• Douglas Dare – Aforger

    November 16, 2016 - By 

    Whelm, the 2014 debut album by London-based songwriter Douglas Dare, was a bold opening statement. It was held together by Dare’s powerful voice in spite of its musical idiosyncrasies; a voice that was immediately striking in its delivery and cadences, but which later revealed a fragility that suggested it was the tenor of a man in emotional distress. He has always written from a personal place, but his second album, Aforger, amplifies that to the nth degree. It’s an album in which the music is complex (almost to a self-conscious degree) and whose lyrics speak of deep personal strife; a struggle against…

  • Bell X1 – Arms

    November 2, 2016 - By 

    It’s been 16 years since Bell X1 released their severely overlooked debut Neither Am I and began a steady ascent towards their current status as one of Ireland’s most reliable bands.  They’ve existed in a curious niche since their inception, their sound too broad for the quick-fix pop set with whom they found favour with singles such as ‘Rocky Took A Lover’, ‘The Great Defector’ and ‘Velcro’: crowd-pleasers all, but as the trio have grown as musicians, their modus operandi has become more difficult to pin down. They’re much more of an albums band than most people realise, and since…

  • Poliça @ The Button Factory, Dublin

    October 18, 2016 - By 

    It’s a much different atmosphere that greets Poliça as they take the stage at the Button Factory tonight. For one thing, this venue is considerably roomier than Whelan’s, the location of their last visit in March 2013. For another, they managed to avoid being messed up by the ferry journey. Battling nausea and general shakiness, they made the best of an unwanted situation. Tonight, however, they come out fighting. The band – Channy Leaneagh on vocals, Chris Bierden on bass & dual drummers Ben Ivascu and Drew Christopherson – are a force to be reckoned with on stage, and the increased…

  • C Duncan – The Midnight Sun

    October 12, 2016 - By 

    It’s easy to forget that C Duncan’s debut album was released only 15 months ago; July 2015 feels like a lifetime away. Architect displayed enough promise to suggest that the Glaswegian wouldn’t take too long to piece together a follow-up however. Perhaps he heard the saying that an artist has their whole life to make their first album and 18 months to write their second, and took that as a challenge. In addition to this, the tour itinerary for his debut album was nothing to be sniffed at, and said debut was nominated for the Mercury Prize. With all that…