You know what’s lovely and accomplished to nth degree? The debut single from Co. Wicklow’s Tristan Howard AKA Tristan Da Cunha. A woozy, snug-as-hell swell of homespun bedroom-pop, it marries sleepyheaded hip-hop instrumentalism via intent-drenched, longing lo-fidelity. Long story short: it’s one of our Irish songs of the year so far. Directed by Howard and Leslie Sharpe, and edited by Sam Zarrin, check out its video below.
Off the back of their debut single ‘Takes So Long’, Paul Shevlin of London-based Belfast quartet ABQ (AKA Albuquerque) talks process, pressure, the power of the right producer and keeping up with the scene back home. Hello ABQ. You have been playing together in different guises over the last few years, but the band still feels very new. For those of us not in the know, what’s the backstory to ABQ and what’s changed? It was a fairly natural transition from previous projects to ABQ. We’ve all played in and around the NI music scene for years and when an…
Ahead of the release of his fourth album, The Art of Pretending How To Swim, Conor O’Brien’s Villagers have unveiled the video for new single ‘Fool’. A self-proclaimed “romantic battle-cry from the centre of a technological dystopia”, the video – which was directed by Bob Gallagher, the whiz behind the video for Villagers’ previous single ‘A Trick of the Light’ – takes the lyrics (“So here is my bleeding heart. Will you take the pain away?”) as a starting point for the narrative. “The video is a surreal take on a marriage proposal, which is the ultimate gambit in love,” says Gallagher. The scenario pushes how…
Made up of Joey Edwards, Aoife Ward and David Noonan, Dundalk three-piece Larry knocked our hungover, quietly contemplative socks off at Arcadian Field festival earlier this month. Filtering the imprint of the likes of Ryan Adams, Pixies and Wilco, the threesome’s brand of lo-fi alt-rock brims with burrowing pop sensibility and wonderfully-wielded lyrical pathos courtesy of frontman Edwards. Ahead of recording their debut album in Electrical Audio, Chicago with our Lord and Saviour, Steve Albini this September (keep your eyes peeled for a 12″ vinyl via Pizza Pizza Records) we’re pleased to present a first look at the video for the band’s new single ‘WAH’. Like the song – and…
Dublin alt/indie quartet Bullet Girl have shared the video for their sweat-laced new single, ‘Wasted’. Directed by Raymond Kenny, with additional camera by Dean Flynn, it captures the quartet cutting loose and performing the track at a show in Whelan’s back in July. Sound up your street? Have a peek below.
On the third anniversary of Dott members’ Anna and Evan’s wedding day, the Galway noise pop band have released a new video for the apt-titled ‘Wedding Song’. Taken from their stellar new album Heart Swell – which the band are marking with shows around the country – Dott’s chief songwriter, Anna wrote the song following the marriage in 2015 – the same year Same Sex Marriage was made legal in Ireland by popular vote. The video, by Madra Dana, is a look back at what weddings looked like before Same Sex Marriage was legal, while being juxtaposed with McCarthy’s lyrics which contemplate how the Marriage…
It’s been announced that 80s Irish indie cult band Microdisney will play Dublin’s Vicar Street on February 18, 2019. Formed in Cork in 1980 by Cathal Coughlan and Sean O’Hagan, the pair will play returned to the stage to play shows in Dublin’s National Concert Hall and London’s Barbican Hall in June. Yet to be acquainted with the band? Go here. Priced €45 inclusive of booking fee, tickets for the Vicar Street show go on sale on Friday, August 17th at 9am,
When the Black Box has a good night it tends to have a very good night and the general atmosphere upon arriving to the last night of The Olllam’s tour of the island seems to indicate that we’re in for a very good night. Warm word of mouth reviews from all corners and word that Joe Dart of Vulfpeck has joined them on bass throughout the tour brings a buzz of expectation to the room, and more than couple of curious Vulfpeck fans out of the woodwork, too. The room is a touch warmer than it really needs to be,…
Help Musicians Northern Ireland have announced the launched of their Women In Music fund. Designed to “support organisations and established collectives working to promote gender equality and the role of women in music”, The fund will provide grants of between £1000 – £5000 to support projects with the aim of advancing the awareness of gender equality and diversity in music in Northern Ireland through education and skills development, support and empowerment. The fund is open to established collectives* and organisations who deliver projects that aim to: promote gender equality actively encourage greater participation of women in live music in Northern…
Across August 30, August 31 and September 1, Focal Festival will return for its third and largest outing in the grounds of Crescent Gardens in Belfast. Approximately 3,500-4,000 people are expected to attend this year’s festival, which was created to celebrate the best of Northern Irish music and industry. This year boasts a genre-spanning line-up of homegrown music, including General Fiasco, Emerald Armada and Jealous of the Birds. As well as music, Focal Festival 3.0 will mix it up with the likes of morning yoga, the screening of two films (including Tommy Wiseau’s The Room, featuring a drinking game) and a…