• The First Time: Michael Pope (Le Galaxie)

    January 13, 2014 - By 

    Ahead of their extraordinary Belfast show at the Black Box on Friday night (January 10) Joe Laverty met up with Michael Pope from Dublin indie-dance band Le Galaxie to discover the musical firsts of his music making, listening and loving life thus far. He also found time to take the above portrait photograph of the frontman in all his ultra-commanding, disco ball-holding glory. First album you bought? Thriller First single you bought? Kylie Minogue – ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ First live concert/gig? Michael Jackson, Lansdowne Road 1992 First album you properly loved? Achtung Baby   First artist/band to change your…

  • Classic Album: Cynic – Focus

    January 10, 2014 - By 

    In 1993, Floridia’s Cynic released their debut full length on the heels of their well received demos. After singer/guitarist Paul Masvidal and drummer Sean Reinert’s stint in Death (recording and touring the seminal Human album), anticipations were high in the fertile death metal scene – especially considering Masvidal and Reinert turned down full time positions in the band to concentrate on their own project. Although Cynic’s demos (especially ‘Reflections of a Dying World’) were death metal with thrash sensibilities, it soon became apparent that this Focus would be dramatically different. There were hints – a bass fill here, a breakdown…

  • Eight Must-See Gigs at Out To Lunch 2014

    January 7, 2014 - By 

    Despite would-be highlight Julian Cope rather laughably jumping ship at the last minute due to “safety fears”, the three-week music and cultural feast that is Belfast’s Out To Lunch festival boasts it strongest and most colourfully diverse line-up to date. Now in its ninth year, we have whittled the fifty odd acts set to perform at this year’s festival down to a mere eight bands and solo artists equally worthy of your time, money and attention throughout the month of January in the very safe city of Belfast. Chris Braniff Is The Young Shadow – The Black Box, Thursday, January 9 1.00pm…

  • The Record #003: Empty Lungs

    January 14, 2014 - By 

    In the third installment of The Record, Liam Kielt tottered along to Belfast’s Start Together Studio to capture alt-punk band Empty Lungs laying down some new songs for a forthcoming release. Have a gander at those shots and Brian Coney’s interview with Kevin Jones from the band below. And once you’re finished, feel free to check out our in-studio pieces with the equally excellent Bouts and Jape! Hi Kev. Liam captured you guys recording at Start Together studio late last year. What were you guys recording and when can we expect to hear it? We were recording two new tracks…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013 (35-1)

    December 30, 2013 - By 

    Sixty-five increasingly exceptional songs in, we’re pleased to round up our first ever countdown of the Top 100 Irish Tracks of the year. Truth be told, this list could have been much, much longesear – such was the extent and quality of the output from our homegrown musical talent over the last twelve months. From unassuming bedroom artists treading the often very thin line between absolute anonymity and mass recognition to genre-defining, decades-spanning bands that fall comfortably under “legendary” status, we’ve been very happily bombarded with some truly extraordinary Irish music over the last year. Until next time… listen, enjoy…

  • The Thin Air’s Winter Metal Playlist

    December 24, 2013 - By 

    The Thin Air (Semi)-Alternative Christmas playlist is a great alternative for people who want to celebrate Christmas musically without having to resort to the same tracks played over and over again in supermarkets and shopping centres, some of us would rather spend Christmas back in the forest – preferably on a mountain – sharpening our axes and waiting for society’s inevitable collapse. With regards to this, here are some albums for the Winter. Agalloch – The Mantle  A beautifully grey album from Agalloch (pictured, top), The Mantle needs to be listened to in its entirety in order to fully comprehend the…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013 (50-35)

    December 24, 2013 - By 

    With 2014 fast approaching, we’re very itchy underfoot to wrap up our countdown of our top 100 Irish songs of 2013. A veritable wealth of great music of practically every shade of genre featured in the first and second installments of the list and we very much continue on that trend on from tracks #50 to #35. Check back next week for tracks #34 to #1 and have a very merry festive period from us in the meantime! 50. Linebacker Dirge – Words Are Missing Fronted by Jason Gibson, Belfast-based alt-rock quartet Linebacker Dirge are comprised of members of bands including…

  • Trains and Music: From Hank Williams to Afrika Bambaataa

    December 18, 2013 - By 

    Last month our esteemed editor got his mellow well and truly twisted by Translink. I offer a short meditation to ward off the bad vibes next time you’re waiting on a train. First off the train is the rock ‘n’ roll form of transport. Planes, cars and even spaceships are nothing in comparison. As Ian Carter has written “the blues characteristic yearning tone arose from enslaved blacks’ hopeless response to passing trains – freedom and a better life glimpsed far away, then gloriously present, then receding once more into the distance…The insistent rhythm of railroad wheels on fish-plated railroad tracks…

  • Track-by-track preview: Ed Zealous – Wired

    December 17, 2013 - By 

    In advance of its release on February 3, we have the honour to bestow upon your lovely eyes a track-by-track preview of Wired, the momentously-anticipated debut album by Belfast-based indie/electro-pop quartet Ed Zealous. Having released ‘Thanks A Million’, ‘Telepaths’ and ‘Medicines’ from the ten-track release, over the last couple of years the band have given us a steady taste of what their full-length debut album has in store. Let’s just say: if you enjoyed any of the aforementioned singles to date, there’s a very good chance Wired will leave you intent upon an immediate second listen. Check out the artwork and our track-by-track preview…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013 (74-51)

    December 13, 2013 - By 

    Love, hate or merely tolerate them, end of year lists come in all different shapes and sizes. From the finest EPs of the last twelve months to the most questionably-named bands to emerge throughout the year, there is currently no shortage of lists and countdowns around to remind us of what went down in the world of music, both international and much closer to home, in 2013. This is our humble little offering – the Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013. Feel free to go here to check out the first installment of the countdown, featuring tracks 100-75. 74. The…