• Stream: Elephant – Waiting Game Part II

    January 18, 2018 - By 

    Dundalk artist and multi-instrumentalist Shane Clarke AKA Elephant has been a TTA favourite for some time now.  Bounding with harmonic finesse and a masterfully earnest touch, his shapeshifting alt-pop craft will get the full-length treatment later this year. Ahead of that, ‘Waiting Game Part II’ is a subtle yet slick homespun effort, marrying balmy synths with the song’s stripped-back slow rock surge. At the forefront, once again, is Clarke’s neatly harmonised vocals, quietly bursting with massive heart. Elephant’s strongest single to date? We reckon so. Delve in.

  • Brigid Mae Power – The Two Worlds

    January 22, 2018 - By 

    Firmly established as Ireland’s foremost purveyors of elemental folk, Brigid Mae Power releases her second album, The Two Worlds on February 9 through US label Tompkins Square. Her eponymous 2016 debut garnered unanimous acclaim from the likes of Uncut, Mojo, The Guardian and featured on NPR & BBC programming. The Two Worlds, recorded in Co. Down’s Analogue Catalogue Studio, looks set to consolidate Power’s standing amidst a resurgence of Irish music that has redefined the role of traditional music once more in today’s conversation. Here’s what Brigid had to say about the album: “Most of these songs were written in the last year in Ireland and they’re all about the different feelings I had…

  • Eels Set For Iveagh Gardens Show

    January 17, 2018 - By 

    Having last played the city back in July, 2014, Mark Oliver Everett’s Eels‘ will play Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens on Friday, July 6. The announcement accompanies the news of the band’s first album and tour in four years. The new album, The Deconstruction, will be Eels’ twelfth studio album. It’s released on April 6. Tickets for the Iveagh Gardens show go on sale on Thursday, January 25 at 9am.

  • Worlds Apart: An Interview with Brigid Mae Power

    January 17, 2018 - By 

    In the winter of 2017, Irish multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Brigid Mae Power shared the first single from her forthcoming second album, The Two Worlds, scheduled for release this February. ‘Don’t Shut Me Up (Politely)’ effortlessly encapsulated the tone of that season with its prevailing darkness. This is a soundscape that we are invited to explore in her new material. Through her lyrics and haunting arrangements, Power examines the duality that is ever present in the artist both creatively and personally. Words by Zara Hedderman You released your self-titled debut in 2016. How was it returning to an empty notebook after promoting and touring…

  • 18 for ’18: Silverbacks

    January 17, 2018 - By 

    We continue 18 for ’18, our feature of showcasing eighteen Irish acts we’re convinced are going places in 2018. Throughout January we’re going to be previewing each of those acts, accompanied by words from our writers and an original photograph from one of our photographers. Next up is Silverbacks. Photo by Colum O’Dwyer Dublin five-piece Silverbacks may have already released a debut album back in 2015, but it’s what they release next that we’re most excited about. That debut, Hot Bath, was a strong starting effort from brothers and primary songwriters Daniel and Kilian O’Kelly – a fairly loose affair that…

  • Watch: Haunch – Twitching

    January 17, 2018 - By 

    The inaugural release from Robyn G Shiels’ new record label, Black Tragick Records, is one of major sonic heft from some of Northern Ireland’s pedigree bringers of the riff. After two years or writing and recording behind closed doors, Haunch release their debut album, Lay My Bones Beside The Others on January 26, and you can watch the video for first single, ‘Twitching’ below. Based in Larne – Larnia, for the rose-tinted – the band comprises Rory McGeown, Michael McKeegan & Willy Mundell, each of whose noisemaking chops are in no doubt, being current & former members of Therapy?, Throat and Dutch Schultz. A seemingly inevitable combination, the trio bonded over a mutual love of…

  • Mercury Set For Deserter Songs 20th Anniversary Irish Shows

    January 17, 2018 - By 

    It’s been announced that Mercury Rev will play four Irish dates in April celebrating the 20th anniversary of their seminal fourth album Deserter Songs. Billed as “a very special acoustic and intimate Performance” the New York band will play Bangor’s Wesley’s Centenary Church on Tuesday, April 17, Dolans Warehouse in Limerick on April 18, Galway’s Roisin Dubh on April 21 and Dublin’s Whelan’s on April 22. Tickets go on sale this Friday (January 19) at 9am. Released in September 1998, the critically-acclaimed Deserter Songs is Mercury Rev’s most successful album to date. The band released their eighth studio album, The Light…

  • 18 for ’18: EHCO

    January 16, 2018 - By 

    We continue 18 for ’18, our feature of showcasing eighteen Irish acts we’re convinced are going places in 2018. Throughout January we’re going to be previewing each of those acts, accompanied by words from our writers and an original photograph from one of our photographers. Next up is Wicklow’s EHCO. Photo by Niall O’Kelly  Eoin Whitfield has ditched his indie-rock roots and swapped them for another genre; slick electronica. The Wicklow-based artist, formerly of Enemies, recently dropped his first cut under the moniker EHCO. And the track, titled ‘Raise It Up’, serves as an ideal glimpse into what we can…

  • Quare Groove: New compilation features rare Irish funk, soul, post-punk and electronics from 70s and 80s

    January 16, 2018 - By 

    Inimitable Dublin label and record store All City recently announced an exciting compilation, set for release on 2 February. The wonderfully titled Quare Groove Vol. 1  features eight cuts of rare, re-mastered and frankly thrilling ‘groove’ music produced in Ireland during the 70s and 80s. Artists and bands featured on the compilation include The Pumphouse Gang, Those Nervous Animals, Barry Werner and Micro Disney. As the All City crew explain: “Irish music of the 1970s was simply not synonymous with groove music in any way. Avid music aficionado’s were totally ‘rockist’ then (to use an old tag from the same time!)” The funk, disco, post-punk, electronic and experimental music featured…

  • Panda Bear – A Day With the Homies

    January 16, 2018 - By 

    Often reserved for moments of awkward silence, Noah Panda Bear Lennox has decided to open his latest solo work with the sound of crickets chirping. At the 25-second mark, they are joined by the rhythmic tapping of cymbals before being silenced altogether by Lennox’s bouncing vocal harmonies. And so begins ‘Flight,’ a song which comes across as something of a mix between the gospel singing of a dub-infused Louisiana tent revival and the electronic emissions of a SEGA Genesis. This image of a unified congregation is only further strengthened by the joyful, harmonious proclamation that “We’ve got the good crew”. While…