• Brigid Mae Power – The Two Worlds

    February 13, 2018 - By 

      We’re all guilty of living between two worlds. Personal and private, work and leisure, pre “this” and post “that” comprise just a few. God forbid should they ever crossover; most of us fight losing battles to keep them apart, whether the consequences are trivial or something much darker. Brigid Mae Power does not seem to be such a person though. The Galway based singer-songwriter runs at her demons head-on throughout her third full length album The Two Worlds, and the fallout of such a collision is a staggering beauty to behold. Under the support of the #MeToo movement, Power recently…

  • Journey’s End

    February 12, 2018 - By 

    On the 100 year anniversary of the end of The First World War, director Saul Dibb (Suite Francaise) and writer Simon Reade (Private Peaceful) have adapted R.C. Sheriff’s 1928 play, based on his real-life experiences, to serve as a timely, gut-punch of a reminder of the horrors of this dark period in our history. And with an exceptional British cast and an absolutely astoundingly detailed production, Journey’s End is a surefire war classic. Set during the last year of the war in 1918, the story centres around British infantry unit C-company, as they make their way to the frontline trenches in…

  • Glory (Slava)

    February 12, 2018 - By 

    Glory (Slava) is a satire about the hypocrisies of power and class within contemporary Bulgarian society. Like the Russian-made watch of the title, this film has been constructed with purpose. The watch keeps time; the film tells a modern parable about a small act of thoughtlessness and its consequences. Solitary railway worker Tzanko (Stefan Denolyubov) comes across a mysterious pile of cash on train tracks. He reports his find to the authorities. Tzanko is honest but also isolated, disliked by his colleagues and shown little kindness by his peers. The Ministry of Transport’s head of public relations Julia Staykova (Margita Gosheva) regards…

  • British Sea Power @ Limelight 2, Belfast

    February 11, 2018 - By 

    Despite emerging at a time when the supposed cool of The Strokes and The Libertines reigned supreme, British Sea Power have successfully outlived most of their contemporaries to become a strange sort of cult British national treasure, concerned less with drugs and parties than with books and nature – song lyrics cover such topics as collapsing Antarctic shelves and 1953 floods, and the band once even bagged an appearance on Countryfile. Five years since they last graced Irish shores, BSP’s famously eccentric live show makes a long overdue return. After a reverb-drenched opening set from Belfast dream-pop duo MMODE, BSP…

  • Output Belfast 2018

    February 11, 2018 - By 

    Ciara Brennan captures some of the highlights from this year’s multi-venue Output showcase in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, including New Pagans, Robocobra Quartet, Beauty Sleep, Molly Sterling, Blue Americans, Callum Stewart, ROE and more.

  • Video Premiere: Eraser TV – NYP

    February 12, 2018 - By 

    One of the finest to sprout from Limerick’s DIY scene, Eraser TV have some lo-fi scuzz for you this lazy Sunday, in the form of ‘NYP’. It’s the first single from the as-yet-untitled follow-up to their 2017 debut EP Buzzfeed Depression Quiz. Sonically, it’s a direct descendent of idiosyncratic 90s guitar rock a la Dinosaur Jr melded with the anxious excitement of the Dismemberment Plan; add that to its modern indie-punk & emo tint and you’re left with a sound that could’ve fallen off the shelves of the Exploding In Sound catalogue. Where the wartime paranoia video for experimental previous epic ‘Golden Boy‘ was steeped in deeply affecting, this kitschy Eurodance throwback visual accompaniment…

  • Video Premiere: Any Joy – Avert Your Eyes

    February 13, 2018 - By 

    Photo by Silvio Severino Propelled by paranoid immediacy, we’re pleased to unveil the visual feast that is the video for ‘Avert Your Eyes’ by Cork psych-tinged post-punk outfit Any Joy. When it comes to psychedelia, lyrical content commonly takes a vague supporting role, but as we said in our 18 For ’18 piece, it’s the throughline that ties the band’s concise, yet sprawling 2017 debut LP, Cycles together, as well as delineating them from many of their genre contemporaries. Created by New York-based commercial director, animator & collagist Mac Premo, the video is an attention span-grabbing visual overload that could as easily double as psychedelic propaganda masquerading as a Visit Modern Ireland tourist board ad. Borrowing as…

  • MGMT – Little Dark Age

    February 10, 2018 - By 

    MGMT are back, a decade after their acclaimed debut Oracular Spectacular was released, and five years after their convoluted self-titled made its way onto the airwaves. After their initial success, Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser barrel rolled into a neo-psychedelic space that alienated the majority of their followers. This, of course, would have been a respectable, admirable decision from the duo had they produced something half-decent in that case. No one expected 2010’s Congratulations, an album that left the fans who revelled in the hooks and fist-pumps of ‘Kids’ and ‘Time To Pretend’ abandoned in a pit of half-baked, self-indulgence that aspired…

  • First Acts Announced for Longitude 2018

    February 9, 2018 - By 

    Set to return to Marlay Park across July 13-15, the first acts to play this year’s Longitude Festival have been announced. With J. Cole, Travis Scott and Solange (pictured) set to headline Friday, Saturday and Sunday respectively, the following acts will also perform: Migos, Post Malone, Diplo, Tyler, The Creator, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Sampha, Khalid, Cardi B, Giggs, J Hus, Joey Bada$$, The Internet, Lil Pump, blackbear, 6LACK, Ibeyi Jacob Banks, Kali Uchis, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Princess Nokia, Mabel, Big Shaq, Belly, Naaz and Bas. With more acts still to be announced, tickets (which range from €69.50…