• Irish Tour: Brian Wilson

    July 27, 2017 - By 

    The downright legendary Brian Wilson and his band live in Galway and Dublin. Words by Steven Rainey and Aoife O’Donoghue, photos by Aaron Corr and Sean McCormack. Festival Big Top, Galway There’s a moment in the 2014 Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy where Brian – played by the wonderful Paul Dano – starts playing ‘God Only Knows’ for the first time on the piano. It’s probably one of my favourite scenes. It’s a quiet and poignant moment of the film, and I remember getting chills, awestruck at how such a simple melody was having such a hold on me.…

  • Guys, There’s a Hybrid Theory Singalong Fundraiser For Pieta House Happening in Dublin

    July 23, 2017 - By 

    In troubling times, it’s to great, and kind minds such as Glenn Fitzpatrick to whom we should turn. Following the tragic passing of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington on Thursday, Fitzpatrick (with help from Dublin musician and former Overhead The Albratross member Joe Panama) will host a Hybrid Theory singalong to raise money for suicide and self-harm charity Pieta House at Dublin’s Fibber Magees on Thursday, August 3. Over at the fundraiser’s Facebook event page, the organisers said: “Linkin Park are a band that meant so much to so many of us during our formative years. Hybrid Theory in particular had…

  • This Is The Kit – Moonshine Freeze

    July 14, 2017 - By 

    With a back catalogue spanning close to a decade, alternative folk rock project This is The Kit have indelibly made their unhurried mark in the niche of alternative folk rock and beyond, getting nods across the board from the likes of Guy Garvey as part his Music Box series, an episode of which he dedicated to the band.  Headed by Kate Stables, the project is a collaborative one through and through with there being contributions from various artists throughout the years including Rozi Plain and Jesse D Vernon. This collaborative vein continues in new album Moonshine Freeze with contributions again from…

  • Irish Tour: Future Islands and Sacred Paws

    July 10, 2017 - By 

    Future Islands with support from Sacred Paws live in Dublin, Galway and Cork. Words by Kelly Doherty and Paula Murphy, photos by Sean McCormack and Alan Maguire. Cork Opera House It’s been a long time since Future Islands first played to an Irish crowd of 14 people and it wouldn’t be a far jump to say that in the intervening years they’ve become somewhat indie darlings on this island and the sold out Cork crowd is more than happy to spend Independence Day with their favourite American exports. Before they take the stage, we’re treated to a blinder of a…

  • Irish Tour: Mitski

    June 12, 2017 - By 

    The mighty Mitski live at Belfast’s Empire Music Hall and Dublin’s Whelan’s. Words by Aoife O’Donoghue, photos by Sara Marsden and Pedro Giaquinto. Empire Music Hall, Belfast Photos by Sara Marsden Whelan’s, Dublin Photos by Pedro Giaquinto Fresh from her show in the Workman’s club last September, Mitski made a welcome return to Ireland this week, playing not one, but three locations; Cyprus Avenue in Cork, The Empire in Belfast, and finishing up in Whelans in Dublin. The New York-based artist has quickly grown to prominence and praise after four albums, her latest being Puberty 2, released last June, and…

  • Watch: The Hot Sprockets – Right Spots

    June 7, 2017 - By 

    Dublin’s blues rock dedicants The Hot Sprockets have shared a tripped-out new video for their recent single ‘Right Spots’. Taken from their forthcoming album Dream Mover which is set to land later this year, ‘Right Spots’ is an infectious and driving outing to watch a bar fight to. If there are no bar fights around, the visual accompaniment for the track curtesy of Little Beast founder Luke Sweetman, three animators and a 30-strong crew is a much more vibrant affair. A feast of hand-drawn psychedelia, neon lights and uncanny-valley choreography, it’s a lot to take in, but an awful lot of fun to…

  • Premiere: Rabble Babble – Joe’s Bust

    May 29, 2017 - By 

    Dublin young bloods Rabble Babble have shared the first of a trio of singles documenting the misadventures of protagonists Joe and Gal and their associates on a night out in Dublin. ‘Joe’s Bust’ is a straight spoken narrative written by bandleader Pa Ski and delivered by Molly Callan Cassidy detailing your standard undercover cop drug grab in a nightclub with enough fists flying and twists to keep us gripped, like we’re hearing the story through giddy ears on the next day’s rollover, mulled over a slow Guinness. Sonically it’s an affair that has as many funk and neo-jazz nods as it does post-punk and…

  • Stream: Fontaines – Liberty Bell

    May 23, 2017 - By 

    Dublin’s Fontaines have shared their debut single ‘Liberty Belle’ with the world, set for release this Friday 26 May. The track is as “Dublin” as it gets, with a snarky, heavily accented sensibility and a backdrop that will make fans of Is This It-era The Strokes very happy indeed. With equal measures of English 80s alt-rock lariness and post-punk playfulness, this is one of the most infectious Irish debuts we’ve heard this year, with a lo-fi nostalgic video to boot. The group have a host of live experience under their belt already, having impressed crowds at last year’s Hard Working Class Heroes and The Other…

  • Irish Tour: Angel Olsen

    May 23, 2017 - By 

    The one and only Angel Olsen and her band, live at Dublin’s Vicar Street and Belfast’s Empire Music Hall. Words by Joey Edwards and Ross Thompson, photos by Aaron Corr and Colm Laverty. Vicar Street, Dublin With Vicar Street nearing capacity, Angel Olsen’s return to Dublin tonight shows just what a difference three years can make to a fan base. Doubling up as her first show on Irish shores since releasing her new LP My Woman, the stage is modestly dressed with falling silver streamers that lace the back wall. Olsen and her backing band – who casually pick up…

  • Premiere: Via: Barvikha – Willie Woods

    May 17, 2017 - By 

    Today, we’re delighted to be able to premiere ‘Willie Woods’, the second single from Via: Barvikha‘s new EP, Chengdu.  The song sees songwriter Chris Leckey make some concessions about himself directly to an unknown listener (‘I moved away, or so I thought’), which take on a deeper profundity within the frame of the EP, written around a period of significant life change, namely songwriter Chris Leckey’s uprooting to a new home 5329 miles away – the titular Chengdu – and then coming back five months later. Channelling a brooding intensity never articulated as dynamically with his past hardcore outfit PigsAsPeople, Leckey has found a waypoint via common denominator Brand New to the…