• Album Stream: Kevin Nolan – Absent At the Moment When He Took Up the Most Space (Selected Recordings 1997 – 2005)

    July 31, 2018 - By 

    A selection of recordings that he made between 1997 and 2005, Absent At The Moment When He Took Up The Most Space captures the genesis and creative metamorphosis of Dublin singer, composer and author Kevin Nolan. Comprising thirty-eight tracks, taken from an archive of over 150 recordings during this period, it’s palette-spanning, at times wonderfully inspired collection of music. With many songs clocking in at such over one minute in length – often more than enough time for Nolan to strike earworming gold – Nolan approaches Robert Pollard-like levels of fecundity, all while shapeshifting between downbeat folk musings, a cappella diversions, rock-pop gems…

  • Album Stream: Wyvern Lingo – Wyvern Lingo

    February 23, 2018 - By 

    Do believe the hype. Having went straight in to number one on the Irish iTunes charts, the self-titled debut album by Wyvern Lingo is a remarkable, all-killer tour de force from undoubtedly the country’s finest fast-rising band. Set to launch at Dublin’s Button Factory tonight, the first full-length from the Bray trio of Karen Cowley, Saoirse Duane and Caoimhe Barry is a razor-sharp snapshot of a band whose increasingly singular brand of harmony-driven alt-pop has been everywhere recently – and rightly so. Wyvern Lingo captures – and perfectly bookend – the latest chapter in what’s set to be an exciting, far-reaching few…

  • Album Stream: Stoat – Try Not To Think About It

    February 14, 2018 - By 

    As an album title, Try Not To Think About It by Dublin underground rock heroes Stoat goes a considerable distance in summing up one of its prevailing themes, i.e. things may not be the greatest they’ve ever been but, collectively, we could do a whole lot worse than trying to see the good and absurdity in things. Having been making music together for the best part of 20 years, the threesome’s wry, masterfully incisive brand of indie-pop is on full display on the album – their second – which was released on Saturday in Dublin. From to-do lists that never seem…

  • Album Stream: Sleep – Portals

    January 26, 2018 - By 

    Sleep is the alias of Dublin-based electronic artist Shane Cusack. A producer of vast, enchanted drones and ambient soundscapes, he recently released his debut mini-album Portals via the Urban Arts Berlin label. A richly textured collection, this five-track release is specifically designed to guide you into slumber when nothing else seems able to. On his regular midnight show on Dublin Digital Radio, Cusack produces an hour long mix exclusively to cater to the first hour of the sleep cycle. On Portals, he achieves something much the same, only this time the music is his own (naturally). Inspired by the likes of Wolfgang Voigt’s GAS, William Basinski and Alvin Lucier Cusack “explores a variety…

  • Album Stream: Crevice – In Heart

    December 18, 2017 - By 

    Comprised of Irene Buckley of Wry Myrrh, Elaine Howley of the Altered Hours and Morning Veils, and solo artist, Morning Veils member and co-runner of KantCope, Roslyn Steer, the music of Crevice was made for these early dark evenings and associated end-of-year contemplation. Recorded by Cathal Mac Gabhann (also of The Altered Hours), their debut album, In Heart, is a ten-track journey masterfully blurring the lines between electronic nocturnalism, balmy darkwave and sleepy-headed dream-pop. Released via Irish cassette label Fort Evil Fruit today, the album – which was mastered by Noel Summerville, and features a great cover image from Carolyn Collier – conjures the smalltown phantasm…

  • Stream: A Co-Present Christmas

    December 5, 2017 - By 

    Let it be known: A Co-Present Christmas really is a beautiful thing. Compiled by good friend of The Thin Air, Dwayne Woods of Dublin Digital Radio show The Co-Present, the fifteen-track compilation was put together to raise funds for Pieta House and features festive covers and originals from the likes of Villagers, Junior Brother, Montauk Hotel, Hvmmingbyrd, Elephant and Session Motts. Speaking about the release Pieta House said, “Christmas is a time of year when friends and family come together and enjoy each others company. Unfortunately, for some, it is a time of remembrance for those we have lost and for others a…

  • Album Stream: Malojian – Let Your Weirdness Carry You Home

    October 6, 2017 - By 

    While there’s been no shortage of first-rate albums released on these shores this year, Let Your Weirdness Carry You Home by Malojian is a special kind of triumph. The self-produced follow-up to the Stephen Scullion-fronted threesome’s Steve Albini-produced This Is Nowhere, the album is a masterfully mottled effort, veering between wonderfully wistful folk tales, Motorik rhythms, found sound and a whole gamut of forward-thinking textures and ideas. And featuring the likes of Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M., Atoms For Peace, Roger Waters), Gerry Love (Teenage Fanclub), the collaborative backbone of the release runs parallel with Scullion’s open-ended, subtly experimental approach here. Partly…

  • Album Stream: Elder Druid – Carmina Satanae

    October 6, 2017 - By 

    Recorded at Belfast’s Start Together with Niall Doran, Carmina Satanae by Belfast sludge-doom five-piece Elder Druid marks the arrival of one of the country’s most promising low-end propositions. Officially launched at Belfast’s Bar Sub tonight, the release filters the holy tetrad of Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard, Kyuss and Sleep across eight tracks of psych-dappled, occult-leaning heft. Speaking to us about the dark lyricism that steers the album, guitarist Jake Wallace told us, “It gives the songs a lot more depth having stories being told underneath all the riffs and not just random babbling. Gregg has a very imaginative thought process and…

  • Album Stream: Kieran O’Brien – Turn

    September 18, 2017 - By 

    Galway’s Kieran O’Brien has been honing his style for some time now. From the atmospheric folk that defined last year’s After The Storm to the dream-pop leanings of June’s ‘Only A Dream’, the songwriter’s work to date has been explorative, sincere and endlessly refreshing. Returning now with his second EP, Turn, the ventures into a full-band sound are becoming more sure-footed and assertive, taking as many cues from the likes of The War On Drugs and Real Estate as from stalwarts of the Americana folk tradition. Speaking of the new EP’s thematic foundation, O’Brien said: “After The Storm reminisced heavily on the ocean and past events. These songs look ahead, towards…

  • Album Stream: Ger Fox Sailing – Ger Fox Sailing

    August 21, 2017 - By 

    Released today, the self-titled, self-produced debut album from Wexford quartet Ger Fox Sailing is a richly-woven, nicely eclectic collection of songs from a band who have just set out their stall and then some. From the contemplative precision of ‘Nowhere Without You’ and the poppier tangents of ‘What It Is’ to blistering closer ‘Best Friend’ via a stream of scuzz-laden, occasionally prog-leaning rock, reverberations from the likes of Longpigs, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age, Grandaddy and, in parts, Northern Irish alt-rock band Pocket Promise (though we suspect the latter is something of a total coincidence) coalesce with the band’s own…