• Stream: Simon Herron – Demons EP

    December 16, 2013 - By 

    Currently based in Edinburgh, Derry alt-folk singer-songwriter Simon Herron has unveiled his wonderfully wistful new EP, Demons. Released via DhARMA, the four-track release was recorded and mixed by Phil D’Alton at Graham House Studios and mastered by Jon Moorehead. D’Alton, Walter Thee Goon and Gerard Gormley of Master & Dog formed Herron’s band in the recording process. Want a warm and suitably reflective soundtrack to pre-Christmas evenings? Stream – or pay what you like for – Demons via Bandcamp below.

  • Track-by-track preview: Ed Zealous – Wired

    December 17, 2013 - By 

    In advance of its release on February 3, we have the honour to bestow upon your lovely eyes a track-by-track preview of Wired, the momentously-anticipated debut album by Belfast-based indie/electro-pop quartet Ed Zealous. Having released ‘Thanks A Million’, ‘Telepaths’ and ‘Medicines’ from the ten-track release, over the last couple of years the band have given us a steady taste of what their full-length debut album has in store. Let’s just say: if you enjoyed any of the aforementioned singles to date, there’s a very good chance Wired will leave you intent upon an immediate second listen. Check out the artwork and our track-by-track preview…

  • Biffy Clyro to play Royal Kilmainham Hospital

    December 16, 2013 - By 

    After a hugely successful summer which saw the band play their first headline sets at Reading, Leeds and Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Scottish alt-rock three-piece Biffy Clyro have announced they will play Dublin’s Royal Kilmainham hospital on June 28, 2014. The announcement comes after the band were confirmed to play Cork’s Live at the Marquee the day before on Friday, June 27. The Pixies, Elbow and Neil Young are amongst others acts set to play the festival. Tickets for the Dublin show are priced €44.50 including booking fee go on sale this Wednesday, 18 December at 9am from Ticketmaster.

  • Neil Young and Crazy Horse to play Cork’s Live at the Marquee

    December 13, 2013 - By 

    Six months on from their show in Dublin, Neil Young and Crazy Horse have announced that they will play Cork’s Live at the Marquee on Thursday, July 10 2014. Having last performing there back in 2008, tickets for the show will be able from Monday, December 16 at 9am. To purchase tickets go to Ticketmaster. In the meantime, there’s this masterpiece:

  • Watch: Hornets – Stay Free

    December 14, 2013 - By 

    Ahead of supporting LaFaro at Belfast’s Voodoo tonight, Saturday, December 14, Belfast-based punk metal band Hornets have unveiled the video to their new single, ‘Stay Free’. Shot and produced by Patrick McElwee,  the video for the single – released via Start Together Singles Club – was shot on location in Belfast city and features a guest appearance from Steven Toner from Belfast glam punk five-piece The Unprotected. Having recently expanded to a four-piece (as the only photo of the new line-up, above, shows), Hornets have just finished recording their latest EP, No Faith, with Rocky O’Reilly. The EP is expected to be release…

  • Tickets go on sale for Arcade Fire and Pixies @ Marley Park

    December 13, 2013 - By 

    Tickets for Arcade Fire and alt-rock pioneers Pixies at Dublin’s Marley Park on Sunday, June 29 have gone on sale. Set to be one of the most must-see Irish summer shows of 2014, the event was announced on Tuesday afternoon. Along with confirming the show – as well as a date at Cork’s Marquee on June 30 – the Pixies revealed Paz Lenchantin from A Perfect Circle and Zwan as their new bassist. Co-produced by former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy, Arcade Fire released their fourth studio album, Reflektor, back in October. Tickets for the show – priced at €61.50 – are available to…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013 (74-51)

    December 13, 2013 - By 

    Love, hate or merely tolerate them, end of year lists come in all different shapes and sizes. From the finest EPs of the last twelve months to the most questionably-named bands to emerge throughout the year, there is currently no shortage of lists and countdowns around to remind us of what went down in the world of music, both international and much closer to home, in 2013. This is our humble little offering – the Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013. Feel free to go here to check out the first installment of the countdown, featuring tracks 100-75. 74. The…

  • Interview: A Fight You Can’t Win

    December 12, 2013 - By 

    Four months on from their most recent breathtaking performance in Belfast, Edinburgh alt-rock four-piece A Fight You Can’t Win return to Voodoo this weekend to plays alongside Hornets and riffmasters general LaFaro. Having just released the brilliantly accomplished video for their latest single ‘Jerusalem Crickets’, we talk to the band about its creation, the obstacles they face performing in their own city and what the next few months hold in store for the band. Hi guys. You’ve just unveiled the ridiculously impressive video for your new single, ‘Jerusalem Crickets’. Firstly, how did the idea for the video come about? Thank you!…

  • Watch: Out Krypton Son – I See A Sadness

    December 10, 2013 - By 

    Off the back of the release of his stunning ‘Can’t Make You Come Back’ (not to mention a sublime cover of Willie Nelon’s ‘Pretty Paper’) Derry singer-songwriter Chris McConaghy AKA Our Krypton Son has unveiled a live video of a sublime new track, ‘I See A Sadness’. Filmed in Smalltown America’s studio in Derry, the video – edited by Paul Brown and his team from In Your Steps – is, according to the STA blog on the video, “delicate in every sense of the word and is sure to pull on the heart strings and bring a tear to a…

  • Gig of the week: Wooden Shjips, The Altered Hours @ The Menagerie

    December 9, 2013 - By 

    Our (sold out) gig of the week this week is the latest in a string of top-drawer shows by Strange Victory promotions. Supported by spectacular Cork psych-rock band The Altered Hours, U.S. space/psych rock four-piece Wooden Shjips will return to Belfast to play the Menagerie on Friday, December 13 following their show here at The Mac back in September. Go here for the show’s event page. Check out ‘Back To The Land’ by Wooden Shjips below and our interview with the Altered Hours here.