• 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.…

  • Women’s Work Festival set for Belfast

    January 14, 2016 - By 

    It’s been revealed that DJ and broadcasting legend Annie Nightingale will kick off the inaugural Women’s Work Festival at Belfast’s Oh Yeah Music Centre on March 4. Set to celebrate great female talent with a series of gigs and showcase events across the five days. It will also provide practical advice, support and spark conversations and debate on the issues surrounding women in music and the wider creative sector. Women’s Work Festival organiser, Charlotte Dryden said: “We want to celebrate great female talent, but also to use the Festival as an opportunity to really talk about and explore a variety of issues…

  • Brilliant Corners To Return in March

    January 13, 2016 - By 

    One of the country’s most reliably consistent and forward-thinking jazz festivals, it’s been announced that Brilliant Corners will return to various venues in Belfast from March 5 to March 12. As expected, the bill for this year’s festival – hosted by Moving on Music – is as delightfully idiosyncratic as expected; Vein Trio will bring Latin Rhythms to the Belfast Parge, recently-passed jazz legend Ornette Coleman will receive due tribute, the synth-soaked free jazz of OKO and Tim Berne will illuminate the Black Box, whilst Dinosaur and Alarmist will team up for what’s set to be a highlight of the festival. Elsewhere, artist-in-residence…

  • Other Voices Live Schedule Revealed

    January 13, 2016 - By 

    Having took place in Dingle across the weekend of December 4-6, the schedule for this year’s Other Voices Live has been revealed. Back for it’s 14th season, the show – a veritable Irish music institution at this point – will return to RTÉ 2 from Saturday, January 23 and will feature Gavin James, Lapsley, Gaz Coombes and Bitch Falcon. This series is presented by Annie Mac, Huw Stephens and Fight Like Apes’ May Kay AKA Mary Kate Geraghty. Check out the full line-up below. Episode 1 / 23rd January Gavin James Lapsley Gaz Coombes IMRO Other Room – Bitch Falcon Episode…

  • Stream: Autumns – The Fall

    January 12, 2016 - By 

    As many of you will know by now, Derry’s Christian Donaghey AKA Autumns isn’t exactly in the business of snappy middle 8s and earworming refrains. Delving further into more experimental and decidedly murkier territory than before, his new track ‘The Fall’ summons the ghost of impoverished Düsseldorf winters and squalid cold water flats, bug-infested floorboards, insurmountable overdue rent and Suicide soundtracking the End on some barely musical engine of ruin. Donaghey said, “Lately I’ve been incredibly inspired and obsessed with transgressive authors and philosophers. This track is influenced just as much by the literature I’m reading than the dark industrial, electronic sound that I hear in my…