• Track Record: Feather Beds

    June 22, 2023 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record, Michael Orange aka Feather Beds selects some of his favourite records, from Field Music to Omni. Photos by Ellen Pentony Field Music – Field Music I’ve gone for the first self-titled album. I can remember first hearing the song Working To Work, which is on their Tones Of Town album and I couldn’t believe it. I loved everything about it and then got really into the first album. I remember going to see them in Whelans in Dublin around 2007 and it’s still one of my favourite gigs of all time. This album is just…

  • Heavenly Pop Hits: Q&A with Martin Phillipps from The Chills

    June 21, 2023 - By 

    The Chills haven’t been here for a bit, their last show being at The Button Factory in 2014. That was the year before Silver Bullets, their first album in nearly 20 years, came out and served as a perfect reminder, or introduction, to Martin Phillipps’ perfectly executed pop writing. That such an album would come out after years of quiet and be great isn’t common. That such an album would only be the start of a string of excellent albums, all in the 4th decade of The Chills’ existence, is cause to marvel. And so you can marvel to your…

  • Track Record: Finnian

    June 15, 2023 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record, Dundalk singer-songwriter Finnian selects the records that have left a huge impression on his life from Creedence Clearwater Revival to Lauryn Hill. Photos by David McEneaney Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory I was pretty disappointed in John Fogarty’s recent concert in the 3Arena actually. It just didn’t hit the spot for a few different reasons. The opening cringy onstage video intro didn’t do it for me and the sound in the standing area was really bad. Gig critique aside, I can still say that I love this record. Few people could growl like…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – 9th June

    June 9, 2023 - By 

    Honestly, how is it not Bandcamp Friday? Delve into the best Irish tracks and releases of the week from Problem Patterns, Chubby Cat, Aoife Wolf, The Low Field, Slouch, Brand New Friend, Akrobat, Mineral Stunting and more Problem Patterns – Letter of Resignation Chubby Cat – 21st Century Panic Attack The Low Field – ‘Heaviness/Tachycardia’ Heaviness / Tachycardia by The Low Field Aoife Wolf – A Ringing in the Ear Slouch – I Get What’s Mine Akrobat – Air Station 2.0 Brand New Friend – Talk It Out Ezra Williams – Skin Sprints – Adore Adore Adore Trophy Wife –…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – 2nd June

    June 2, 2023 - By 

    From every corner of the island, here’s the very best new music of the week from Elaine Malone, David Donohue, Trá Pháidín, Winnie Ama, Ryan Vail and more Elaine Malone – Moontread David Donohoe – Fen Fen by David Donohoe Trá Pháidín – cé mo dhuine si​ú​l sa hi​-​vis cé mo dhuine siúl sa hi-vis by Trá Pháidín Winnie Ama – Get on You Left Iris – Crash Ryan Vail – Silhouette Badhands – Bad Dreams The Wheel by Badhands

  • AVA 2023: This Year’s Giants

    June 2, 2023 - By 

    As daylight savings hits its true peak this weekend so too does the Belfast rave crowd. Launching with a pre-festival party tonight at local independent fashion merchants Never Never, AVA Festival returns to the feet of David & Goliath with a line-up that cements its status as one of the most well-reputed and respected electronic festivals in Europe. As usual the line up consists of big-hitters from the Island and beyond, this year in the form of Central Cee, SPFDJ, Job Jobse, Sally C and OR:LA. The festival’s consistently solid bookings provide further excitement than simply bringing big names to…

  • Track Record: Kate Butler

    June 1, 2023 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record, Dublin-based DJ Kate Butler selects the records that mean the most to her from Tchaikovsky to A Guy Called Gerald. Photos by Aaron Corr Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake (Berlin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alfred Van Weth) I ended up with my grandparents’ vinyl collection. I grew up next door to them: they had a lovely garden full of roses, snapdragons and grape hyacinth, where I spent a lot of time happily on my own. My granny, Molly, was born in 1910 and she learnt to play piano by ear. When she was a young woman,…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – 26th May

    May 26, 2023 - By 

    From every corner of the island, here’s the very best new music of the week, from Super Extra Bonus Party, Caoilian Sherlock, Lucy Gaffney and more Super Extra Bonus Party – The Corpse Caoilian Sherlock – Teenage Jesus Teenage Jesus Album by Caoilian Sherlock Lucy Gaffney – Daydream in Tokyo Feather Beds – Saviour Saviour by Feather Beds HAVVK – Daylight Robbery A.S. Fanning – Mushroom Cloud Sasha Samara – Why Am I Still Here, I Never Learn EP Oba – Sequence EP Touch Excellent – Record

  • Track Record: Jinx Lennon

    May 25, 2023 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record, Dundalk’s very own Jinx Lennon selects the records that have left a lasting impact on his life, from Television to Frank Sinatra. Photos by Sean McMahon Lou Reed – Street Hassle I’ve been trying to get my head around Lou Reed because so many of the bands I was into dropped his name. I bought Transformer and Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal – I hated them! I found pure gold with this one. Lou’s lyrics can be touching and ugly and the characters in the song ‘Street Hassle’ have a certain sensitivity that only Lou…

  • Festival Preview: Beyond The Pale 2023

    May 24, 2023 - By 

    As expertly-curated boutique music festivals go, Beyond the Pale takes some beating. Returning for three days of top-tier sounds, art and food at Glendalough Estate in Co. Wicklow across 16th-18th June, the festival is well and truly doubling down on last year’s stellar first outing. Better said, it’s this year’s most unmissable Irish summer festival. First, and of course foremost, Beyond The Pale sets itself apart with its first-rate musical curation. Where last year more than delivered on a wonderfully diverse, genre-spanning bill, this year’s edition comfortably inhabits a space that can’t be rivalled on these shores. As well as era-crossing, genre-distilling world-beaters in the form of this…