• Video Premiere: Slouch – I Get What’s Mine

    Rising tides, self-help gurus, pricey new age answers to the unanswerable, unfettered capitalism, shitposting, a new video from Slouch; these are the harbingers of end times. Out today – and directed by Hugh Cannon – the video for their odyssey on the alpha male phenomenon, ‘I Get What’s Mine’ is a maelstrom of all of the above and more. It channels the likes of Ween and Brainiac, condensed into the kind of omni-layered satirical slacker noise they’ve near enough mastered. Long one of the most interesting bands operating in the Irish indie rock sphere, Dublin quartet Slouch have been working away behind closed doors on new material,…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – 2nd June

    From every corner of the island, here’s the very best new music of the week from Elaine Malone, David Donohue, Trá Pháidín, Winnie Ama, Ryan Vail and more Elaine Malone – Moontread David Donohoe – Fen Fen by David Donohoe Trá Pháidín – cé mo dhuine si​ú​l sa hi​-​vis cé mo dhuine siúl sa hi-vis by Trá Pháidín Winnie Ama – Get on You Left Iris – Crash Ryan Vail – Silhouette Badhands – Bad Dreams The Wheel by Badhands

  • Inbound: The Personal Vanity Project

    Formed during lockdown by producer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and all-round Limerick indie king Chris Quigley, The Personal Vanity Project is a new proposition sourced from high-spec parts in drummer/vocalist Brendan McInerney (Bleeding Heart Pigeons) and James Reidy (His Father’s Voice) on keyboards/space FX. Quigley gave us the full scoop: “The starting point was me hearing about this rumoured Kevin Shields drum’n’bass record that was never released, which left me thinking, ‘Oh I wonder what that would have sounded like?’. Terrible, really bad. So I made a few bits, but gradually found myself drifting towards something more interesting – which was this…

  • EP Stream: Pôt-Pôt – Ode To A

    Following their first gig as a four-piece in March for the Port-To-Port festival in Lisbon, we’re delighted to give you a first listen to Ode To A, the debut EP from Cork-based experimental project pôt-pôt. Its four swirling, oneiric songs are based entirely around the note of A, with it being the only musical note used across the whole record. Cork’s Mark Waldron-Hyden (drums, synth, vocals) created pôt-pôt initially as a solo project – with the goal of writing only music that could be recreated as a solo act – during lockdown, before moving to Lisbon, where he met and recruited bassist Joe Armitage and guitarist Michael…

  • Robocobra Quartet Announce Irish Dates

    Acclaimed Belfast experimental jazz-punk project Robocobra Quartet have announced a pair of Irish dates sure to be packed for September. This follows a year that’s seen them win the NI Music Prize for their phenomenal third LP, Living Isn’t Easy, and continue touring international clubs and festivals alike; meanwhile frontman/drummer Chris W Ryan has quickly become one of the most in-demand producers in Ireland for his work on the likes of Just Mustard and NewDad. The group set off for Austin for SXSW this weekend, before a further series of festival appearances leading into summer. Their two Irish dates are: Fri 22 Sep – Belfast – Limelight 2…

  • Brilliant Corners 2023: A Festival of Jazz in Belfast

    Belfast’s finest annual jazz event is back this March for its eleventh outing, courtesy of the perennially-reliable Moving On Music. This year’s Brilliant Corners festival features thirteen concerts – and two free events – across nine days from March 2nd-11th set predominately in the Black Box and Accidental Theatre. As ever, the programming will appeal to all manner of audiences, from the pure experimentalism of Belfast’s monthly Handmade Music, to the futuristic, urgent eclecticism of Run Logan Run and Sarathy Korwar, to rising masters of pure jazz like Binker Golding and Fergus McCreadie. The full schedule for Brilliant Corners is as follows – with each concert set to begin within 20 minutes of door times: Thursday 2 March…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – 20th January

    It’s a real red letter day for Irish music, with new music from some Ireland’s finest acts. Check out our pick of them, featuring Lisa O’Neill, Arborist, New Pagans, Frog of Earth, David Kitt, CMAT, Danny Carroll, Ailbhe Reddy, Hands Up Who Wants To Die, No Spill Blood and more. Lisa O’Neill – Silver Seed Arborist – Dreaming In Another Language CMAT – Mayday Robbie Stickland – Time To Say Goodbye To My Old Self Time To Say Goodbye To My Old Self by Robbie Stickland Hands Up Who Wants To Die – L’inconnue New Pagans – There We Are John No Spill Blood –…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – 13th January

    The first new track drop of 2023 already has already provided a few gems, with fresh cuts from exciting new records from M(h)aol, Meltybrains, modernlove and many more. Mhaol – Therapy Meltybrains? – Ease That Mind Curtisy x Cillian – 7PM Five to Two w/ JarJarJr – Song 50,000 modernlove. – Ruin Your Night Somebody’s Child – I Need Ya Abe Soare – Oasis

  • RTÉ Choice Music Prize Shortlist Revealed

    The shortlist for the 18th annual Irish Album of the Year in association with IMRO and IRMA has been revealed, as well as the announcement of three new prizes. The nominees for the main prize are as follows: Anna Mieke – Theatre (Anna Mieke under license to Nettwerk Music Group) Aoife Nessa Frances – Protector (Partisan Records) CMAT – If My Wife New I’d Be Dead (CMATBABY) Dermot Kennedy – Sonder (Island) Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia (Partisan Records) Just Mustard – Heart Under (Partisan Records) Pillow Queens – Leave the Light On (Royal Mountain Records) Sorcha Richardson – Smiling Like An Idiot (Faction Records) The Mary Wallopers – The Mary Wallopers (The Mary Wallopers) Thumper – Delusions of…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Releases of 2022

    As we rapidly approach our 10th birthday in May, it’s safe to say we’ve never been as assured of the game-changing depth and breadth of independent music on these shores. Granted, it could well be a hallucination caused by the sway of the ever-present now, but has it truly ever been better? Spending time with the following albums, EPs & compilations, spanning every sub-genre under the winter sun, we would need some persuading. Your move, 2023. Revisit our Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2022 100. Peng Weng – Six Of The Best Of The Worst Of Peng Weng Six Of…