• White Collar Boy – Priory Hall

    December 7, 2016 - By 

    Showing their roots in the form of sonic cap doffs to the likes of MK, Larry Levan, but more-so the straight-laced forms of euro disco prevalent in the 90s, White Collar Boys’ exceptionally infectious brand of garage-inflected house shines iridescent throughout their Priory Hall EP. The duo’s first effort proper since 2013, the four tracks of polished electronica that owe much more to Cologne than Chicago in places, relay to the listener a number of colourful synthesiser runs, throbbing rhythmic hits, and deep melodic excursions. EP opener and title-track ‘Priory Hall’ features Sean Reilly delivering a vocal that adds much…

  • Martha Wainright – Goodnight City

    December 5, 2016 - By 

    At the core of Martha Wainwright’s identity there exists a conflict between the scabrous and nakedly honest confessional singer-songwriter and a mercurial musical translator, plucking various influences and sources and remolding them into something almost unrecognizable. The latter produces work like her soundtrack to the French Canadian TV series Trauma or the collection of lullabies she produced with her sister. The former is responsible for tracks like the furiously candid “Bloody Motherfucking Asshole”. With Goodnight City, Wainwright tries to walk hand in hand with these two, distinct, personas, rotating the spotlight between them and showcasing the breadth and scope of…

  • Æ MAK – I Can Feel It In My Bones

    December 2, 2016 - By 

    On their debut EP I Can Feel It In My Bones Æ MAK have produced something that is inherently joyful to listen to. Childlike glee permeates the EP; not in the sense that it’s immature or undeveloped, but in the sense that it’s pure and unadulterated. This is complimented by the lyrical knowledge projected throughout, urging the listener not only to dance, but to be mindful, to observe oneself without making judgement. The duo chant “Run away/forget your place/let the other piece fall into place” in the title track, highlighting the amalgamation of those qualities. The release follows from ‘I Can Feel It…

  • Honeyblood – Babes Never Die

    November 30, 2016 - By 

    Unambiguously unashamed, hook-riddled pop music and the simple, immediate pleasures that come with it are exactly what the doctor ordered at times. Listening to Scott Walker warbling about punching a donkey on the streets of Galway is all well and good, but there are some times where you need six strings and some oversized melodies to cleanse the sonic palette. Like a fine of lemon sorbet, Scottish fuzz pop duoHoneyblood strip away everything else in your purview with their infectious brand of sharp, yet sweet garage rock. Babes Never Die, the group’s second LP and the first since losing Shona…

  • Tanya Tagaq – Retribution

    November 28, 2016 - By 

    Retribution is the fourth album of Tanya Tagaq’s career, one in which she has spent much time confronting difficult issues such as Native American rights and working with artists as varied as the Kronos Quartet and Mike Patton. Tagaq is also lauded in her home country, having won both the Juno and Polaris awards, the Canadian equivalents of the Grammy and Mercury Prizes respectively. If you haven’t heard Tagaq’s music before it may come as a bit of a shock. She employs the Inuk discipline of throat singing, a traditional method where the singer creates overtones by manipulating the airflow…

  • Arborist – Home Burial

    November 28, 2016 - By 

    If there is a unifying and constant sensation which runs throughout Arborist‘s Home Burial like some arterial chord it is that of gloom. A cursory glance at the cover art paints a startlingly accurate depiction of what the next 40 odd minutes entails: a gothic, rustic farmhouse sits against a grey, unsettled sky with an impending destructive force looming on the horizon. While it looks like the sort of place Robert Smith might spend a Summer holiday, it does set the stage perfectly. This is not an album of joy, redemption, and salvation, it’s forlorn expedition through the emotional wilderness as our…

  • The Japanese House – Swim Against the Tide

    November 23, 2016 - By 

    If there is one figure which looms large over every moment of Swim Against The Tide, the new EP by pop songstress The Japanese House, it is that of Imogen Heap. With its glitchy beats, emphasis on textured electronics and distinct English twang running through a vocoder, the spectre of the former Frou-Frou vocalist is consistent and undeniable. While the disc never actually manages to escape from Heap’s shadow, it’s still a surprisingly solid slice of ambient dreamy music. Japanese House frontwoman Amber Bain has described her output as “a sad little puppy listening to Beyoncé to cheer itself up”…

  • A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It From Here, Thank You 4 Your Service

    November 18, 2016 - By 

    While Bowie’s Blackstar is no doubt the most important musical epilogue of 2016, A Tribe Called Quest’s final chapter, featuring the sadly departed Phife Dawg, is a minor triumph in itself. The group have a legacy in hip-hop like few others: their one-two of landmark records, 1991’s The Low End Theory and 1993’s Midnight Marauders, are as close to perfection as the genre gets. Arriving when rap was dominated by Dr Dre led West Coast gangsta rap, NYC’s Tribe rejected the violent posturing and casual misogyny of the former while paying homage to the more abstract, arty influences that informed…

  • Meltybrains? – Kiss Yourself

    November 16, 2016 - By 

    Meltybrains? have been a staple on the live circuit in Ireland for a few years now, gaining a cult following through their Dadaist stage show and irreverent sense of humour. While marrying a post-rock base with a mix of styles on top hasn’t necessarily made for the most compelling of musical statement in their previous recorded works,  Their latest EP Kiss Yourself looks to make amends and move the band forward artistically. Opener ‘Know My Name’ opens with auto-tuned vocals over synth before settling down into the Melty’s now signature sound. It’s a track that promises a lot but that…

  • Douglas Dare – Aforger

    November 16, 2016 - By 

    Whelm, the 2014 debut album by London-based songwriter Douglas Dare, was a bold opening statement. It was held together by Dare’s powerful voice in spite of its musical idiosyncrasies; a voice that was immediately striking in its delivery and cadences, but which later revealed a fragility that suggested it was the tenor of a man in emotional distress. He has always written from a personal place, but his second album, Aforger, amplifies that to the nth degree. It’s an album in which the music is complex (almost to a self-conscious degree) and whose lyrics speak of deep personal strife; a struggle against…