• Fecking Bahamas – V. Ireland

    February 1, 2017 - By 

    To say Ireland has an unusually rich track record in the realms of math-rock, post-rock and instrumental music would be something of an understatement. This is something Melbourne music website Fecking Bahamas (assumingly named after the latter-day Don Caballero song ‘Palms Trees In the Fecking Bahamas’) have copped onto, manifesting in V. Ireland, a new, 21 track compilation featuring tracks from the likes of And So I Watch You From Afar, The Redneck Manifesto and Abebisi Shank to lesser-known but no less sorcerous sonic conquistadors in We Are Knives, Val Normal and Psychojet. Their fifth-region specific compilation and their first release…

  • Exploding Eyes – Exploding Eyes

    December 7, 2016 - By 

    Dublin progressive psychedelic garage-rock trio Exploding Eyes release their eponymous debut album through US label Big Neck Records on December 9. Exploding Eyes was produced by Jim Diamond, who has worked on sonic titans like Dirtbombs, White Stripes & The Sonics. The LP is launched upstairs at Whelan’s on February 3, with support from psych-doomsters Wild Rocket and nugazers Galants, More details here. Prior to this, the band released two singles on Bandcamp. Channelling the likes of Hawkwind, Love & Pentagram, check out the album’s lead single, ‘Something Critical‘.

  • Arborist – Home Burial

    October 14, 2016 - By 

    Master craftsman Mark McCambridge finally releases his debut album, Home Burial, under the guise of indie-Americana outfit Arborist, on November 11. Drawing influence from the wise, heartfelt likes of Bill Callahan & Jason Molina in terms of eclectic-yet-familiar instrumentation paired with thoughtfully-penned personal songs, it also features an indie rock pairing with Kim Deal on last year’s single, ‘Twisted Arrow‘. Recorded at Start Together Studios with Arborist drummer Ben McCauley, the album is launched in Belfast at Mr Tom’s Lounge in Lavery’s on October 28, with support from Dublin indie outfit Tandem Felix. Stream ‘I Heard Him Leaving’, Arborist’s interesting gender-subverting play on traditional Americana:

  • Magic Pockets – Volcano of the Bleeding Skies

    October 12, 2016 - By 

    With a beautiful, Roger Dean-esque album cover befitting a ’70s proggy Krautrock cult classic, Ruadhan O’Meara AKA Magic Pockets has unveiled his debut album titled Volcano of the Bleeding Skies. Also known for providing the synthesised sonic tapestries in Dublin noise-merchants No Spill Blood, O’Meara’s album comes out via Cork label Penske Recordings – home also to The Altered Hours and Woven Skull – on Friday, November 25. Expect a world of psychedelic & minimal synthscapes from the album, which was recorded using vintage synthesisers, drum machines, electronics and manipulated samples, recorded to 1 inch tape. In the same way the likes of Boards of Canada have…

  • Gross Net – Quantitative Easing

    October 13, 2016 - By 

    Not content to solely be in arguably Ireland’s finest post-punk act, Philip Quinn of Girls Names releases his debut album, Quantitative Easing under the Gross Net moniker on November 25. Starting out alongside Autumns’ Christian Donaghey as a guitar, bass & drum machine combo, they released their eponymous debut cassette in 2014. Donaghey departed, and Quinn followed up earlier this year with the even better, dark, Berlin techno-tinged Outstanding Debt; it’s brimming, poetically enough, with the kind of satirical econofear channelled by the likes of Cabaret Voltaire & Throbbing Gristle in the Thatcher era. If you’d like to get further under Gross Net’s nihilist skin, check out our recent…

  • BeeMickSee – The Belfast Yank

    February 26, 2015 - By 

    Portland-born, Belfast-raised rapper BeeMickSee releases his long-awaited, aptly-titled debut album The Belfast Yank globally on March 16.  Some of the tracks have been made available through previous EPs & singles, available to check out on Bandcamp. With the question hanging over the album of: “What do you do when your parents move you from the hipster mecca that is Portland Oregon to the urban jungle that is post-ceasefire Belfast?”, the former punk-hop Bomb City 7 alumnus Brendan Seamus eschews the usual misogynist hip-hop patter – instead favouring lyrics chartering the experience of relocation in an unfamiliar, often uncivilised society, cross-Atlantic cultural parallels, strained relationships and bullying. Recorded in Start…

  • New Ancestors – Annabelle EP

    February 16, 2015 - By 

    Newly-expanded quartet New Ancestors, having just relocated from Glasgow back to Belfast, have announced details of their first EP as a four piece, Annabelle. Formerly a duo – called the 1930s – the core of the band are singer-guitarist Jonny Solari and drummer & singer Andrew Cameron, have now added Adam Booth and Glenn Kennedy to their ranks. The expansion has signalled a change to a more pop-rock sound, moving away from their previous folk-pop roots. The EP is released on April 13. Check out the video for the title track & single:

  • No Spill Blood – Heavy Electricity

    December 12, 2014 - By 

    Dublin dystopia-soundtracking bass/synth/drums trio No Spill Blood have put forward ‘White Out’, the first track to be unveiled from their upcoming debut LP, the Brass Eye-referencing Heavy Electricity, which follows up on their excellent 2012 debut, the Sargent House-released Street Meat EP. The trio is comprised of Hands Up Who Wants To Die bassist Matt Hedigan, drummer Ror Conaty – who recently replaced Adebisi Shank’s Lar Kaye – and synthscaper Ruadhan O’Meara. Their forthcoming 9-track album – featuring vocals on one song from D.I.Y. punk icon Mike Watt -it sounds like more of what you’d come to expect, with the retro-futuristic synth lines that…

  • Premiere: Gross Net – Gross Net EP

    November 27, 2014 - By 

    Recently-arrived post-punk/neue Deutsche welle-influenced duo Gross Net – comprised of Girls Names‘ Philip Quinn and Autumns‘ Christian Donaghey, completed by programmed drums – have announced a brooding, excellent new three-track self-titled EP in the form of a cassette, recorded by the band themselves over the course of a day. The EP is out on Sligo label Art For Blind, who have accommodated releases from The Altered Hours, Hands Up Who Wants To Die, Perfect Pussy and more. The limited edition coral red cassette is available to pre-order for just £3.50, with a free download code – or simply only £2 digitally – from the Gross Net Bandcamp. You can…

  • Axis Of – The Mid Brae Inn

    November 12, 2014 - By 

    Punk-cum-pop trio Axis Of release the their second album, The Mid Brae Inn, on New Year’s Eve through Smalltown America. The three – comprising Ewen Friers, Niall Lawler & Ethan Harman – launched their debut album Finding St. Kilda in the same venue over two years ago, an altogether more punk affair. ‘Wetsuit’ – the first track to get airplay from The Mid Brae Inn – hints at a much more indie-pop direction for the band who were out-and-out hardcore no more than five years ago. Time will tell whether or not it’s a complete revamp for the outfit, but it’ll be interesting to see how…