• Stream: Rory Nellis – Mind Control

    September 20, 2013 - By 

    When he’s not making sweet music with his band, Belfast-based indie pop foursome Seven Summits, Rory Nellis is also a fully-fledged songsmith in his own right. Whilst we somehow missed the initial release of this last week, we’ve been spinning his new track ‘Mind Control’ over and over this week, ever more in anticipation of a full-length album, expected to be released early next year. Featuring Phil D’Alton of Master & Dog on keys – who also recorded and mixed the single – and Dave Kennedy on drums, stream the track via Bandcamp below (and purchase for it a paltry…

  • Blue Whale – Blue Whale EP

    September 20, 2013 - By 

    Having released three wonderfully wayward “in the studio” live tracks last year Belfast-based four-piece Blue Whale are steadily earning their stripes as one of the country’s most thoroughly forward-thinking bands of a generation. Almost exclusively instrumental in nature, their wonderfully unorthodox brand of hook-filled jazz-punk betrays a collective mentality to stretch the confines of standard deviation, with fun (and having it) unmistakably at that mentality’s root. The question remains, however: how accurately does their four-track self-titled debut EP capture the sheer energy and ingenuity of their live shows? Opening on teasing lead single ‘Was’, there is an immediate sense of transition…

  • Tour Diary Exclusive: Tied To Machines

    September 19, 2013 - By 

    Having recently returned from their first ever tour – a week-long trek across Scotland and the North of England – Banbridge hardcore quartet Tied To Machines have given an exclusive first look of the accompanying tour diary. Filmed and edited by the band’s guitarist Jordan Davies (above, far right) the ten-minute video features the footage of the band performing at different shows and talking about various aspects of the tour. Check out the video below!

  • The First Time: VerseChorusVerse

    September 19, 2013 - By 

    In the latest installment of The First Time we get the virginal sonic lowdown from North Coast songsmith extraordinare Tony Wright AKA VerseChorusVerse. Traversing his wide-ranging tastes and first-time musical experiences with everyone from John Denver to Public Enemy, we get an invaluable insight into the musical DNA of a homegrown songwriting giant. First Album I Ever Bought: Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. I was 9 years old and heard ‘Straight Outta Compton’ by NWA at my big brother’s friend’s house. It had been out a couple of years at this stage and…

  • Soundgarden @ 02, Dublin

    September 19, 2013 - By 

    Three years and one surprisingly decent album into one of the lesser ill-advised “iconic” reunions of recent times, the return of Seattle four-piece Soundgarden has been met with a largely positive response from critics and fans alike. Where many legendary, genre-defining acts have faltered in the disparate gleam of contemporary life – where every action made, word said and note played is scrutinised no end by the hyper-mythologising masses – the Chris Cornell-fronted band have fared admirably. The question remains: how will their long-awaited return to Irish shores play out on the ninth date of a heady European tour? Following a crowd-winning…

  • Incoming: Myles Manley

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    In the latest installment of Incoming we shoot the proverbial breeze with singer-songwriter Myles Manley, a completely one-of-a-kind artist born in England, raised in Sligo and currently based in Dublin. Idiosyncratic, offbeat and hugely accomplished, he evokes everyone from Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel and Bright Eyes and is a brilliant and unconventional poetic mind on the brink of breaking through.  Hi Myles. First off, what are your earliest memories of wanting to be a musician and performer? Are there any defining first moments? I started playing the bass at about 15 because there were around 20 electric guitar players in my year in…

  • Belfast Music Week 2013 launched

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    The fourth annual Belfast Music Week was officially launched at a ceremony at Belfast’s Waterfront this afternoon. Featuring performances from Alana Henderson and the Emerald Armada, the opening ceremony including speeches by Lord Mayor of Belfast Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, broadcaster and DJ Rigsy and Belfast Music Week co-ordinator Stuart Bailie. Amongst the announcements for the annual showcase, set to take place from November 11-15 across 70 venues in Belfast, Van Morrison (above) was unveiled as the main event. Following Belfast City Council’s decision on Monday night to grant the Freedom of Belfast to the 68 year old East Belfast native, it…

  • Video Preview: Róisín O – Hold On

    September 18, 2013 - By 

    Having warranted comparisons to the likes of Joni Mitchell, Joanna Newsom and Kate Bush, Dublin singer-songwriter Róisín O, has just finished a 14 date US tour off the back of her majestic debut album, The Secret Life of Blue. Ahead of its official release on Thursday, September 20, we have a preview of the video for her new single, ‘Hold On’. Directed by Simon Eustace, the video evokes spirit of the video for ‘All I Want’ by Kodaline and features a suitably fed-up couple of characters fleetingly breaking free from the soul-crushing confines of night-shift monotony to tempt the laws of love. Do…

  • Adam Buxton presents: BUG Radiohead Special

    September 17, 2013 - By 

    Having brought The Best of Bug to Belfast in May as part of Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, English comedian, writer and broadcast Adam Buxton returns to the city with a special BUG show focusing on Radiohead. This unique show will see the band’s amazing music video output celebrated on the big screen – their greatest videos, their collaborations with directors such as such as Jonathan Glazer, Grant Gee, Shynola, Garth Jennings – and BUG’s very own Buxton – and also rareties, seldom seen on the big screen, or indeed any screen. Don’t miss what promises to be a very special night…

  • Gig of the week: Sea Pinks, September Girls, Affleck

    September 17, 2013 - By 

    After much deliberation and chin-rubbing, our gig of the week this week takes place at Belfast’s Oh Yeah Centre on Friday, September 20. Surely set to be a highlight of this year’s Culture Night Belfast, Belfast-based surf-pop band Sea Pinks will headline a three-band bill also featuring fast-rising Dublin all-female noise-pop quartet September Girls and new-fangled Belfast electronic trio Affleck. Doors are at 6pm and admission is free. Go here to learn more. Check out the poster for the show below. Stream the excellent Freak Waves by Sea Pinks below.