• Popicalia 22: Squarehead, Land Lovers & Ginnels @ Bello Bar, Dublin

    August 2, 2016 - By 

    At one stage, Popical Island’s regular Popicalia nights were such a staple of Dublin’s indie scene that Retarded Cop even wrote a song about it (found on the Popical Island #2 compilation), so its return with a stellar lineup – and an invitingly colourful poster courtesy of Ruan Van Vliet – after a 2 and a half year hiatus was always going to attract a hefty crowd to its new home in the cosy surroundings of Bello Bar. Ginnels (below) opening set sees Mark Chester add a new violinist to the lineup, adding an extra layer to the infectious indie pop…

  • Popicalia 22

    July 25, 2016 - By 

    Having declared back in January that they were “alive and well and making plans for 2016” Dublin’s self-proclaimed Bockety POP collective Popical Island will host their grand twenty-second Popicalia at Bello Bar on Saturday, July 30. Headlined by indie-rock trio Squarehead, the show – which also features fellow islanders Land Lovers and Ginnels – is an inestimable opportunity to (re-)acquaint oneself with said bocket. Admission is just €8 (or £300 according to the show’s Facebook event page. Man, Brexit has hit hard).

  • Track Record: Bobby Aherne

    November 28, 2014 - By 

    Bobby Aherne is one very busy lad who can be found bouncing between various bands such as No Monster Club, Ginnels and Women’s Christmas to penning a hilarious book about Dublin legends. We caught up with him and his Kalamazoo synth-pop house guest,  M.Sord for a fun flip through his record collection. Photos by Isabel Thomas. Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam I got more and more into Animal Collective as I grudgingly made my way through university – with a particular fondness for the one in which the only lyric is the drawn-out line “You don’t have to go to college”. During the (very welcome)…

  • Interview: Paddy Hanna

    June 24, 2014 - By 

    A restless artist and then some, Paddy Hanna is deservedly well regarded as one of the most prolific musicians in Dublin and beyond. When he’s not busy singing in Grand Pocket Orchestra or playing in Popical Island bands No Monster Club, Ginnels and Skelocrats, he’s writing, recording and playing his own wonderfully infectious, clever indie pop music. Off the back of the release of his exquisite debut album, Leafy Stiletto, we talk to Paddy about the incestuousness of Popical Island, scraping the “serious misery muck from [his] mind’s floor” and finding the time to commit to so many different projects. Hi Paddy. You released the…

  • Interview: Ginnels

    May 2, 2014 - By 

    Mark Chester’s Ginnels – a well-loved and lively part of Dublin’s ever expanding DIY scene – describe themselves modestly as “like your dickhead neighbour drowning out your Byrds and Feelies records with his poorly recorded noise ‘jams’ and his stoned mates. Except actually good.” They’re definitely right about the last part. Chester’s scene credentials are substantial, with the vocalist heavily linked in with Dublin record label Popical Island as well as playing roles in No Monster Club and Grand Pocket Orchestra. He seems able to orchestrate a collection of garage rock albums on a budget that’s too tight to talk of, and…

  • Album stream: Ginnels – A Country Life

    March 31, 2014 - By 

    Just over three years on from the release of his self-titled debut album, Grand Pocket Orchestra and No Monster Club guitarist/bassist Mark Chester AKA Ginnels has returned with his fourth album, A Country Life. Released via the wonderful Popical Island, the fourteen-track release was recorded, mixed and mastered by Chester at Rialto Cottages and The Pop Inn during the winter just passed. With the likes of ‘Car’s Parked’ and ‘God Botherers’ standing out on first listen, the record is seemingly a more fleshed-out and less (albeit wonderfully-woven) haphazard concoction of sounds, all propelled Chester’s instantly recognisable brand of restless, somewhat melancholic indie rock.…