• Premiere: RUNAH – Shame

    March 20, 2019 - By 

    Tara May is a Dublin musician who makes mesmeric art-folk in the guise RUNAH. It’s something that’s on full display on her new single, ‘Shame’, which we’re pleased to premiere today. Conjuring the likes of Cat Power, Lana Del Rey and Kimbra, May said the song is “based on the changeable feminine divine being painted as shameful, but also how shame is constantly perpetuated in society. “We are ashamed of sexuality and sexual expression, we endure shame around self-expression, we endure shame for the space we take up, always coming from a feeling of lack. In a society where we are…

  • Stream: Oranges – Upside Upside

    March 20, 2019 - By 

    Last December, we premiered ‘The Way You Look’ by Dublin three-piece Oranges. The lead single to be taken from Hey Zeus, the band’s forthcoming debut album, we said it “recalled the abrasive, minimalist alchemy of The Fall”. In truth, this is something that – all credit to its players – could be as comfortably applied to the latest track from Gavin Duffy, Mici Durnin and Ed Kelly. Across three minutes, ‘Upside Upside’ is skeletal post-punk riposte that, in its simmering climb and surging climax, hints at something special in the works for Hey Zeus. Set for release on limited orange + black coloured cassettes and…

  • Listen to a New Four-Track Split From Out on a Limb and Strange Brew Records

    March 20, 2019 - By 

    Some collaborative releases were just destined to be. As two of the country’s finest indie imprints, Limerick’s Out on a Limb and Galway’s Strange Brew have spent many a long year championing the worthiest of homegrown sounds. Now, the labels have teamed up for Out On a Strange Brew, a new quadruple a-side collaborative release featuring two artists that we’ve loved from the start: Limerick quartet PowPig and Kerry experimental folk artist Ronan Kealy AKA Junior Brother. Kicking off with two new tracks from the former – the equally assured ‘Mayday’ and ‘Pretty Woman’ – the release culminates on two sublime efforts from the…

  • Last Podcast on the Left Set For Vicar Street

    March 19, 2019 - By 

    Spanning everything from Jeffrey Dahmer, werewolves and Jonestown to iconic hauntings, the history of war crimes and more, Last Podcast on the Left has established itself as a supreme go-to for all things horror in the world of podcasting. Hosted by Ben Kissel, Marcus Parks and Henry Zebrowski, the series will stop off at Dublin’s Vicar Street for a live show on September 4th. Tickets cost €30.00 and go on sale this Friday at 9am. Check out LPONTL here.

  • Knockanstockan Announce Second Wave of Acts

    March 19, 2019 - By 

    Knockanstockan have announced their second wave of acts for this year’s festival. Joining the likes of Just Mustard, Bicurious, Punk Podge & The Technohippies, Hot Cops, Cherym and Kitt Philippa, who were among the first names announced last month, include Robocobra Quartet, Slouch, Dowry, BATS, Jyellowl, Myles Manley, Rachael Boyd, No Spill Blood, Tebi Rex, Happyalone, The Wood Burning Savages and more. Returning to Blessington Lake in Co. Wicklow across July 19-21, tickets for the festival can be bought here. Watch the second line-up announcement video below.

  • Stephen Malkmus Set For Dublin Show

    March 18, 2019 - By 

    Stephen Malkmus will return to Dublin to play Whelans on Saturday, September 14. Set to take place almost a year after Malkmus (with the Jicks) played Vicar Street last October, the show is part of a series of solo shows in UK and Europe across September. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 9am priced €30 inclusive of booking fee. Revisit Zara Hedderman’s interview with Malkmus from October here. Malkmus recently released his latest solo album, Groove Denied. Stream it below.

  • Teenage Fanclub, Spiritualized and Anna Calvi For Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival

    March 15, 2019 - By 

    This year’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival in Belfast is already shaping up to be one of its strongest line-ups to date. With the likes of Echo & The Bunnymen already announced, today the festival has revealed three stellar bookings. On Saturday, May 4, Jason Pierce’s Spiritualized will play the Marquee. On May 7, Anna Calvi will play Custom House Square. And on Thursday, May 2, Scottish alternative rock heroes Teenage Fanclub will also play the Marquee. Go here to buy tickets. Take a bow, CQAF.  Take a bow.

  • The Specials Set For Open House Festival

    March 14, 2019 - By 

    English 2 Tone legends The Specials will play Bangor’s Open House festival in the summer. The Terry Hall-fronted band – who released their long-awaited eighth studio album, Encore, last month – will play the seafront as part of this year’s festival on Sunday, August 25. Tickets cost £45 and go on sale tomorrow (Friday, March 15) at 9am. Featuring 140 events, spanning music, theatre, comedy, books, spoken word, film, food & drink and visual art, the full programme for Open House 2019 will be announced in May. Previously announced, the Specials will also play three dates at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre across April…

  • BBC Radio Ulster To Present New Homegrown DJ Series, In The Mix

    March 11, 2019 - By 

    BBC Radio Ulster is set to present a new series of live mixes from emerging homegrown DJs. Beginning on Tuesday, March 10 at 10pm with Hammer, aka Rory Hamilton, the series will feature four exclusively week mixes, later featuring one half of Schmutz, Kristian Woods, on March 19, co-founder of Belfast’s The Night Institute, Jordan McQuaig, on March 26 and fast-rising Armagh DJ Holly Lester (pictured) on April 2. All four exclusive DJ mixes will be live in the studio, simulcast in video at the BBC Music NI homepage and will be available to catch up via BBC Sounds.

  • Preview: Pauli Lyytinen Magnetia Orkesteri @ Brilliant Corners

    March 8, 2019 - By 

    On Friday, March 8, Belfast’s Black Box will play host to one of the outright highlights of this year’s Brilliant Corners Jazz Festival. Backed with his Magnetia Orkesteri – a masterfully mottled assembly of some of his country’s very best players – multi award-winning Finnish saxophonist Pauli Lyytinen will present a career-spanning performance. Renown for drawing on their individual soloistic strengths and nigh on psychic interplay, this project’s blend of free-jazz and western chamber music is implosive, triumphant and essential. Tickets are a measly £12 and can be snapped up here. Sitting on the fence? Delve into 2017’s Pauli Lyytinen Magnetia Orkesteri. Pauli…