an upcoming intimate Irish tour, David O’Neill chats to Daniel Anderson about the creative process behind his acclaimed debut album Patterns. Photos by Tara Thomas. The Irish music scene has a tendency to reward those that persevere. Conor O’Brien, Damien Rice, Christy Moore have forged lasting careers after leaving their respective bands while Glen Hansard is now experiencing worldwide success after a quarter of a century slogging it out with that other band of his. Another name likely to be added to that list is Daniel Anderson. Anderson was…

  • Premiere: Oh Joy – Habits & Recreations

    March 21, 2016 - By 

    Recorded with Liam Mulvaney at Bow Lane Studio, the forthcoming self-titled EP by Dublin alt-rock band Oh Joy faithfully throws back whilst keeping a fixed eye on the present-day, fuzzed-out ruminations. Counting the likes of Pixies, Elliott Smith and DIIV amongst their main influences, there’s an authenticity to the trio’s intent-drenched throwdowns, not least on the EP’s lead single ‘Habits & Recreations’, which we’re pleased to premiere here. Oh Joy will be released at the end of the month.

  • Video Premiere: Come on Live Long – For The Birds

    March 22, 2016 - By 

    Last week, Dublin based group Come on Live Long returned with their first track in several months; the lush, smooth, R’n’B infused ‘For The Birds’. The song makes good use of the band’s known strong suits, from Louise Gaffney’s hypnotic vocals, Daithi O’Connor’s subtle yet ear pricking guitar licks, to their overall penchant for tremendous dynamic shifts which lead to a feeling of both ease and empowerment when listening. ‘For The Birds’ is taken from Come on Live Long’s second LP Move As One which is due to be released this Summer. Speaking of the writing process for the new album, Gaffney…

  • Independents In Paris: Cracki Records

    March 21, 2016 - By 

    In the latest installment of Independents in Paris, Tom McGeehan pops into the HQ of Parisian imprint Cracki Records to discuss and trace their five years in the indie game. For those unfamiliar with Cracki Records, can you tell us a little bit about where the label came from and how it came to exist? Whilst doing a scooter tour of France, we met Flo, who works for a label called ‘Dawn’. He explained how their label works, from starting out to making it a success. A few months later, we ended up in India, which was a big influence…

  • Solar Bears @ Lavery’s, Belfast

    March 21, 2016 - By 

    Gigantic at Lavery’s is a Belfast institution. For over a decade now it’s been a valuable club night for those of us who would rather spend a Friday night dancing to LCD Soundsystem or The Juan MacLean over the more typically pedestrian fare on offer in most clubs of a weekend. It’s also been refreshing for its tendency over the years to play material by local artists alongside the usual international acts, so the recent monthly gig nights at the club have been an inspired move. Not to mention, with music industry release dates now standardised to Fridays on both…

  • Underworld – Barbara, Barbara, We Face a Shining Future

    March 21, 2016 - By 

    “Barbara, Barbara, we face a shining future”; these were some of the final words spoken by Underworld frontman Karl Hyde’s father to his anguished wife on his deathbed. It’s a simple, yet beautiful phrase brimming with melancholic hope. Underworld’s decision use this as the title of their ninth studio LP, their first in sixth years, makes a great deal of sense as it not only works as a tribute to Hyde’s father but also as the rosetta stone to understanding the whole disc. Every song on the record has this genuine sense of foreboding and menace, manifested in the form…

  • Premiere: Hazing – Nervous Signals (Soil Creep remix)

    March 21, 2016 - By 

    Released back in February, Joy Void by Dutch/Irish artist Hazing is a debut EP that demands your our attention from the get go. Evoking the likes of Wild Nothing and Ariel Pink over its four tracks, there is a somnambulist glow woven throughout the release, conjuring late-night city traipses, head down, hands in pockets, driven forth by wayward thoughts of belonging and connection in a sleeping urban jungle.Two months after it dropped, Dublin producer Aidan Wall AKA Soil Creep has re-imagined lead single ‘Nervous Signals’ in superb fashion. Excavating beats and bleeps from the track’s placid fabric, it re-frames the track in such a…

  • Premiere: The Wood Burning Savages – We Love You

    March 21, 2016 - By 

    If their last few shows are anything to go by – not least their thrilling performance at our Tuesday Throwdown at Lavery’s in last month – Derry’s Wood Burning Savages are a band coursing forth with a huge amount of momentum right now. Recorded by Rocky O’Reilly at Belfast’s Start Together Studio, their new single, ‘We Love You’, is breakneck two and a half minutes that sees frontman Paul Connolly at the peak of his steadfast and ever-increasingly silver-tongued powers. Speaking of the release, Connolly said, “It’s not a love song. It’s a song about youthful dreams and hope being…