• The Thin Air’s Top 75 Irish Releases of 2019

    December 24, 2019 - By 

    Spanning albums, EPs, compilations, reissues, live albums and mixtapes, from every corner of the island, here’s the 75 best Irish releases of 2019. Onwards. #75-41 75. Talos – Iridiscent Iridescent by Talos 74. Danny Madigan – Teletron Teletron by Danny Madigan 73. Lonesome George – Stumble Day 72. Leo Miyagee – Ffdlc 71. Jonny Dillon – Songs For A One​-​String Guitar Songs For A One-String Guitar by Jonny Dillon 70. Anna Mieke – Idle Mind Idle Mind by Anna Mieke 69. Cailín – In My Soul Potboiler No. 3: Cailín – In My Soul by Cailín 68. Jafaris – Stride…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Tracks of 2019 (#75-51)

    December 17, 2019 - By 

    In the second of a four-part series, we continue our island-spanning, genre-leaping countdown of the best Irish tracks released in 2019, from Belfast alt-pop trailblazer Rebekah Fitch to a truly stellar track courtesy of Ordnance Survey. Miss out on 100-76? Go here to catch up. 75. Rebekah Fitch – Poison 74. New Pagans – Charlie Has the Face of a Saint 73. Casavettes – Imposter Syndrome Imposter Syndrome by Casavettes 72. Not I – Please, No Kindness, Please 71. Sorbet – Born Purple (feat. mickeykiiatein) Born Purple by SORBET 70. Autre Monde – On The Record 69. His Father’s Voice – In…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2018 (#100-51)

    December 22, 2018 - By 

    Christ on a rickety sleigh, was this tough. But truth be told – it’s rarely easy. As we scramble to bang heads and attempt to assimilate, order and re-order the absolute deluge of excellence that has met our ears over the previous twelve months, it’s instantly clear that there will be some notable omissions. It’s equal parts unavoidable and unfortunate, but more significantly, it’s glowing testament to what we’re dealing with in every pocket of this island. Of course, we can’t – nor wish to – conclusively say this is “the best year for Irish music in recent memory” (the…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2017 (50-1)

    December 8, 2017 - By 

    Boy, was this hard. To say this top 100 countdown could’ve very easily been a top 250 wouldn’t be anything resembling an overstatement. From start to finish, 2017 will go down as one of the most compelling years in Irish music in recent memory. Your move, 2018. Go here for 100-51. 50. Wood Burning Savages – Living Hell 49. Maija Sofia – Persephone 48. Group Zero – Pyramid of Light/Love And The Present 47. Ryan Vail & Jealous of the Birds – Love is a Crow 46. Floor Staff – A Love Sublime 45. Super Silly – Not Ready to…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2017 (100-51)

    December 7, 2017 - By 

    Ah, End of Year lists. Where would we be without you? Although the whole process can often skim close to the torturous, few things in this life rival the sheer satisfaction of sifting through a full year of music in order to attempt to carve out some semblance of quality. And whilst descending, close-ended lists such as these are almost exclusively arbitrary exercises nullified by good ol’ subjectivity, there’s something intrinsically important about trying to take a broad snapshot of music released in the twelve months just gone. And make no mistake, it’s been a pretty remarkable year for Irish…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015 (30-1)

    December 31, 2015 - By 

    In the third and final installment of the feature, we count down from 30 to 21 in our annual Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015. Miss the first two installments? Check them out here and here. 30. Morning Veils – Her Kind Released at the tail-end of 2015, Her Kind by Cork outfit Morning Veils was a deserved late addition to the top-end of our countdown. We said: “Her Kind a release that channels bedroom solipsism, backwashed thoughts and psychic corners in perfectly phantasmal fashion. Comprised of members including Elaine Howley of The Altered Hours and Roslyn Steer, the band’s brilliantly burrowing bonerand of…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015 (40-31)

    December 17, 2015 - By 

    Following on from Monday’s first installment, we continue our countdown of our Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015, featuring glorious returns, new-fangled heroes. Go here to check out 50-41. 40. Lakker – Tundra “You should listen to it loudly, and try to get swept away by it.” So aptly concluded Pitchfork’s review of Tundra, the second album – and debut R&S full-length release – from Berlin-based Dublin electronic duo Lakker in a decade. Released back in May, it proved an immersive ten-track release inspired by No U-Turn Records, Arvo Part, Merzbow and early Human League. Now that’s a dinner party we’d pay good money to…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015 (50-41)

    December 14, 2015 - By 

    Ahead of our annual Top 100 Irish Tracks of the Year countdown later this month, we’re counting down our Top 50 Irish Releases of 2015 (that is to say EPs and albums) every day this week. And rather than giving the game away too soon, we’ve opted for the age-old descending option, starting with 50-41. Dig in. 50. Screamingparent – The Completist Back in April, Dudley Colley of Dublin’s Dudley Corporation AKA Screamingparent released his ten-track debut of “spare-room recorded bedroom classics”. Call it his first solo “misadventure”, it was recorded in between school runs and nappy changes. True story: The Guardian SC somewhere…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013 (35-1)

    December 30, 2013 - By 

    Sixty-five increasingly exceptional songs in, we’re pleased to round up our first ever countdown of the Top 100 Irish Tracks of the year. Truth be told, this list could have been much, much longesear – such was the extent and quality of the output from our homegrown musical talent over the last twelve months. From unassuming bedroom artists treading the often very thin line between absolute anonymity and mass recognition to genre-defining, decades-spanning bands that fall comfortably under “legendary” status, we’ve been very happily bombarded with some truly extraordinary Irish music over the last year. Until next time… listen, enjoy…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013 (74-51)

    December 13, 2013 - By 

    Love, hate or merely tolerate them, end of year lists come in all different shapes and sizes. From the finest EPs of the last twelve months to the most questionably-named bands to emerge throughout the year, there is currently no shortage of lists and countdowns around to remind us of what went down in the world of music, both international and much closer to home, in 2013. This is our humble little offering – the Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013. Feel free to go here to check out the first installment of the countdown, featuring tracks 100-75. 74. The…