It’s a fact universally acknowledged that many of the country’s finest forward-pushing acts exist somewhere right on the periphery. Fronted by Andy Walsh, Dublin’s Little Gem Band – a self-proclaimed coming-together of “Earth based creators of music cosmiche” – are one such act. Eponymously named at the city’s independent record label and shop, the band will release a new LP, Friyay 13, both digitally and via limited edition pink cassette on June 21st. Recorded at Jigsaw and mastered by Stephen Quinn at Analog Heart, it will be launched at Jigsaw on the same date, with support from MaryCarl Luyos and School Tour.…
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Olympia, Washington trio Sleater-Kinney will play Dublin next year. Set to release their St. Vincent-produced ninth studio album, The Centre Won’t Hold, in August, Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein, and Janet Weiss will stop off at Vicar Street on March 1st, 2020. The band last played the venue in 2015 as part of their No Cities To Love tour. Tickets for their show next March go on sale on Friday, June 21st at 10am, priced €33.65.
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Two years on from the release of their well-received second EP, Too Close to the Sun, fast-rising Belfast quartet No Oil Paintings have returned with their most emphatic single to date, ‘Something Like the Truth’. Across four minutes of ascending, fist-clenched intent, the harmony-driven ‘Something Like the Truth’ firmly positions the four-piece as one of Ireland’s finest, most forward-pushing alternative folk outfits. Accompanied by a stellar video courtesy of By Elephant, the single is equal parts equal parts socio-political and earworming gem focusing on the increasing lack of humanity in modern society. Bolstered by the soaring backing vocals courtesy of brothers…
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The Twilight Sad will return to play Dublin later this year. Having just supported The Cure at Malahide, the Scottish post-punk trio will play the Button Factory on October 16th. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 9am.
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Deerhunter will play an intimate show in Dublin later this year. Having last played the city back in 2015, the Bradford Cox-fronted band will play Whelan’s on November 2nd. Tickets are priced at €35.00 and will go on sale on Friday at 9am. Back in January, Deerhunter released their eighth studio album, Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? Watch the video for single ‘Death in Midsummer’ below.
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Some things just bear repeating: between Aretha, Bowie, Leonard Cohen and Prince, popular music has lost some towering and boundlessly influential figures in recent years. In March, perhaps the most inimitable of them all passed on, leaving behind a legacy that, above all else, remained impervious to second-guessing. Over six decades, Scott Walker emerged as an auteur effortlessly wielded progression, enigma, and subtlety like no other. From fronting L.A. pop trio The Walker Brothers in the 1960s right up until his sublime score for Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux last year, he steadfastly broke new ground, contorted boundaries and followed one of most remarkable trajectories in popular music.…
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Easily one of the country’s very best summer festivals, Knockanstockan will return to the shores of Blessington Lake in Wicklow across July 19-21. Without question, this year’s line-up is their strongest and most eclectic to date. With just over one month to go, we’ve compiled a thirty-track Spotify playlist featuring some of our must-see acts, including Robocobra Quartet, Powpig, Just Mustard, Bats, Dowry, Post Punk Podge & The Technohippies, No Spill Blood, Kitt Philippa, Myles Manley, Silverbacks and many more (The Bonk aren’t on Spotify but miss them at your peril.) Go here to buy tickets to Knockanstockan 2019.
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Four Tet is set for a date in Belfast later this Summer. The London producer, born Kieran Hebden, will play the Telegraph Building on Friday, August 30th. Tickets go on sale on Friday, June 14th at 10am. Pre-sale access is available here.
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Let’s face it: they don’t come more legendary than Pere Ubu. Forty-four years on from forming in Cleveland, Ohio, the hugely influential, David Thomas-fronted post-punk pioneers will play Dublin’s Grand Social on Saturday, September 21st as part of their farewell tour. This will be the band’s first show in the city since 2013. Tickets are on sale here.
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If you’re in any way familiar with the scene in Northern Ireland at present, you’ll be familiar with Belfast-based quartet Peace Evan. Fronted by Gnarkats’ bassist Louis Nelson, the band have gone from strength-to-strength over the last few months, helping pack out venues across the country. Lead single ‘War on Harmony’ successfully manages to capture that promise across four shapeshifting minutes. Filtering the influence of artists including Everything Everything, Queens of the Stone Age and Modest Mouse, it’s a forward-moving burst of alt-rock from a band guaranteed to capitalize on their momentum over the coming months.