• The Lighthouse

    January 31, 2020 - By 

    At the beginning of Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) arrives on a remote island with his superior, Tom Wake (Willem Dafoe), to tend to the titular beacon. Their path, along steep craggy cliffs in howling winds, was difficult, but there will be no relief inside either. As Winslow bumps his head on the low ceiling of their shared upstairs quarters, Wake is already urinating into a chamber pot, farting and barking orders about Winslow’s duties.  Life on the island is hard. Winslow’s tasks are back-breaking and seemingly never-ending, everything but the more rewarding nursing the light itself – a…

  • Gareth Davis & Merzbow – Broken Landscapes

    January 30, 2020 - By 

    To be rich in friends is to be poor in nothing, or so the saying goes. Given how barely anyone who dedicates their life to experimental music ends up rich, perhaps the success of such musicians should be measured by their influence and the connections they create. Of course, such an idea cannot be measured quantitatively, but if one were to do that, collaborations could be a handy metric. And by that standard, Masami Akita, or Merzbow to you and I, would take some beating. An exhaustive rundown of his collaborations would be too exhausting to list, but in the…

  • Algiers – There Is No Year

    January 30, 2020 - By 

    One thing that you can’t fault Algiers on is the fact that they know how to start all guns blazing. The title track and album opener for their latest LP, There Is No Year, grabs you by the lobes in the first few seconds and does not let go. It’s pulsating and bumping and filled will an anxious, impassioned cry over a world that is too far gone to save. Franklin James Fisher’s vocals oscillate between a soulful croon and desperate warble over a rip-roaring death march. Your blood begins bumping, things begin to coalesce and the feeling that your…

  • Seoda Shows 7th Birthday Line-Up Announced

    January 30, 2020 - By 

    A few months on from pulling out all the stops for their 2019 summer party, Seoda Shows have revealed the stellar line-up for their 7th Birthday show next month. Taking place at Limerick’s Kasbah Social Club on Saturday, February 22nd, the Mary Wallopers and Post Punk Podge & The Technohippies line-up against headliners, Limerick four-piece PowPig (pictured). Admission is ridiculously affordable – a mere €10 – and doors are at 9pm.

  • SPIES Announce Split, Whelans Farewell Show

    January 29, 2020 - By 

    After ten years, Dublin five-piece SPIES have announced they are to split. Having re-emerged back in 2018 after a three-year hiatus, with the sublime Constancy in tow, the Michael Broderick-fronted band announced the news via social media today. In a statement – which also revealed that their show at Whelans on February 15th will be their last – the band said, “The five of us have had an amazing time playing music together over the last 10 years but we feel the time is right ot move on.” Read the full statement below. All the very best to the guys…

  • Video Premiere: Arthuritis – Left Over Seas

    January 31, 2020 - By 

    Experimental electronic auteur Arthuritis has released his first new music of 2020, the jarringly spacious, let claustrophobic second single from his new Ornament of the World EP, ‘Left Over Seas’. The masterfully edited 3D-animated blend of the real and digital was created by Aodhagán O Riabhaigh, accompanying Arthuritis’ mesmerisingly glitch-laden work to a tee. Continuing on the conversation opened in the abstract anti-capitalistic satire of previous single ‘Condo‘, Arthur says “the single deals with the separation in our society between those in corporate business/celebrities/etc and the average person and how either could easily be in each others position. I like to try to see from other perspectives,…

  • The Thin Air Podcast: Just Mustard

    January 29, 2020 - By 

    This week’s installment of the Thin Air podcast features Dundalk band Just Mustard and their track ‘Pigs’. A hypnotic highlight from their debut album Wednesday, guitarist/producer David Noonan, singer KT Ball and drummer Shane Maguire talk about the song’s writing and recording process with Danny Carroll.  Serving as a blueprint for the band, we found out how ‘Pigs’ informed the band’s development and gave them a new way of approaching their songwriting.

  • First Acts Announced for Other Voices Ballina Music Trail

    January 28, 2020 - By 

    Other Voices have revealed the first 15 acts set to play the music trail of its forthcoming return to Ballina in Co. Mayo. With the likes of Elbow, Skinny Living, Denise Chaila and Jesca Hoop already announced for the second edition of Other Voices Ballina on Friday, February 28-Saturday, February 29th, pubs and venues throughout the town will play to host to the following Irish acts: All those planning to attend Other Voices Ballina can register for free in advance and exchange tickets for Festival wristbands at the Other Voices Ballina Hub.

  • New Three-Day Irish Underground Festival Alternating Current Announced

    January 28, 2020 - By 

    A new, three-day Irish festival has been announced. Set to showcase Ireland’s underground as part of St. Patrick’s Festival 2020, the inaugural Alternating Current will take over Dublin’s The Sound House from Friday, March 13th to Sunday, March 15th. Curated by Dublin Digital Radio, Enthusiastic Eunuch and Tiny Cosmos, the line-up for the festival’s first outing is absolutely nothing to sniff at it, either. From ELLLL, BB84, Woven Skull, Vicky Langan, Crevice and Fixity, to Maija Sofia, Naive Ted, Post Punk Podge, Robocobra Quartet, Rising Damp and beyond, this is a bill that more than comfortably makes up for the absence of…

  • the arts column: January 29th

    January 29, 2020 - By 

    This week we’ve got details on a pair of new exhibitions opening in Dublin, one closing in Belfast, an artist talk in Cork, and a pair of open calls for artworks and papers. As always, if you have an event, talk, exhibition, or would like to recommend one please get in touch via aidan[at]thethinair.net Exhibition Opening| Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin This coming Thursday, January 30th, sees the opening of two next exhibitions in Dublin’s Douglas Hyde Gallery. In the gallery’s main space sees the first solo exhibition in Ireland by Mexican artist Gabriel Kuri, who presents: spending static to save gas – an exhibition addressing…