• Chatting To The Cheesemonger: An Interview with Danny Carroll

    A quintessential indie rock showman-turned-millennial songsmith in the classical mode, we have a chat with Danny Carroll ahead of the release of his solo debut LP I Am The Cheese, out this Friday. Your debut LP I Am The Cheese shares its title with a 1977 young adult fiction novel, written by Robert Cormier. Could you tell us about the poignancy of that title to yourself and this body of work? It’s a book I read when I was 12 and was pretty haunted by. The final lines of the novel refer back to the folk song ‘The Farmer In…

  • Irish Tracks of The Week – 2nd February

    Dig into the very best Irish releases of the week, from Lemoncello, pôt-pot and Boyfrens, to Thee U.F.O, Danny Carroll and Dark Tropics Lemoncello – Harsh Truths Boyfrens – I’m On My Time pôt-pot – going insane Thee U.F.O – Surveyor Danny Carroll – Golden Hour Roslyn Steer – Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Roslyn Steer Deli Kuvveti – DK SY by Deli Kuvveti The Scratch – Sally MacLennane Dark Tropics – I Bet You Can (Mr. Myth’s Dub) Jazzy – Shooting Star

  • Video Premiere: Danny Carroll – Cheesemonger

    We’ve long championed former Shrug Life frontman Danny Carroll as a forerunner in the conversation around Ireland’s greatest current-day lyricists. Continually capturing his milieu in sardonic, vivid detail, age has sharpened his instincts and composition, yet tempered his self-deprecative tendencies – to a point. That point is exactly what Carroll’s latest single, ‘Cheesemonger’, finds itself wrestling with throughout. The track is featured on Volume IV of the Litany of Failures compilation of which Danny Carroll is co-curator. It comes out tomorrow on digital & vinyl, and we’re pleased to give you a first look at the video for ‘Cheesemonger’. It…

  • A Litany of Failures: Volume IV is Announced

    Irish compilation series A Litany of Failures, which features independent acts from all corners of the island, has just announced the pre-order and tracklisting for its fourth volume.  Set for release on double vinyl and digitally on September 8th, it’s available via Bandcamp. The compilation features 22 brand new, exclusive tracks from some of our favourite acts on the island, as well as some exciting new prospects. The double vinyl set once again features artwork by Pipe & Pallet, and the first 30 pre-orders feature a bespoke print from Belfast-based artist Phantom Powered Pixels.  The Litany of Failures series aims to document the grassroots music community…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – 20th January

    It’s a real red letter day for Irish music, with new music from some Ireland’s finest acts. Check out our pick of them, featuring Lisa O’Neill, Arborist, New Pagans, Frog of Earth, David Kitt, CMAT, Danny Carroll, Ailbhe Reddy, Hands Up Who Wants To Die, No Spill Blood and more. Lisa O’Neill – Silver Seed Arborist – Dreaming In Another Language CMAT – Mayday Robbie Stickland – Time To Say Goodbye To My Old Self Time To Say Goodbye To My Old Self by Robbie Stickland Hands Up Who Wants To Die – L’inconnue New Pagans – There We Are John No Spill Blood –…

  • Beyond Contrived, Bandwagonesque Bullshit: An Interview With Shrug Life

    It’s long been the contention of this publication that if any songwriter could claim to be the voice of Dublin it’s Danny Carroll, lead singer and guitarist for Shrug Life. Since 2015’s The Grand Stretch EP, the indie trio have consistently floored us with earworm hooks and existential despair with an empathetic smirk. The songs encapsulate so much of what it means to be alive in Ireland at the moment; the ennui, uncertainty and the oddly humourous nature of it all. With their latest single, ‘Strangers’, having dropped, Will Murphy has a little chat with Mr. Carroll to see where…

  • The Thin Air Podcast: David Gedge (The Wedding Present)

    The Thin Air podcast returns with a distinguished elder statesman of indie rock – David Gedge of The Wedding Present.  John Peel favourites and jangle-pop pioneers The Wedding Present emerged from Leeds in the late 1980s with their scrappy and lyrical debut album ‘George Best’.  A unique blend of bitter melodrama and everyday mundanity, it’s an urgent record that revels in the melancholy of small town life. From their C86 roots the band went to be bona fide indie-popstars, charting no less than 12 singles in the UK top 40 in 1992, and becoming a regular anomaly in the shiny…