• Stream: Loah – The Bailey

    March 15, 2017 - By 

    Two years ago last month we featured Irish-Sierra Leonean artist Sallay Matu Garnett AKA Loah as the cover star of the fourth issue of our physical magazine. And in the 25 months since, Garnett has evolved into something very special indeed. Currently in Austin, Texas as part of this year’s SXSW, the Dublin-based singer has unveiled her latest single, ‘The Bailey’, a stellar five-minute effort taken from her forthcoming This Heart EP. A full-band, politically-charged effort, the song tackles personal freedom and choice in relation to exterior forces. As ever, Garnett’s sublime vocals take centre-stage. This Heart will be released via Ensemble Music on…

  • Premiere: Percolator – Crab Supernova

    March 15, 2017 - By 

    Taken from their forthcoming debut album, Sestra, ‘Crab Supernova’ by Dublin-based “Krautophiles” Percolator is a track that – stemming from the band’s love of the likes of Neu! and Stereolab – conjures up a thick miasma of ‘gazey Kosmiche textures and Motorik groove. Accompanied by a video courtesy of Thom McDermot, the single is one of many highlights on Sestra, which was recorded in-house at John ‘Spud’ Murphy and Ian Chestnutt’s Guerilla Studios. The album is out via Penske Recordings on April 14. Have a first look and listen to ‘Crab Supernova’ below.

  • Watch: Fiction Peaks – Before The End

    March 15, 2017 - By 

    Featuring a video by Dublin artist Colm Giles, ‘Before The End’ by Dublin five-piece Fiction Peaks is a slow-burning alt-pop effort drawing parallels between personal strife and the broader backdrop of the Zeitgeist. Taken from their new double a-side ‘Before The End’/’Jinx’ – both of which will feature on their forthcoming debut album, Citizen – Giles said of the video that accompanies the single: “My take on ‘Before The End’ was to make an artistic observation of the times we are living in. I did this by looking at elements of the Spanish Civil War – showing ordinary people fighting against fascism. With…

  • EP Stream: Montauk Hotel – Montauk Hotel

    March 15, 2017 - By 

    Formed late last year, Dublin indie-pop quartet Claudia Verdecchia, Shell Dooley, Aoife, Hester and Karima Dillon El-Toukhy AKA Montauk Hotel have hit the ground running via their self-titled debut EP. From opener and lead single ‘Black Dress’  to harmony-driven closer ‘In The Land’, there’s a real earworming charm to the band’s streamlined, chorus-drenched jangle-pop. We expect impressive things from these guys throughout 2017.

  • Premiere: Cat Palace – Peddle It

    March 13, 2017 - By 

    Ever since the release of their self-titled debut EP (one of our Irish releases of 2015, no less) we’ve been keeping a close eye on Dublin’s Cat Palace. The music-making moniker of David Blaney, his output to date has struck a keen balance between perfectly sardonic social commentary and coded personal revelation, framed by his incredibly listenable brand of darkly alt-folk ruminations. With a band in tow, Blaney has returned with another stellar offering in the form of ‘Peddle It’, a single whose tropical, a e s t h e t i c-soaked visual accompaniment is perfectly at odds with the single’s shadowy tone and…

  • Watch: Super Silly – Not Ready To Leave

    March 10, 2017 - By 

    One of our featured 17 for ’17 acts, Dublin quartet Precious, Solbas, Grooves, and Shek AKA Super Silly are the living, breathing definition of an act whose self-belief and natural musical chemistry will undoubtedly guide them to big things. Having only made their live debut in August of last year, the Word Up Collective foursome’s blend of modern RnB, hip-hop, soul, pop and gospel is as slick as it is downright earworming, and nowhere is that more on display than their new single ‘Not Ready to Leave’. Accompanied with a stellar video courtesy of Seán Clancy, the track – is a groove-laden slice…

  • Album Premiere: Our Krypton Son – Fleas & Diamonds

    March 10, 2017 - By 

    Four years ago Derry songsmith Chris McConaghy AKA Our Krypton Son released one of the all-time great Irish debut solo albums. A self-titled release, it traversed an extraordinary palette of heart-wrung balladry and fervent, at times quite remarkable pop majesty. Today McConaghy returns with its highly-anticipated follow-up, Fleas & Diamonds. A wonderfully refined release – in both senses of the word – it betrays the hallmarks of an artist whose knack for weaving exquisite, emotionally potent songwriting with crushingly resonant lyrics is unparalleled on this island at present. Conceived over two days, from a tent pitched in an abandoned building on…

  • Premiere: Slouch – whiteboyfilingcabinetfaxmachinestapler

    March 10, 2017 - By 

    Following up on their Feminine Elbows EP from last year, the pop culture-savvy scuzzy alt. rock trio Slouch channel some Office Space-era jobsworth apathy on their latest release, the two-track whiteboyfilingcabinetfaxmachinestapler. The first of five singles to be released over the coming months by the industrious triad of South Dublin fellas, they know too well the meaning of the suburban minutia and drudgery rhymed off on its constituent parts, whiteboyfilingcabinetfaxmachinestapler & whiteboycoffeemachinebaker. Building on their traditionally QOTSA & Pixies-esque desert & alt-rock leanings, the band have upped their dosage of indie & garage rock energy – à la self-titled-era Blur & Ty Segall – and laced it with even…

  • Watch: Shookrah – Gerascophobia

    March 9, 2017 - By 

    A featured Inbound act in the fifth issue of our physical magazine, Cork six-piece Shookrah have always brilliantly blurred the lines between R&B and throwback soul with a decidedly more forward-thinking approach. Taken from their forthcoming Cliches EP, ‘Gerascophobia’ falls under that bracket, blending psych-soaked textures with a first-rate prog-tinged pop groove. Check out the brand new video for the single below.

  • Stream: Naoise Roo – Crying (Roy Orbison Cover – A Cappella)

    March 9, 2017 - By 

    Sometimes, stripping songs back to their pure, elemental basis reveals something uniquely special. A point in case can be found with Dublin chanteuse par excellence Naoise Roo’s a cappella cover of Roy Orbison’s timeless ‘Crying’. Recorded at a #strikeforrepeal fundraiser last weekend, the rendition – which sees Roo’s exquisite vocal poise command gleam into sharp focus under three minutes – is simultaneously stoic and strong; meditative and utterly defiant. Released yesterday as part of yesterday’s Strike For Repeal takeover, stream the track – recorded by Gav Hennessy -below.