• Premiere: Beach – Ono Noh

    October 5, 2016 - By 

    One of our must-see acts at Hard Working Class Heroes this weekend, Dublin five-piece Beach aren’t likely to be neatly defined any time soon. Recently proclaimed one of the “most interesting prospects on the Irish scene” the Dave Barrett-fronted band certainly have a sturdy leg to stand on, blending dusky slacker rock, electronica and contorted psychedelia on tracks including ‘Moon Smoke’, ‘Arabia’ and, most recently, the brilliantly bastardised jazz-punk of ‘Donuts’. Exploring more ruminating territory, the band’s new single ‘Ono Noh’ conjures Black Heart Procession-like lamenting via Depeche Modesque atmospherics and – particularly Barrett and backing vocalist/lead guitarist Alex Conway’s vocals – Queens of the Stone Age at their more sober and restrained. With another single…

  • Solar Bears Announce Split, Release Final Track ‘Across Yesteryear’

    October 4, 2016 - By 

    Hands down one of the country’s most consistently compelling and forward-moving electronic acts, Dublin duo John Kowalski and Rian Trench AKA Solar Bears have announced they have split after 8 years and 3 albums. Very kindly cushioning the blow, the pair have simultaneously unveiled their final single effort, ‘Across Yesteryear’, a track betraying a distinctly psych-folk aesthetic that proves, even at the eleventh hour, Trench and Kowalski were always breaking through new terrain. Speaking of their split, the band said, “We have decided to call it a day after 8 years together. Thank you to everyone that listened and came to…

  • Playlist: 15 Must-See Acts at Hard Working Class Heroes This Weekend

    October 3, 2016 - By 

    Right up there with the country’s leading celebrations and showcases of homegrown, independent music, Hard Working Class Heroes will take over several venues in Dublin from October 6-8. With 100 acts once again independently selected to perform, we have well and truly racked our brains to whittle that imposing list down to 10 must-see acts this weekend. Tickets for HWCH ’16 are still available to buy here. Oh Boland Where: The Hub When: Saturday, October 8 (7.30pm) Pale Rivers Where: The Workman’s Club When: Friday, October 7 (7.50pm) Maija Sofia Where: Wigwam When: Saturday, October 8 (10.30pm) Rusangano Family Where: The Chocolate…

  • Premiere: Nocturnes – Whale Song

    October 3, 2016 - By 

    Inspired by the song whales use to communicate, ‘Whale Song’ by Sligo singer-songwriter Pearse McGloughlin AKA Nocturnes draws parallels between these great creatures of the ocean with our human selves. An oceanic ode that borders on the hymnal in its sublime, altogether delicate delivery and nigh on reverential tone, the single is accompanied by a video courtesy of McGloughlin’s brother, Kevin. Forging animated footage and live action footage to impressive effect,”creating an imagined astro-aquatic environment which is both the sea and the cosmos, the aquatic and the astronomic”, the video was borne from lengthy discussion between the brothers. Kevin said: “After many a chat with Pearse over…

  • Premiere: Pale Rivers – August 6th

    October 3, 2016 - By 

    As debut singles go ‘August 6th’ by Cork five-piece Pale Rivers is a real statement of intent. Accompanied by a typically slick (and warning: flashing imagery-heavy) video by Brendan Canty’s masterful Feel Good Lost, the track – with its subtle synth textures, harmonic flourishes and burrowing chorus refrain – is cunningly anthemic alt-pop at its finest. The track is the first in a string of forthcoming singles produced with Gavin Glass in his studio and mixed by Kieran Lynch, who has worked with U2, Elvis Costello and R.E.M. With more shows soon set to be announced, you can catch Pale Rivers – who will almost certainly be…

  • Premiere: New Pope – The Claddagh

    October 3, 2016 - By 

    Almost like a victim of self-sabotage in the vein of Dostoyevsky or Sartre, Galway’s David Boland AKA New Pope confronts the sheer nausea of the dreaded next day in the Gavin Martyn-directed video for his new single ‘The Claddagh’. But despite the track’s shroud of heartbreak via wonderfully wearied reflections and crushing guitar shapes, Boland sieves gold from the quite literal stoney shore in subtle, masterfully soul-lifting fashion. Boland said: “The Claddagh, meaning “stoney shore”, was once an old fishing village in the heart of Galway city. It is still a little area with a lot of character and a confusing layout. The song is about falling for someone…

  • Watch: Enemies – itsallwaves

    September 29, 2016 - By 

    Kilcoole math-pop maestros Enemies may as well have ripped out our heart yesterday when they announced that they’re set to play their final show at Dublin’s Vicar Street on December 18 following the release of their third and final album, Valuables, via Topshelf Records on December 9. Now, less than 24 hours to digest the news, the band have cushioned the blow by unveiled the video for ‘itsallwaves’, the lead track from their forthcoming swansong. Featuring positively life-affirming tour footage courtesy of the band, Wez Evans, Darragh Bambrick and Niall O’Kelly, the video – directed by Evans – perfectly accompanies the track, a…

  • Premiere: Patrick Gardiner – Riverside Remark

    September 29, 2016 - By 

    When we premiered his Carcassonne EP back in April last year, we praised Co. Down singer-songwriter Patrick Gardiner‘s “subtly eclectic mix of incisive, occasionally wry and consistently considered acoustic tale-telling”. Nineteen months – and a whole lot of writing and recording – later, the songsmith has resurfaced with its accomplished, not to mention considerably more stripped-back and song-centric follow-up, ‘Riverside Remark’. A departure from the fleshed-out, full-band sound of the aforementioned EP, this new effort sees Gardiner and his guitar take centre-stage much like his early ruminations. A considerably less impressionistic – or indeed jazz-tinged – tale than many will be…

  • Premiere: Maija Sofia – Dreamscape

    September 29, 2016 - By 

    Dublin-based Galway antifolk singer-songwriter Maija Sofia is an artist whose craft fully benefits from taking the road less travelled. A self-proclaimed “surreal romance interweaving music with samples from an interview with the poet Anne Sexton” ‘Dreamscape, her new audio-visual effort with London independent filmmaking duo Will & Joe, is a short but striking abstracted meditation on truth, sex, The End, the transience of existence and Earth, as well as intersubjective role we play ‘neath the gossamer-like fabric of this mortal coil. Speaking about the collaboration, Will & Joe said: “‘Dreamscape’ has been a labour of love in-between other jobs and commitments for over a year. It is the shortest music video we’ve…

  • Stream: Lie Ins – Potatoes/Back on the Clock

    September 28, 2016 - By 

    It’s sometimes good to remember: Lie Ins aren’t just for Sundays. And nowhere is that more evident than quickly glancing at the calendar before stumbling upon ‘Potatoes’ and ‘Back on the Clock’, a new double-single from the Dublin indie pop band of the same name. Sure, that doesn’t aeally make a whole lot of sense but in the words of Aerosmith, let the music – insistent, merry and earworming as ever – do the talking (via Bandcamp below). Potatoes b/w Back on the Clock by Lie Ins