Idles live at the Telegraph Building in Belfast with support from Chalk. Photos by Seán Kelly

Following the release of her stellar debut EP, Hungry Ghost, Dublin artist Pippa Molony takes us on a guided tour of some of her all-time favourite songs, featuring Operating Theatre, Jenny Hval, Kelly Moran, Björk and more Björk – Unison ‘Unison,’ from Björk’s Vespertine, is a song I somehow missed until recently. I’d listened to the album before, saved Frosti to all of my playlists, but Unison slipped past me. I finally heard it for the first time during Benji Reid’s Find Your Eyes at Dublin Theatre Festival—and it hit me like a truck. This track closes Vespertine. It begins…

Blossoms live at The Academy in Dublin with support from The Cliffords. Photos by Aoife Moloney

We’re back to stacked round-ups today via essential new sounds from Adore, Cormorant Tree Oh, Tigers of Tin Pan, Makeshift Art Bar, Lucy Gaffney, Brién and more Adore – Can We Talk Cormorant Tree Oh – To Be Flowers Tigers of Tin Pan – I Cannot See The Doctor Makeshift Art Bar – Birthday Party Lucy Gaffney – do u know me? Brién – Everyone’s Here Garrett Laurie – No Warning Body Wigs – Body Clinic EP Body Wigs by Wigs & Body Clinic Eve Clague – Caught in Words Caught In Words by Eve Clague Ciaran Lavery feat. Joshua…

Last week, we thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Ciaran Lavery, digging into one of the lauded NI artist’s most ambitious projects to date: “Light” Entertainment. Not only doubling up as his fifth studio album—which drops tomorrow—and a live spectacle set to take over the Lyric Theatre tonight—last remaining tickets are here—it’s also the title of a brand new short film. Directed by Shaun Doogan and Ciarán McCann, it represents, in a masterfully surreal, visually stunning fashion, what Lavery encapsulates on “Light” Entertainment the album: essentially how a constant stream of information (and misinformation), news, social media, images, video and entertainment leave…

Problem Patterns and Jordan Adetunji were among the names to win big at the twelfth edition of the Northern Ireland Music Prize in Belfast last night. Rounding off this year’s Sound of Belfast programme, the annual awards ceremony – which launched back in 2013 to celebrate NI music across several awards – took over the Ulster Hall for one of its strongest outings to date. As well as live performances by the likes of Tramp, Dana Masters and Oh Yeah Legend award recipient, Eric Bell, the night saw queer punks Problem Patterns walk away with the big one – Best…

Interpol live at the 3Arena in Dublin with support from Dust. Photos by David McEneaney

Five years ago, we tipped Jordan Adetunji as one of our 19 for ’19 acts “destined for the bright lights,” and he’s more than lived up to that promise. Now, with his Grammy nomination for Best Melodic Rap Performance, the Belfast trailblazer’s career has reached new heights, putting him in the ranks of Beyoncé and The Weeknd. His single ‘Kehlani’ has racked up over 300 million streams, showcasing a sound that blends his trap-influenced beginnings with influences from neo-soul, afrobeat, and rock, as we noted back in 2019: “a hook-laden, ambitious vision whose grasp matches its reach.” From the moment…