Killing Joke are set to make their Dublin return. Having delivered a resounding set at the Academy last August, the Jaz Coleman-fronted band will return to the city to play the Button Factory on Friday, June 12th. Support comes from Paranoid Visions. Tickets cost €32.00 and go on sale on Friday, March 13th at 10am. Killing Joke first played Dublin back in 1983 and have stopped off in the city every decade since.
It’s no bad thing that the indie scene across the island is saturated. If anything, it’s a total boon. That saturation – that heady wealth of artists and collaborative energy – invariably gives rise to scenes and communities that would’ve otherwise lay dormant or just out of reach, fated not to be. Take one look across the country and it’s clear that the scene – cross-country show swaps, co-pros, split releases etc. – is more tight-knit and fertile than ever. One band that both embodies that ethos and manages to cut through the noise to make their own noise heard is Belfast’s Buí.…
In the latest installment of 10 for ’20 – our series looking at ten Irish acts that are well and truly going places in 2020 – Will Murphy extols the “hefty, passionate punk” of Belfast trio Mob Wife. Photo by Joe Laverty Try as the world might, some pairings can’t be separated. Think of Killer Mike and El-P, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Stills and Nash, and, of course, Eric Clapton and cocaine. No matter what happens, the fates always seem to bring these two back together. With the rhythm powerhouse of Wilson Davidson and Chris Leckey, Belfast’s punk scene…
The line-up for this year’s Electric Picnic has been announced. Coming amidst news of various cancellations regarding the global onset of coronavirus, organisers of the annual festival at Stradbally Estate in Co. Laois have have revealed that the Chemical Brothers, Run The Jewels (pictured) and Bicep are among the acts joining already-announced headliners Rage Against the Machine across 4-6th September. With more to be announced, Irish acts including Rejjie Snow, Just Mustard, Saint Sister and Aoife Nessa Francis will also make an appearance. Check out the current full line-up below. This year’s festival is already sold out.
Alternating Current is the latest Irish festival to be postponed due to concerns relating to the global spread of coronavirus. Following on from news that Vantastival will now take place later in the year – and with the likes of SXSW, Coachella and national St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at home being postponed or cancelled – it’s been revealed that the inaugural three-day celebration of Ireland’s musical underground won’t go ahead at Dublin’s Sound House this weekend as planned. Posting on Twitter, Dublin Digital Radio (who along with Enthusiastic Eunuch are behind the event) said: “We’ve thought, debated and agonised over…
Vantastival has been postponed until September. The annual Drogheda music festival, which was set to return across May 29-31, is the latest event to be postponed due to issues surrounding the global spread of Coronavirus. The festival will now take place across September 18th-20th and all tickets purchased are valid for the new dates. In a Facebook post, organisers said: “Due to multiple challenges arising from the spread of Coronavirus, we have reluctantly taken the decision to postpone the Vantastival festival, which will now take place 18th – 20th September 2020. All expert opinion indicates the situation is likely to deteriorate…
One of the very finest face-melting propositions around, Newcastle heavy psych masters Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs will play a brace of Irish dates in November. The Matthew Baty-fronted band, who release their new album Viscerals in April, will play the Belfast’s The Empire on November 26th and Whelan’s in Dublin on November 28th. Priced £18 and €20.00 respectively, tickets go on sale on Friday, March 13th at 10am.
Dublin’s Sunken Foal will release his seventh album, Hexose, on April 24th. One of the most prolific producers in Ireland, the Countersunk label-founder and synthesist supreme – real name Dunk Murphy – follows 2019’s Ribbon Works and Le Doux Nord albums with a new 10-track collection of rich electronics inspired partially by “a lifelong infatuation with confectionery”. Every track on the album is named after some kind of sugar or dessert. Rich, generative melodies and syrupy atmospheres ooze all over the tracklist, while bubbling percussion keeps things energised. Throughout the album, comparisons to Laurie Spiegel, Cluster and Warp’s early bleep…
Prepare yourself for something special. A handful of days on from striking gold with the four-track Who’s Asking? EP, the unstoppable God Knows has unleashed one fierce edit of the release’s title track. Although a highlight in its original form, the Rusangano Family rapper has assembled a veritable dream team for a SertOne-produced South West Allstars remix. Uniting Denise Chaila, Citrus Fresh, Hazey Haze, Gavin DaVinci and Strange Boy Nature, it’s a supreme, frisson-inducing version that – paired with Stephen Hall’s video – absolutely demands your attention.
Been missing that singular blend of melodic punk rock and post-hardcore that NI – not least the North-West – has mastered for over two decades? Derry-based trio Gas Hands are here to sort you out with their latest single, ‘I’m Not In Love (With You)’. Formed by frontman & guitarist Dylan Bradley & drummer Michael Brown, formerly of Lost Avenue, they’re joined by Mosmo Strange/Calling All Horses guitarist Nolan Donnelly on bass. Recorded & mixed at Smalltown America Studios by Caolan Austin, the trio’s economical, tightly knit release strikes a midpoint between signature North-West punk and the vitality of a young band hitting their stride. Gas Hands kick off their…