• Stream: No Monster Club – Start The Carvery

    December 14, 2016 - By 

    Having released both I Feel Magic back in February (one of our favourite Irish records of the year, no less) and their Where Did You Get That Milkshake? EP in October, it’s safe to say Dublin indie maestros par excellence No Monster Club have earned some end-of-year downtime. But before reaching for the crackers and sherry, Bobby Aherne and co. have offered us a little yuletide parting gift in the form of ‘Start The Carvery’, a wonderfully (and typically) virulent slice of festive song from the Popical Island bunch. Check that out below and hit up the band’s episode of New Jersey musical webseries Do…

  • Video Premiere: Malojian – This Is Nowhere (Aren’t You Lonely)

    December 14, 2016 - By 

    The title track from the band’s stellar, Steve Albini-produced, Northern Ireland Music Prize-nominated third album, ‘This Is Nowhere’ by Malojian confines within its three and a half minutes precisely what has always enthralled us when it comes to the Belfast band’s craft. As with many of the tracks on This Is Nowhere – which is available to buy now via Kilkenny’s mighty Rollercoaster Records – this is music that is born when the soul seeks solace through song in a world that doesn’t always reciprocate the simple hopes and wishes of good people. Featuring footage shot both at home, but mainly at Albini’s Electrical…

  • Watch: Franklyn – Friends

    December 12, 2016 - By 

    Having played a pretty emphatic Thin Air Tuesday Throwdown at Lavery’s in Belfast back in October, Franklyn – a fast-rising quartet comprised of members of General Fiasco and The Jane Bradfords – have been drip-feeding a series of punchy, earworming singles since forming in late 2015. Set for release as part of a double a-side with ‘Tongue Tied’ via No Dancing on January 13, new single ‘Friends’ is a sublime slice of bobbing, Bombay Bicycle Club-esque indie-pop confronting one of the shittier, seemingly unavoidable aspects of getting older: the unreliability and disappearance of (some) one-time good friends. Check out Declan Gallen’s video for…

  • Other Voices 2016

    December 11, 2016 - By 

    Saint Sister, Cry Monster Cry, Æ MAK, Fangclub, Rusangano Family, David Kitt, Overhead The Albatross, Roisin O, Ryan Vail and more at Other Voices 2016 in Dingle. Photos by Tara Thomas.

  • Preview: Across The Line at 30

    December 10, 2016 - By 

    Long a bastion of promoting the very best in Irish music, North and South, weekly BBC Radio Ulster programme Across The Line celebrated its 30th birthday in style with a special live show at Belfast’s Ulster Hall back in September. Featuring performances from The Divine Comedy, SOAK, Therapy?, Villagers, R51 and Saint Sister, the event was both broadcast live on the long-running BBC Radio Ulster show on the night. Now, three months later, a 70-minute celebration of ATL, Across The Line at 30, will air on BBC One Northern Ireland on Monday, December 12 at 10.40pm. Presented by Colin Murray…

  • The Thin Air and Moving On Music present: Damo Suzuki (CAN) with Blue Whale and Robocobra Quartet

    December 9, 2016 - By 

    Presented by The Thin Air and Moving On Music, the legendary Damo Suzuki, vocalist of pioneering Krautrock group CAN, will return to Belfast for a fully improvised show with experimental rock maestros Blue Whale, and Californian improviser, sound artist, inventor and writer, Paul Stapleton. Support on the night comes from one of the country’s very best bands, Robocobra Quartet. This is set to be an unmissable event for anyone with even a passing interest in experimental and improvised music. Featuring “an assembly of sound carriers to communicate with each other and the audience”, Damo Suzuki has performed as ‘Damo Suzuki’s…

  • The Jesus and Mary Chain Set For Irish Shows

    December 9, 2016 - By 

    Having just confirmed their first album in 18 years, Damage and Joy, The Jesus and Mary Chain have announced they play Dublin’s The Academy on Friday, April 7 and Belfast’s Limelight on Saturday, April 8. The Scottish indie legends last Dublin back in July 2014 at Vicar Street as part of a warm-up tour ahead of shows celebrating their seminal 1985 debut album Psychocandy. Slightly further back in time, the band last stopped off in Belfast in September 1987 for a show at the Ulster Hall. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, December 13 at 10am. Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images

  • Premiere: Cal Folger Day – Song From A Party

    December 8, 2016 - By 

    Born in Washington D.C. and an occasional resident of NYC, Cal Folger Day has steadily established as one of the more idiosyncratic and consistently nonpareil musicians in Ireland over the last few years. Taken from her brand new four-track compilation 2016 singles, ‘Song From A Party’ is a song Folger Day says she, “wrote this song many years ago, which should be evident from the strength of my emotions about boys at parties!” Featuring footage from a Brooklyn house show shot by Cameron Kelly and Nick Lerman, the track – which conjures Julia Holter via the South – features features Nick Boon on…