• Field Trip – Evening’s Over EP

    March 10, 2017 - By 

    There’s something so interminably pleasant about Evening’s Over, the latest EP from pop rockers Field Trip. An undeniable ennui and melancholy run throughout. Yet they’re wrapped up in an infectious brand of pop goodness that’s hard not to get lost in. Yet these aren’t throwaway nuggets. The band understands how to introduce scope and scale into what could otherwise be inconsequential mush.   Take the opener ‘Wait’, for example. It starts off as a twitchy, yet straightforward indie pop track with a great big meaty fuzzed out chorus. But by the midpoint of the song, we transitioned to shredding solos…

  • Guiding The Way: An Interview with Russian Circles

    March 9, 2017 - By 

    Ahead of shows at Dublin’s Whelan’s on Wednesday, March 22 and Belfast’s Empire Music Hall the following night, Will Murphy speaks to Brian Cook, bassist with Chicago instrumental masters Russian Circles about touring, politics, their latest album, the ideal audience, the craft of songwriting and more. Hi, Brian. How’s the road been treating you? The next few months look pretty exciting in terms of venues and nations, is there anywhere that you’re all particularly looking forward to? What will you be listening to stave off the monotony of touring? Touring has been good. We took care of our headlining U.S. dates…

  • Sleaford Mods – English Tapas

    March 6, 2017 - By 

    Sleaford Mods are some of the last punks standing. Their songs are slim, no muss, no fuss affairs. Like ESG before them, the pair rely on a basic setup of bass and drums to carry hip hop infused vitriol to the listener. They are lyrically snotty and upfront with tales of frustration and degradation at the hands of a society which has bred and demeaned them. What their words offer is an insight into the world of the marginalised; people feeling the impact of austerity politics, Brexit and the complacency of the South to the suffering of the North. Yet it…

  • 17 For ’17: Rue

    February 9, 2017 - By 

    With groups like the Gloaming making some not insignificant waves, Irish trad music seems to be gaining more and more ground, in a crossover context. It’s within a framework that a band like Rue can finally get the respect and due recognition they deserve because lord knows the Dublin-based group has earned it. Made up of Lynched alumni Cormac MacDiarmada, Brian Flanagan, and Radie Peat, the trio specializes in carefully crafting their own reinterpretations of classic standards from both sides of the pond. While they may not have much in way of material at present, what they do have is…

  • Sleater-Kinney – Live In Paris

    February 3, 2017 - By 

    Anyone who claims that Sleater-Kinney do not belong in the pantheon of great bands should be forced to listen to Dig Me Out, One Beat and The Woods until they can see how wrong they are. With their furiously impassioned lyrics, clever off kilter musicianship and jaw dropping live shows, they’re a trio who belong in every music lover’s heart, not just the punks or riot grrls. Despite their tenure, the group had not released anything which demonstrated how powerful and forceful they are on stage until Live In Paris. Recorded on the tour for their comeback album, No Cities…

  • EP Stream: The 202s – Up In Thin Air

    February 2, 2017 - By 

    The 202s are a warm jumper of a band. Their sound is instantly familiar no matter which angle you approach it from, yet still comfortable and always enjoyable. Their specific brand of pop draws from a Bassetts assorted mix of music lover treats. Be it the Zero 7 ambience, the post-punk baritone vocals, those rock solid krautrock beats, the Yo La Tengo gentility or the glorious Kinks inflected melodies, all of the different sources trickle into the soundscape and provide a surprisingly large amount of enjoyment for even a casual pop culture obsessive. They’re the kind of group whose every…

  • Cherry Glazerr – Apocalipstick

    January 27, 2017 - By 

    There is an old adage about judging books and the relative merits of their covers. While time and usage have rendered it a hackneyed cliche, there is a truth in it and an album like Cherry Glazerr Apocalipstick is living proof of that. The title and cover art make it appear as though we’re getting some sharp, nihilistic jubilance wrapped up in a playful exterior; a multicolored middle finger in the air to the end of the world and those who caused it. Now there are flickers of that promised sensibility, it’s lost in the haze of the bland and…

  • 17 for ’17: Beach

    January 23, 2017 - By 

    The spirit of psychedelia is alive and well and living in the heart of Dublin, or at least that is what Dublin based five-piece Beach would have you believe. The quintet has spent the last few years finely honing their brand of everything but the kitchen sink psych into a well-oiled machine. Even a cursory glance at the band reveals a vast depth and scope at their very core. These are not minor or modest compositions. They’re huge ambitious beasts meandering through an unpredictable, almost endless series of twists and turns. As you listen closely you can pick out these…

  • Chavez – Cockfighters

    January 19, 2017 - By 

    It’s been twenty years since New York’s Chavez have graced our ears with their angular, discordant interpretation of punk. Having never officially split, the promise of new material was alway on the cards, but the members’ other commitments with likes Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Zwan, Run The Jewels and Mike Judge made it substantially less tangible. But like their twisted, asymmetrical music would suggest, Chavez will always find a way to catch you off guard. That’s what their latest EP, Cockfighters, is, a trifle of a release designed to destroy any preemptive obituaries and to announce that they are alive and well…

  • Joan of Arc – He’s Got The Whole This Land Is Your Land In His Hands

    January 16, 2017 - By 

    On their latest LP, He’s Got The Whole This Land Is Your Land In His Hands, Joan of Arc have rather kindly telegraphed the initial reactions of those unfamiliar with the group in the opening lyrics: “What the fuuuuuuuuuuck?”. That line is immediately followed by sampled, compressed drums smashing in completely out of left field while random electronic bleeps float around the mix and vocals offer up curious anatomy lessons. This is just the first thirty seconds. Let’s rollback a tad and give some extra context. When emo legends Cap’n Jazz split, brothers Tim and Mike Kinsella formed Joan of…