• Beyoncé @ Croke Park, Dublin

    July 11, 2016 - By 

    It’s hard to grasp the cultural phenomenon that is Beyoncé in 2016. Although always an icon at the forefront of the pop industry, Beyonce, despite her many years in the public consciousness, has only truly established herself as one of the primary voices of this generation with her most recent album, Lemonade. Her stunning journey into visual and musical avenues which explores both the personal and the political has seen Beyonce becoming more than just a pop singer – now she is a voice for women worldwide, for the Black Lives Matter campaign and for the oppressed everywhere. It’s been…

  • It Hasn’t Got Better: The Pulse Nightclub Shootings

    June 13, 2016 - By 

    I’ll never forget my first time in a gay club. I was eighteen years old and in my first year of college. I’d been clubbing before but had never felt comfortable. The hyper-heteronormativity made me nervous – I could never picture myself dancing as carelessly as the other college kids, all flirting and grinding and at ease with themselves. I could never identify with the people around me and most nights consisted of me standing in a corner, feeling intimidated, looking out of place and humouring the drunken flirting of men who could barely even see me rather than actively…

  • Andrew Bird w/ Beating Heart Pigeons @ Vicar Street, Dublin

    May 2, 2016 - By 

    It’s been far too long since Andrew Bird last graced our shores with his violin-led quirky take on indie folk but after a triumphant night in Vicar Street, it feels like he never left at all. Before Bird takes to the stage, procedures are kicked off by Limerick natives, Bleeding Heart Pigeons. The four-piece aren’t an obvious match for the whimsical sounds of the headliner and their raw indie rock is mostly lost on the small crowd who’ve wandered in early. Despite sound issues, they reel out a good enough set filled with cuts from their recent debut album, Is.…

  • Lisa Hannigan & Aaron Dessner @ Cork Opera House

    September 22, 2015 - By 

    It’s a Friday night like no other of the year in Cork City when Lisa Hannigan and Aaron Dessner take to the stage in Cork Opera House. Where the streets would normally be filled entirely with workers seeking their weekly escape from the monotony of paid employment in the corners of Cork’s pubs and clubs, this particular Friday is a night to remember rather than to numb. With the collision of the annual Irish initiative, Culture Night, and the Bryce Dessner curated showcase/festival, Sounds From A Safe Harbour, the combination of Irish folkster Lisa Hannigan and The National’s Aaron Dessner…

  • St. Vincent @ The Opera House, Cork

    July 15, 2015 - By 

    It’s a quiet, damp Monday evening in Cork City when St Vincent aka Annie Clark and her merry crew roll into town with their highly stylised, bombastic stage show, however the Texan act very quickly brighten up the hearts and imaginations of their crowd. First off, Cork natives Young Wonder warm up the audience with their indie-electronica hybrid. Despite the band’s best efforts to engage their audience – the phrase ‘make some noise!’ is thrown about far too often for such a short set – the crowd is very much there for St Vincent and St Vincent alone. Closing with…

  • All Genres Weird & Wonderful: Nintendocore

    June 3, 2015 - By 

    Following on from the rather curious world of Vaporwave, Kelly Doherty continues to scour the world’s sub-genres so that you can sound informed at hipster dinner parties with minimal effort. This month: Nintendocore Name: Nintendocore Origins: The 8-bit Nintendo games of the 80s – think Super Mario, Zelda – combined with the angsty post-hardcore/metalcore that lights up the hearts of angry 15 year olds all over the world How to use it in a sentence: “All my son does anymore is sit in his room listening to Nintendocore. Between that and his obsession with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as…

  • To Equality… And Beyond

    May 27, 2015 - By 

    May 22, 2015 saw a historical change in the Irish mindset. Our nation voted, resoundingly, in favour of Marriage Equality and, for the first time in our history, the LGB community of Ireland was seen as no different from their heterosexual brothers and sisters. Ireland voted against bigotry and hatred and in favour of a world where we no longer allow deeply personal religious beliefs to infringe upon the freedoms of those untied to institutional religion. We broke free from the traditional shackles which have restrained progression and said a massive “fuck you” to those who want to hold us…

  • All Genres Weird & Wonderful: Vaporwave

    April 22, 2015 - By 

    In the first installment of a new feature, All Genres Weird & Wonderful, Kelly Doherty scours the world’s sub-genres so that you can sound informed at hipster dinner parties with minimal effort. Name: Vaporwave Origins: Unsurprisingly, the internet. Stemming a little bit from the Seapunk movement but very much with its own identity. How to use it in a sentence: “My kid brother asked mom to get the old Windows 95 computer out of the garage because it’s on point with his aesthetic. I think he’s turning vaporwave…” Sounds like: Oneohtrix Point Never, Washed Out, Animal Collective Vaporwave is many…

  • Deep Elm Records & How The Mainstream Ate Our Collective Souls Before Selling Them In A Bargain Bin In A Two For One Deal

    July 17, 2014 - By 

    It’s hard to be an independent record label in 2014. Between the slow, fluctuating, apparent demise of the CD, the hyper-commercialisation of alternative cultures and the fact that the average modern music consumer has the attention span of a five year old after a can of Monster, it’s a struggle for even the most robust, stubborn indie label to stay indie and stay functional. Today, the decision of a young person deciding to focus their career on working with and financing small bands is seen as admirable – it’s a sweet idea, but they’ll eventually give up and get a…

  • Tiger Jaws – Charmer

    June 9, 2014 - By 

    It would have been all too easy to write off Tigers Jaw as a forgone conclusion. In March of last year, the Scranton, PA band announced they were going on a hiatus – with three-fifths of the five piece unable to continue to be part of the band. A summer of confusion and assumptions that Tigers Jaw were done forever followed until Run For Cover Records eventually made clear to the world that when Tigers Jaw said “hiatus”, they didn’t actually mean ‘hiatus’ and that we were still going to enjoy the band’s scrappy brand of emo-punk, just now it…