• Monday Mixtape: how r u

    how r u, the new slowcore project by Belfast singer-songwriter Thom Southern, unveiled his stellar debut LP moot last Friday. Ahead of an intimate show alongside lovver and ghoulgirl at the Black Box in Belfast on 31st July, he takes us on a guided journey through some of the tracks that inspired the project, from Duster and The American Analog Set to Grouper and Porch Kiss. Duster – Inside Out I first discovered Duster when someone told me my productions sounded like them and when I listened to them it took things to another level for me with new ideas…

  • Monday Mixtape: Callum Orr

    Ahead of the release of his highly-anticipated debut album The Trials of Knowing this Friday, Dublin folk artist Callum Orr waxes lyrical on soe of his all-time favourite songs, featuring Tom Waits, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Frightened Rabbit and more Photo by Tadhg O Brien Ann Mayo Muir, Gordon Bok & Ed Trickett – How Can I Keep From Singing I came across this song only in the last year, but this recording immediately imprinted on me. It’s an old hymn from the 1800s, but a new verse was added in the 1950s in protest of McCarthyism, which I think balances its…

  • Monday Mixtape: Cosha

    Following the release of her sublime new EP, MurMurs, Wicklow R&B queen Cosha waxes lyrical on her all-time favourite tracks, featuring Björk, Sade, Tirzah, D’Angelo and more Björk – It’s Not Up To You I feel like all stages of my life can be defined by a Björk album; right now Vespertine is resonating with glorious potency. She says all the things I am thinking and feeling in ways so eloquent it’s almost unfair, this is not even her first language! This song particularly stuck with me recently, it’s such an important message that everyone can relate to and that…

  • Monday Mixtape: Oisin Leech – My Obsession With The Rain

    Irish songwriter Oisin Leech has just released his debut solo album entitled ‘Cold Sea’. It was produced by Brooklyn artist Steve Gunn in Donegal. It features luminaries Dónal Lunny, M Ward and Tony Garnier. The album has garnered global critical acclaim with Le Monde in France calling it “nine tracks of absolute beauty.” Uncut have called it a “stunning album of clear blue reflection” while Other Voices and MOJO have dubbed it one of the albums of 2024 so far. It’s out now on Tremone Records and Outside Music. Oisin plays his first solo headline Belfast gig at The Deer’s…

  • Monday Mixtape: PANIKATAX

    In the latest installment of Monday Mixtape, Rob Walsh and Rían Trench of Dublin noise-punk masters PANIKATAX fly the flag for Underground Resistance, Clarissa Connelly, Big Black, Nitzer Ebb, This Heat and more Rob Walsh Underground Resistance – Final Frontier This track from Mad Mike and Co. at Underground Resistance is a seminal classic. It sparked my love for Detroit techno and continues to have an overwhelming effect on me to this day. The nostalgia level is off the charts on this one, reminding me of growing up in the Irish dance scene, the first place where I felt accepted.…

  • Monday Mixtape: Pissed Jeans

    It’s early days but if Pennsylvanian hardcore heroes Pissed Jeans didn’t just return with one of the records of the year in Half Divorced, recorded sound – I’m afraid to report – is officially over. Released on Friday, it doubles as the band’s first album in seven years and delivers a dozen sludge-punk face rippers that rank right up there with their very best. Good luck finding fucked-off finesse more compelling than this in 2024. Which is to say we seriously wouldn’t advise that you pass on the band’s show in Dublin next month. Taking over Whelan’s main room on…

  • Monday Mixtape: Trá Pháidín

    In our debut – that is long overdue – Monday Mixtape as Gaeilge, Connemara’s many-headed experimental enigma Trá Pháidín takes us on a sonic traipse via Astrid Sonne, Little Simz, Mabé Fratti and more Image provided: The Human Bridge of Carrick-on-Suir, sponsored by Paolo Soprani An 424 by Trá Pháidín Floyd Tillman – I Love You So Much it Hurts Chuala mé seo don chéad uair ar cheirnín de R. Stevie Moore darbh ainm “Glad Music” agus tháinig mé ar aríst i bailiúchain ceol tíre darbh ainm “Colombia Country Classics” ar útube. Cíneal gas é cloisteáil i gcomhthéacs eagsúil den…

  • Monday Mixtape: Stray Planets

    Off of the back of ‘Glowing Rectangles’—his stellar new single featuring Dara Kiely of Gilla Band—John Butler of Dublin collective Stray Planets delves into a small selection of his favourite songs, from Judee Sill, Gabriel Faure and Supergrass to The Supremes, Haruyo Oguro & Tomoko Sasaki Photo by Justin Young Sagittarius – Glass An evocative track from an album I love called Present Tense. Good one to listen to on headphones walking in town through a tide of faces. Harpers Bizarre – High Coin This track is more up my street than where I live. A perfect marriage of beauty…

  • Monday Mixtape: Connor McCann

    Following the release of his new single ‘Hard Times,’ the fast-rising Belfast singer-songwriter waxes lyrical about a handful of his favourite songs, from Big Thief and Unknown Mortal Orchestra to John Martyn and beyond Big Thief – Masterpiece The core line of this song made a list of my favourite lyrics of all time, and it might not be the best line in the song. An incredible and heart-breaking song which is no surprise if you follow the work of Adrianne Lenker Hozier – Like Real People Do Playing a few covers in sessions around Belfast, this generally never fails…

  • Monday Mixtape: Psychic Graveyard

    Ahead of their debut Irish shows this weekend, Psychic Graveyard (featuring former members of Arab on Radar, Some Girls, All Leather, Chinese Stars, etc) select the tracks that have left a lasting impression on their lives. Six Finger Satellite – Laughing Larry Laughing Larry is one of my favorite songs off Six Finger Satellite’s Pigeon Is The Most Popular Bird. To celebrate its 30th birthday, Sub Pop is reissuing this gem this. This album is still in my top ten albums of all time. My first thought when hearing this album was, this is the music I had been waiting…