• SKIBUNNY Set For 20th Anniversary Show

    July 3, 2018 - By 

    Fire up the indie disco DeLorean: legendary Belfast DJ duo Tanya Mellotte and Mark Gordon AKA Skibunny will make their long-awaited return for a 20th anniversary show at Voodoo on Saturday, July 28. Back for one night only, the pair will DJ alongside an unmissable live set from Torgas Valley Reds/Backwater. Spinning the very best in indie rock, hip-hop, DIY, Krautrock, folk, northern soul, electronic and everything in between, Skibunny acquired nigh on mythical status in Belfast in the early 2000s. From secret shows to well-known guest DJs, aftershows and the sweatiest of most memorable nights, it brought out the very…

  • Florence and The Machine – High as Hope

    July 2, 2018 - By 

    Life is often polarised; Elation, devastation, swirling endlessly around us like the walls of a great hurricane. When we find ourselves in the eye of the storm serenity takes a hold, but with lengthened stays it can become stale, and we may once again crave to feel the chaotic winds around us. High as Hope, the fourth release from Florence and The Machine, is an intimate exploration of Welch’s most haphazard and vulnerable years, synchronised with homespun instrumentals and soaring vocals to magnificent effect. To reflect is to see, and in seeing we are immediately and irreversibly bestowed with responsibility.…

  • Nine Inch Nails – Bad Witch

    June 30, 2018 - By 

    Trent Reznor has been throwing shade at practically everybody on this most recent press tour. The Nine Inch Nails frontman has railed against Trump, Kanye and the contemporary state of music. At times, there have been well-formed ideas spoken with a confidence and authority that implies a level of consideration and forethought. At others, it’s amounted to little more than “Old man yells at cloud”. With all this bluster, the release he was promoting got lost in the fold. In fact looking back at this coverage, the most interesting aspect of this current mini-album, Bad Witch, is that it was, in…

  • Melting Songs: Seán Mac Erlaine interviewed

    July 3, 2018 - By 

    Woodwind specialist and experimental composer Seán Mac Erlaine creates deeply cerebral and alluringly unclassifiable music. Long celebrated for his own swirling, phantasmal compositions as well as his work with Swedish/Irish folk group , This is How We Fly, May saw the release of his latest solo album, the divine Music for Empty Ears. The album was recorded in collaboration with Norwegian luminaries, innovative live sampler Jan Bang and guitarist Eivind Aarset and also features the sumptuous wraith like vocals of Galway singer Sadhbh Ní Dhálaighhe. The dizzying array of talents on record combines to create one of the most seductive releases in Mac…

  • Stream: Remains of Youth – Settle West/South Africa

    June 28, 2018 - By 

    Back in July 2016, Belfast alternative quartet Remains of Youth returned after a long hiatus with There Is Hope Without Progress, a five-track EP we said brimmed the band’s “carefully-considered musicianship, strong sense of urgency and deft vitality”. One memorable, TTA-promoted gig at Lavery’s in Belfast later, the band dropped off the radar again but now, two years on, they’ve re-emerged with two of their strongest efforts to date, ‘Settle West’ and ‘South Africa’. Where the material that comprised the TIHWP EP struck a chord with us, these new tracks find the Adam Shirlow-fronted band at their most inspired and inspirited. Striking…

  • Roger Waters @ 3Arena, Dublin

    June 28, 2018 - By 

    A lone figure sits on a sand dune on the domineering backdrop screen, facing the waves as the ambient clamour of seascape sounds permeate the chatter and hum of 3arena; oh so gradually intensifying. “Come ye in from the bar”, it almost whispers, and crashes, until the air vibrates that bit more and a thrum of bass is joined by choir-like vocals. “Get in, ye bastards”, they seem to beckon in their serene siren voices. And the people come, pints in hand. He knows how to build an air of subtle expectation, does Roger Waters. Always did. There can’t be…

  • Emotional Content: Key Tracks from Celtronic Festival (2001-2018)

    June 28, 2018 - By 

    Currently underway in Derry, Celtronic has been at the forefront of the Irish electronic music scene since 2001. With the best still to come at this year’s outing the next four nights via Avalon, Phil Kieran & the Ulster Orchestra, Gerd Janson and more, organisers from the festival have selected one key track from each year of the festival to date, featuring the likes of DJ Koze, Alloy Mental, KiNK, Lykke Li and Blawan. 2001 Event: Radioactive Man at The Nerve Centre Key Track: Radioactive Man – Uranium 2002 Event: Tom Middleton at Sandinos Key Track: Cosmos – Take Me With You 2003 Event: Funk D’Void…

  • Sistrionics: An Interview with Deap Vally

    June 28, 2018 - By 

    Deap Vally are singer-guitarist Lindsey Troy and drummer Julie Edwards. They exploded into the scene with their debut album Sistrionix in 2013, which won favourable comparisons to blues rock contemporaries The White Stripes and The Black Keys as well as scene legends Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin. After leaving Island Records, they self-funded 2016’s follow-up album Femejism, which was produced by Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Nick Zimmer. After the release of single ‘Get Gone’ earlier this year, they’re currently on amall European tour, including The Limelight in Belfast tonight (Thursday, June 28). Caolan Coleman spoke to them ahead of the gigs. Your new…

  • The Top 10 Sets at Body & Soul 2018

    June 26, 2018 - By 

    Body & Soul has quickly become one of Ireland’s biggest festivals and this year it’s as popular as ever despite a small downsizing in music acts. 2018 easily established the festival as one of Ireland’s best with a carefully curated line up and one of the safest, most inclusive festival experiences around. With an amazing presence of queer culture (it was impossible to go for more than a few minutes without seeing a pride flag) and a wholesome, local festival despite its increasing popularity, Body & Soul 2018 made for an exceedingly fun festival. Here’s our top ten sets from…

  • Girls Names – Stains on Silence

    June 26, 2018 - By 

    The fourth Girls Names full length has been a long time coming. A little under three years isn’t such a big gap between albums these days in an increasingly part-time industry, but recording updates were coming thick and fast from the Belfast band some time ago before seeming to dry up. As it turns out, an initial mix of the album was finished long ago before being shelved for 6 months and then ultimately aborted. The band then began reworking the material, taking it apart and rebuilding it with new edits and recordings. This drawn out process, as well as…