• Stephen Malkmus – Groove Denied

    April 11, 2019 - By 

    The rock press has made much of Stephen Malkmus’ reinvention on Groove Denied, his first solo LP to lack any contributions (credited or otherwise) from his Jicks bandmates; publicised as an homage to the minimalism and analogue electronics of late-’70s and early-’80s post-punk, it’s been received as a left-turn for a songwriter closely associated with ’90s indie noise. Malkmus discussed the new direction with Rolling Stone recently, explaining: “I guess everyone has their distorted self-image, and I have one where I think I’m a music-maker who can go anywhere” – and though the album reflects this playful approach, one might highlight his awareness…

  • Happy as Lazzaro

    April 9, 2019 - By 

      Reality slips and slides in Happy as Lazzaro (“Lazzaro Felice”), the third feature from Italian film-maker Alice Rohrwacher, a curious, engrossing magic realist drama animated by cycles of power, class and history. The film seems to hang continuously in the air, suspended and provisional. On an Italian country estate named Inviolata (“unviolated”: a virginal space, a fake Paradise of simple toil), generations of sharecroppers work pitiless schedules, harvesting tobacco for the owner, the cartoonishly imperious Marchesa Alfonsina De Luna (Nicoletta Braschi), receiving no wages and chipping away at a perma-debt that holds them captive. The crisp visual textures and cramped…

  • Shazam!

    April 9, 2019 - By 

    Bam! A flash of lightning hits and, just like that, D.C.’s moviescape jolts into life, pumped up on the wisecrack adrenaline of hot red and yellow. Losing faith in its core Clark and Bruce brand, Warner Bros. and D.C. Studios are finding returns pivoting towards the weird and the unexpected. After all, their most entertaining round of post-Nolan superheroics was the one hardly anybody actually saw: last year’s Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, a self-aware, colourful, sing-songy adventure aimed squarely at kids that succeeds by hitting jokes and delivering a believable character arc. Echoing Titans’ story impetus of a…

  • Nealo w/ Alex Gough @ Whelans, Dublin

    March 31, 2019 - By 

    From the smoking area of Whelans, dull rhythmic thuds can be heard from within the venue’s upstairs stage. Alex Gough has just begun his very first live set and for the few that have gathered to watch, it is apparent that he is no ordinary hip-hop act. Clad in what could be described as 1960s beach-wear, the 19-year-old Waterford-born prodigy is not only the on-duty MC, but also the resident drummer. Gough effortlessly juggles J-Dilla inspired beats with flows that are as smooth in delivery as they are sticky with funk. Although stiff at first, Gough (below) and his band…

  • The Dig

    March 28, 2019 - By 

    The Irish bog is fertile metaphorical soil. It’s dank, ancient, unforgiving. It brings you down and sucks you in and swallows you up. It is our countryside version of Jordan Peele’s sunken place. In The Dig, filmed in soggy Northern Irish landscapes, the bog represents obsession, or death, or the past; ideal terrain for a moody murder-mystery drama drenched in male guilt. Written by Stuart Drennan, whose 2014 film Breaker also turned on questions of memory and buried secrets, and marking the feature directorial debut of Belfast-born brothers Andy and Ryan Tohill, The Dig gets much out of its basic premise…

  • James Yorkston – The Route to the Harmonium

    March 28, 2019 - By 

    It’s been five long years since Scottish folk singer James Yorkston’s last solo album – 2014’s The Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society – though he’s certainly not been resting on his laurels in that time. As well as turning novelist and podcaster (spinning esoteric tunes on ‘46-30’), he’s put out two highly acclaimed albums in quick succession with his new trio, Yorkston/Thorne/Khan – a sort of folk-fusion collaboration with his regular double bass player Jon Thorne and Indian sarangi player Suhail Khan (a third album is already recorded and ready for release early next year). All the while, though, he’s…

  • Maria Somerville – All My People

    March 25, 2019 - By 

    It’s quite rare to encounter a debut album as self-assured as Maria Somerville’s All My People. The Galway native has crafted 27 minutes of impossibly tight and well constructed music that possess a confidence which is seldom encountered so early in a career. Drawing from the deep wells of everything from folk and ambient to doo-wop and post-punk and the experiences of Irish youth, Somerville mixes these elements into a beautiful concoction of dream pop goodness. What’s so striking about these seven cuts is how well defined each actually is. By its very nature, the sort of ethereal mood that…

  • Sharon Van Etten w/ The Golden Filter @ Vicar Street, Dublin

    March 24, 2019 - By 

    Over the past 12 years, New Jersey native Sharon Van Etten has steadily made a name for herself as one of indie music’s most reliable and consistent artists. Since 2009’s debut Because I Was In Love, her melancholic, mature songwriting has gone from strength to strength with her recent album Remind Me Tomorrow being the most experimental and accomplished of all. It’s been quite some time since Van Etten’s last outing to Dublin however before she takes to the stage the audience is treated to support act The Golden Filter. The synth-pop duo (below) is the perfect companion to Van…

  • Anderson .Paak w/ Tayla Parx @ The Olympia, Dublin

    March 20, 2019 - By 

    The Olympia is at about half capacity and there’s a gentle chitter-chatter in the air as support act Tayla Parx takes to the stage. For those not in the know, PARC is better known for her behind the scenes work, having recently collaborated with Ariana Grande and Panic! at the disco. If you look at the songwriting credits for the big pop hits of 2018, you’re bound to find her name on a few of them. Parx’ energy on stage is like that of an excited child, in the best possible way. She is giddy, charismatic and bubbly as hell,…

  • Minding the Gap

    March 20, 2019 - By 

    For about a half hour, Minding the Gap lulls you into a false sense of security. The opening passages of the documentary introduce us to two Rockfort skaters, Zack and Keire; Zack is a young father struggling to support his family, while Keire is a timid teenager who becomes increasingly desperate to leave the city. The film intercuts stories of their troubled youths with incredible footage of them skating around the streets of Rockfort. While Keire and Zack still reel from the abuse their fathers inflicted upon them as children, they rhapsodize about the escapist nature of skateboarding. More importantly,…