• Classic Album: The Raincoats – The Raincoats

    November 25, 2014 - By 

    1979 was the peak year for post-punk. Picking up the torch from the already stale and fast dying punk scene, adopting its spirit but injecting it with a new sense of invention, artistry and a range of eclectic influences in place of punk’s self inflicted limitations, there were genre defining debuts from Joy Division and Gang Of Four, as well as classic follow ups from the likes of Wire and Public Image Ltd among many others. The Fall even released not only their first but also their second album that year, featuring two almost entirely different lineups, immediately starting as…

  • Classic Album: The Dismemberment Plan – Emergency & I

    November 24, 2014 - By 

    “The only thing worse than bad memories, is no memories at all” – Travis Morrison, “Spiders In The Snow” Emergency & I is a legitimately great record. It’s one of those rare, incredibly charitable records that just keeps on giving and giving. Repeat listens reveal so many layers and nuances to each of the songs. Musically, everything seems to work. Eric Axelson’s basslines are genuinely inspiring, so good in their own right that they could carry the songs on their own, and often do. This is offset by Joe Easley’s drumming acting perfectly as Axelson’s foil and sliding effortly between…

  • Transition Cinema: Outburst 2014 Review

    November 24, 2014 - By 

    The film programme of the 8th annual Outburst Queer Arts Festival, screened at Belfast’s QFT, offered a showcase of some of the most interesting additions to international queer cinema. A running theme in this year’s films is that of identities in transition. Characters move from female to male, naive to mature, adolescent to adult, loser to big-shot, in to out. Sometimes they escape their current identities through bravery and curiosity; other times they are forced to by events out of their control. New identities and arrangements promise liberation and novelty, but navigating the changes brings unseen problems. Sometimes they make…

  • AAA: Red Enemy @ The Button Factory, Dublin

    November 24, 2014 - By 

    In this huge installment of AAA (Access All Areas) we go behind the scenes with Red Enemy as they launched their highly anticipated self-titled debut album in the Button Factory in Dublin last Friday. Hefty support came from four other incredible acts on the night- Overhead The Albatross, Frustration, Nibiru and Bitch Falcon. Our photographer Carlos Daly spent the entire evening with all of the bands on the bill as they set up and psyched themselves out ahead of the gig. Check out the gallery below for a comprehensive overview of the launch.

  • Classic Album: ‘Corndogs from Pedro’ – Minutemen’s Double Nickels On The Dime

    November 20, 2014 - By 

    Punk rock – as a movement, as a mindset, and as a musical rebellion against the status quo – has always had a tendency to slide into an unusual conformity all its own. In the birth of any new scene – after the initial spark of originality – codes are established, styles become uniforms, and common mantras unite bands and fans alike. Perhaps no lyric can define the punk scene in Southern California in the early 1980’s like those of the Minutemen on the track ‘The Glory of Man’: “I live sweat, but I dream light years.” Big ideas that…

  • MayKay: All Views My Own

    November 19, 2014 - By 

    “Not only am I a really good singer, I’m really good looking as well.” My long suffering mother warned me very early on about being misquoted. She told me to be careful with every word I said and imagine every sentence as a headline. Make sure you can stand by your words. Why say anything otherwise? “Yeah whatever, Mum. I’m 22 years old. I know what I’m doing! Stop patronising me! I’ve been doing this for almost three whole years!” So, yes. I did say the aforementioned sentence. Yes, I did become mute and open mouthed for about two hours…

  • Track Record: Patrick Kelleher

    November 24, 2014 - By 

    We spend an evening with Patrick Kelleher for a cup of tea to warm our cold dead hands while he rummages through his record collection and tells us why the selections he made means so much to him. Photos by Brid O’Donovan. Mulatu Astatke featuring Fekade Amde Maskal – Ethio Jazz This album was introduced to me by a friend who heard it first on the soundtrack to Broken Flowers. It’s just got this lovely catchiness, as you can tell. The same friend who introduced it to me played it quite a lot at his house. Recently for my thirtieth birthday…

  • Track Record: We Cut Corners

    November 19, 2014 - By 

    In the latest installment of Track Record, our photographer Abraham Tarrush shoots We Cut Corners at home, as they flick through their record collection, selecting some of their all-time favourite albums. Majical Cloudz – Impersonator The reductive but potent combination of synth bass and baritone make for a heady minimalist mix of weighty songs that hang around long after the needle has left the groove.   Ryan Adams – 29 Released the same year as Cold Roses and ‘Jacksonville City Nights, 29 is potentially Adams‘ most introspective and sombre album to date… and he’s had a few. Atmospherically nocturnal, at times almost bleak, it’s home…

  • Track Record: Gugai

    November 20, 2014 - By 

    Booker, promoter, DJ and all-round good guy Gugai – formally known as Eoghan MacNamara (or ‘Google’ if you’re drunk enough) is somewhat of a legend around Galway and if you’ve ever graced the Roisin Dubh venue you’ll know of his overwhelming love and support of the music scene here first hand. We’ve asked him to kindly flip through his entire record collection and select some of his favourite releases, with special guest appearances from Pope John Paul II and his dotey son Osgur. Photos by Sean McCormack. Pope John Paul II – In Ireland I think It’s really hard to choose your favourite record…

  • Inbound: His New Atlas

    November 18, 2014 - By 

    In this latest installment of Inbound – which looks at some of the more promising acts from across the country – we talk to fast-rising Armagh singer-songwriter Eoghan O’Hagan AKA His New Atlas about the power of cathartic release, his very specific approach to songwriting and his big plans for the next few months. Firstly, can you shed a bit of light on how you came to be a singer-songwriter? I started off in a metal band, oddly enough. I left this as I never felt like it was moving at a pace that fast enough for me. So I got a…