• Spider-Man: Homecoming

    July 14, 2017 - By 

    ‘The world’s changing’, announces Michael Keaton’s Vulture, Spider-Man: Homecoming’s feather-ruffed villain, ‘and we have to change with it’. Change is the name of the game for the web-slinger’s third modern cinematic run, following Tobey Maguire’s and, less successfully, Andrew Garfield’s time in the red and blue undies. Adrian Toomes (Keaton) is speaking as a resentful civilian caught up in the skyscraper debris of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a metal-scrapper by trade, forced to make a living scurrying in the damage left by Stark and co. (when his crew are pushed off their clean-up gig by the drily-titled, Stark-sponsored Department of Damage Control, it’s the…

  • This Is The Kit – Moonshine Freeze

    July 14, 2017 - By 

    With a back catalogue spanning close to a decade, alternative folk rock project This is The Kit have indelibly made their unhurried mark in the niche of alternative folk rock and beyond, getting nods across the board from the likes of Guy Garvey as part his Music Box series, an episode of which he dedicated to the band.  Headed by Kate Stables, the project is a collaborative one through and through with there being contributions from various artists throughout the years including Rozi Plain and Jesse D Vernon. This collaborative vein continues in new album Moonshine Freeze with contributions again from…

  • Alt-J @ Trinity College, Dublin

    July 13, 2017 - By 

    Alt-J return to Ireland having released their latest venture RELAXER, a somewhat submerged album in it’s approach and avoidance of the charts. Despite not having mass appeal, Alt-J continue to draw a young and devoted audience, most of which can be seen at Trinity College tonight. They begin their set with lead single from relaxer, ‘3WW’, and ‘Something good’ from debut An Awesome Wave, a reserved introduction if such a thing exists. There appears to be no hesitation from the crowd in joining the perpetually swaying atmosphere created by the onstage personas however, as the typical ‘warm up period’ for…

  • The Jimmy Cake – Tough Love

    July 13, 2017 - By 

    Ireland has had no shortage of post-rock bands, but The Jimmy Cake feel a bit like the elder statesmen. On early releases they set themselves apart from their contemporaries with a 10 piece lineup that mixed folk and orchestral instruments like banjo, accordion, brass and woodwind alongside the guitars, a sound they had perfected by the time they put out the lush Spectre & Crown. But on their return from a subsequent seven year gap with 2015’s Master they’d undergone a reinvention, those extraneous instruments all but replaced with stratospheric synths, tracks that could now last half an hour, and…

  • Art Feynman – Blast Off Through The Wicker

    July 12, 2017 - By 

    Carved into the very top of the Reviewer’s Doctrine sits a Maxim: thou shalt never admit thou are not an expert. It’s something we cite at our regular cult meetings which bring together critics of music, exhibitions and sandwiches alike. We like to think it’s our only connection to internet trolls, although some critics will gladly try to prove otherwise. Consider yourself lucky then, that in this introduction not only will I be breaking our highest Maxim, but our second one too, and use the first person. For I. Was. Wrong. Hard to type, but for the most joyous of…

  • Two Door Cinema Club @ Trinity College, Dublin

    July 12, 2017 - By 

    Making their last Irish appearance under the alias “Tudor Cinema club” in 2016, Northern Irish Two Door Cinema Club make their way to Trinity College in Dublin brandishing new material in the form of their latest album Gameshow, an eccentric stab at both new and old audiences that didn’t quite hit the mark for either. As such, it comes as no surprise that there is a definite expectation in the air for the group to rely on their debut Tourist History rather than force feed the crowd their latest venture. Starting off the night are support act Circa Waves, an…

  • Twice Shy

    July 11, 2017 - By 

    The pressure on so-called ‘issue’ films to ‘start a conversation’, as the journo cliche goes, or, at least, to contribute to existing dialogue, can feel like an unfair burden. Good films are more nuanced than the message we would like to hear from them, and it’s hard to predict what kind of reactions they might provoke from wider audiences. Also, more crucially, meaningful conversations are just plain difficult things to have. To its credit, Irish indie Twice Shy, the second feature from Tipperary-born Tom Ryan, acknowledges this difficulty, and places the troubles of its characters ahead of its eye-catching subject…

  • James Vincent McMorrow @ Trinity College, Dublin

    July 11, 2017 - By 

    It’s a strange experience to find oneself in the midst of Dublin’s most infamous crease, where many a can has been slugged back over the years, and feel as though one has been transported outside of these hallowed walls, such is the change in surroundings. As the crowd meanders between various food stalls and queue for the now ever familiar Heineken bar, All Tvvins put on a highly energetic set of synth pop laden tunes. Guitarist Larry Kaye and vocalist/bassist Conor Adams plus an accompanying drummer, try their damndest to get the audience in the mood courtesy of the infectiously…

  • Toro Y Moi – Boo Boo

    July 11, 2017 - By 

    Toro Y Moi’s Chaz “Bear” Bundick, having first come to prominence in association with “chillwave” in 2009, doesn’t appear to have taken a rest since. While Boo Boo counts as his fifth album proper under the Toro Y Moi banner, he also also found time for a live album, a mix tape, and several other compilations, side projects and collaborations.The musical polymath’s work to date has also drawn from an array of genres, from R&B to psychedelia through hip-hop and indie pop, seeming equally comfortable creating music using a traditional band setup or sitting in the production chair. Across Boo…

  • Pixies @ Trinity College, Dublin

    July 10, 2017 - By 

    A Pixies gig always brings out a rather diverse range of fans be it those aging rockers, no doubt relishing in reliving their debauched college days, to those in their mid-thirties wearing reunion related Pixies shirts, and of course, the “kids” in their early twenties. And tonight is no different. As the clouds gather overhead, it seems as though the light drizzle that has been teasing the crowd may well turn into a grumpier blast of hail, but for now it holds tight and come 8:45pm Pixies stroll on stage with Joey Santiago leading the way, followed swiftly by Black…