• Stream: Imploded View – Fame (David Bowie Cover)

    January 20, 2016 - By 

    One of a number of Irish artists heavily inspired by David Bowie, Longford producer Jerome McCormick AKA Imploded View has re-framed the former’s 1975 classic ‘Fame’ in the guise of playful, slow-burning electronica. On his Soundcloud page, McCormick said, “I could not believe the news when I heard about David Bowie’s departure. Such an inspirational artist, and while the world has lost a real heavyweight, the inspiration lives on. That said, there’s no denying that the world is a bit suckier without David Bowie in it. I did this remix as a tribute to one of my favourite artists…” Co-written with Carlos Alomar and…

  • Watch: Cry Monster Cry – Old At Heart

    January 19, 2016 - By 

    Dublin alt-pop brother duo Richie and Jamie Martin AKA Cry Monster Cry well and truly made their arrival with the release of their acclaimed debut album, Rhythm of Dawn, last March. A highlight from that, their new single ‘Old at Heart’ tells a tale of what it means to belong and exist in a sprawling urban jungle, where disconnection and wearing a mask to get by are all but two sides of the same coin. Tempering the stark reality with quiet, almost romantic objectivity – helped along with the song’s delicate acoustic arpeggios and warm electric swells – it makes for the pair’s strongest single…

  • Inbound: Mongrel State

    January 19, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of the launch of their their debut album, Mestizo, at Dublin’s Whelan’s on Saturday, January 30, we get the lowdown on Dublin-based Americana-tinged rockers Mongrel State. Photos by Brian Mulligan. Hi guys, first off, for the unacquainted: when did you form how did the band come about? Was it destiny? Compromise? Start off as a Boney M cover band and decide to keep it going with original material? Darren Flynn (bass/vocals): Hah! No, not Boney M! Claudio (Mercante; guitar/vocals) and I originally met when he joined a cover band I was in – more old school rock n’ roll though (lots of Stones…

  • Belfast Forward: Guerrilla Shout

    January 19, 2016 - By 

    In the latest installment of Belfast Forward – a regular Thin Air feature look at the city’s emerging creative talent – Brian Coney chats to the team at Guerrilla Shout, a multi-discipline creative visual ideas company set to make their mark in 2016. Photos by Sara Marsden. Hey guys, first off: the name. How did you come to settle on Guerrilla Shout and does it hold any significance?  The name was a natural progression from our sister brand, techno label DSNT, which is based around the concept of dissent, an attitude found in early punk labels. We’re a small, agile…

  • Stream: Bear Worship – Our Friends

    January 18, 2016 - By 

    Evoking everything from the chamber folk balladry of Department of Eagles to the floaty dream-pop of Candy Claws, ‘Our Friends’ by Dublin’s Karl Knuttel AKA Bear Worship is a track revolving around the ever fractious realms of belonging/non-belonging and friendship. Released as a Double A-Side alongside ‘Pagodas’, the opening decree of the track – “I don’t belong here at all” – most certainly holds a sense of import throughout its four-odd minutes of brilliantly burrowing, subtly infectious chimera. Heck, we’ll go out on a limb here: four/five listens in, it’s one of the best tracks from an Irish solo artist we’ve heard in ages.

  • Stream: Hot Cops – Passive Passive

    January 18, 2016 - By 

    Tipping the proverbial hat to a profusion of well-established indie-rock hallmarks whilst successfully maintaining a unique sonic identity is no mean feat in 2016. Belfast trio Hot Cops‘ are one such act who fall under that slimmest of brackets – something their diffident, zig-zagging new single ‘Passive Passive’ nicely attests to. Stream it via Soundcloud below. ‘Passive Passive’ and it’s b-side ‘Scared of Everything’ will be released on teal vinyl via Paper Trail Records (limited to 100 copies) on February 8.

  • Premiere: Tuskany – Better Time

    January 15, 2016 - By 

    Formed in mid 2015 as a writing project on the side from their respective musical ventures, Belfast indie-pop trio Tuskany are Owen McGarry, Mick McDowell and Thomas Bannon. A new-fangled act in the truest sense of the word, the band’s debut single ‘Better Time’ is a slick, funk-tinged effort that wastes very little time in declaring its FM-leaning intentions. With an EP set for later in the year, the band said: “The writing process was rather casual though after time we started to treat it like a full time job, giving ourselves certain days during the week to write as many songs as we…

  • The Gloaming Announce Second Album Details

    January 14, 2016 - By 

    The follow-up to their Choice Music Prize-winning, 2014 debut album, The Gloaming have announced that they will release their second album, The Gloaming 2, on February 26 via Real World Records. Effortless marrying traditional Irish music with jazz, contemporary classical and experimental sounds, the band have, for many, re-defined contemporarily Irish traditional music over the last couple of years. Their forthcoming second full-length was recorded in December past, produced by Thomas Bartlett (Sufjan Stevens, Glen Hansard) and engineered by Patrick Dillett, who has previously worked with David Byrne & St Vincent and the National. As with their debut album, The Gloaming 2 will feature artwork from Robert…

  • Stream: Wyvern Lingo – Run (Hozier Cover)

    January 14, 2016 - By 

    One of our favourite Irish acts at the minute, Bray trio Wyvern Lingo will launch their debut, four-track EP, Letter to Willow via Rubyworks on Friday, March 4 – three days after playing their biggest Dublin show to date at Dublin’s Button Factory on Friday, April 1. Currently on tour in the UK with Hozier, the trio have unveiled a rendition of their fellow Wicklow artist’s ‘Run’. Very nicely capturing their keen ear for harmony, it’s a first-rate re-imagining from a band who came to the forefront of our attention with the release of ‘Subside‘ last year. Wyvern Lingo also play Galway’s Roisin Dubh on…

  • Watch: Exploding Eyes – We Need Love

    January 14, 2016 - By 

    Tipping their sonic to everyone from Mountain and Blue Cheer to Andromeda and Thee Oh Sees, Dublin heavy psych trio Exploding Eyes are streaming their emphatic new single, ‘We Need Love’. Evoking the likes of Jon Spencer and The Doors at their most resounding, it’s a wonderfully urgent, blue-soaked throwdown. In direct contrast, its b-side ‘Madman’s Lament’ is a restrained yet no less fervent effort from the three-piece. Out on Friday, January 22, We Need Love is the first single to be taken from Exploding Eye’s debut self-titled album, which is set for release via Big Neck Records in the summer.…