• 16 For 16: Apartments

    January 12, 2016 - By 

    In the latest installment of 16 For ’16 – a feature in which we preview sixteen of our favourite Irish acts that we’re certain will do great things in 2016 – Stevie Lennox introduces Belfast duo Apartments. Photo by Liam Kielt Fast-becoming the strongest single noun pluralisation-monikered emotional hardcore band on the island, Apartments released their 6-track official debut EP, Rush, in October, following a promising 2014 demo. Their sound is rooted in the kind of math-rock-tinged American Midwestern sound that’s been gestating in Ireland for the last couple of years, channelling, loosely, American Football, Cap’n Jazz and a ferocious sense of…

  • Playlist: David Bowie (1947-2016)

    January 11, 2016 - By 

    David Bowie died on Monday, 11 January 2016, two days after his sixty-ninth birthday, after an eighteen month battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife of 23 years, Iman, and two children, Duncan Jones and Alexandria Zahra Jones. He leaves behind what is undoubtedly one of most prolific, exciting and genuinely inspiring legacies in musical history. How do you write about David Bowie? In the end what is to be said that hasn’t already been said in the past five and half decades. Do you talk about his string of albums between 1970 and 1981 that is, and…

  • 16 For 16: Owensie

    January 7, 2016 - By 

    In the very first installment of 16 For ’16 – a feature in which we preview sixteen of our favourite Irish acts that we’re absolutely convinced will do spectacular things in 2016 – Brian Coney lauds Dublin lo-fi folk singer-songwriter Michael Owens AKA Owensie. Photo by Tara Thomas With his sublime third album, Dramamine, having very deservedly ranked at number two in our Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015, Dublin songsmith Michael Owens AKA Owensie taps into a introspective realm betraying the hallmarks of a master in the making. Released via Out on a Limb records in November, his latest release is – as we said in…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015 (30-1)

    December 31, 2015 - By 

    In the third and final installment of the feature, we count down from 30 to 21 in our annual Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015. Miss the first two installments? Check them out here and here. 30. Morning Veils – Her Kind Released at the tail-end of 2015, Her Kind by Cork outfit Morning Veils was a deserved late addition to the top-end of our countdown. We said: “Her Kind is a release that channels bedroom solipsism, backwashed thoughts and psychic corners in perfectly phantasmal fashion. Comprised of members including Elaine Howley of The Altered Hours and Roslyn Steer, the band’s brilliantly burrowing brand…

  • End of Year: Best Films of 2015

    December 25, 2015 - By 

    Reflecting on the last twelve months, it is really inspiring to see the calibre of films which were released in 2015. There were duds and failures, of course, but there was much good that even this expanded list of the 25 best pictures has a few glaring omissions. Any year where the visual delights of A Girl Walks Home Alone At Midnight, the frank honesty of Diary of a Teenage Girl or humanizing power of Montage of Heck and Amy are not the best in show then it is a damn fine year. We’ve seen some of the best science fiction over…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015 (30-1)

    December 31, 2015 - By 

    In the third and final installment of the feature, we count down from 30 to 21 in our annual Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015. Miss the first two installments? Check them out here and here. 30. Morning Veils – Her Kind Released at the tail-end of 2015, Her Kind by Cork outfit Morning Veils was a deserved late addition to the top-end of our countdown. We said: “Her Kind a release that channels bedroom solipsism, backwashed thoughts and psychic corners in perfectly phantasmal fashion. Comprised of members including Elaine Howley of The Altered Hours and Roslyn Steer, the band’s brilliantly burrowing bonerand of…

  • Rave New World (18/12)

    December 18, 2015 - By 

    As the year draws to a close, Antoin Lindsay and Aidan Hanratty return for their latest look at the very best electronic gigs, tracks and mixes of the week. GIGS The Emigrant Disco with Space Dimension Controller at Bar Tengu, Dublin Saturday 19 December Shock World Service and The Locals come together to welcome everyone home for Christmas. Space Dimension Controller is the big name, but everyone on the bill is a solid party-rocker. AH Twitch Present: Steffi & Virginia at Mandela Hall, Belfast Saturday 19 December Now familiar faces at Twitch, Steffi and Virginia are both big fans of…

  • Best Film Scores of 2015

    December 17, 2015 - By 

    In the first of a series looking at 2015 in film, David Turpin reveals his thoughts on his favourite film scores of the year that was. The Duke of Burgundy – Cat’s Eyes Peter Strickland’s The Duke of Burgundy was my film of the year – a peerlessly kinky erotic fantasy that was also a wise and humane commentary on the limitations of fetishism.  The score, by Cat’s Eyes (a collaboration between soprano Rachel Zeffira and The Horrors’ Faris Badwan), performed a similar trick – repurposing the gauzy sounds of 70s Eurotrash erotica for more than mere pastiche.  The haunting blankness…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015 (40-31)

    December 17, 2015 - By 

    Following on from Monday’s first installment, we continue our countdown of our Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015, featuring glorious returns, new-fangled heroes. Go here to check out 50-41. 40. Lakker – Tundra “You should listen to it loudly, and try to get swept away by it.” So aptly concluded Pitchfork’s review of Tundra, the second album – and debut R&S full-length release – from Berlin-based Dublin electronic duo Lakker in a decade. Released back in May, it proved an immersive ten-track release inspired by No U-Turn Records, Arvo Part, Merzbow and early Human League. Now that’s a dinner party we’d pay good money to…

  • Star Wars: As If Millions of Voices Suddenly Cried Out In Terror…

    December 15, 2015 - By 

    I don’t know if you were aware, but Star Wars is coming back. Yes, lightsabers will soon be in vogue, talking back to front will be cool again, it will, and random acts of violence against guys in white armour will be totally ok. The original films form a crucial building block of my childhood, and like many people of a certain age, Star Wars is so omnipresent that it’s become very difficult to imagine a world without it. For a whole generation of kids (and adults) this will be their first opportunity to experience something new, a long time…