• Freenix & The Haunted Hollow

    October 29, 2016 - By 

    Presented by our favourite Irish record store, Little Gem (and friends), Freenix & The Haunted Hallow will take over the Bandstand of Dublin’s Phoenix Park on Sunday, October 30 for a “haunted afternoon of treats, tricks, arts and HORRORRRRR!” until dusk. A free and family friendly event running from 2-6pm, the afternoon Bandstand will play host to performances from School Tour, Crowhammer, Ewa Gigon and the Little Gem Band. Fancy dress is also very much encouraged. Split Tape With Patrick Kelleher by School Tour

  • Video Premiere: The Shaker Hymn – Baltic Heart

    November 1, 2016 - By 

    With the dark and cold evenings started to creep in at rapid pace, Cork five-piece The Shaker Hymn have returned with a suitably titled new single, ‘Baltic Heart’. Taken from their album, Do You Think You’re Clever? the track is a wonderfully produced slice of swooning subtly symphonic throwback pop and – not least in the addition of strings throughout – real testament to the band’s knack for sculpting a song where harmony is at the heart of their craft. The Shaker Hymn play the following dates in December. December 2: McGings, Westport December 3: Tir Na Nog, Cavan December 11: Kino, Cork (w/ Rozi Plain) Have an…

  • Stream: Matua Trap – Glossolalia

    November 1, 2016 - By 

    Set to play the next live Thin Air Tuesday Throwdown at Belfast’s Lavery’s on next Tuesday with Mons Olympus (it’s free entry and everything) Belfast prog trio Matua Trap have unveiled their new single, ‘Glossolalia’. The first cut to be taken from the band’s forthcoming debut album The Thunderous Silence, it’s a potent epistemological rumination betraying the band’s ever-growing knack for forging deft musicianship with cogitative lyricism courtesy of guitarist/vocalist Steven Butler. The track was recorded, mixed and mastered by bassist/vocalist and drummer James Bruce at Great Northern Productions and Snakehole Studios. Glossolalia by Matua Trap

  • Gigs of the Week: Windings, Kiasmos, James Blake, DJ Yoda & Mhaol

    October 27, 2016 - By 

    Sure, the irrefutable gig of the week has already happened but bearing in mind this feature prefers to focus on the weekend, let’s try and stay positive. As ever, Halloween is a massive weekend in all corners of the country with shows, one-offs and happenings of every ilk cropping up across the board. This year is no different. Here’s our five must-attend gigs. James Blake Limelight 1, Belfast/Olympia Theatre, Dublin Friday, October 28/Saturday, October 29 Having released his stellar third studio album, The Colour In Anything, back in May, these are positively unmissable Irish dates from the Grammy-nominated Londoner. Kiasmos (DJ Set) Saturday,…

  • EP Premiere: Brash Isaac – In Two

    October 27, 2016 - By 

    A familiar face behind the kit of folk-rock band New Ancestors, Andrew Cameron’s Brash Isaac is a project that launched back in May. With their spirited brand of earworming, FM-friendly alt-folk, his latest two-track release, In Two, is the third and final mini EP to be released from June to October. Ahead of its official launch on Halloween, we’re pleased to present a first listen to the release – also featuring guitar by Christopher McKay and additional vocals by Beulah Kim – here. Feeling a bit bummed out? Have a listen.

  • Dreaming On: An Interview With Pleasure Beach

    October 26, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of their Jameson Bow St. Session alongside Wyvern Lingo and Amaron + Magic at Cork’s Crane Lane tomorrow, Alan Haslam from Belfast five-piece Pleasure Beach talks to Brian Coney about writing hits, what defines dream-pop and taking it as far they can. Register for free tickets to the band’s Bow St Session here. Hi guys. For the uninitiated, how did Pleasure Beach come about? When were the seeds sown and when did it all come to flourish? Hi! Well, we were all involved in various other projects around the time of the band’s formation. I had a handful of new songs…

  • Metropolis Festival Reveal Running Order

    October 25, 2016 - By 

    Set to return to Dublin’s RDS next week (November 3-5), the running order and times for this year’s Metropolis festival have been unveiled. Featuring the likes of Grace Jones, DJ Shadow, Shura, Moderat, The Sugar Hill Gang, Jesse Lanza, Novelist, Fakear, Mount Kimbie, Girl Band, Floating Points (DJ set) and more, check the details below. Tickets for Metropolis are still available. Day tickets are €79.50, Weekend tickets are €145.00 and DJ Shadow – Opening Party + Weekend (3 Day) tickets are €164.50.

  • John Carpenter @ Vicar Street, Dublin

    October 25, 2016 - By 

    Not entirely unlike that scene in Wayne’s World where Wayne and Garth declare themselves all but contemptible in the presence of Alice Cooper, the sense of collective unworthiness when John Carpenter quite literally struts out on stage with his band in Vicar Street tonight is tangible. Hands down one of cinema’s greatest auteurs – a fiercely single-minded master of both sound and vision – the 68-year-old has accumulated very few naysayers over his genre-spanning, critic-slaying, five-decade career to date, a fact that is comfortably underlined by the idolatrous energy in the much-loved Dublin venue tonight. But from those first ominous ripples of the main title to his 1981 dystopian classic Escape…

  • Irish Tour: We Are Scientists

    October 25, 2016 - By 

    We Are Scientists live at Dublin’s Opium Rooms, Galway’s Roisin Dubh and Belfast’s Limelight 2. Photos by Isabel Thomas, Sean McCormack and Colm Laverty. Roisin Dubh, Galway Photos by Sean McCormack Opium Rooms, Dublin Photos by Isabel Thomas Limelight 2, Belfast Photos by Colm Laverty