• Caoilian Sherlock – Teenage Jesus

    July 10, 2023 - By 

    In between pulling double duty with The Shaker Hymn and The Tan Jackets, Caoilian Sherlock has been threatening to release a solo album for years. First testing the waters under the moniker St. Caoilian over 5 years ago, his first full-length album Teenage Jesus is more than worth the wait. Album opener ‘The Wheels Come Off’ is a dreamy, sentimental exposition to a record that drifts between its psychedelic, folk, pop, and country influences, showcasing a singer-songwriter who is at ease with his own creative process. Stand-out tracks include ‘Candidate’, a snappy and self-deprecating rock ‘n’ roll homage with more…

  • Pulp at St. Annes Park, Dublin

    June 13, 2023 - By 

    Is this the way they say the future’s meant to feel? Or just 20,000 people standing in a field? Well, it was both on Friday night as, nearly thirty years after the practically perfect Different Class was released, that future became the present for the thousands of people in St Anne’s Park in Dublin. And this time round we really understood what the feeling was – utter joy that Jarvis Cocker hasn’t changed at all and Pulp with their ‘This is What We Do for an Encore’ tour, delivered exactly what we wanted. Full of promise from the minute it’s…

  • Sugababes at Botanic Gardens, Belfast

    May 31, 2023 - By 

    Almost a year after their return as one of the unexpected hits at Glastonbury, when such a crowd turned up that entry to the Avalon gig had to be shut to any more fans, Sugababes brought their summer festivities to Belfast on Friday night, as part of the Live at Botanic Gardens series of concerts. While I never had the joy of seeing them the first time around (my hero then was Morrissey as opposed to fun pop girl bands, but sure, we live and learn) I can’t imagine that this original line-up, known for some years by the altogether less…

  • Lisa O’Neill – All of This is Chance

    April 11, 2023 - By 

    Lisa O’Neill offers up her finest release to date with All of This is Chance. The Cavan native’s fifth album boasts an impressive variety of collaborators, from concertinist Cormac Begley, violinist Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Kate Ellis of the Crash Ensemble, and more. O’Neill’s timeless sound breathes new life into traditional balladry. Upon a foundation of droning harmoniums, concertinas, and violins, which create a sound akin to fellow trad revivalists Lankum, her haunting vocals sit, captivating her listeners and luring them into a state of transcendence. Here, tracks like ‘Birdie From Another Realm’ slip nimbly from the clutches of modernity,…

  • Hands Up Who Wants To Die – Nil All

    April 3, 2023 - By 

    For years, Dublin’s Hands Up Who Wants To Die have been obliterating the eardrums of audiences across the continent. Previously led by the nihilistic poeticisms of one Barry Lennon, the group’s amicable split with the formidable frontman allowed the quartet to refocus on composing their third album, with new recruit Rory O’Brien from Ten Past Seven taking over lyrical duties. On the resulting Nil All, the band’s first release in six years since their split with B.O.B, Hands Up Who Wants To Die expand upon the beautifully brutal soundscapes of the band’s previous releases Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo and…

  • Unthank : Smith at Empire Music Hall, Belfast

    March 29, 2023 - By 

    Paul Smith and Rachel Unthank reimagine radical futures through the lens of traditional folk and new songs from and about the north of England during a spellbinding Monday evening in the Empire Music Hall. Shape-shifting arrangements veer from unaccompanied close harmony to mesmerising full band jazz-inflected work-outs. Alex Neilson from free-improvisation folk group Trembling Bells provides an eerie psych-folk backdrop on drums. Accompaniment on clarinet is provided by Faye McCalman from avant-jazz group Archipelago. The Maximo Park frontman adds a sharp pop nous to the songs from their recent record Nowhere and Everywhere – performed in its entirety tonight. The…

  • Lankum – False Lankum

    March 29, 2023 - By 

    With the title of their fourth record, Lankum evoke the folk ballad of Irish traveller John O Reilly for which they named themselves. As such, False Lankum is a sprawling epic that pays studious tribute to the quartet’s past while progressing into bold new territory largely hinted at until now.  Recorded at the aptly-named Hellfire Studio in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains, these twelve tracks possess an eerie otherworldliness that reveals itself from the off, as ‘Go Dig My Grave’ finds Lankum digging deeper into terrifying walls of ambient noise and experimentalism which anchor this collection throughout. In turn,…

  • M. Stevens & The Ghasts – Birds

    December 6, 2022 - By 

    David Berman died by suicide on August 7, 2019. He left behind loved ones, countless fans and a lyrical back catalog of unrivaled wit, bite and passion. He was the sort of figure who was impossible to merely “like”; You either loved him or hadn’t heard him. Naturally in the aftermath of this tragedy, a tribute night was held in Dublin for folks to celebrate those syllables and melodies one more time. One such performer that night was Popical Island co-founder Mr. Mike Stevens. Following that night, M. Stevens, Hugh McCabe, Mark Jordan, as well as Ciaran Canavan and drummer…

  • Scooter at 3Arena, Dublin

    December 6, 2022 - By 

    Rave music in the mid-nineties always seemed otherworldly to me and its connoisseurs were as alien as the sounds. Tropical hot Summers with swarms of lads buzzing and cycling through the area with haircuts like sweaty spider legs crushed under the weight of a baseball cap. Postman Pat sweets, Tangle Twisters and a can of Lilt for 36p. Booted out of the house to play on the road but instead melting the black tarmac lines with a magnifying glass while a half-licked ice cream dripped down my legs. I’d stare for hours aimlessly at galaxies forming in oil stains left…

  • Wet Leg at Limelight 1, Belfast

    November 29, 2022 - By 

    Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers are having some year. The buzzy hype from ‘Chaise Longue’ has been followed up with a well-received debut album and a series of smart, knowing promotional videos. Tonight’s show at the Limelight is at the tail-end of a victory lap of smaller venues that Wet Leg have admirably remained committed to despite a rising profile. Belfast city centre four Sundays before Christmas is a weirdly inaccessible place. Buses stop early in the evening. The last Glider leaves Wellington Place at 10pm. Excuse me? What? Yet this familiar venue is packed to the rafters and tonight’s…