• Daithi – Tribes EP

    February 25, 2016 - By 

    With each passing release in the past couple of years, Galway based electronic producer Daithi has showcased a gradual but very definite increase in competency, confidence and determination in the music he is making; overtly melodic and bubbly electronica that has never failed at being colourful. The fault with his releases up to this point however always seemed to lie in his reliance on letting the equipment claim almost total ownership of the music. While the tracks were always evidently loaded with talent and careful construction, there was often too much of a feeling that the artist was clamouring for…

  • Baio @ The Workman’s Club, Dublin

    February 23, 2016 - By 

    Following last summer’s release of debut LP The Names, electronic artist Chris Baio now sits comfortably in the saddle of his subsequent world tour. “This is our 34th show,” he announced to the Dublin crowd in Workmans. In the preceding hype for this leg of the run, Baio held a Twitter-based giveaway of three sets of tickets to the first of his eager followers to tweet and greet him with ‘hi’. Three pairs were promised, but in the rush of responses, Baio shelled out five or six in his generosity. Given his time spent as bassist for the wildly successful indie-pop…

  • Wolfmother – Victorious

    February 22, 2016 - By 

    Does anyone remember how Wolfmother was tipped to be the “saviour of rock n roll” about ten years ago? How they were supposed to recapture the debauchery and majesty of the halcyon days of Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page and Angus Young and take rock music back from chic indie kids. While their self-titled debut was an enjoyable romp with real barnstormers on display, by the time their follow-up rolled around the band had all but lost their momentum and stardom. You can point to a few reasons for this: loss of two-thirds of the band in between the first and…

  • Julia Holter w/ DM Stith @ Button Factory, Dublin

    February 21, 2016 - By 

    Having doubly underscored her critical clout and sonic vision with the release of her fourth album, Have You In My Wilderness, late last year, L.A. experimental pop dilettante Julia Holter’s sold-out Button Factory in Dublin tonight is nothing if not perfect testament to following one’s very own path in the well-trodden wilderness of solo artistry. Having positively beguiled the Unitarian Church three years previous, the multi-instrumentalist returns to the capital a musician that has covered considerable creative ground since. An under-the-radar proposition for many tonight, New York indie-folk singer-songwriter DM Stith (below) wastes no time in making an impression as Holter’s sole support. Stripped back to acoustic…

  • Shuggie Otis @ The Sugar Club, Dublin

    February 21, 2016 - By 

    With a variety of funk and soul sounds emanating from the Sugar Club’s sound system, the scene is well and truly set for the highly anticipated return to Dublin, of guitarist, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shuggie Otis. Born Johnny Alexander Veliotes Jnr. in 1953, the young Otis became a member of his father’s backing band when he was only 12 years old, and just three years later the youthful guitarist accompanied renowned musician Al Kooper on his 1969 LP Kooper Session. Otis’ status continued to gather pace courtesy of his Freedom Flight and Inspiration Information records, the former of which included…

  • Tease-o-Rama Valentine’s @ Black Box, Belfast

    February 20, 2016 - By 

    Couples and lovers gather in their masses outside the Black Box tonight for a very special Tease-O-Rama, Valentine’s Edition.  I myself sit n front of the stage and I can’t help but feel happy; everyone is buzzing with excitement. As the lights dim we are serenaded by lothario Tom Bones, Soup du Jour’s male friend – it is not, I repeat, not, Soup du Jour in a wig and suit. Our first act is introduced, Bugsy Devine (below). Bugsy bounces on to stage, a dream in red polka dots and Minnie Mouse ears. She is so expressive and every pose…

  • Choir of Young Believers – Grasque

    February 19, 2016 - By 

    There is a deep chill at the heart of the new Choir of Young Believers record, Grasque. Falling into that same niche as John Grant or Shearwater, the group has opted to set aside their more orchestra and folkier affectations in exchange for a more detached, electronic sound. Every human element, bar the vocals, is toned down to the point of non-existence. Strings are swapped out for synths or modulated and warped into something mechanical. When the emotion finally arrives in the form of Jannis Noya Makrigiannis’s voice it’s muted and confined yet yearning like less falsetto Jonsí.  Atmospherically, it seems…

  • No Monster Club – I Feel Magic

    February 19, 2016 - By 

    Magic conjures up images of David Copperfield making the Statue of Liberty disappear, David Blaine looking off-his-face with an eye drawn on his palm and saying ‘Shazam’ into a GMTV camera or even an uncle asking you to pick a card, any card, from a messily shuffled deck. In Ireland ‘I feel magic’ is a way of saying that we’re doing brilliantly. That we’re absolutely flying. On top of our game. Although there seems to be more than a hint of irony in that title here on Bobby Aherne’s twelfth release under the No Monster Club banner. He maintains the nursery rhyme-esque beats but gone are the…

  • Slipknot w/ Suicidal Tendencies @ SSE Arena, Belfast

    February 17, 2016 - By 

    August 27th, 2002: a date burned into the minds of Northern Irish metalheads, as it was the last time metal monsters Slipknot last graced our shores. Oh sure, there’s been Dublin gigs – the last of which was almost a year ago to the day – but it has been almost fourteen years since Northerners got to see the band on home turf. The announcement, then, of a date in the SSE Arena on the final leg of their latest world tour sent fans into long awaited paroxysms of delight. Somewhat disappointingly, we missed out on recently reformed tech/prog metallers…

  • Distortion Project Fundraiser @ Limelight, Belfast

    February 17, 2016 - By 

    The Distortion Project and heavy metal are inextricably linked here in Belfast, as the many fans who showed their faces on Saturday, February 13 in the Limelight will attest to. The six hour long gig was part of the fundraising effort for the Distortion Project that’s currently underway in order to secure its future (you can donate to the cause here); a raffle with several frankly awesome prizes plus twenty percent of merch and drink sales all went into the kitty. First band off the blocks was stoner/sludge locals MOLARBEAR. Slowly easing the punters into the day’s festivities with their slow…