• Inbound: The Twenty

    November 6, 2013 - By 

    One of a few up-and-coming Northern Irish bands whose music straddles vehement punk and straight-up garage, underpinned with straight-up, socially conscious lyrical content, Belfast-based four-piece The Twenty embody the rigorously no-frills approach that they’ve bestowed upon their music. In the latest installment of Inbound, we catch up with their frontman Colm Warren to learn where he and the rest the band stand on influence, success and the so-called scene. Hi Colm. Firstly, how did the band first come together? Well, Paul (Leggett, guitarist) and I have been mates since school and have been writing songs together more or less since then…

  • Interview: French For Rabbits

    November 5, 2013 - By 

    Ahead of their debut Belfast show at the Pavilion on Thursday, November 7 – supported by Sons of Caliber, no less – Brian Coney chats to Brooke and John from New Zealand dream-folk duo French For Rabbits about recent touring, sonic influence and their joint love of the sea. Hi guys. So, how did the band first come together? John: Hello! It all came about when we uprooted our lives in Christchurch in between earthquakes and moved to Wellington. The real reason for the move was because Brooke had decided she needed to start singing – in her previous bands she…

  • Alarmist – Pal Magnet EP track-by-track interview

    November 1, 2013 - By 

    On the day of its official release, Dublin instrumental quartet Alarmist talk us through each track on their brand new – not to mention exceptionally good – EP Pal Magnet. Read their words and stream each track individually below! Aztec Dreams In this song we were trying to be quite intense but in an unconventional way, with these old-school guitar tones and blippy melodies rather than heavy rock riffs. A couple of us had gotten really into the 1950s producer Joe Meek and his albumI Hear a New World, which is full of these twangy slapback sounds and primitive early synths, and that…

  • Inbound: A Bad Cavalier

    November 1, 2013 - By 

    In the latest installment of Inbound, Brian Coney talks to And So I Watch You From Afar guitarist and ex-Panama Kings frontman Niall Kennedy about his (essentially) new solo project A Bad Cavalier, the release of his superb debut EP, Ex Libris, and trying to make the time to make the whole solo thing work. Hi Niall. You’ve just released Ex Libris, your first solo release under the moniker A Bad Cavalier. How long has it been in the making? It’s been in the making for quite a while now. I started A Bad Cavalier when I was 16 and I have been…

  • Interview: John Carpenter

    October 25, 2013 - By 

    As movie directors go they don’t get more legendary than the pioneering, inimitable and boundlessly influential John Carpenter. From his 1978 landmark horror debut Halloween to innumerable other cult classics including Escape from New York, Dark Star, Assault On Precinct 13, The Fog, The Thing, Starman, Big Trouble In Little China and They Live, his ever-increasingly legacy as one of the most important directors in the history of cinema is beyond refute. With Samhain lingering just around the corner, Will Murphy grab a few words with the man himself, touching on comics, composition and Kickstarter campaigns. Firstly, I’d like to ask about new…

  • Interview: Gambles

    October 18, 2013 - By 

    It’s interesting to listen to Matthew Siskin (aka Gambles) speak about his debut album, Trust. Borne out of a set of circumstances that are nothing short of tragic, it is a record that is raw and poignant. Roughly three years ago, Siskin got engaged, then lost a child, left his wife, and turned to drink and drugs for two years.  Much of Trust is addressed to his ex-wife of whom Siskin has previously said, “I wanted her to hate me. I did things to make her hate me. Because that would be easier than saying,  ‘I have to leave'”. Trust…

  • Inbound: Little Matador

    October 17, 2013 - By 

    Fronted by Snow Patrol guitarist Nathan Connolly, Little Matador are a band that have already proved themselves to be much more than the sum of their parts. The “parts”, in this instance, before the aforementioned globetrotters, LaFaro, Idlewild and many more projects and musical endeavours besides. Boasting five evidently versatile musicians, the band went down a storm at one of their first shows, opening for none other than Nine Inch Nails at Belsonic in Belfast. We speak to Nathan about the band’s early beginnings, their forthcoming debut album and making time to make it work. Hi Nathan. Firstly, could you tell us how Little Matador came about and who’s…

  • Exclusive stream and Q+A: Ed Zealous – Thanks A Million

    October 2, 2013 - By 

    Ahead of its official release on October 21, we are pleased to do a one-day stream of the expectedly exuberant ‘Thanks A Million’, the forthcoming new single by Belfast electro-pop quartet Ed Zealous. Taken from their giddily anticipated debut album – set to finally drop at the start of next year – the track is an effective distillation of the band’s well-honed electronic rock shtick. Stream ‘Thanks A Million’, check out its excellent artwork and read our  quick catch-up with the band’s guitarist and sampler Andrew Wilson below. Hi guys. The (brilliant) ‘Thanks A Million’ is taken from your forthcoming…

  • Inbound: The Last Generation

    September 30, 2013 - By 

    Having released their terrific second EP Torann earlier this month, Mid-Ulster hard-rock four-piece The Last Generation have all but announced their arrival as one of the country’s most exciting and interesting riff-fuelled acts. Ahead of the Belfast launch of their latest release, we speak to the band’s lead guitarist Stephen O’Hagan about the band’s steady and well-deserved ascent. Hi Stephen. First off, could you tell us how you got together and about the early period of the band? We started the band around two years ago while still attending secondary school in Maghera. We where still very much cutting our teeth as musicians –…

  • Everything They’ve Learnt: More Than Conquerors

    September 23, 2013 - By 

    As eagerly anticipated local album releases go, the debut full-length effort by Belfast-based alt-rock four-piece More Than Conquerors ranks right up there. Two years in the making and countless breathtaking gigs since their formation four years ago, the release of Everything I’ve Learnt will surely mark a new chapter in the band’s climb to the top. Ahead of the album’s launch at Belfast’s Limelight 2 tonight, Monday, September 23, we talk to Kris Platt and Danny Ball from the band about where More Than Conquerors have come, where they are and where they want to go. Two years in the making,…