• Do You Still Want To Believe? 20 Years of The X-Files

    October 23, 2013 - By 

    Arguably, television has replaced cinema as the preeminent visual entertainment medium. Shows like Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, and The Wire have stolen Hollywood’s thunder when it comes to dynamic and progressive storytelling. It wasn’t always this way, however, and back in 1993 a strange, cultish show about two mismatched FBI agents struck a chord with the public, tapping into a throbbing vein of pre-millennial angst and paranoia. But twenty years later, just what was the impact of Mulder and Scully’s unflinching look into the paranormal abyss? They said the truth was out there, but what happened when we actually found…

  • Lesser Known Pleasures: Stereolab – Chemical Chords

    October 22, 2013 - By 

    The latest Lesser Known Pleasure is a Stereolab album overlooked in favour of their earlier classics Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Dots and Loops. By 2008, their sound may have shifted, mellowed and lost some edge but not necessarily to it’s detriment. Chemical Chords has LKP criteria in spades. It came late in their career long after their heyday, long after their coolness quotient was no longer a factor. The band had endured numerous lineup shifts, side projects and the end of the personal relationship between the songwriting team of Tim Gane and singer Laetitia Sadier. However in 2002, following the…

  • 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…

  • Playlist: Literature In Music – From Mastodon to Kate Bush

    October 16, 2013 - By 

    On what would have been his 159th birthday (pending a range of frankly inconceivable factors), the status of Oscar Wilde as one of literature’s greatest wits and stylistic visionaries is one completely set in stone. Having permeated the music and lyrics of innumerable composers bands from Prokofiev to the Smiths down the ages, it got us thinking: “Hey, wait a minute! There’s tonnes of songs written about (or that reference) novels and books not necessarily written by Oscar Wilde. That justifies a Spotify playlist, surely?” Admittedly, not the greatest “Eureka!” moment in history but perservere we did in the name of…

  • Smoke And Mirrors: The NI Music Prize

    October 16, 2013 - By 

    Award ceremonies are a strange beast, a curious mixture of the repellently naff and the irresistibly enticing. Regardless of what they might claim, everyone loves a pat on the back, the feeling of being vindicated in front of one’s peers, and the opportunity to revel in a sense of achievement. There ain’t nothing wrong with that, and when someone wins an award, they can be humble and bashful, or belligerently arrogant, but the result is the same – you feel good. On the other hand, if you don’t win, it’s all gravy, you never respected the thing in the first…

  • Instatour: Enemies

    October 14, 2013 - By 

    Having first played a two-week tour in Japan five years ago supporting none other than toe, Co. Wicklow four-piece Enemies give us a peek into their recent, seemingly very fun tour of Asia in the latest installment of Instatour.

  • Track Record: Crayonsmith

    October 23, 2013 - By 

    For the latest installment of Track Record, the Crayonsmith lads arrived at my house armed with their favourite records, brownies and plenty of stories of why these albums mean so much to them. All three of them agreed that Public Strain by Women is one of the best albums ever. We chatted about the others over tea and here’s what they had to say: Women – Public Strain Ciaran Smith: “This record has everything and is a good example of where our three tastes meet. Amazing lo-fi recording job by Chad Van Gallen and loads of killer hooks. ‘Venice Lockjaw’ has…

  • Classic Album: Doll By Doll – Gypsy Blood

    October 11, 2013 - By 

    A flicker of neon light casts shadows on a wet brick wall in Soho. A man, with a special glint in his eye, a glint that suggests danger, romance, and pain, turns his collar up against the rain, and lights a cigarette. This is his time, his moment, and even if no-one ever knows it, Jackie Leven is about to make history. This is the greatest album you have never heard. Doll by Doll released four albums from 1979 to 1982, before sinking further into the obscurity they already dwelt in. Led by the tall, charismatic Scotsman Jackie Leven, the…

  • The First Time: Louise Holden of I Draw Slow

    October 11, 2013 - By 

    In the latest installment of The First Time, Belfast-based photographer Joe Laverty catches up with Louise Holden of Dublin-based roots/Americana five-piece I Draw Slow to pry, ever so respectfully, into the “firsts” of her music-listening, loving and making life. As always, Joe also took the above stunningly nice portrait photo of the vocalist just after her band’s set at Happy Valley Festival in Thomastown in June. Admire Joe’s copious and ever-expanding talents right here and read on to learn about Holden’s rather marked historical appreciation of The Cure. First album you bought? I’d like to say the Carter Family but actually I think it might have…