• Final Electric Picnic Acts announced

    August 18, 2014 - By 

    Less than two weeks now to the start of Ireland’s premier music festival, and the festival has revealed the final seventeen acts that will grace the stage at Stradbelly. Several top Irish bands lead the way with Sleep Thieves (above), Tvvins, We Cut Corners and Raglans all set to perform. The other artists that will be playing at the festival are Jenny Lewis,  Krystal Klear,  PHOX,  The Minutes, Vann Music, Booka Brass Band  Spies, The Academic, Orla Gartland, Buffalo Sunn, Daniel James,  Acrobat and Wyvern Lingo. Electric Picnic takes place at Stradbelly Estate, Laois from August 29 to 31. Tickets are sold out.

  • Video premiere: The North Sea – In Love

    August 14, 2014 - By 

    The first track to be taken from their as-of-yet unnamed debut album, Dublin alt-rock five-piece The North Sea will release ‘In Love’ on September 26 – and we’ve the first look of the single’s video. Shot by Second Frame and directed by Niall Conroy and Daniel Kennedy, it’s a nicely-lit, monochrome affair, perfectly capture the song’s slick, darkly tangents, reminiscent of the likes of Interpol and Editors. The follow-up to their promising, 2012 self-titled EP, the band’s forthcoming album was recorded live to tape in order to capture their live sound, and was produced by Grammy Award-winning Irish producer David Odlum…

  • Bangor set for Open House Festival Culture Day

    August 13, 2014 - By 

    A main fixture of this year’s Open House Festival, the streets of Bangor will be transformed into a bustling hub of happenings and creative activity for Culture Day on Saturday, August 23. Celebrating the wealth of creative talent of the town, buskers, skateboarders, poets, potterers, dancers and dramatists will see every corner of the Co. Down seaside resort come alive with an eruption of sound, movement and colour. Speaking of Culture Day 2014, Open House Festival Director, Kieran Gilmore said, “It’s a well-known fact that Bangor folk are a talented breed. Over the years the town has produced an abundance…

  • Stream: MOLARBEAR – Fierce Brosnan

    August 13, 2014 - By 

    Comprised of members of Jackalfeud and the Big Grizzly, Belfast-based five-piece MOLARBEAR have released their debut single, ‘Fierce Brosnan’. The track – clocking in at a rampant two and a half minutes – was recorded and mixed at Bearcat Studios and conjures the likes of Hawk Eyes, early Mastodon and fellow Belfastians Comply or Die. Stream the track via Bandcamp below. Fierce Brosnan by Molarbear

  • Hard Working Class Heroes line-up announced

    August 13, 2014 - By 

    With over 500 bands having applied, the line-up for this year’s Hard Working Class Heroes festival has been announced. Having showcased some of the country’s finest breakthrough talent over the years – everyone from Hozier to Villagers – the line-up for this year is as follows: A Lazarus Soul / Acrobat / Affleck / Arborist / Atriums / Benihana / Benny smiles / Brian Casey / Buffalo Sunn / Buffalo Woman / Carriages / Carried By Waves / Cfit / Ciaran Lavery / Cloud Castle Lake / Clu / Codai / Color // Sound / Columbia Mills / Conor Walsh…

  • Album stream: SlowPlaceLikeHome – Romola

    August 12, 2014 - By 

    Ahead of headlining the next installment of our gig/club night No Tomorrow, self-proclaimed “cosmic forest-dweller”/Donegal electronic artist Keith Mannion AKA SlowPlaceLikeHome has released his new album, Romola. And it’s very, very good. With our full-length verdict to come later in the week, the ten-track album was written, performed, recorded, mixed and produced by Mannion in Donegal’s Knather Woods. Go here to read our recent interview with Mannion, here for the Facebook event page for the No Tomorrow show (at Belfast’s Voodoo on Saturday, November 6 – also featuring Somadrone and Documenta DJS) and stream Romola via Bandcamp below. Romola by SlowPlaceLikeHome

  • Jabberwocky Festival cancelled

    August 12, 2014 - By 

    All Tomorrow’s Parties have announced that Jabberwocky festival, set to take place this weekend, has been cancelled. Neutral Milk Hotel (above) James Blake, Darkside, Caribou and more were set to perform at the two-day London event. In a post on their Facebook page, ATP founder Barry Hogan wrote “It is with deep sadness we regret to inform everyone that as of today Tuesday 12th August 2014, ATP is being forced into cancelling this weekend’s Jabberwocky festival. Refunds will be available to all customers at the point of purchase. We have put everything into promoting Jabberwocky, and despite healthy ticket sales;…

  • Martha Wainwright announces Dublin shows

    August 11, 2014 - By 

    Canadian singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright has announced that she will be performing in Dublin later on this year. The American singer has confirmed that she play two intimate shows on November 3 and 4 at Whelan’s. Tickets go on sale this Wednesday August 13 at 9am, and these will cost €25. Wainwright, sister of acclaimed singer Rufus Wainwright, released her latest album Come Home To Mama in 2012. Check out ‘Proserpina’ below.

  • Stream: Mons Olympus – Critical Mass

    August 11, 2014 - By 

    ‘Critical Mass’ is the debut single from Belfast’s latest riff-pedalling prog behemoths Mons Olympus and was produced by Mojo Fury’s Mike Mormecha. The track comes from their upcoming debut album Vampyroteuthis, which has a tentative release date of Spring 2015. Having been in the works for the last year, progressive trio Mons Olympus comprises Rory Dee, Luke Burns and John Quinn, the core members of Chocolate Love Factory, who officially disbanded earlier in 2014. ‘Critical Mass’ is available to download for a mere 88p from Bandcamp, but you can stream it below: Critical Mass by Mons Olympus    

  • Watch: Pere Ubu – Golden Surf II

    August 10, 2014 - By 

    A second single has been released from the upcoming Pere Ubu album, Carnival Of Souls. Since 1975 the band have put out fifteen albums and many other EPs and live releases. The avant garde garage rockers, fronted by the inimitable David Thomas, have never seen commercial success but have consistently pushed into new territory in countless musical genres. ‘Golden Surf II’ is an all-guns-blazing aural assault, featuring the buzzing guitars and unorthodox synth noises that helped Pere Uru build their reputation as one of the most important underground bands of the past 40 years. Watch the video for ‘Golden Surf II’ below. Carnival…