• Enemies – Valuables

    December 12, 2016 - By 

    It’s been a tough year of seeing some of Ireland’s best-loved acts announce that they would be calling time on their current incarnations. From Fight Likes Apes to Solar Bears, from The Funeral Suits to Land Lovers, it’s been a year of sobering reminders that no matter how many hours are notched up in the “joyful slog”, no matter how many momentous shows are played and records released, it is a Herculean task for independent bands to keep it going forever. No matter how much we want these acts to consistently be releasing albums and traversing the country to play…

  • White Collar Boy – Priory Hall

    December 7, 2016 - By 

    Showing their roots in the form of sonic cap doffs to the likes of MK, Larry Levan, but more-so the straight-laced forms of euro disco prevalent in the 90s, White Collar Boys’ exceptionally infectious brand of garage-inflected house shines iridescent throughout their Priory Hall EP. The duo’s first effort proper since 2013, the four tracks of polished electronica that owe much more to Cologne than Chicago in places, relay to the listener a number of colourful synthesiser runs, throbbing rhythmic hits, and deep melodic excursions. EP opener and title-track ‘Priory Hall’ features Sean Reilly delivering a vocal that adds much…

  • Stream: Gumshoe – Ninbasu

    December 7, 2016 - By 

    Wicklow ambient hip-hop duo Gumshoe have debuted another track. ‘Ninbasu’ is the third cut to be revealed from Shannakie and Yam Faddah (Real names: Conor Murphy and Keith Ferguson) following from October’s lush ‘Yom Kippur’. The track is another ethereal trip from the pair, all fluttering melodies and crisp percussion, drifting to-and-fro between its phases with the most gentle aplomb. ‘Nimbasu’ feels the way your bed does in the five minutes before you have to get up for work. Expect to hear more from Gumshoe in 2017. Find Gumshoe on Facebook

  • That Snaake – Blinded by the Smell

    November 8, 2016 - By 

    Though they describe themselves as a “4 piece band with 3 capable cyclists”, the primary description that’s been following Dublin’s That Snaake around so far is ‘unfashionable’. That may sound unflattering to some, but really it’s an undeniable positive, setting them well apart from those currently more “fashionable” Irish bands – with current trends leaning towards shiny synths, pop hooks and polished production, That Snaake’s combination of rough and ready guitars and undisciplined vocals that nod to noise-rock and 90s slacker indie do make for a bit of a contrast, but having acts around that rail against what’s currently in…

  • Premiere: SpudGun – We Share This Space

    November 8, 2016 - By 

    Formed in January, Dublin based “music band from space” Spudgun smash elements of psyche rock, funk, jazz and punk to create something really quite captivating. The octet are now premiering the latter half of their debut release We Share This Space, an ambitious piece of theatrical noise preceded by the the cacophonous ‘Sandpaperteeth’. Fans of The Mars Volta, Mr. Bungle or the idea of Girl Band with saxophones will be immediately drawn to the sound of this “space goo” as the group refer to it.  The group will be giving the release its live debut this Friday November 11th at fellow Dubliners Beach‘s “Some Sort of Gathering” at The…

  • We Cut Corners – The Cadences of Others

    November 4, 2016 - By 

    The first time I saw Dublin’s We Cut Corners was on a nasty, raining evening in October 2014. I’d never heard of them but a friend dragged me out and I was in the mood to be distracted. They had just released their sophomore effort Think Nothing. Each song they played that night was a masterstroke of brevity, every line smacked with authenticity, sitting gingerly on top of John Duignan’s clanging guitars and Conall Ó’Breacháin’s drums. By the end, lyrics like “You live by the sword and get hit by a bus” and “Maybe in the future I will say more…

  • Bell X1 – Arms

    November 2, 2016 - By 

    It’s been 16 years since Bell X1 released their severely overlooked debut Neither Am I and began a steady ascent towards their current status as one of Ireland’s most reliable bands.  They’ve existed in a curious niche since their inception, their sound too broad for the quick-fix pop set with whom they found favour with singles such as ‘Rocky Took A Lover’, ‘The Great Defector’ and ‘Velcro’: crowd-pleasers all, but as the trio have grown as musicians, their modus operandi has become more difficult to pin down. They’re much more of an albums band than most people realise, and since…

  • Watch: Rejjie Snow – Pink Beetle

    November 1, 2016 - By 

    Was your Halloween not quite spooky enough? That case of the hangover terrors you have after the long weekend not quite sufficient? Rejjie Snow will solve that for you. Yesterday, the Dublin born rapper unveiled the feverishly uncomfortable video for ‘Pink Beetle’, his second track to be released via  300 Entertainment, the same label who will be releasing his debut LP. The aim of the video, according to Rejjie, was to emulate the “hyperreal imagery that one envisions when thinking about going to the dentist”. And that he has done. The unsettling, surreal, squirm inducing visuals manage to trigger every uncomfortable image that…

  • Bantum – Move

    October 31, 2016 - By 

    With a three year gap since Legion, his debut full-length album, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Bantum (aka Ruairi Lynch) would want to execute a fairly insular, idiosyncratic affair with his latest effort. Instead, it’s the relationships that Lynch has formed in the interim that sees Move thrive as an essential addition to the 2016 Irish release calendar. Having enlisted the likes of CC Brez, Loah, Rusangano Family, and a few more familiar names to inject proceedings with a veritable feast of homegrown talent, Lynch’s vision becomes one of celebration and appreciation. Move feels like one of those records…

  • Stream: Saint Sister – Tin Man

    October 31, 2016 - By 

    Saint Sister returned on Friday with their first new music since the enchanting Madrid EP from November of last year. ‘Tin Man’ and B-Side ‘Corpses’ carry on the same atmospheric mood that defined their debut with delicate melodic textures deftly propping up Gemma Doherty and Morgan MacIntyre’s gossamer vocals. In this instance though the music, produced by Alex Ryan, feels somehow disintegrated and sparse in a conscious way, the plucked harps on ‘Tin Man’ sounding somehow distant, the echoing vocal loops in ‘Corpses’ like a far-off siren song to lure you in. This fragility is a powerful poetic fallacy for the lyrics, each line feeling…