• Tandem Felix w/ Jawbone @ The Workman’s Club, Dublin

    May 18, 2015 - By 

    Does life imitate art or the other way round? A fundamental question for aesthetes answered simply enough when, prompted by the seated musicians on stage, the audience follow cue and inhabit the dark, seated parameters of the Workman’s Club. Despite the resulting floor space having the inhospitable air of a school disco (circa 1999, god knows what they’re like now) the atmosphere’s closer to a dim lit jazz club. Fitting, perhaps, for the clever work of Jawbone; a folk/blues collective who stray into honky-tonk, swing and delta for good measure. More a showcase than a straight set, the members pay…

  • little xs for eyes w/ Paddy Hanna @ Whelan’s, Dublin

    May 6, 2015 - By 

    Kicking things off nicely is Paddy Hanna with his introspective, delicate folk. His greatest, and most striking strength is his voice, reminiscent of BBC’s Jack Steadman, Alt-J’s Joe Newman and even our own Conor O’Brien. His mellow, gossamer guitar playing may be lost on the early crowd who are yet to break from their tight circles and shadowy corners. But in Paddy, though no stage master, there’s clearly something to like for lovers of the genre. The crowd begins to grow. Mid week gigs are all the thing it seems. But then again, who wouldn’t want to get out of…

  • San Fermin @ Whelan’s, Dublin

    May 1, 2015 - By 

    Fresh off the release of sophomore album Jackrabbit, Brooklyn-based San Fermin returns to Dublin exactly one year after their debut performance in Ireland. Largely the brainchild of composer and lyricist Ellis Ludwig-Leone, a composition major from Yale University, San Fermin’s style plays to a variety of influence ranging folk, jazz, and pop, with an element of high refinement in each musical mannerism. The eight-piece ensemble, including two men on brass and an electric violinist, excites in a way that is hard to categorize. Ellis’ lyrics mystify the abstract while painting a visceral picture of emotion, yet the robust vocals of…

  • Flying Lotus @ Vicar Street, Dublin

    May 1, 2015 - By 

    With the doors to Vicar Street, Dublin, opening at 7.30pm, our approach was somewhat cautious.  Surely there won’t be anybody here? We’re a bit early, right? WRONG. As we turned the corner, tickets in hand and anticipation set to almost uncomfortable levels, we were psyched to see a few hundred people milling about outside the entrance, all as giddy and as anxious to get inside as us, for a night featuring none other than the inimitable, the glorious, the Captain himself, Flying Lotus. It’s a strange, but welcome experience too, entering the cavernous venue so early and seeing it so…

  • Ben Howard @ 3Arena, Dublin

    April 15, 2015 - By 

    Returning to Dublin after four months on from two-night run at the Olympia, Ben Howard’s sold-out performance at 3Arena would normally indicate momentous progress for a second-album tour. October 2014’s I Forget Where We Were marked a piquant shift toward the sultrier side of Howard’s folk bearings and has captured coveted spots on charts the world over, including number 1 in the singer’s own UK. And yet, as a set list for an arena tour, Howard’s new material simply falls short. The packed crowds of Dublin’s stunning 3Arena broke into wild applause as the house dimmed to welcome Howard’s humble…

  • AAA: The Mighty Stef Album Launch

    April 12, 2015 - By 

    Redemption is a story told intimately well by the tattered glory of rock ‘n’ roll.  At the peak of an atypically hot week in Dublin, hometown hero Stefan Murphy embodied that redemption through a genuine baptism by fire in the sweat-box that is Whelan’s music hall.  Heralding the launch of his new album Year of the Horse, The Mighty Stef, as he’s known to fans, led his band mates through a raucous set, featuring friends old and new, and making a remarkable fresh start in the local legend’s career.  For an hour and a half of warm-up acts, as cult followers…

  • Young Fathers w/ Simi Crowns @ The Academy, Dublin

    March 30, 2015 - By 

    A chatty Thursday night crowd sit through an increasingly punchy, but not overtly engaging opening few minutes from support Simi Crowns. The Dublin-reared rapper throws out some strong armed but inaccurate hooks that fail to engage all but the most enthusiastic in the audience. Such is the lot of the support slot, right? Except Simi Crowns does not pack up his things and go home. With a bit of charm and a hint of exuberance he manages to make his pop-esque, Chase and Status inflected style of hip-hop hit home. By the time the set is over the crowd are…

  • No Monster Club Album Launch @ Bello Bar, Dublin

    March 16, 2015 - By 

    “I never break any strings in rehearsal… but when we’re live, I break every string in the book.” I’ve never been in rehearsal with No Monster Club yet I found myself pleasantly unsurprised when frontman Bobby Aherne made this observation Saturday night at the launch party for his new album, People Are Weird. Staged in the basement of Dublin’s Bello Bar, the choice in venue captured an absurdity that could only be matched by the dry humour of Aherne’s lyrics. This stale 70’s smoking parlour boasts wooden panels, low ceilings, and a revival art-deco aesthetic that’s dying to be in some…

  • Cruising @ Menagerie, Belfast

    March 17, 2015 - By 

    So far, Cruising have been taking things fairly slowly. Though the Belfast/Dublin quartet officially operate under pseudonyms (Benzedrine Black, Sex Grimes, Dan Handle and Dick Vortex), they’re easily recognisable to anyone who has even a passing interest in Irish music at the moment, made up as they are of members of Girls Names, Sea Pinks, September Girls and the now defunct Logikparty. Another one of Sunglasses After Dark’s top notch events, without a support act The Menagerie slowly fills up to the sounds of The Stooges and other assorted proto-punk bands, which sets the tone for what’s to come. It’s…

  • Alt-J @ 3Arena

    October 1, 2014 - By 

    The cliched and indeed meteoric rise of Alt-J has at times dazzled with its intrigue. Having spent years tucked away in student bedrooms, perfecting a necessarily minimalist style yet reticent to unveil it, the Leeds act equally seemed uninspired by the fame that eventually came their way. The wonderfully portentous Mac-only reference of their name, early refusal to feature their own faces in promo shots and distinctive vocals made it clear they were going to do things on their own terms. Terms, in a leftfield twist, that didn’t turn out to include bassist and founder Gwil Sainsbury. It’s been an…