• EP Stream: Myronik – North/South

    October 10, 2016 - By 

    A six-track “audio diary” borne from travelling New Zealand for a year, North/South by 25 year old Dublin producer Liam Myers AKA Myronik features collected samples of various sounds and environments, from birds to instruments to various sound objects that Myers tried to recreate the emotions that “this amazing country evoked in me.” But far from an ad hoc series of tracks made simply to time-freeze a fond journey, the release is a masterfully assembled document of pastoral ambient, understated electronica and inspired experimentalism. In case you missed it, check out our Track Record with Myronik here. North/South by Myronik

  • Inbound: Whim

    October 6, 2016 - By 

    Whim AKA Sarah Di Muzio was born and raised in San Francisco but moved to Portland “in favour of rain and indie Pacific Northwest music”. A visit to Ireland in April 2015 saw her fall in love with Galway, probably for the same reasons, and she has lived here ever since. At only twenty years old she possesses an ability to craft clever indie-folk-pop tunes, the kind that wouldn’t seem out of place in that particularly American brand of quirky hipster rom-com. In fact, her second EP, The Funeral Guest – released in 2015 – was soundtrack to a movie…

  • Inbound: Drown

    October 4, 2016 - By 

    It’s pretty apt that this year is the 25th anniversary of Nirvana’s performance in Sir Henry’s in Cork and that Ireland currently finds its alternative music scene in pretty rude health. Leading the pack are Girl Band with their idiosyncratic and innovative post punk no doubt. However, there a slew of other equally excellent bands popping up throughout the whole island at what seems like a weekly basis. Galway’s Drown are one such group. Named after a Smashing Pumpkins song and only forming late last year, the level of confidence and familiarity they play with on their self titled debut EP,…

  • Premiere: Nocturnes – Whale Song

    October 3, 2016 - By 

    Inspired by the song whales use to communicate, ‘Whale Song’ by Sligo singer-songwriter Pearse McGloughlin AKA Nocturnes draws parallels between these great creatures of the ocean with our human selves. An oceanic ode that borders on the hymnal in its sublime, altogether delicate delivery and nigh on reverential tone, the single is accompanied by a video courtesy of McGloughlin’s brother, Kevin. Forging animated footage and live action footage to impressive effect,”creating an imagined astro-aquatic environment which is both the sea and the cosmos, the aquatic and the astronomic”, the video was borne from lengthy discussion between the brothers. Kevin said: “After many a chat with Pearse over…

  • Premiere: Pale Rivers – August 6th

    October 3, 2016 - By 

    As debut singles go ‘August 6th’ by Cork five-piece Pale Rivers is a real statement of intent. Accompanied by a typically slick (and warning: flashing imagery-heavy) video by Brendan Canty’s masterful Feel Good Lost, the track – with its subtle synth textures, harmonic flourishes and burrowing chorus refrain – is cunningly anthemic alt-pop at its finest. The track is the first in a string of forthcoming singles produced with Gavin Glass in his studio and mixed by Kieran Lynch, who has worked with U2, Elvis Costello and R.E.M. With more shows soon set to be announced, you can catch Pale Rivers – who will almost certainly be…

  • Watch: Enemies – itsallwaves

    September 29, 2016 - By 

    Kilcoole math-pop maestros Enemies may as well have ripped out our heart yesterday when they announced that they’re set to play their final show at Dublin’s Vicar Street on December 18 following the release of their third and final album, Valuables, via Topshelf Records on December 9. Now, less than 24 hours to digest the news, the band have cushioned the blow by unveiled the video for ‘itsallwaves’, the lead track from their forthcoming swansong. Featuring positively life-affirming tour footage courtesy of the band, Wez Evans, Darragh Bambrick and Niall O’Kelly, the video – directed by Evans – perfectly accompanies the track, a…

  • Premiere: Patrick Gardiner – Riverside Remark

    September 29, 2016 - By 

    When we premiered his Carcassonne EP back in April last year, we praised Co. Down singer-songwriter Patrick Gardiner‘s “subtly eclectic mix of incisive, occasionally wry and consistently considered acoustic tale-telling”. Nineteen months – and a whole lot of writing and recording – later, the songsmith has resurfaced with its accomplished, not to mention considerably more stripped-back and song-centric follow-up, ‘Riverside Remark’. A departure from the fleshed-out, full-band sound of the aforementioned EP, this new effort sees Gardiner and his guitar take centre-stage much like his early ruminations. A considerably less impressionistic – or indeed jazz-tinged – tale than many will be…

  • Premiere: Maija Sofia – Dreamscape

    September 29, 2016 - By 

    Dublin-based Galway antifolk singer-songwriter Maija Sofia is an artist whose craft fully benefits from taking the road less travelled. A self-proclaimed “surreal romance interweaving music with samples from an interview with the poet Anne Sexton” ‘Dreamscape, her new audio-visual effort with London independent filmmaking duo Will & Joe, is a short but striking abstracted meditation on truth, sex, The End, the transience of existence and Earth, as well as intersubjective role we play ‘neath the gossamer-like fabric of this mortal coil. Speaking about the collaboration, Will & Joe said: “‘Dreamscape’ has been a labour of love in-between other jobs and commitments for over a year. It is the shortest music video we’ve…

  • Stream: Lie Ins – Potatoes/Back on the Clock

    September 28, 2016 - By 

    It’s sometimes good to remember: Lie Ins aren’t just for Sundays. And nowhere is that more evident than quickly glancing at the calendar before stumbling upon ‘Potatoes’ and ‘Back on the Clock’, a new double-single from the Dublin indie pop band of the same name. Sure, that doesn’t aeally make a whole lot of sense but in the words of Aerosmith, let the music – insistent, merry and earworming as ever – do the talking (via Bandcamp below). Potatoes b/w Back on the Clock by Lie Ins

  • Premiere: Galants – Evergreen

    September 28, 2016 - By 

    Dublin noise-pop quartet Galants are a band that proudly – and very impressively – wear their influences on their collective sleeve. Forging the fuzzed-out, forward-moving indie rock of Dinosaur Jr. and early Yo La Tengo with the nebulous ‘gaze of My Bloody Valentine and tight, Byrds-influenced harmonies of Teenage Fanclub, their sound is unabashed hero worship but with more than enough deviation and departure to make it all their own. The first track from their forthcoming debut EP, ‘Evergreen’ is a perfect case in point. Have an exclusive first listen to that below and make sure to catch the guys at Dublin’s The Workman’s Club on Saturday, October 8…