• Watch: White Sage – Parnell Street June 1955

    April 7, 2015 - By 

    When he’s not busy running Dublin’s newest record shop, Little Gem Records or performing as part of both I Heart The Monster Hero and GODHATESDISCO, Andy Walsh has been concocting his own inimitable, solo sonic wizardry as White Sage. The first manifestation of that is the perfectly phantasmal Way Beyond our Means, a Kraut-echoing, decidedly experimental quartet of tracks, including lead single ‘Parnell Street June 1955’. Evoking the likes of Neu! and Fujiya and Miyagi, the track swaggers forth with its chugging groove, broad synth shapes and twinkling notes marrying in a swirl of blissed-out haze. Watch the simple yet very…

  • Stream: Robocobra Quartet – 80-88

    April 7, 2015 - By 

    Forging heady spiels of stream of consciousness with Mingusian sax forays, open-ended punk abandon and skilfully loose improvisation, Belfast’s Robocobra Quartet are right up there with the country’s very best live acts. Ahead of supporting Not Squares at Belfast’s Bar Sub tomorrow night – and appearing at our second birthday show at Dublin’s Twisted Pepper on Saturday, May 2 – the Chris Ryan-fronted four-piece have unveiled ’80-88′. the lead single from their new EP, Bomber (“‘four songs about three people, two novels, a failed assassination attempt and a volunteer-run community arts space” – obviously). We’ll soon have a premiere of the second single from the…

  • Stream: Alarmist – Aztec Dreams

    April 7, 2015 - By 

    Few Irish bands defy categorisation so impressively as Dublin instrumental four-piece Alarmist. The closest thing the country has come to (that is: bettering, if not matching) the likes of Battles, Maps & Atlases and Giraffes? Giraffes! –  the band’s unravelling, math-tinged tracks are equally parts complex and cunning, meshing effects-laden guitar lines with skittering keyboard lines and consistently engaging percussion. Two years on from it featuring on their Pal Magnet EP, ‘Aztec Dreams’ by the band has finally been released with a fittingly hypnotic video courtesy of Cormac Murray & Daniel Staines. Triangles are very much still in, kids.

  • Stream: Fabric – Jungle

    April 7, 2015 - By 

    Of the increasing number of new bands to emerge in Derry over the last while, Fabric are easily one of the more curious propositions. Having formed in the summer of last year, Ruairi Coyle (drums) and Lorcan Hamilton (bass/vox) are, according to their Facebook bio, “striving to invent a new sound by exploring many different genres/artists and musical styles.” You might as well aim high, right? Accompanied with wonderfully bombastic b-side ‘Ascot Blondes’, the duo’s debut single, ‘Jungle’ is certainly hard to pin down. At a push, we’d be inclined to say it sounds a bit like Death From Above 1979 jamming Joy Division (or…

  • Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival Programme Launched

    April 2, 2015 - By 

    Having mightily weathered the storm of threatening arts cuts, Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival have launched the full programme for their 16th outing, set to take place from April 30 to May 10. With an already stellar cast of musicians, artists, comedians, actors, poets and every other ilk of performer and event already confirmed, the final programme also boasts the inclusion of The Stranglers, comedian David O’Doherty, several tantalizing theatre productions, Liverpudlian psych-folk band Stealing Sheep, fast-rising festival artist-in-residence Ciaran Lavery and much more. Go here to check out the full festival schedule and how to purchase tickets. Shot in the Cathedral Quarter…

  • Stream: VerseChorusVerse – Lake of Fire

    April 1, 2015 - By 

    With new material very much on the horizon, it’s no surprise that North Coast singer-songwriter Tony Wright AKA VerseChorusVerse is a bit of a lifelong Nirvana fanatic. With his music-making nom de plume deriving from the legendary trio’s non-album track of the same name, Wright has gone one further and released a striking, decidedly lo-fi cover of a song that they too covered (and thereby made famous the world over): the Meat Puppets‘ prophetic ‘Lake of Fire’. With the aforementioned original studio material set for release in the coming months, Wright’s rendition is the lead track of a new collection of…

  • Watch: Imploded View – Subliminal Summer

    March 30, 2015 - By 

    Taken from his forthcoming album, Longford producer Jerome McCormick AKA Imploded View has released a wonderfully woozy slice of throwback electro-pop, ‘Subliminal Summer’. With his vocals taken centre-stage, it’s a pretty linear and cunningly straightforward effort, hinting at some promising stuff for the album.

  • Album premiere: Túcan – Towers

    March 31, 2015 - By 

    With its launch set for Dublin’s Button Factory on Saturday night, we’re pleased to present a first listen to Towers, an album that confirms the hugely impressive metamorphosis of Sligo’s Túcan. A masterclass in perfectly-honed, brilliantly realised instrumentalism, the album straddles the fine line between decidedly soundtrack-like Cinematic Orchestra-esque post-rock and trad-inflected mini-symphonies. Having been steadily developing and spearheading progression in their guitar-led sound over the last twelve months, the eight-piece have delivered a record brimming with integrity, imagination and daring, capturing the thrill of their scintillating live show in the process. Stream Towers below.

  • First Acts Announced for Inaugural Canalaphonic Festival

    March 30, 2015 - By 

    The first string of acts have been unveiled for the inaugural Canalaphonic festival in Dublin’s Portobello and Rathmines. Set to take place across May 8-9, the first confirmed acts to play the showcase are Carriages, Maria Somerville, Steve Young and the Union, The Hot Sprockets, Gavin Glass and the Holy Shakers, Sinead White, The Stomptown Brass Band, Nick Kelly, Corner Boy, Featuring X, Rudytrixx, Mother Mooch, Cave Ghosts, The North Sea and Jem Mitchell. More acts are to be announced. Curated by Abner Browns Barbershop, Canalaphonic proclaims itself to be “Dublin’s biggest showcase of independent Irish music.” Bold words but if this opening announcement…

  • Longitude Unveils Day-By-Day Line-up, New Additions

    March 27, 2015 - By 

    With less than four months to go, the day-by-day line-up for this year’s Longitude festival has been revealed. Set to take place across the weekend of Friday, July 17 to Sunday, July 19, the annual Marlay Park festival will see Hozier, Alt-J and The Chemical Brothers headline each night respectively. The likes of Caribou, James Blake, The Vaccines, Wild Beasts and Jungle all make support high up the bill. As well as the day-by-day announcement and with more acts yet to be announced, 11 new acts have also been added to the bill: Nick Mulvey, Raury, Drenge, Petite Noir, The Bohicas, Wyvern…