• Bathing in Folk: An Interview with Jeremy Barnes of A Hawk and A Hacksaw

    August 9, 2018 - By 

    Ahead of their gig in the Workman’s club next week, Jack Rudden chats to Jeremy Barnes of A Hawk and Hacksaw about Eastern European music, Don Quixote and the possibility of Jeff Mangum being a time traveller. Photo by Christian Pallin. Many people know you as a drummer, but you are also an accomplished accordionist. Which instrument did you pick up first and which would you consider your primary instrument? The drum kit was my first instrument. My goal as a youth was to make as much noise as possible on it. I as not interested in nuance. I wanted to…

  • Ministry w/ Chelsea Wolfe @ Tivoli Theatre, Dublin

    July 26, 2018 - By 

    In case you had any doubt in your mind, witches are indeed real and they can cast powerful spells as Chelsea Wolfe proved on Tuesday evening. As the 34-year-old Californian takes to the Tivoli’s stage, she seems awkward, or even a little clumsy at first. As she walks to the front of the stage, with the lights still up, she gives a small wave and smile to the audience. She seems more shy than one might have imagined. Then, the lights go down and that shyness is devoured by the waves of noise that follow. As the pulsing terror that…

  • At The Drive-In w/ Brand New Friend @ Vicar Street, Dublin

    July 11, 2018 - By 

    When Brand New Friend take to the stage of Vicar Street, the four fresh-faced Northerners unleash a wall of noise on the reasonably-sized audience that has congregated to cheer them on. The Castlerock four-piece have been causing a stir in the Irish music scene over the past year, playing a hugely successful set at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend and releasing their debut album, Seatbelts For Aeroplanes. Onstage, they have a definite sense of self-assurance, and it’s well deserved. Kicking off with their song ‘Cold’, the groups influences are immediately evident. Think Weezer featuring Hayley Williams and some questionable (but forgivable) synth lines. They’re…

  • Interview: Chelsea Wolfe

    July 9, 2018 - By 

    Currently on tour in Europe, the bewitching force that is Chelsea Wolfe will play Belfast’s Limelight on July 23 and Dublin’s Tivoli Theatre on July 24. Ahead of those shows, the Californian goth-rock artist talks to Jack Rudden about new music, her country music background, the ideal breakfast and more. On your latest release, Aaron Turner of Post Metal icons ISIS featured on the track ‘Vex’. What was it like collaborating with Aaron  and have you any plans to collaborate with other artists in the near future? CW: I also collaborated with Troy Van Leeuwen of QOTSA, and my longtime bandmate…

  • This Ain’t No Picnic: An Interview With Alpha Male Tea Party

    April 26, 2018 - By 

    Alpha Male Tea Party are a three piece math rock band from Liverpool that have made a name for themselves with hard hitting off kilter riffs and an idiosyncratic sense of wit. The lads are about to set out on an Irish Tour in order to promote their latest album, Health, with shows in Belfast, Dublin, Galway, Cork and Limerick. Jack Rudden had the pleasure of chatting to the group’s guitarist, Tom Peters, about their latest release, the math rock scene and Abraham Lincoln before they hit the road. Your five date tour kicks off on the second of May. What has…