• International Women’s Day: The Missing Voice

    February 20, 2017 - By 

    As part of this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8, Belfast’s the MAC will host The Missing Voice, a special two-part panel and performance event. Kicking off with the launch and live recording of a new podcast series ‘The Missing Voice’ produced by Belfast-based musician Isobel Anderson (pictured), the night will also feature performances from Anderson, DIE HEXEN and Little Green Cars‘ Faye O’Rourke. Joining the Missing Voice panel on the night will be all three performers, Oh Yeah Music Centre Chief Executive Charlotte Dryden and producer, DJ and founder of Body Fusion Bobby Analog. The Missing Voice series…

  • Watch: Talos – Odyssey

    February 20, 2017 - By 

    Having been on an increasingly impressive trajectory over the last four years, Cork producer Eoin French AKA Talos will release his highly-anticipated debut album, Wild Alee, on April 21. A new single taken from that, the lush electro-pop of ‘Odyssey’ makes for a nigh on five minute ballad of swirling textures and emotive incandescence. Speaking of the track, French said, ““In any endeavour we find ourselves at the point of doubt. Those moments where you question yourself. That’s what the line, ‘In this odyssey, it’s hard to leave…’ refers to. It’s a beautiful and testing cycle. “I was asking myself some pretty big questions.…

  • Dublin Review: The Rehearsal

    February 20, 2017 - By 

    What if Miles Teller in Whiplash wasn’t a dick, and chose the girl over the art? Then you’d get something like Kiwi drama The Rehearsal, which doesn’t have the intense tempo of Damien Chazelle’s jazzy endorsement of creativity-as-cruelty, but is interested in similar questions of how a young artist finds themselves and what they are willing to sacrifice in the process. Alison Maclean’s first feature since 1999’s Jesus’ Son adapts Eleanor Catton’s debut novel of the same name, with Emily Perkins as co-screenwriter, for a down to earth spin on the Fame mythos with a strong eye for drama school’s…

  • Hidden Figures

    February 17, 2017 - By 

    How the stories of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson managed to not become common lore in NASA’s history until now could only be put down to racial and gender prejudice. And while writer/director Ted Melfi (St Vincent) has told this inspiringly important and fascinating story to a decent degree, Hidden Figures is let down by a hokey script that is laced with safe racism, giving the film a conventional Hollywood feel, one that takes away from the remarkable story. During the space race between the USA and the USSR in the 1960s, three African-American women broke huge…

  • The Redneck Manifesto @ Whelans, Dublin

    February 17, 2017 - By 

    It says a lot about a band who having not released any new music in over six years and who play live so intermittently, that they still manage to more or less sell out two nights in one of Dublin’s best-loved venues. Ever since their formative years, there has always been a strong bond between The Redneck Manifesto and their fans and tonight proves to be no different with bassist Richie Egan commenting after just the second track; “Wednesday was cool but already Thursday feels a lot better”. All six members – Niall Byrne (guitar), Mervyn Craig (drums), Glenn Keating…

  • Hanni El Khatib – Savage Times

    February 17, 2017 - By 

    Having released five EPs last year, Hanni El Khatib has returned with a newer, fuller collection Savage Times. A colourful, 19-track release that mixes everything from garage rock to punk and disco the LP embraces diversity and celebrates taking pride in who you are. The record seems a little messy and disjointed upon the first listen, hopping from grungy garage-rock stylings to funky, disco-infused melodies and on to bluesy crooner tracks. It doesn’t immediately betray a typical album smoothness. . .  but that’s kind of the point. The San Francisco native was born to parents from Palestine and The Philippines,…

  • Looking Svelte – Gelatine

    February 17, 2017 - By 

    It’s not always wise to read too much into a record’s title, but in this case, it feels spot on. Gelatine, the debut EP from Looking Svelte, is a hot mess: thick and viscous, gluey and amorphous. It recalls at times the dense sounds of celebrated avant-gardists Gang Gang Dance and Purity Ring, along with the DIY aesthetic of WIFE (aka James Kelly of Altar of Plagues). But like the best of those projects, when you peel away the layers of reverb and distortion, there’s a pop song at the core. Looking Svelte is the stubbornly lo-fi, decidedly high-tech solo…

  • Ryan Adams Set for Irish Shows

    February 17, 2017 - By 

    Having recently released his critically-acclaimed sixteenth studio album, Prisoner, it’s been announced that Ryan Adams will play three Irish dates in September. As well as play Belfast’s Ulster Hall on September 8 and Cork’s Opera House on September 9, Adams’ tour will conclude at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre on September 11. Tickets go on sale next Friday (February 24) at 10am. See below for info. 08 Sept. Ulster Hall: Tickets from £35 incl. Booking fee. 09 Sept. Cork Opera House: Tickets from €44.05 incl. Booking fee. 11 Sept. Olympia: Tickets from €40.05 incl. Booking fee and restoration levy.