Rusted Rail’s Gig Economy #1 took place in Carroll’s Caravan Club in Galway over the weekend to raise vital fund for the Red Cross in Ukraine. The gig featured live performances from Brain Kelly (So Cow), A Lilac Decline and Field Trip. Photos by Ciaran O Maolain
Over the years, Galway’s Citóg Records has established and re-established itself as an institution emblematic of what makes Irish independent music and culture so vital. Recently, the collective have been focusing their attention on Amhráin, a new, short film created as part of Galway 2020’s Small Towns Big Ideas strand. Set to premiere at 9pm on Saturday, April 17th on Galway venue and creative hub The Black Gate’s social media channels, it will feature local artists including Eoin Dolan, Field Trip, Tracy Bruen and more performing new versions of beloved Galway songs by artists both past and present. Doubling as a tour…
We’re pleased to present a first look at the video for ‘Weatherman’ by Galway garage-pop band Field Trip. Heartfelt and subtly earworming in all the right places, the single – which is about “drifting apart from friends despite one’s best intentions – was recorded in a primary school at the end of 2019 alongside other tracks that the band will be releasing over the next while. And the video is something special. The band said: “It features clips from a 90s documentary entitled Clear The Streets, a feature on homeless people in Galway. It is co-directed by local legend Mark Kennedy who has since passed…
To be a contemporary “independent” band in Ireland isn’t merely a genre categorisation, but a complex creative actuality. There’s often a socio-economic subtext to the term, as happens when a multitude of younger or less experienced creatives don’t have the resources to view music as a full-time pursuit just yet. They must therefore look elsewhere to meet the frequently unforeseen costs that stack up when making music – gear upkeep, travel, recording/rehearsal space fees, etc. This can lead to an absence of parity at the level of industry power relations. Simply look at the cultural-economic logic followed by certain festivals…
Following the limited release of cross-Ireland Little L Records compilation, 2016’s A Litany of Failures – featuring Oh Boland, Shrug Life, That Snaake and Junk Drawer – an expanded second edition has been confirmed for release on July 13. Set to be released on 180g gatefold double vinyl, as well as through Bandcamp, Spotify and the usual outlets, it features 18 acts from Belfast, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Dublin, Galway & Limerick. The DIY, co-op endeavour aims to provide an opportunity to perform outside each of their hometowns, shortening the mental distances between bands, and encouraging a cross-pollination of musical communities. Splitting costs between artists and the organisers, a sense of…
Field Trip live at the Roisin Dubh in Galway with support from Eoin Dolan and Kieran O’Brien. Photos by Ciaran O Maolain.
There’s something so interminably pleasant about Evening’s Over, the latest EP from pop rockers Field Trip. An undeniable ennui and melancholy run throughout. Yet they’re wrapped up in an infectious brand of pop goodness that’s hard not to get lost in. Yet these aren’t throwaway nuggets. The band understands how to introduce scope and scale into what could otherwise be inconsequential mush. Take the opener ‘Wait’, for example. It starts off as a twitchy, yet straightforward indie pop track with a great big meaty fuzzed out chorus. But by the midpoint of the song, we transitioned to shredding solos…
The title track from their forthcoming, Eoin Dolan-recorded EP of the same time, ‘Evening’s Over’ is a wonderfully restrained slice of jangle-pop from Galway’s Field Trip. All but lullabyesque in its sleepy lo-fi tone and pace, Sean Walsh from the band said, “The song reflects on the scenario of a night of drinking. You’re on the couch, it’s 5am and getting bright, the birds are singing, you’re comrades are passed out around you and now you get the chance to gather your thoughts and reflect on the evening. The song is sort of sigh of relief that the night is…
West Coast not-for-profit cultural organisation An Áit Eile presents What Now? at Galway’s Art Centre featuring New Pope, Drown, Field Trip, The Clockworks and HAWK. Photos by Vincent Hughes.