• Reverberation Psych Fest 2016 (Day Two) @ The Grand Social, Dublin

    April 18, 2016 - By 

    With my ears having gone through the mill during night one of Reverberation, it was only right to see if they could last for the duration of round two! First up to the mound was Derry duo Fabric, who really falls into the post-punk side of things as opposed to psych rock. Ruairi Coyle (Percussion/Drums & Backing Vocals) and Lorcan Hamilton (Bass & Lead Vocals) manage to put on quite the performance, which considering the low turnout for their slot, they can only be applauded for. There are hints of Joy Division, Young Marble Giants and Gang of Four dotted…

  • Meatbodies w/ No Monster Club @ Workman’s Club, Dublin

    April 4, 2016 - By 

    Just over six months has passed since multi-instrumentalist Chad Ubovich last made an appearance here in Dublin, when he played alongside his good friend Ty Segall in their sludge power trio Fuzz. Ubovich has been involved in the LA underground scene since he was a teenager and is also a touring member of Mikal Cronin’s band. However outside of these projects it’s Meatbodies (formerly Chad & the Meatbodies) that should be viewed as his intrinsic musical outlet. With a sound that does not stretch the boundaries of psych, garage rock and heavy riffs that far, one can easily imagine where…

  • The Bonnevilles – Arrow Pierce My Heart

    March 13, 2016 - By 

    One word that is regularly attributed to bands that fall under the rock ’n’ roll, blues or garage-punk monikers is ‘raw’. By that I mean there is more often than not a pure and unadulterated rawness or dirtiness, as it were, related to an artist’s playing style that it can be classified as such. When it comes to Lurgan duo The Bonnevilles’ latest album Arrow Pierce My Heart, it is clear as day this term can be used when pinpointing their homage to these genres. Andrew McGibbon Jnr. and Chris McMullan have come out swinging on what is their third…

  • Shuggie Otis @ The Sugar Club, Dublin

    February 21, 2016 - By 

    With a variety of funk and soul sounds emanating from the Sugar Club’s sound system, the scene is well and truly set for the highly anticipated return to Dublin, of guitarist, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shuggie Otis. Born Johnny Alexander Veliotes Jnr. in 1953, the young Otis became a member of his father’s backing band when he was only 12 years old, and just three years later the youthful guitarist accompanied renowned musician Al Kooper on his 1969 LP Kooper Session. Otis’ status continued to gather pace courtesy of his Freedom Flight and Inspiration Information records, the former of which included…

  • The Night Beats w/ September Girls, Twinkranes @ The Grand Social, Dublin

    January 25, 2016 - By 

    It is safe to say that the initial seeds of psychedelic infused garage rock originated in the United States in the mid to late 1960’s. Most of these bands ended up releasing the odd single or if they were lucky an album, before disappearing back into obscurity. Fortunately with the likes of Lenny Kaye’s invaluable Nuggets compilation as well as the Pebbles and Back From The Grave series, these bands have found new audiences with modern-day artists such as The Black Angels, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees and tonight’s headliners The Night Beats, continuing to bear the psych and garage…

  • Stiff Little Fingers @ The Academy, Dublin

    November 17, 2015 - By 

    The last time I saw Stiff Little Fingers was when previous bassist Bruce Foxton was still amongst their ranks. With him having left the fold in ‘06, to say that tonight’s gig was something I was looking forward to would be an understatement. Entering the venue I was met by the ever familiar opening notes of the band’s ‘Go For It’, an instrumental track they’ve been arriving on stage to for many a year. Without a second’s hesitation the quartet of Jake Burns, Ali McMordie, Ian McCallum and Steve Grantley blast straight into early-era favourites ‘Nobody’s Heroes and At the Edge.  …

  • Yo La Tengo @ NCH, Dublin

    October 21, 2015 - By 

    The last time I saw New Jersey’s Yo La Tengo live was in Dublin’s Tripod nearly six year ago. It was a night when all those in attendance bore witness to a barrage of unadulterated noise accompanied by a raw and energetic performance. What occurs tonight from Hoboken’s favourite anti-heroes couldn’t have been further from that night if it tried. The quartet of Ira Kaplan, Dave Schramm, Georgia Hubley and James McNew casually enter the fray a few minutes after their scheduled start time, zigzag their way between various pieces of standing artwork and settle into position. Tonight’s set up…

  • Giveamanakick w/ Naive Ted @ Whelan’s, Dublin

    October 13, 2015 - By 

    When it was announced that Limerick noise-rock duo Giveamanakick were reforming to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their second album We Are The Way Forward, to say I was a tad ecstatic would’ve be an understatement. During their initial lifespan which lasted from 2001 to 2009, Giveamanakick – i.e. GAMAK – were one of the forerunners of the independent Irish underground scene. It was a time when bands such as themselves, The Redneck Manifesto, The Jimmy Cake, Estel and Waiting Room amongst others, helped breed new life into a scene that was succumbing to an overload of lifeless acoustic musical…

  • Blank Realm @ Workman’s Club, Dublin

    October 1, 2015 - By 

    It’s fair to say that Australian four piece Blank Realm may not be a name that rings a bell to most folk on this side of the world right now. The band began its life in the Brisbane suburb of Westlake in 2005 and is made up of siblings Daniel, Sarah and Luke Spencer, with Luke Walsh completing the line-up. In recent years the UK based independent label Fire Records has been distributing the band’s last few albums, including 2014’s well-received Grassed Inn and this year’s storming follow up Illegals in Heaven. Having started off as more of an experimental,…

  • Fuzz w/ Exploding Eyes @ Whelan’s, Dublin

    September 4, 2015 - By 

    With garage and psych rock undergoing a serious resurgence over the last couple of years, most fans would agree that artists such as Thee Oh Sees, The Fresh & Only’s and Ty Segall have spearheaded its modern day rebirth. The latter name on that list – Ty Segall – in particular, would be viewed as being rather prolific due to the multitude of releases that he has put out since his self-titled 2008 debut. Since then he has collaborated on full length albums with White Fence, Mikal Cronin and most recently with tonight’s headliners Fuzz. As a result of it…