• Album Review: John Maus – Screen Memories

    October 31, 2017 - By 

    John Maus strikes you as the kind of man who would be making music regardless of whether anyone was listening or not. And for a long time they weren’t. His first two albums, Songs and Love Is Real, went by largely unnoticed. It was only on the 2011 release of We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves that critics started to really pay attention, despite a considerable and devout cult following having formed through the years. Most people would have been eager to capitalise after this new-found attention; to milk that cow for all it’s worth. But Maus is not most…

  • Picture This: High Winds Move Slowly @ The Model

    October 28, 2017 - By 

    One of the more interesting quirks of our society, as it moves through the ages, is the re-emergence of patterns that we often mistake as being innovative simply because they did not initially emerge during our lifetime. Fashion notoriously produces examples of this each and every season. The cultural polymath is another example of a re-emerging pattern disguised as a new facet. He or she is a photographer/artist/filmmaker – and it is not unusual to view a business card inundated with slashes to highlight this. While this may seem as a new trend, a short glance back in history reveals…

  • Watch: Thunder On The Left – National Insecurity

    October 27, 2017 - By 

    Photo by Brian Ritchie  To mark its official release, London-based grunge trio Thunder On The Left have released their new single ‘National Insecurity’. Their first new music since 2015’s  The Art of Letting Go EP, ‘National Insecurity’ is a bleak gaze into the future the band predicts for us as we become ever more hyper-dependent on technology. The single is an ambitious, riff-laden belter that seems determined to shake some sense into us. Or at least freak the hell out of us until we put our phones down for 10 minutes. Recorded and mixed along with the rest of their forthcoming debut album by the…

  • Video Premiere: Half Forward Line – Column A, Column B

    October 26, 2017 - By 

    Galway super-group of sorts Half Forward Line are set to release their debut album The Back of Mass tomorrow. Before we premiere it on this here website though, the band have been kind enough to share a video for ‘Column A, Column B’. The trio, comprised of So Cow‘s Brian Kelly on guitar and vocals, Oh Boland‘s Niall Murphy and bass, and regular TTA photographer Cíarán Ó Maoláin behind the drums, have been doing some wonderful damage on the live circuit these past few months and also unveiled one of the sweetest love songs to come out of the West in quite some time in the form…

  • Watch: Fontaines – Hurricane Laughter

    September 26, 2017 - By 

    Dublin post-punk outfit Fontaines have returned with the announcement of ‘Hurricane Laughter/Winter In The Sun’. Following ‘Liberty Belle’ from May this year, the new 7″ will be released on October 6th. ‘Hurricane Laughter’ (below) is as propulsive as its title might suggest, with a relentless motorik groove and circular guitar lick that begs for repeated listens. It’s carried by a droll, spoken-word vocal that has more than a hint of Mark E. Smith at its core, albeit Mark E. Smith via North Dublin. It also comes paired with a fitting video directed by Javier Martínez de Velasco. On the other side then is…

  • Win Tickets To Acid Mothers Temple @ Black Box, Belfast

    September 18, 2017 - By 

    We’ve a pair of tickets to give away to Japanese psych-rock masters Acid Mothers Temple at Belfast’s Black Box on October 26. To be in with a chance of snapping them up, simply Like our Facebook page here and send your answer to the following question to info@thethinair.net: Acid Mothers Temple is led by which guitarist? Also, can we just say: that is the greatest promo photo of all time.

  • Video Premiere: Elder Druid – Witchdoctor

    September 15, 2017 - By 

    Belfast-based sludge doom five-piece Elder Druid are self-proclaimed “Occult-laced riff dealers” on a mission. Having impressed with their debut EP, Magicka, in September last year, the band – who count the holy, hazed-out tetrad Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard, Kyuss and Sleep as key influences – will release their pummelling full-length release, Carmina Satanae, early next month. Produced by Niall Doran at Belfast’s Start Together Studio, the record is a fist-clenched, eight-track statement of intent from the fast-rising, Gregg McDowell-fronted band. A highlight from the release, lead single ‘Witchdoctor’ evolves from straight-up riff worship to the slowly bludgeoning self-exorcism of its Electric…

  • Album Stream: Kieran O’Brien – Turn

    September 18, 2017 - By 

    Galway’s Kieran O’Brien has been honing his style for some time now. From the atmospheric folk that defined last year’s After The Storm to the dream-pop leanings of June’s ‘Only A Dream’, the songwriter’s work to date has been explorative, sincere and endlessly refreshing. Returning now with his second EP, Turn, the ventures into a full-band sound are becoming more sure-footed and assertive, taking as many cues from the likes of The War On Drugs and Real Estate as from stalwarts of the Americana folk tradition. Speaking of the new EP’s thematic foundation, O’Brien said: “After The Storm reminisced heavily on the ocean and past events. These songs look ahead, towards…

  • Monday Mixtape: Joshua Burnside

    September 4, 2017 - By 

    Having come good on years of promise with his long-awaited debut album, Ephrata, back in May, Comber experimental folk musician Joshua Burnside reveals a selection of his all-time favourite tracks, including Luke Kelly, The Microphones, Sam Amidon, The Books. The Microphones – I Want The Wind To Blow I love the production on this track – the way the guitars are panned, the heavy compression, the distant drums, and how Phil Elverum holds some words for so long that they become sort of suspended in time. The Books – Free Translator This is a great track by The Books and it’s interesting…

  • Premiere: Petty Youth – You Make Me Feel Good

    August 31, 2017 - By 

    A regular fixture in the city’s live scene over the last couple of years, Belfast three-piece Petty Youth are a band whose straight-up, no-frills brand of rock n’ roll aims straight for the jugular. A two-minute burst of breakneck garage rock, new single ‘You Make Me Feel Good’ – a single whose Bandcamp tags include “Buckfast” and “The Hives” – is a textbook case in point. Framed by their influence of various unaffected rockers of yore, this is music that, rather making excuses for itself, invites you to cut loose and leave the thinking to later. Have a first listen…