• Album premiere: Túcan – Towers

    March 31, 2015 - By 

    With its launch set for Dublin’s Button Factory on Saturday night, we’re pleased to present a first listen to Towers, an album that confirms the hugely impressive metamorphosis of Sligo’s Túcan. A masterclass in perfectly-honed, brilliantly realised instrumentalism, the album straddles the fine line between decidedly soundtrack-like Cinematic Orchestra-esque post-rock and trad-inflected mini-symphonies. Having been steadily developing and spearheading progression in their guitar-led sound over the last twelve months, the eight-piece have delivered a record brimming with integrity, imagination and daring, capturing the thrill of their scintillating live show in the process. Stream Towers below.

  • Sleater-Kinney @ Vicar Street, Dublin

    March 30, 2015 - By 

    Less than six months on from announcing No Cities To Love, their first studio album in a decade, Sleater-Kinney are currently experiencing a remarkable rebirth and easily their most popular streak in their three-decade long career to date. The twenty-first show of a twenty-one date comeback tour that has seen them zig-zag them across the States and Europe, Carrie Brownstein (above), Corin Tucker (below) and Janet Weiss return to Dublin tonight a valiant and imposing alt-rock force; an unspeakably influential and headstrong threesome that has weathered the storm of changing scenes and industry to assert that they are, without a…

  • First Acts Announced for Inaugural Canalaphonic Festival

    March 30, 2015 - By 

    The first string of acts have been unveiled for the inaugural Canalaphonic festival in Dublin’s Portobello and Rathmines. Set to take place across May 8-9, the first confirmed acts to play the showcase are Carriages, Maria Somerville, Steve Young and the Union, The Hot Sprockets, Gavin Glass and the Holy Shakers, Sinead White, The Stomptown Brass Band, Nick Kelly, Corner Boy, Featuring X, Rudytrixx, Mother Mooch, Cave Ghosts, The North Sea and Jem Mitchell. More acts are to be announced. Curated by Abner Browns Barbershop, Canalaphonic proclaims itself to be “Dublin’s biggest showcase of independent Irish music.” Bold words but if this opening announcement…

  • All Tvvins Irish Tour

    March 31, 2015 - By 

    In our latest Irish tour feature, our photographers Sara Marsden and Aaron Corr, and writers Cathal McBride and Eoin Murray, report back from All Tvvins‘ Dublin, Galway and Belfast shows at the weekend. Whelan’s, Dublin Wednesday, March 25. Photos by Aaron Corr Roisin Dubh, Galway Saturday, March 28 The mood is ideal from the start of proceedings this Saturday night. It’s shortly before 10 and the already filling floor of the Roisín’s main room is being warmed up by the first support of the night. Extra Fox – AKA Neil Adams, brother to Conor Adams with whom he shared guitar duty…

  • Longitude Unveils Day-By-Day Line-up, New Additions

    March 27, 2015 - By 

    With less than four months to go, the day-by-day line-up for this year’s Longitude festival has been revealed. Set to take place across the weekend of Friday, July 17 to Sunday, July 19, the annual Marlay Park festival will see Hozier, Alt-J and The Chemical Brothers headline each night respectively. The likes of Caribou, James Blake, The Vaccines, Wild Beasts and Jungle all make support high up the bill. As well as the day-by-day announcement and with more acts yet to be announced, 11 new acts have also been added to the bill: Nick Mulvey, Raury, Drenge, Petite Noir, The Bohicas, Wyvern…

  • Stream: Girls Names – Zero Triptych

    March 26, 2015 - By 

    Having released a teaser a couple of weeks back, Girls Names have re-emerged with eleven-minute post-punk odyssey in three parts, ‘Zero Triptych’. Set for 12″ release via Tough Love, the track – bearing an expansive, evolving sound a million miles from the surf-pop of their 2011 debut album, Dead To Me – is inspired by the band’s discovery of the Group Zero art movement, a group of artists founded by Heinz Mack and Otto Piene. Speaking to the Fader, the Cathal Cully-fronted band said: “[This] is our ode to the masters of light and shade – Mack, Piene and Uecker aka…

  • Watch: Meltybrains? – Oh Earth (Live in The Pepper Canister Church, Dublin)

    March 25, 2015 - By 

    Having spent the last week driving home their impossibly distinctive brand of experimental pop at SXSW, Dublin experimental five-piece Meltybrains? will play a special Thin Air show at Belfast’s Bar Sub on Friday, April 10 alongside the equally unmissable Blue Whale. Sitting on the fence about attending? Relieve your behind by watching Bob Gallagher’s live video of ‘Oh Earth’ by Meltybrains?, filmed at Dublin’s wonderful Pepper Canister Church in February. Go here for the Facebook event for the Belfast show.  

  • Stream: Paddy Hanna – Austria

    March 25, 2015 - By 

    Just over a year on from released the exquisite Leafy Stiletto – one of our Irish albums of 2014 no less – Dublin’s Paddy Hanna has returned in something of a new guise with ‘Austria’, a jangle-pop mini-masterstroke evoking the likes of Morrissey, The Divine Comedy and Elvis Costello. There’s also a vague hint of Joe Dolan in there too but we’ll pretend we didn’t hear that. Or will we? Anyway, we’re very fond of ‘Austria’ and wouldn’t even remotely kick up a fuss if Hanna deciding to dander down this sonic path for an eon and an age. Paired with a b-side,…

  • Distorted Perspectives Festival

    March 25, 2015 - By 

    An altogether stellar celebration of modern experimental psych music, art and film, Distorted Perspectives will return to Letterkenny’s Regional Culture Centre this Spring with a thoroughly impressive line-up. Set to take place across Thursday April 30-Sunday May 3, the festival will boast established acts including Ulrich Schanuss and Moon Duo (above), as well as some of the country’s finest psych, electronic, noise-pop and acoustic acts including Autumns, Clanns, Documenta, Nyt Bloomer and Robyn G Shiels. Check out the poster below for full line-up and where to buy tickets.

  • Boiler Room set for Belfast’s AVA Festival

    March 24, 2015 - By 

    Set to take place as part of the inaugural AVA Festival, legendary underground music showcase Boiler Room will make its Belfast debut in the very capable company of Bicep, Space Dimension Controller, John Daly (who performs live), Timmy Stewart and Schmutz. A fine line-up of homegrown electronic talent for a highly-anticipated event, we’re sure you’ll agree. Go here for more information about AVA Festival, including where to buy tickets and all the usual.