• VerseChorusVerse – VerseChorusVerse

    “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” So reads the opening line from L.P. Hartley’s 1953 novel, The Go-Between. Touching on the innocence of childhood and its loss, family life and more, it’s a classic in excavating the oft smoggy wasteland that is the past. For many artists, however, the most rewarding way of confronting what has come before is to delve, headstrong, into the immediate present; carefully side-stepping the grasp of nostalgia whilst following an inner path. For Tony Wright AKA singer-songwriter VerseChorusVerse, this is something that he has, for the most part, bravely and…

  • Stream: No Monster Club – Rock N’ Roll Kids

    Ireland has always had something of intimate relationship with the whole Eurovision phenomenon. From first winning it back in 1965, we’ve won it a record seven times, including three times in a row in 1992, 1993 and 1994. The latter of those “successes” fell to ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids’, performed by Paul Harrington. Twenty years on – and ahead of the 59th annual Eurovision on Saturday night – Dublin indie rock trio No Monster Clubhave decided to put their own spin on that song. Sound slightly dodgy? Think again. The track – clocking in at just under three minutes – is given a scuzzy lo-fi…

  • Watch: GO WOLF – One More Night

    Set to support Wild Beasts at Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival tonight (May 8), Belfast-based indie-pop band GO WOLF have unveiled the video to their new single, ‘One More Night’. Directed by Babysweet, the video features three female actresses “being” GO WOLF, with the band lending a helping hand along the way. Pretty cool concept, we reckon. Recorded and produced by Rocky O’Reilly at Start Together Studios, Belfast, ‘One More Night’ was mastered by Robin Schmidt. Watch the video for the single below.  

  • Longitude Festival 2014

    Following the success of its inaugural year in 2013, Longitude will return to Dublin’s Marlay Park this summer with an extremely strong and varied line-up. As well as Irish acts including Tvvins, Le Galaxie, We Cut Corners and Adultrock, Ben Howard, Massive Attack, HAIM, Bombay Bicycle Club and The Afghan Whigs are amongst the many acts set to play over three days – from Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 20 – this summer. See the current poster for Longitude 2014 below. Go here to buy tickets for this year’s Longitude festival and stream Longitude’s Spotify Playlist below!

  • More acts announced for Sunflower Fest

    With the likes of the Bonnevilles and Pocket Billiards already confirmed, several new acts have been announced to play this year’s Sunflower Fest. With more bands and artists to be announced, Million $ Reload (pictured), Wonder Villains, Mutefish, Michael Mormecha, Henry Cluney Band, Amanda St John, Magwere, Suzanne Savage Quartet, Go Swim, More Dogs Barking, Love Street and High Flying Words are the latest additions to the annual Hillsborough festival, taking place from August 22-25. Go here to buy tickets for the festival and watch the latest video by Go Swim below.

  • David O’Doherty @ Mandela Hall

    Irish comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright David O’Doherty returns to Belfast on Friday, May 9 with a follow-up performance of his new show, Will Try To Fix Everything. We were considered coming up with our main blurb but O’Doherty’s own words more than suffice: “David O’Doherty, the Ryanair James Bond, the Kevin McCloud of the tiny keyboard, former Miss Ireland, the offspring of Shannon/Pete Doherty, his new look is ‘Jaws era Steven Spielberg’, recipient of the 2008 Edinburgh Comedy Award and inventor of the last remaining swimming stroke ‘the squid’ (on back, feet first), has written a new comedy show with…

  • Q+A: Ted Chippington and the Nightingales

    Formed in Birmingham in 1979, post-punk mavericks the Nightingales split up in 1986 after seven years, three albums, eight John Peel sessions and tours with everyone from Bo Diddley to Nico. They returned to the stage in 2004, and are playing their first ever Irish dates this month, including a slot at the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. The band hit McHugh’s in Belfast on Thursday, May 8, with ‘anti-comedian’ Ted Chippington in tow, the man who Stewart Lee has often cited as the reason he started doing stand-up. Nightingales frontman Robert Lloyd and Chippington tell Andrew Johnston about life as outsiders. Words by Andrew Johnston…

  • Thirty-five new acts announced for Longitude

    With an already impressive line-up on the cards, thirty-five more acts have been announced to play the second outing for Longitude festival in Dublin’s Marlay Park this Summer. Amongst the new acts unveiled earlier today are Greg Dulli’s rejuvenated The Afghan Whigs (pictured), Nebraskan singer-songwriter Conor Oberst and Irish folk-pop duo Hudson Taylor. Check out the full list of new additions as well as the current poster for Longitude 2014 – taking place from Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 20 – below. The Afghan Whigs Bipolar Sunshine Broods Circa Waves Conor Oberst Dawes Elliphant Hudson Taylor Joey Badass Josh Record Kyla La Grange…

  • Album stream: The Elephant Room – Body

    Currently simmering under the radar, Dublin three-piece The Elephant Room have released their rather idiosyncratic new ten-track album, Body. With hints of everyone from Wilco, Sebadoh (namely ‘Valley’) Soul Coughing and Sparklehorse, the distinctly lo-fi quality that pervades the record works very much in its favour, primitive keyboards, fuzzy chord progressions and knowingly elemental experimentation all lending to the charms of this somewhat unpredictable release. Sound like your kind of thing? Stream the album via Bandcamp below. Body by The Elephant Room

  • Gig(s) of the week: Le Galaxie, Ceephax Acid Crew, De La Soul

    With several new line-up announcements for Irish festivals being made over the last couple of days – Longitude, Sunflower Fest, Culture Tech – we are well and truly looking forward to the coming Irish summer here at the Thin Air towers (I say “towers”, I mean Caffe Nero on Donegall Square West, Belfast). Ahead of that cider-soaked maelstrom of mini-buses and crap tents however we have another installment of our Gig(s) of the week, featuring hopefully something for everyone, North and South, over the next seven days. Le Galaxie present Love System – The Academy, Dublin Friday, May 9 Our outright…