• EP Stream: The 202s – Up In Thin Air

    February 2, 2017 - By 

    The 202s are a warm jumper of a band. Their sound is instantly familiar no matter which angle you approach it from, yet still comfortable and always enjoyable. Their specific brand of pop draws from a Bassetts assorted mix of music lover treats. Be it the Zero 7 ambience, the post-punk baritone vocals, those rock solid krautrock beats, the Yo La Tengo gentility or the glorious Kinks inflected melodies, all of the different sources trickle into the soundscape and provide a surprisingly large amount of enjoyment for even a casual pop culture obsessive. They’re the kind of group whose every…

  • EP Stream: Tuath – Things I Don’t Know

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    While it falls under the overarching “Alternative Rock” category on Soundcloud, Things I Don’t Know by Donegal’s Tuath is an EP that comes from a place far beyond your standard alt-rock fare. Marrying blissed-out ‘gazey textures with sax, verb-drenched vocals and a droning fog of psych fuzz over four tracks, the twenty-five minute release sees the Robert Mulhern-fronted outfit occupy a sonic plain that resists convention in favour of inspired overcast escapism. The following blurb accompanies the release: “A few songs about the boring numb reality we all live in and the effect it has on us when part of…

  • EP Stream: Arvo Party – 1/1/2017

    January 4, 2017 - By 

    The electronic music-making moniker of LaFaro and GOONS bassist Herb Magee, Arvo Party first caught our attention back this time last year with debut EPs Beep and Tintinnabuli. With an album in the works, Magee resurfaced on Sunday with the aptly-titled 1/1/2017, a compilation EP of sorts featuring five tracks that wouldn’t seem remotely out of place on say, the soundtrack to Commando, Rocky IV, Kickboxer – and countless other classic 80s action movies besides. Conjuring the likes of Todd Terje, DROKK, John Carpenter, Dog Blood and Floating Points, Magee said of the EP on his Bandcamp page: “This EP is a collection of…

  • EP Stream: Galants – Galants

    November 21, 2016 - By 

    There’s something profoundly excellent about seeing a band wear their influences on their sleeve with a level of musicianship and a forward-thinking mentality that doesn’t yield to straight-up imitation. Dublin noise-pop Galants comfortably slot into that bracket – a fact very impressively underscored on their debut self-titled EP. Set for release on November 25 via US imprint Jigsaw Records, the four-track release – which masterfully tips its hat to the holy triptych, Teenage Fanclub, Dinosaur Jr and My Bloody Valentine – was recorded with Stephen Dunne at Lamplight Studios and mastered by Fergal Davis. Galants launch the EP at Whelan’s in Dublin on December 3.…

  • EP Stream: Myronik – North/South

    October 10, 2016 - By 

    A six-track “audio diary” borne from travelling New Zealand for a year, North/South by 25 year old Dublin producer Liam Myers AKA Myronik features collected samples of various sounds and environments, from birds to instruments to various sound objects that Myers tried to recreate the emotions that “this amazing country evoked in me.” But far from an ad hoc series of tracks made simply to time-freeze a fond journey, the release is a masterfully assembled document of pastoral ambient, understated electronica and inspired experimentalism. In case you missed it, check out our Track Record with Myronik here. North/South by Myronik

  • EP Stream: Hvmmingbyrd – Know My Name

    September 19, 2016 - By 

    Counting Cocteau Twins, Portishead, Wilson Phillips, Lorde and the Staves amongst their key influences Kildare/Dublin duo Deborah Byrne and Suzette Das AKA Hvmmingbyrd originally started out as a folk-based quintet back in 2013. The confident culmination of their steady and steadily impressive evolution to a self-described “harmonic alt-pop duo”, their new EP, Know My Name, is a polished, hook-laden affair that sees the duo’s weaving vocal interplay dance above carefully-composed, FM-friendly electronic pop passages. Where it’s occasionally a shortcoming for certain acts of their ilk, Byrne and Das ensure simplicity and melodic linearity are at the root of each track on offer here.

  • EP Premiere: New Gods – Weird War Tales

    August 22, 2016 - By 

    A self-proclaimed “sleazy punk/rock n’ roll junk” band, Dublin’s positively scuzz-infested New Gods will play their swansong alongside the likes of Murder and Overbite at Fibbers in Dublin this Saturday night. But before bowing out in a blaze of old school punk abandon (a highly recommend proposition in and of itself) the five-piece will release their latest and last four-track EP, Weird War Tales, on Thursday. Tipping its pissed-off hat to everyone from Dead Boys, Sex Pistols and The Wipers, the EP – which we’re pleased to premiere here – offers up just over nine minutes of breakneck, begrimed brilliance.

  • EP Stream: Dott – Beverly Baldwin

    August 3, 2016 - By 

    Long-time TTA favourites, Dott first appeared on our radar back in January of 2012 via a demo of ‘Leave Tonight’. Four years a bit on, the Galway garage-pop quartet are back with a four-track EP distilling exactly what has kept us firmly interested in their trajectory to date. Set for release via NYC’s Mirror Universe Tapes on Friday, Beverly Baldwin was written and recorded by Anna and Evan of the band during a year spent in Toronto following their marriage in 2015. Titled after the part of Toronto where they recorded the EP in their tiny apartment, the release marries subtle…

  • EP Stream: Dandy’s Loft – Introspector

    June 30, 2016 - By 

    Forming roughly three years ago, Lurgan/Belfast group Dandy’s Loft have spent their formative years finding their sea legs and patiently writing and scrapping and re-writing music before finding a sound that they felt warranted release. This patience has proved to be massively beneficial to the four-piece as it has led to the release of a debut EP of four very accomplished tracks, the stylistic foundation of which lies on the likes Interpol and Radiohead as much as it does on that early 00’s glooming folk-rock sound. Introspector‘s four tracks veer from the throbbing bass, plucked strings and vocal harmonies of ‘Begging Your Pardon’…

  • EP Stream: Making Monsters – Bad Blood

    May 17, 2016 - By 

    A band that confidently straddles the oft precariously thin line between alt rock and metal, Derry’s Making Monsters most certainly don’t do things in half measures. With their brilliantly honed live show and ever-increasing audience at home further afield, the quartet have just released their latest and best EP to date, Bad Blood. Fronted by the Emma Gallagher – a vocalist whose range and delivery is a defining hallmark – the band step up and into gear for a release that pummels and impresses in synchronicity. These are well-considered songs bearing the imprint of diligence and a concerted effort to temper riffage with exquisite musicality. At six tracks,…