• Premiere: No Oil Paintings – What Good Does It Do

    August 20, 2021 - By 

    Off the back of a storming set at Stendhal Festival last weekend, acclaimed Belfast Americana/alt-folk act quartet No Oil Paintings have returned strongest single to date. Capturing the Chris Kelly-fronted foursome at their most emphatic and earworming, ‘What Good Does It Do’ was self-recorded at Half Bap Recording Studios, mixed by Ben McAuley and mastered by Dan Coutant at Sun Room Audio Mastering in New York. Speaking about the track, which is taken from the band’s forthcoming debut album, Kelly said: “The song is a personal admission of the futility of one’s own anger and frustration. An enraged and impassioned plea for better temperament, delivered sonically…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – 13th August

    August 13, 2021 - By 

    It’s time to take another look at the latest Irish tracks this week with some phenomenal releases from the likes of Wyvern Lingo & Loah, Brontis, Klubber Lang, Soulé, Sarah Toner, Cruel Sister and more. Wyvern Lingo & Loah – Just a Girl Klubber Lang – Sleep Well Sleep Well by KLUBBER LANG Sarah Toner – You’re Not Thinking of Me Cabin – Evil Directions Cabin · Evil Directions Brontis – Pirates of the Mycelium Pirates of the Mycelium by Brontis Soulé – Queenish Loraine Club – Starting Now Niamh Regan – Happy Again Happy Again by Niamh Regan Cruel…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – July 30th

    July 30, 2021 - By 

    From right across the island, here’s the very best Irish tracks of the week, featuring Meljoann, Malaki, Bicurious, Mano Le Tough, John Francis Flynn, JJ Bloom, Delacy and more. Meljoann – I Quit I Quit (single) by Meljoann Malaki – Head Highs Bicurious – I Can Hear Them Too Mano Le Tough – Together CARSTEN2X – Beaucoup John Francis Flynn – ‘Bring Me Home, pt. ii: I Would Not Live Always JJ Bloom – Cool Kids Oscar Blue – Backyard Mafia Delacy – Rewind

  • Video Premiere: Neil Brogan – New Development

    July 30, 2021 - By 

    As frontman of Sea Pinks, Belfast’s Neil Brogan established – and consistently re-established – himself as one of the island’s most distinctive songwriting voices. On albums such as Dreaming Tracks and Soft Days, he delivered nuanced, sun-bleached indie-pop sound and made it sound effortless. Last year, Brogan ventured out solo with Life Itself, a stellar four-track EP, and Weird Year, a collection of demos with all the markings of an artist at his peak. Taken from his recent album – and one of the Irish albums of the year at that – Magnolia Day, new single ‘New Development’ distils this fact down to exactly…

  • First Acts Announced For Another Love Story 2022

    July 16, 2021 - By 

    Consistently one of Ireland’s most well-curated festivals, Another Love Story has announced the first selection of artists set to play next year’s edition. The 2022 edition is set to return to the rolling meadows and cosy corners of Killyon Manor, Co. Meath, on August 19th-21st, and the first names seem a positive indicator for the kind of tastefully-selected eclecticism typically on display at the festival. Set to play are legendary Manchester selector, event creator & personality Luke Una, emerging Irish composer & singer-songwriter Rachael Lavelle, Berghain regular Barker, Choice Prize nominee Niamh Regan, live electronics from Leipzig’s Map.Ache, and Cork psych outfit The Altered Hours. Tickets are on sale now and available here, priced…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – July 16th

    July 16, 2021 - By 

    Here are the very best Irish tracks of the week, featuring Caoilean Sherlock, Tebi Rex, Cherym, KK Lewis, Pretty Happy, Laytha and more. Caoilean Sherlock – Dream About The Night Dream About The Night by Caoilian Sherlock Cherym – We’re Just Friends Tebi Rex – Deadman II F.R.U.I.T.Y. – U.P.S. U.P.S by F.R.U.I.T.Y. Pretty Happy – Sudocream Tung In Cheek – Psychonaut KK Lewis – Petals Lonesome George – The Lying Devil Laytha – What Will I Gain Odd Morris – The Once Was Enough The Zang – Where Do You Go? The Crayon Set – Rock Star // Dream…

  • Premiere: VerseChorusVerse – Algorithm & Blues

    June 1, 2021 - By 

    Last week, North Coast artist Tony Wright aka VerseChorusVerse returned with his fourth solo album, what if we won. It marked a vital, full-length statement from one of the country’s most distinctive songwriting voices. Lead track ‘Algorithm & Blues’ sets the pace with typical aplomb. Darkly and unraveling, it’s a track whose dense disorientation is wonderfully mirrored in Wright’s accompanying visuals. According to the Belfast-based artist, it was “recorded in January in a locked-down, quarantined Heathrow airport hotel room at about 2 am after binge-watching Atlanta.” Truly, it doesn’t get more DIY than that. Have a first look below.

  • Watch: Colm Warren – Just Me

    May 28, 2021 - By 

    Belfast-based singer-songwriter Colm Warren has unveiled the video for his new single, ‘Just Me’. Directed by musician, videographer and filmmaker Matthew Killen, it’s a striking accompaniment to a song that delicately explores the solace that can be gained in one’s own company. Off the back of singles including ‘Choked’ and ‘Shame’, Warren – who is the former frontman of NI punk band The Twenty – further carves out a niche for himself as an artist wielding carefully considered songwriting with real candour. Have a first look below.

  • Monday Mixtape: Whozyerman?

    April 26, 2021 - By 

    Ahead of the release of his stellar new single ‘All The Time To Kill’ on May 14, Waterford artist and former O Emperor frontman Paul Savage aka Whozyerman? selects, as he puts it, a random selection of tunes that I’ve brain labeled as “class”. Tindersticks – The Organist Entertains I discovered this piece watching ‘Eastbound and down’ – a series I would also highly recommend. I wasn’t too familiar with Tindersticks before this but it was a great introduction to their vast body of work, which I’m still only scratching the surface of. The tune itself is a beautifully brooding yet gentle…

  • Xiu Xiu – OH NO

    April 2, 2021 - By 

    The twelfth album from the always-challenging, always-experimental group Xiu Xiu is a study of severed relations, and the way one copes with that pain. While their previous work teems with lyrical provocation and queer euphoria, OH NO finds them stepping outside of their (dis)comfort zone in favour of an emotional overhaul: it may be their most radical decision of all. The irony of it all is that, while exploring their new soundscape, Jamie Stewart and co. don’t rock up alone, and opt instead to invite a cast of collaborators in for a selection of modest duets.  Stewart notes in the…