• Watch: VerseChorusVerse – Category

    July 5, 2018 - By 

    Just last week, we shared news about outro, the new third album from Belfast-based singer-songwriter Tony Wright AKA VerseChorusVerse. Now, the musician and and former And So I Watch You From Afar riff-slinger is back with the video for the release’s lead single, ‘Category’. Shot on location and “on a whim” in the beautiful commune of Casalattico in Italian region of Lazio, it features a solitary Wright mirror this wonderfully carefree, sun-tinted effort, all while offering up some contemplative lyrical subtext: He said, “The lyrics are a meditation on contradictions and the restrictive construct nature of labels in this age of fluidity, masked…

  • Watch: Tayne – Haunted

    July 5, 2018 - By 

    Fronted by Galway native Matt Sutton, London-based noise-pop band Tayne has returned with new single – and their strongest track to date – ‘Haunted’. Lifted from the band’s forthcoming debut album, Breathe (which is expected some time in October) it’s a brilliantly full-blown, fist-clenched affair from the band, brimming with synth arpeggios, larynx-shredding vocals and a rhythm section that pummel without mercy. Speaking about the track’s homespun visuals, Sutton said, “With the video for ‘Haunted’, I wanted to recreate some of the themes from the record and also give an insight to the chaotic, intense live presence of the band. The…

  • Watch: Anna’s Anchor – White Washed Corridor

    July 3, 2018 - By 

    Limerick alt-rock artist Marty Ryan AKA Anna’s Anchor has announced his new album, Everybody’s Welcome. Marking the news, Ryan has also unveiled the visuals for the album’s lead single, ‘White Washed Corridor’. He said, “It’s about my struggle to come to terms with my mother’s alcoholism and the ridiculously difficult, dangerous path I had to take in order to try and find help to come to terms with it, as the Irish government tries to turn a blind eye to mental health services, especially when it comes to alcohol related abuse.” Revolving around “the societal pressure and conformity of taking the road more…

  • SKIBUNNY Set For 20th Anniversary Show

    July 3, 2018 - By 

    Fire up the indie disco DeLorean: legendary Belfast DJ duo Tanya Mellotte and Mark Gordon AKA Skibunny will make their long-awaited return for a 20th anniversary show at Voodoo on Saturday, July 28. Back for one night only, the pair will DJ alongside an unmissable live set from Torgas Valley Reds/Backwater. Spinning the very best in indie rock, hip-hop, DIY, Krautrock, folk, northern soul, electronic and everything in between, Skibunny acquired nigh on mythical status in Belfast in the early 2000s. From secret shows to well-known guest DJs, aftershows and the sweatiest of most memorable nights, it brought out the very…

  • Stream: Remains of Youth – Settle West/South Africa

    June 28, 2018 - By 

    Back in July 2016, Belfast alternative quartet Remains of Youth returned after a long hiatus with There Is Hope Without Progress, a five-track EP we said brimmed the band’s “carefully-considered musicianship, strong sense of urgency and deft vitality”. One memorable, TTA-promoted gig at Lavery’s in Belfast later, the band dropped off the radar again but now, two years on, they’ve re-emerged with two of their strongest efforts to date, ‘Settle West’ and ‘South Africa’. Where the material that comprised the TIHWP EP struck a chord with us, these new tracks find the Adam Shirlow-fronted band at their most inspired and inspirited. Striking…

  • Emotional Content: Key Tracks from Celtronic Festival (2001-2018)

    June 28, 2018 - By 

    Currently underway in Derry, Celtronic has been at the forefront of the Irish electronic music scene since 2001. With the best still to come at this year’s outing the next four nights via Avalon, Phil Kieran & the Ulster Orchestra, Gerd Janson and more, organisers from the festival have selected one key track from each year of the festival to date, featuring the likes of DJ Koze, Alloy Mental, KiNK, Lykke Li and Blawan. 2001 Event: Radioactive Man at The Nerve Centre Key Track: Radioactive Man – Uranium 2002 Event: Tom Middleton at Sandinos Key Track: Cosmos – Take Me With You 2003 Event: Funk D’Void…

  • Jon Hopkins Set For Vicar Street

    June 25, 2018 - By 

    Fresh off the back of his appearance at Body & Soul in Co. Westmeath at the weekend, it’s been announced that Jon Hopkins will return to Ireland for a show at Vicar Street on October 18. Tickets for the show are priced at €35 inclusive of booking fee and go on sale this Thursday (June 28) at 10am. Photo by Steve Gullick

  • Festival Mixtape: KnockanStockan 2018

    June 24, 2018 - By 

    KnockanStockan returns to the shores of Blessington Lake in Co. Wicklow across July 27-29 and brings with it the finest homegrown summer festival bill of the year. With exactly four weeks to go (nab your tickets stat) here’s some of our must-see acts at this year’s outing. Go here for the full line-up, info and to buy tickets

  • Stream: DANI – Samson and Goliath

    June 28, 2018 - By 

    A multi-instrumentalist with a remarkable knack for eking out sublime, burrowing melodies evocative of Irish traditional music, Belfast-based singer-songwriter DANI has returned with ‘Samson and Goliath’, a three-minute gem of pastoral alt-folk exploring the concept of “disconnection and being unable to recognise oneself.” Having spent last year facilitating music workshops and performing in Colombia and Indonesia, namely working in the field of conflict transformation, this is the sound of a musician who is renewed and ready to take her rightful place in being recognised as one of the island’s most singular alt-folk talents. Listen to the single – and check out its artwork – below.…

  • Premiere: Peter J. McCauley – Where Do We Belong

    June 22, 2018 - By 

    We last heard from Belfast singer-songwriter Peter J McCauley when he released his five-track EP Liminals back in 2016. Two years on, the multi-instrumentalist and vocalist — who previously released music under the moniker Rams Pocket Radio — is back with one of his most nuanced and carefully-crafted single efforts to date. Threaded with some subtle electronic ambience, it’s a wonderfully sparse piano-and-vocals paean to the eternal conundrum of not knowing where one is going, but taking solace in both perspective and faith in que será, será. Have a first listen to the single below.