• Villagers Announce New Album and Tour, Releases ‘The First Day’

    April 21, 2021 - By 

    Over the last few years, Conor O’Brien’s sublime output as Villagers has been nothing if not ecstatic, euphoric and escapist. Yesterday, the Dublin artist used those exact descriptors to introduce ‘The First Day,’ the first single to be taken from his forthcoming fifth album, Fever Dreams. Set for release on August 20th via Domino, it marks the follow-up to 2018’s The Art of Pretending To Swim. Accompanied by a Daniel Brereton-directed video, the coursing symphonic pop of ‘The First Day’ is peak Villagers and a strong indication that Fever Dreams could go down as a milepost in an already distinguished career. Pencilled in for…

  • Watch: piglet – mill

    April 21, 2021 - By 

    Belfast-raised, London-based songwriter & producer Charlie Loane emerged as a compelling voice fronting his past project, the DIY electronics duo Great Dad. Continuing to explore themes of queer/trans experience, further filtered through personal experience, the arrival of his debut solo EP as Piglet, alex’s birthday, last year revealed an artist fully forging their own path. Off the back of two collaborative tracks with Porridge Radio, which received coverage from Pitchfork among others in February, Loane returns today with their most emphatic single to date. Bridging woozy lo-fi solipsism in the vein (Sandy) Alex G with the swarming brass of Bowie circa Blackstar, it’s a triumphant, homespun…

  • Several Irish Acts Among The Great Escape Second Wave Line-up

    April 21, 2021 - By 

    Several Irish acts are among the second wave announcement for this year’s Great Escape. Set to make its debut digital outing across May 13-14, the annual Brighton festival and showcase have revealed Dani Larkin, Hazey Haze, Strange Boy, Conchúr White, New Pagans, Sinead O’Brien, Smoothboi Ezra (pictured), Soda Blonde, Sprints and Melts as part of their latest line-up reveal. This year’s online festival will feature performances from more than 150 acts across two days. Festival tickets are available via the Great Escape website.

  • Stream: The Altered Hours – All Amnesia

    April 21, 2021 - By 

    Over the last ten years, Cork’s The Altered Hours have repeatedly underscored their reputation as one of the country’s most singular bands. A force to be reckoned with live, and always a fiercely distinctive proposition in the studio, they have flown the flag for psych-leaning experimental rock here like no other. Last week, the Elaine Howley-fronted band announced their return with the news that they’ve signed with Dundalk imprint Pizza Pizza Records, home to Just Mustard, Larry and others. Having released via Art For Blind, Penske and A Recording over the years, it cues the next chapter in the band’s…

  • Monday Mixtape: Cryan

    April 19, 2021 - By 

    Belfast sad country duo Ciara Nic An Rí and Ryan Fitzsimmons AKA Cryan select and wax lyrical about some of their favourite tracks, including Patsy Cline, The Flying Burrito Brothers and more. Ryan The Good Gollies – Rosemary You can find it on Mashed Potato Records Volume 1 which was recorded in a makeshift, analogue-based recording studio set up by the Mississippi River in a structure that was more a shack than a house, but unmistakably a home. Both volumes of it remain a huge inspiration, but the Sapphic undertones of this track make it stand out above the other…

  • Citóg Records Set to Celebrate Galway Music With Short Film Amhráin

    April 16, 2021 - By 

    Over the years, Galway’s Citóg Records has established and re-established itself as an institution emblematic of what makes Irish independent music and culture so vital. Recently, the collective have been focusing their attention on Amhráin, a new, short  film created as part of Galway 2020’s Small Towns Big Ideas strand. Set to premiere at 9pm on Saturday, April 17th on Galway venue and creative hub The Black Gate’s social media channels, it will feature local artists including Eoin Dolan, Field Trip, Tracy Bruen and more performing new versions of beloved Galway songs by artists both past and present. Doubling as a tour…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – April 16

    April 16, 2021 - By 

    Here are the very best Irish tracks of the week, featuring Fears, Ra Gerra, KK Lewis, Joshua Burnside, Ferals, Strange Boy, The Bonk, Local Boy, Xona, Orla Gartland and more. The Bonk – Chore Loops EP Chore Loops by The Bonk Fears – Fabric Oíche by Fears Ra Gerra – Pressure Strange Boy – Waiting KK Lewis – First Bus Home Ferals – A Collection of Unreleased Works EP Joshua Burnside – Higher Places Local Boy – Thoughts Comrade Hat – Old Gods, Vol. 1 Old Gods, Vol. 1 by Comrade Hat Punching Peaches – Wristwitch Xona – Waiting Chxmist…

  • Premiere: chxmist – Waiting For You (feat Anna Mooney)

    April 15, 2021 - By 

    Like many independent Irish producers over the last few months, chxmist has found the headspace, and inspiration, to eke out art from strained times. Following on from remixing TOYGIRL and producing for rapper FYNCH, the Dublin-based artist has teamed up with Galway’s Anna Mooney for a slick dose of electropop that filters the promise of much brighter days to come. Bearing the imprint of the likes of Jon Hopkins and Jamie xx, ‘Waiting For You is a forward-pushing earworm that, in the words of chxmist, hopes to strike “a sonic balance between the darkness of a lockdown and the relief,…

  • Stream: Sun Collective – Ogham Scars

    April 15, 2021 - By 

    Blurring the lines between chamber pop, indie rock and contemporary folk, the craft of Dublin’s Sun Collective strikes a midpoint between delicate and resolute.  Featuring from Saint Sister’s Gemma Doherty on harp, it’s an M.O. that their new single, ‘Ogham Scars’, takes and runs with. Marrying the gossamer beauty of a long-lost Cinematic Orchestra track with the burgeoning deep ambience of latter-day Massive Attack, it’s a triumphant return, produced by Ross Turner and recorded by Ber Quinn. Speaking about the song, the group’s frontman Caimin Gilmore says, “I robbed the title (& possibly the entire meaning) of ‘Ogham Scars’ from the work of painter, John Noel…

  • Premiere: Robin Olly James – Red Tor

    April 14, 2021 - By 

    As the bassist in Galway DIY metal/hardcore five-piece Ilenkus, Robin Olly James has played his part in melting a fair few faces over the years. In more recent times, however, collaborations with artists such as James Lonergan, Eoin Dolan and The BVs have revealed an artist versed in myriad guises and realms. Today, James drives that fact home with ‘Red Tor,’ a slowly unravelling dose of darkly, experimental electronica. A collaboration with James Sheridan, Philip Mc Mahon and Joseph Padfield, it’s a curiously entrancing effort, hitting like the claustrophobic inverse of Föllakzoid’s more recent explorations in cyclical, techno-inflected psych. Created and co-directed by award-winning visual artist James Sheridan, co-directed by Philip…