• Irish Tracks of the Week – June 19th

    June 19, 2020 - By 

    We’re back with another round-up of the best Irish tracks released this week. Spanning from a stellar surprise release from US-Belfast hip-hop collaboration Malibu Shark Attack, new PowPig, JyellowL, MuRli, Cruiser, and many more. It’s worth bearing in mind that almost all these acts are on Bandcamp, who will be donating all their takings to NAACP until midnight, with many artists themselves giving proceeds to MASI and other worthy charities. PowPig – Intellectual Malibu Shark Attack! – The People Could Fly The People Could Fly by Malibu Shark Attack! MuRli – We Are Not Kids Anymore Fly High Sampler Vol.1 by MuRli Cruiser – Ovaltine JyellowL – JeweLs Bicurious…

  • Premiere: Waldorf & Cannon – Dear Richard

    June 19, 2020 - By 

    Many Irish acts have kept remarkably busy in the age of lockdown, not least Derry/Donegal twosome Waldorf & Cannon. Hands down one of the North West’s finest fuzzed-up, no-nonsense alt-rock propositions, today the band release The Lockdown Special, a self-produced, six-track release bringing together live versions of tracks including ‘Syntax Error’ with material including new single ‘Dear Richard’. Doubling up as one of the duo’s strongest single efforts to date, its video – which we’re pleased to premiere below – was shot entirely in lockdown. As DIY goes, Waldorf & Cannon make it their mission statement. Have a first look at the video, and…

  • Premiere: PowPig – Intellectual

    June 18, 2020 - By 

    Back in 2018, PowPig graced practically every domestic  “One’s To Watch” list long before some members had even finished secondary school. Since then, the Limerick-based quartet has consistently excited audiences with their exuberant sound (if you haven’t checked out their split EP with Junior Brother from last year, do so immediately!) and live performances. The fun-loving foursome has firmly established themselves as one of the most exciting and promising bands in Ireland and they continue to show their musical dexterity with each subsequent release.  Today, PowPig share their most introspective arrangement to date, ‘Intellectual’. Founded on sophisticated textures of twinkling…

  • EP Premiere: Banríon – Airport Dads

    June 18, 2020 - By 

    Fronted by Róisín Hackett, Banríon are a Dublin foursome who bridge alt-rock and carefully-crafted indie-rock in the vein of Soccer Mommy and Snail Mail. Across three tracks, the band’s self-produced debut EP Airport Dads was recorded in a sitting room in Connemara, and is full testament to a band who have caught our attention right from the outset. Exploring the complex theme of disability, alongside broader ruminations on uncertainty, emigration and heartbreak, lead single ‘Yesterdays’ Paper’, ‘Bunkbeds’ and closer ‘Ouchie’ betray the pathos, songwriting finesse and harmonic knack of a band we’re sure will make big leaps in the coming months. Mark our words on that…

  • Premiere: Cruiser – Ovaltine

    June 17, 2020 - By 

    At the beating heart of Limerick’s fully thriving music scene as of late are Cruiser, a foursome comprising Ger Devine, Rachael Drennan, Chris Quigley and Steve Savage. Striking a sweet point between supremely candid indie rock and intricately-woven shoegaze worship, the gentler side of the band’s sonic M.O. is laid bare across the four minutes of ‘Ovaltine’. Originally featured on the band’s split EP with Belfast trio Mob Wife late last year (check out our premiere here) it’s a song evoking everyone from Bedhead and early Slowdive, to Codeine and Duster. Today, we’re pleased to present a first look at the song’s brand new video. Doubling up as one…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – June 12th

    June 12, 2020 - By 

    Including premieres of brand new singles by Not I and James Anderson, we round up the best Irish tracks released this week, from Jafaris, Everything Shook, Tebi Rex and Alpha Chrome Yayo to Dott, Goodtime John, Pillow Queens, Susie Blue and Unbelievable Lake. Not I – Please Be Kind [Premiere] James Anderson – Peace [Premiere] Jafaris – Glue Everything Shook – Stand Ajar Stand Ajar by Everything Shook Tebi Rex – I Got My Whole Unbelievable Lake – Forgive Unbelievable Lake · Forgive Susie Blue – Daughter Alpha Chrome Yayo – Tomb Dive Skylight Sessions by Alpha Chrome Yayo Dott –…

  • Stream: Goodtime John – Hang On/Black Sunrise

    June 11, 2020 - By 

    Exactly a year on from releasing one of the Irish albums of the year, Beauty & Chaos, Goodtime John (AKA J. Cowhie, GOODTIME) is back with a stellar brace of gently-rolling, psych-inflected pop. Featuring long time collaborators including Richie Egan aka Jape and Ross Turner (Lisa Hannigan, Villagers) ‘Hang On’ and ‘Black Sunrise’ are equally emphatic efforts that place deft harmonies and refrains center-stage. “These songs have never quite fit on an album to my mind, but have always felt to me that they go hand in hand,” John said. “Cut from the same cloth as it were. In the current…

  • Watch: Pillow Queens – Handsome Wife

    June 11, 2020 - By 

    Few bands earworm quite like Pillow Queens. Having been on our radar since 2017, the Dublin indie quartet will release their debut album, In Waiting, in September. If their new single ‘Handsome Wife’ is anything to go by – and it surely is – we’re in for something special. Featuring wonderful visuals shot and assembled during lockdown, it’s a star-shaped and suitably burrowing gem from the foursome. “‘Handsome Wife’ begins with a glimpse into an emotional homecoming, one that intensifies and romanticises the seemingly insignificant,” the band said. “Throughout, the mundane but tender moments are held up and deified, paying…

  • Video Premiere: Dott – Extra Introvert

    June 11, 2020 - By 

    If there’s any band in Ireland who can lay claim to an Earworm Guarantee™, it may well be Galway’s harmony-laced dream-pop quartet Dott, and new single ‘Extra Introvert’ proves that once more in spades. As interactions return to relative normality in time for summer, the gradual reacquaintance with our old friend social anxiety proves much easier when masked in a seasonally-appropriate bop. Dott were in the midst of recording their third album when the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to things, but mercifully they’ve delivered us a homespun, all-too-relatable video, made for phone. Featuring lead singer Anna and her many attempts to overcome Lockdown Anxiety, it records the day-to-day of using…

  • Album Stream: Brigid Mae Power – Head Above The Water

    June 5, 2020 - By 

    Her debut release via London’s Fire Records, and her third album overall, Head Above The Water finds Galway’s Brigid Mae Power at their peak of her powers. Recorded at analogue studio The Green Door in Glasgow, from boundlessly earworming opener ‘On A City Night’ to the release’s closing title track, it makes for a perfectly escapist 45 minutes of first-rate cosmic folk from one of the country’s most distinctive songwriting voices. Head Above The Water by Brigid Mae Power