• Four Mothers

    April 10, 2025 - By 

    Irish director Darren Thornton returns with his enjoyable comedy, Four Mothers, a film that won the London Film Festival’s Audience Award. At the heart of the film is young adult fiction writer, Edward, played with intelligent humanity by James McArdle. Edward is on the cusp of a career breakthrough, having written a buzzy novel that’s about to be picked up by the American market. His publisher is arranging a promotional tour in the US and Edward is being invited on the radio to talk about his work. Sounds great, right? However, he is also the full-time carer of his mother,…

  • Sister Midnight

    March 12, 2025 - By 

    There’s a sequence at the beginning of Karan Kandhari’s BAFTA winning black comedy, Sister Midnight, in which the protagonist, Uma, wanders alone around her new Mumbai neighbourhood. It’s her wedding night, she’s just arrived, and her new husband in their arranged marriage has gone straight to sleep in the tiny one-room flat she now has to call home. Silently walking around the dark streets, she comes across a neon bandstand, empty and surrounded by the scattered debris of a festival: plastic cups, cigarette butts. Everyone has gone home. The party is well and truly over. Uma’s marital frustrations continue, as…

  • Ginnels – The Picturesque

    February 3, 2025 - By 

    Though originally hailing from the north of England, Mark Chester has been a stalwart of Ireland’s DIY indie scene for years now. As an integral part of Dublin’s Popical Island collective, Chester has had countless production credits among the label’s roster and beyond, as well as performing in bands like No Monster Club, Grand Pocket Orchestra, and most notably his own project, Ginnels, quietly perhaps Popical Island’s crowning glory. While primarily a one-man band on record, the live band contained the likes of Paddy Hanna, No Monster Club’s Bobby Aherne and Squarehead members Roy Duffy and Ruan van Vliet, the…

  • Pixies w/ SPRINTS at Custom House Square, Belfast

    August 31, 2024 - By 

    In June 2013, just a day after it was announced that Kim Deal had left Pixies, nine years into one of the unlikeliest of reunions (yes, maybe even more than you-know-who), The Breeders stopped off at the Limelight in Belfast. In my review, I noted that the latter alt-rock heroes—helmed, of course, by Deal and her sister Kelley—delivered a “momentous, altogether unforgettable trip into the recent past.” Fast forward to 2024—on the very day Pixies return to the city after five years, with their latest bassist, Emma Richardson, in tow—news of Deal’s long-awaited solo debut LP lands in my inbox.…

  • We’ve Only Just Begun at Whelan’s, Dublin

    August 13, 2024 - By 

    We’ve Only Just Begun is a tonic in music festival form, created to celebrate the wealth of musical talent possessed by women and non-binary artists of Ireland. Taking place in Whelan’s over a balmy mid-August weekend, showcased a mere fraction of feminine musical power on the island. Comprising both Whelan’s upstairs and main stages, the festival boasts alumni ranging from Soda Blonde and Sorcha Richardson to SPRINTS and Cathy Davey. This year’s line-up included Choice Music Prize nominee Ezra Williams, 2FM Rising Star Qbanna and radio presenter and musician Rachel Mae Hannon. A report published by research activist group Why…

  • Dispatches From A Field: All Together Now 2024 – Sunday

    August 8, 2024 - By 

    Mike Ryan delivers his verdict on the third and final day of this year’s All Together Now, featuring ØXN, Sprints, NewDad, Just Mustard, The Prodigy, Nealo, Trá Pháidín and more Photos by Ian Davies The Scratch There are many theories on how to best kick off day 3 of a music festival. Some All Together Now attendees opt for a breakfast bap from Phat Cow foodtruck, some like to ease into it with some yoga. There’s also saunas and hot tubs, if you were quick enough to nab the early morning slots when they were announced. For many people however,…

  • Dispatches From A Field: All Together Now 2024 – Saturday

    August 7, 2024 - By 

    Mike Ryan continues his three-parter reporting back from this year’s All Together Now, with Day Two highlights from The Mary Wallopers, Rachael Lavelle, Soda Blonde, Kojaque and more Photos by Ian Davies The sunny day two of All Together Now kicked off with Dublin-based music ensemble Glasshouse performing the music of the late, great Ryuchi Sakamoto. The Lovely Days stage, miraculously recovered from Confidence Man’s blistering set the night before, now resembled a park amphitheatre, with revellers sitting or lying, easing their way into the day. Next up was a Main Stage performance from Sing Along Social. Easing is over.…

  • Dispatches From A Field: All Together Now 2024 – Friday

    August 6, 2024 - By 

    In the first of a three-parter, Mike Ryan reports back from the Friday of this year’s All Together Now, featuring Confidence Man, Toshín, Cardinals, Niamh Regan and more Photos by Ian Davies Back for its fifth iteration, this year’s All Together Now brought its expected share of international heavy hitters to the idyllic Curraghmore Estate, Co. Waterford, but more impressively, this time around it was absolutely heaving with both the stalwarts and fresh faces of the Irish music scene. Cork indie debutants Cardinals kickstarted the Guinness Lovely Days stage, bringing noughties-inspired guitar licks and matching the crowd’s very evident Day…

  • Landless – L​ú​ireach

    July 10, 2024 - By 

    Landless is Lily Power, Méabh Meir, Ruth Clinton and Sinéad Lynch. Lúireach is the follow-up to the quartet’s 2018 album Bleaching Bones. When translated from the original Gaelic, its title can mean a breastplate or protective coat, or a hymn or prayer for protection. It’s an apt title. The album features 10 songs, many about strong women, that explore themes of “melancholy, love, death and mystery,” performed by four equally powerful voices that envelop each other without restriction of movement. Dublin-based Landless perform traditional and contemporary folk songs with sparse accompaniment. While it would be remiss to disregard the presence…

  • Jane’s Addiction at Trinity College, Dublin

    July 3, 2024 - By 

    Full disclosure: I was obsessed with this band from the ages of 15-18. I was insufferable to those around me who didn’t get it – and to them all, I apologise – but growing up in rural south Derry, Jane’s Addiction felt like some portal to the unseen. Whether it was the LA seediness or their connection to a more sensual world, it mattered little. Everyone has that band, but going through the typical starter pack of Guns N’ Roses, Zeppelin, RHCP, and Nirvana, Jane’s were the first band that lit the passage to somewhere higher. They were the band that Anthony…