• Whiskey and Words @ The Black Box

    April 20, 2017 - By 

    Ask virtually any resident of Belfast to list a few must-visit places in the city and No Alibis on Botanic Avenue will surely feature. A veritable institution that has acted as both an intimate venue for performers of every ilk and shade as well as one of the country’s leading independent bookstores for many years, it is owned and co-ran by one David Torrans (pictured), who will take part in Whiskey and Words, a one-off event in collaboration with Bushmills at the Black Box on Sunday, April 23. A highlight of the current #AnswerTheCall series, in which Bushmills have worked “with local creators, thinkers,…

  • Festival Mixtape: AVA Festival

    April 21, 2017 - By 

    Returning to Belfast’s T13 for its third incarnation across June 2-3, AVA is the country’s most exciting annual electronic showcase. Ahead of what’s set to be another stellar two days in the company of the likes of Jeff Mills & Guillaume Marmin, Marcel Dettman, Bicep, Fatima Yamaha, Ben UFO, Job Jobse, Rebekah, Denis Sulta, OR:LA and many more, we have compiled a 15 track playlist featuring some our must-see acts. Still to nab your ticket? Get on it here.

  • More Acts Announced for Body & Soul

    April 20, 2017 - By 

    A host of new acts have been added to the bill of this year’s Body & Soul ahead of its return to Ballinlough Castle in Co. Westmeath across June 23-25. As well as Australia’s RÜFÜS, Lyra and Patrick O’Laoghaire’s I Have a Tribe are amongst the latest acts added. Deep in the woodland, Ryan Vail (pictured), Auxiliary Phoenix Trio, Dowth, PrYmary Colours and Wastefellow will play the Pagoda Stage. Elsewhere, B&S’s favourite party arena Reckless In Love will feature Byron Yeates, Automatic Tasty, Breen, Cáit, Eoin Ryan, Homebeat DJs, Lumo, DIP DJs, Major Problems DJs, Neil Flynn (Lossless), Bantum, ELLLL and John Daly…

  • Album Stream: Guilty Optics – Colossal Velocity

    April 20, 2017 - By 

    Dublin-based riffy post-punk trio Guilty Optics have just released their long-awaited debut album, Colossal Velocity, on vinyl & digital download. Recorded at Dublin’s Hellfire Studios with vintage gear by San Diego producer Ben Moore, best known for his work with Hot Snakes, Rocket From The Crypt & Ravi Shankar, the album is a discordant, aggressive burst of noise-rock tinged post-punk by way of the early-to-mid ’90s, à la Drive Like Jehu. Formed in 2008 by Alan Finnerty and Peter Lee as a duo, they played under the name Bend This, Uri Geller, before expanding their lineup and shifting to the band they now are. The album is available through Bandcamp.…

  • Watch: BP Fallon & David Holmes – Henry McCullough

    April 20, 2017 - By 

    Look as far and wide as you so please but you’ll struggle to find a more positively unique, perfectly fitting and cosmically-inclined musical obituary than ‘Henry McCullough’ by BP Fallon and David Holmes. A peak on the latter’s exceptional Late Night Tales release from last year, the six-minute sonic eulogy is a sorcerous tribute of semi-mystical proportions, weaving Fallon’s beautiful offering to the late, great McCullough with keyboards and drum programming from Holmes, guitar work from Noel Gallagher, additional drums Emre Ramazanoglu and backing vocals from Nina Holmes and Lisa Di Lucia. Ahead of the release of ‘Henry McCullough’ – The Andrew Weatherall…

  • Watch Enemies Mini-Documentary Final Show, Final Song

    April 18, 2017 - By 

    Lest we forget, 2016 was a bit shite for a variety of reasons, not least in losing three of the country’s finest acts: Solar Bears, Fight Likes Apes and Kilcoole math-pop maestros Enemies. But ensuring the latter’s emotional swansong at Dublin’s Vicar Street in December was an occasion fit to re-live time and time again, Daragh and Oran Bambrick have created a rather wonderful, seven-minute mini-documentary titled ‘Final Show, Final Song’, which captures the Wicklow quartet bowing out in typically electrifying fashion. The band said, “It’s been four months since the night we laid Enemies to rest. Fortunately we enlisted the help…

  • Stream: Slow Skies – Shut Your Eyes

    April 18, 2017 - By 

    The long-awaited follow-up to the longing ‘Winter Night – a track released back in February last year – ‘Shut Your Eyes’ by Dublin’s Karen Sheridan AKA Slow Skies is a slow-burning pop ballad where subtlety and restraint is tantamount to emotive power. Accompanied by a video courtesy of Kevin and Páraic McGloughlin, we’re hoping this is an indication of some more new Slow Skies material in the making.

  • Seen Your Video @ Whelan’s

    April 18, 2017 - By 

    Fans of Minneapolis punk rock heroes The Replacements, lend us your ears. On Thursday, April 19, some very familiar faces will get together to perform the songs of the legendary, Paul Westerberg-fronted band (pictured, above) upstairs in Whelan’s. With all proceeds in aid of Women’s Aid, Villagers’ Conor O’Brien, James Vincent McMorrow, SOAK’s James Byrne, Conor Lumsden of The No. 1s and The Immediate’s Peter Toomey will flanked with the Young Hearts Run Free DJs on the night. Admission is €10 and doors are at 8pm.

  • Stream: Autre Monde – New Recruit

    April 18, 2017 - By 

    Late last month we had the pleasure of premiering ‘Customs’, the first gambit from Dublin-based indie supergroup of sorts Autre Monde. first of a series of releases planned for spring and early summer, stemming from their time in the studio with Jamie Hyland & Girl Band‘s Daniel Fox, it proved an idiosyncratic, dynamic number conjuring the likes of Television, Suicide and Pere Ubu. Going one step further in our eyes, new single ‘New Recruit’ is a gleaming burst of throwback power-pop that harks back to 70s NYC with its slinking post-punk pockets of groove and its burrowing, leather-and-neon cool. According to band…

  • Stream: Toby Kaar – Promises

    April 18, 2017 - By 

    London-based Cork producer Toby Kaar has returned with the beat-driven, vocoder-heavy strut of ‘Promises’. The follow-up his debut EP, last year’s Gumbrielle, the single – which Kaar said was recorded “some time ago” – is deceptively earworming in its reiterative patterns and woozy, cyborg-like vocals, not least via its closing refrain: “I just want to know, what happened to our love? We used to be best friends, where did it go wrong?” We dig.