• Album Premiere: The Urges – Time Will Pass

    October 25, 2016 - By 

    When it comes to swirling, baroque-tinged neo-psychedelia and throwback (yet forward-looking) garage rock, Dublin’s The Urges are, without a doubt, in a league of their own. Spearheading a modern manifestation of a lineage stemming from The Doors, Scott Walker and Love, the five-piece’s new album Time Will Pass is testament to following collective vision rather than moving with the whims of trend. Set to be launched at The Grand Social in Dublin this Saturday, the album – which comes nine years on from the release of their debut full-length – is a wonderfully flesh-out effort that doesn’t shy away from layering strings and brass upon…

  • Track Record: Ruan Van Vliet

    October 24, 2016 - By 

    Popical Island co-founder and Dublin-based artist Ruan Van Vliet shares some of the more curious gems in his record collection, including Abigail & The Horsey, Ketaminnie Driver and Ammo Blood. Photos by Aaron Corr. Tutankhamun Joyner – Celestial Brouhaha Already a well known sideman in groups led by John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane and Barry Coltrane, Joyner stepped out on his own with this debut as band leader on the Impulse! label in 1969. Energy music, free skronk, multiphonic overblowing, spiritual yodelling – this is a huge mess and I can’t make head nor tails of it. Nightmare. Peepin’ Tommy Pervis – Outside…

  • Watch: Michael Mormecha – The Opera House

    October 24, 2016 - By 

    Taken from his hugely accomplished debut album LOFi LiFE, ‘The Opera House’ finds Mojo Fury’s Michael Mormecha in especially bombastic form. Featuring mantra-like, burrowing harmonies with Fiona O’Kane of RunawayGO, the track marries fuzzed-out grooves, smatterings of urgent percussion and Mormecha’s uncanny ear for a killer hook. The track’s accompanying video ups the DIY ante in perfectly kaleidoscopic fashion. Delve into LOFi LiFE right here.

  • Irish Tour: Sleaford Mods

    October 24, 2016 - By 

    In the latest installment of Irish Tour, Jonny Currie and photographers Dee McEvoy and Aidan Kelly Murphy capture the return of Sleaford Mods to Dublin and Belfast. Mandela Hall, Belfast Photos by Dee McEvoy Behold, hear the voice of one calling: prepare ye the way of the Mods. The prophecy of Divide and Brexit has been fulfilled. The importance of securing entry to key markets clogs up our newsfeeds. Meanwhile two blokes called Jason and Andrew have signed a record deal with Rough Trade this year that should project their hard-worn, under-heard music to the wider audience it deserves, without compromise. Sleaford…

  • Clever Things Done Simply: An Interview with Wyvern Lingo

    October 22, 2016 - By 

    Catching some downtime following a busy few months that saw the release of their stellar A Letter For Willow EP and a UK support tour with James Vincent McMorrow, Bray trio Wyvern Lingo will soon set off for a string of Irish dates across November and December. Ahead of those – as well headlining Jameson’s Bow St Sessions at Cork’s Crane Lane on October 27 – Brian Coney talks to drummer/vocalist Caoimhe Barry about plans for their debut album, the open road and striking a balance between accessible and experimental. Register for free tickets to the band’s Bow St Session with Pleasure Beach and Amaron + Magic…

  • Premiere: The Mad Dalton – Devil Came To Derry

    October 20, 2016 - By 

    Keeping the candle burning for the dying tradition of the Halloween single, Belfast-based Scots/Canadian singer-songwriter Peter Sumadh AKA The Mad Dalton’s ‘Devil Came To Derry’ is a slow-burning dose of malevolent Americana that puts sparsely plucked guitar guitars and a bleak, unravelling narrative centre-stage. Accompanied by a video shot up Derry way by Dog Kennel Productions, the single is the follow-up to Sumadh’s 2015’s The Little Belfry EP, which we reviewed here. Have an exclusive first look at the video for the single (“a song for people of all faiths and for people with no faith at all.”) below.  

  • Premiere: The IYMAs Volume 9

    October 19, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of its launch in on Friday, we’re pleased to present a premiere of Irish Youth Music Awards Volume 9. With the awards – the country’s only all island youth focused music awards and festival – celebrating its tenth anniversary today, the release features original tracks recorded by last year’s recipients from team Galway. Irish Youth Music Awards Director Barry Lennon said, “We are very excited to be entering our tenth year supporting the creativity of young people across Ireland and acting as a stepping stone in their journey as they progress to further education and employment opportunities. As part of this…

  • The Sudden Club Weekender

    October 20, 2016 - By 

    Across the weekend of December 9-11, Cork’s The Kino will play host to The Sudden Club Weekender, a series of must-see shows curated by the Southern Hospitality Board. With full weekend tickets priced at a very reasonable €36 and one night tickets ranging from €12-€16, the shows will be headlined by Limerick hip-hop masters Rusangano Family, Cork psych five-piece The Altered Hours and London-based singer-songwriter Rozi Plain. See the full show details below. The Sudden Club: Rusangano Family + Bantum Friday 9th December, 7.30pm Price: €16 The Sudden Club: The Altered Hours + The Bonk Saturday 10th December, 7.30pm Price: €13 The…

  • Premiere: That Snaake – Scofflaw // Sisyphus

    October 18, 2016 - By 

    We’ve a lot of time for Dublin’s That Snaake. Cutting a singular figure in a scene of prevailing alt-rock uniformity, the Paul O’Connor-fronted quartet’s live shows are some akin to shock-and-awe; a steady blitzkrieg of carefully honed noise and unrelenting disdain. Taken from their forthcoming second EP, Blinded By The Smell (“the melodious outward looking companion to the short-sighted tumultuous rage of [their debut EP] At Swim One Stone“) we’re pleased to premiere the band’s new single ‘Scofflaw // Sisyphus’. According to the band, “It tells the story of an ageing musician who played a bit part in the Commitments desperately trying to…

  • Video Premiere: The Urges – Echoes Softly

    October 17, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of premiering their second album, Time Will Pass, next week, we’re pleased to present a first look at the video for ‘Echoes Softly’ by Dublin psychedelic garage trailblazers The Urges. Filmed in Florence during an Italian tour last year, the video was directed by Amos Kahana and features Julien Vannucchi as Director of Photography. The single is now available via iTunes and all other usual online outlets as a download only. The Urges launch Time Will Pass at Dublin’s Grand Social on Saturday, October 29.