• Getting Re-Acquainted: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Round & Round

    September 11, 2013 - By 

    A year is a long time in the world of pop music, and it’s hard to believe that an incredible three years has passed since the release of Ariel Pink’s game-changing album Before Today. Before that, he’d been a lo-fi oddball, a seemingly deliberately obscure artist as likely to be responsible for a piece of unlistenable mucking about as he was for a warped slice of vintage FM pop music. Before Today changed all that, and ‘Round & Round’ was the moment when his peculiar genius asserted itself. Over a bed of hazy Hall & Oates-esque synths, Pink and the rest…

  • Trans-Europe Express #2: Austria

    September 9, 2013 - By 

    Austria is a country steeped in rich musical tradition. A couple of hundred years ago it was arguably the very centre of the music world, producing a veritable conveyor belt of classical composers who, to this day, are household names: Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, Mahler, and not one but five Strauss maestros, amongst a lengthy list of others. It’s a history that Austria is rightly proud of, and classical music still has a special place in the nation’s heart. But it is just that. History. Music has undergone countless reinventions since Johannes Brahms last conducted an orchestra at Vienna’s Musikverein, and…

  • Everything Sucks #005.5: Local Music Rant

    August 30, 2013 - By 

    If you’ve read the original column that was here and were offended in any way by my statements, I apologise. Opinion has been pretty much down split evenly from what little I’ve seen of it, some in agreement, some not so much. I hope to address this now. To those who have differed with it, I say this. To patronise or look down on anyone was not the intention. Far from it, in fact. The tone of the rant was fairly crass, but that was the point. My regular column here is an angry rant. As such, a certain humour…

  • Dan Hegarty: Obsessive Compulsions

    August 19, 2013 - By 

    He sports one of the most splendid moustaches that you’re likely to see, and he’s proven that he can pen a tune or two over the years. Jerry Fish has brought us one of the catchiest tunes of 2013 in ‘Barefoot & Free’. He’s enlisted the services of R.S.A.G on drums, and put together a pretty funky video to go with it! If you’re going to the Electric Picnic, make sure to pay a visit to his ‘The Jerry Fish Electric Sideshow’ stage at Electric Picnic’s Trailer Park.   We all have the potential to become slightly obsessive about things;…

  • Everything Sucks #004: Ten Years of Out On A Limb

    August 2, 2013 - By 

    Out on a Limb Records is ten years old this year. A testament to the staying power and DIY spirit of the Limerick indie, its roster reads like a who’s who of independent music in Ireland since its foundation, with survivors like Rest and Elk sharing room with staples like Jogging, Windings (above) etc. and a heritage with names like Giveamanakick, Waiting Room and other bands important to the development and proliferation of Irish DIY culture. Without OOAL, who knows what the scene would be like south of the border? It doesn’t bear thinking about. It was ten years ago, on a…

  • Dan Hegarty: Time Travel

    August 2, 2013 - By 

    I’m still trying to figure out where the past couple of weeks have gone. The much anticipated Longitude festival has been and gone. Some of the highlights included Mark Lanegan Band, Foals, MØ, Half Moon Run, and excellent performances by our very own Young Wonder, MMOTHS, and The Cast Of Cheers. Bring on Castlepalooza, Indiependence, Oxegen, and Electric Picnic! Proving that geography is no obstacle, Cork/Sydney duo In Valour have been working on new material. They’ve also made a video for new track ‘Slow Crunch’. The visuals are stunning, as is the track.   Speaking of Cork, The Vincent(s) are…

  • Everything Sucks #003: Millenials

    July 25, 2013 - By 

    So the latest bored-old-hack thing du jour is to label children of the ’80s “millennials” and get stuck into them for the same shit bored old hacks did to Generation X, etc. etc. So far, so very every reactionary article, and while a lot of them have valid points (narcissism and selfies, for example), it’s mostly just the same old same: “kids these days and their technology/music/haircuts (delete as applicable), aren’t they silly/weird/unfamiliar to our audience!”. The counter-arguments build up in your head as you read, and you know you’re fighting a losing battle with the decrepits that churn out…

  • Life Through A Lens

    July 23, 2013 - By 

    Isn’t technology mindblowing? I’m typing this collection of words onto a page, in whichever font I choose, displayed on a screen, which is attached to a bunch of plastic and metal with electricity running through it which is wirelessly connected to an international network containing all the information ever, which I can’t even see. Crazy. Thanks to technology, the world of entertainment has been changed forever. Sure, it has its pros and cons but it has certainly made things a lot easier. There is no need to leave your house to do most things. You can buy albums, watch movies,…

  • Getting Re-acquainted: Dinosaur Jr – Freak Scene (1988)

    July 23, 2013 - By 

    Until this point, noise-mongers Dinosaur Jr had never sounded so upbeat. Indeed, this seemed to be the moment that the entire American indie underground came out of its shell and decided to have some fun. But little did anyone know, this upbeat ode to joy was soon to become a fond farewell to the idealism and camaraderie of a scene that had fundamentally altered the lives of many. Goodbye indie charm, hello corporate clout. By 1988, Dinosaur Jr had silenced most of the doubters. The somnambulistic three piece had originally been the butt of many a joke, with their sloppy,…

  • The Chancer’s Guide To… Beck

    July 16, 2013 - By 

    Beck has been quiet for an uncharacteristically long time. During the five years since the Dangermouse produced Modern Guilt he has formed a Record Club in which he and a bunch of musician friends re-record classic albums (Skip Spence – Oar; INXS – Kick to name but two). He also completed Song Reader, a 20 song album only available on sheet music (meaning you need to gather together your own musician friends and play the songs yourselves if you want to hear them). Finally though, new music, written and recorded by Beck, is beginning to filter through. With two albums apparently…