• Watch: And So I Watch You From Afar @ The Live Room Belfast

    December 11, 2017 - By 

    Having just returned from a mammoth European tour and ahead of their biggest hometown show to date, our very own world-beating instrumental titans And So I Watch You From Afar play the inaugural session at The Live Room Belfast, following the release of their massively acclaimed fifth album, The Endless Shimmering. Having transcended their reputation as not just an internationally-respect math-rock outfit, but one of the cornerstones of contemporary Irish – specifically Northern – subculture, the north coast quartet are in many ways they’re the only band who could’ve fittingly kicked off this series of sessions Start Together Studio‘s Live Room, where four of their five albums have been…

  • The Altered Hours Announce New EP, European Tour

    December 6, 2017 - By 

    Arguably the country’s best band, Cork’s The Altered Hours have just announced details of a forthcoming new EP and an accompanying European tour. The follow-up to last year’s stellar full-length In Heat Not Sorry, the five-piece will release the four-track On My Tongue via Art For Blind Records and Penske Recordings early next year. A typically first-rate effort from the band, lead single ‘Open Wide’ is currently premiering over on Clash. To coincide with the release, the band will also embark on a nine-date European tour across February-April. Yours truly will host the Belfast date, which will also feature drone pop masters Documenta,…

  • Premiere: Aural Air – The Torpor of Minds

    December 6, 2017 - By 

    It’s released this Friday, December 8, but we’re pleased to premiere today The Torpor of Minds, the debut EP from Aural Air, the project of Sligo native Laura Rai. This EP follows up on her 2016 debut two-track, Edinburgh – both of which are included on this release. The EP is propelled by the pairing of dreamily soaring, ethereal vocals with the kind of ethereal, off-kilter guitar chime you’d hope for on an Angel Olsen, Anna Calvi or Jeff Buckley record. Following a productive 2017 that saw her play the likes of Stendhal Festival and Sligo’s own Live On Air, The Torpor of Minds looks to propel her further again in 2018. With artwork by Tom Doig, it…

  • Stream: A Co-Present Christmas

    December 5, 2017 - By 

    Let it be known: A Co-Present Christmas really is a beautiful thing. Compiled by good friend of The Thin Air, Dwayne Woods of Dublin Digital Radio show The Co-Present, the fifteen-track compilation was put together to raise funds for Pieta House and features festive covers and originals from the likes of Villagers, Junior Brother, Montauk Hotel, Hvmmingbyrd, Elephant and Session Motts. Speaking about the release Pieta House said, “Christmas is a time of year when friends and family come together and enjoy each others company. Unfortunately, for some, it is a time of remembrance for those we have lost and for others a…

  • METZ Set For Whelan’s Return

    December 5, 2017 - By 

    Two years on from their barnstorming show in the same venue, Canadian noise rock trio METZ have announced that they’ll return to Dublin’s Whelan’s on May 1. The Toronto-based band released their third, Steve Albini-produced album, Strange Peace, via Sub Pop back in September. In his review of the album, TTA’s Cathal McBride said, “What it all adds up to is the band’s most complete and rewarding work to date.” Tickets for the Whelan’s go on sale this Thursday at 10am, priced €17.50.

  • Premiere: Yankari – Enyimba

    December 1, 2017 - By 

    And now for something completely different. We’re delighted to present a first listen to ‘Enyimba’, the sublime new single from Dublin-based band Yankari. A collective luminously bearing the imprint of their main influence of the legendary Fela Kuti, the band “aspire to advance the original Afrobeat genre by incorporating contemporary sounds, such as, jazz, funk, dance, rock-and-roll whilst keeping the traditional groove elements of Afrobeat.” Nowhere is that more on display than ‘Enyimba’, a six-minute burst of beatific, masterfully-layered Afrobeat incorporating guitar, bass, percussion, brass, keys, vocals and more. The track’s title stems from “Enyimba enii” meaning ‘the elephant is coming’ a traditional…

  • EP Stream: The Sunshine Factory – Cruelest Animal

    November 30, 2017 - By 

    Cork, ever Ireland’s unexpected cornerstone of hazy psych, can boast another fine release with The Sunshine Factory‘s debut EP proper, Cruelest Animal, the title track of which was released last year following a string of extremely promising demos and homemade recordings. Firmly establishing their neo-psychedelic chops with slots alongside the likes of KXP, The Orange Kyte, and tour support to psychedelic legends The Telescopes on their most recent Irish jaunt it is launched tonight (November 30) at a hometown launch at Crane Lane Theatre. The EP is released through their own independent label, Sunshine Cult Records, and was recorded with Chris Somers at One Chance Out Studios. While Cruelest Animal was recorded a year ago, it seems that a…

  • New Cork Festival It Takes A Village Announced

    November 30, 2017 - By 

    For all the country has to offer in the way of festivals, Ireland has largely lacked one properly centred around its non-camping accommodation. That’s where new festival It Takes a Village comes in. Set for its inaugural outing in Trabolgan in East Cork across April 13-15, the Good Room-curated festival offers an ATP-esque alternative in the form of 150 self-catering houses and apartments, as well as 35 fully-serviced campervan sites in Trabolgan Holiday Village. Better still, with the village featuring three main venues, as well as a multitude of pop-stages across a 120 acre site, the festival’s first line-up announcement…

  • Premiere: Let’s Set Sail – 1560 Powell

    November 28, 2017 - By 

    Taken from their forthcoming, Homebeat-released EP The Nothingness Of Now, we’re pleased to present a first listen to ‘1560 Powell’ by Dublin electronic folk quartet Let’s Set Sail. A masterfully slow-burning effort from the quartet, the track marries Warren McCarthy’s vocals with twinkling synth patterns and textured atmospherics. Disentangling over six minutes, Marian Hughes’ subtly-woven counter harmonies seal the deal, conjuring the likes of Julia Holter and Low’s Mimi Parker. Recorded with Stephen Dunne in Lamplight Recording Studio, the five-track The Nothingness Of Now will be launched as part of the multi-date Homebeat Christmas Cracker at Studio 10 in Dublin on Wednesday, December 13. Go here…