• Dan Hegarty: Sound & Vision

    June 24, 2013 - By 

    There are lost albums, those that should have made their way to ears all over the world, but for what ever reason didn’t. Explosive from Cork band The Shades was released to critical applause nine years ago. Rather than getting any further into what might or should have been right now, take a listen to this gem, and treat yourself by streaming/downloading it for free below. Explosive lp (Free Download) by The Shades In true rock n’ roll fashion Kodaline launched their debut album, In A Perfect World, on a boat last Thursday. On the same day, they also found…

  • Getting Re-acquainted: Kitchens of Distinction

    June 14, 2013 - By 

    In the last few years, shoegazing (or ‘dream pop’, as our American cousins call it) has made a real comeback, a whole new generation of inarticulate youths picking up guitars and delay pedals , ready to kneel at the altar of My Bloody Valentine. But whilst MBV, Slowdive, and Ride have re-entered the musical vocabulary of the current swathe of indie rockers with floppy fringes, Tooting’s Kitchens of Distinction have remained mysteriously … mysterious. Coming together after meeting at a party in 1985, Patrick Fitzgerald, Julian Swales, and Dan Goodwin comprised one of those bands that could only have existed…

  • Dan Hegarty: Aliens, Queens, & Infinity

    June 10, 2013 - By 

    Call them Alien Pop, call them electro-pop pretenders, what ever your opinion of Nanu Nanu is, it’s difficult not to rattle off superlatives when you’re speaking about their debut album Unit 1. What was essentially a side project for Laura (Glitterface) and Marc (Mirrorman), may well have turned into their main focus for the foreseeable future. If calling this a contender for debut album of the year is considered hype, then I stand guilty as charged! It was a pleasant surprise to see the new Queens Of The Stone Age album Like Clockwork getting to the number one spot in…

  • Dan Hegarty: Hey Ho Let’s Go!

    May 28, 2013 - By 

    What is it about the months of May and June that I love so much? Is it the weather? Nope, certainly not! To be honest, it’s always a great time for new music being unleashed, along with people getting into festival mode. We’ve been served very well on both fronts this year; Enemies, Cat Dowling, Solar Bears, Little Green Cars, and Alias Empire delivered sterling albums, and the festival circuit looks in pretty good shape. Independent festivals like Knockanstockan, Castlepalooza, and Indiependence have announced their line-ups; and there are the larger gatherings like Forbidden Fruit, Sea Sessions, Oxegen, Longitude, Body…

  • Trans-Europe Express #1: Slovenia

    May 21, 2013 - By 

    Go on, admit it. You’ve heard Slovenian music before. In fact, you hear it once a year in May when you make excuses to your friends for staying in, switch on BBC One and then sit there without as much as a single pang of shame as the Eurovision theme fades and Graham Norton gleefully introduces a series of horrendous, instantly forgettable acts. And there you are, dancing around your living room and singing along to the choruses of songs with unpronounceable titles, while your last shred of dignity shrivels up and dies and your partner discreetly packs their bags,…

  • Lost In Necropolis: Nomadic Rituals

    May 15, 2013 - By 

    In the very first of his regular column on all things metal – Lost In Necropolis – Conchobhar Ó Dochartaigh catches up with Belfast-based doom/sludge metal three-piece Nomadic Rituals ahead of the release of their debut album to talk doom, recording and their thoughts on the local metal scene. Tell us about how the band formed. Was there a shared vision or aim in mind? What influences would be a good reference point for those unfamiliar with you? Craig, our vocalist/bassist, asked us if we wanted to form a sludge/doom band, so we organised a jam to see if it…

  • Dave Magee: How Music Became Disposable

    May 4, 2013 - By 

    I miss music. What’s that you say? There’s loads of it? No there isn’t. That’s not music. That’s advertising. That’s what that is. Maybe I’m getting old (check that – I am getting old) but I remember a time when I was so passionate about bands I loved so dearly that I would argue the bit out to hammer home my point. I had a conversation with a friend recently about how nostalgia taints our view of music, books, films etc. About how the things we still love from our youth are only still loved by us because they remind…