• Stream: EHCO – Raise It Up feat. Jessica Lord

    July 13, 2017 - By 

    Wicklow-based producer Eoin Whitfield has shared the first track from his new project, EHCO.  ‘Raise It Up’, a collaboration with vocalist Jessica Lord, is a crisp and bright electronic number that brings much of the same melodic nuance to the fore as Whitfield’s former band and sorely missed TTA favourites Enemies did. Given his production expertise and knack for a harmonic flourish, we’re very keen to hear plenty more from this project which, when brought to a live setting, will feature a six-piece live band.

  • EP Stream: No Monster Club – Kaluli – Mexico

    July 7, 2017 - By 

    Champion of rusty pop production with more than one knack for a catchy hook Bobby Ahern has shared the latest instillment of his encyclopedia collection. Kaluli – Mexico is the seventh EP to come from the No Monster Club camp since January and is yet another serving of witty and infectious indie pop with lyrics that are equally so. Proving once again that he is one of the country’s most precious, odd and necessary musicians, ‘Factor 50’ and ‘Scouts Anthem’ are the perfect accompaniments for the summer days that are not-that-sunny-but-sunny-enough-like. As the man himself has said: “If you have any respect whatsoever for the summertime…

  • Album Stream: Blake’s Fortune – Hello World

    July 6, 2017 - By 

    In March of this year, Dublin based musician John Lennon aka Blake’s Fortune quietly released Hello World, a modest collection of contemporary folk that is at once charming and nostalgic for summers long past. Aptly described by the man himself as a “road trip” album, there is more than a light dusting of the quintessentially “Dublin” early naughties folk trend in this album, a tone that soundtracked many’s the gravelly, bumpy drive in a packed Ford Fiesta along the Irish coast. Think drinking cheap tins while your mate scrambles to build a dodgy fire on a beach, all to the tune of David Kitt‘s The…

  • Stream: Kieran O’Brien – Only A Dream

    June 14, 2017 - By 

    Last October we wrote about Galway ambient-folk artist Kieran O’Brien‘s After The Storm EP, a heartfelt, raw and honest exploration of personal rediscovery, nature and memory. Returning now with ‘Only a Dream’ taken from his forthcoming EP, O’Brien continues to explore similar themes with an added verve and a wealth of vibrant atmosphere. Stylistically, the track shifts slightly from the folkier leanings of After The Storm and instead takes a swing at the dream-pop pace and textures of Real Estate, The War on Drugs and fellow Galway artists like New Pope. It is a path that is well-trodden by upcoming artists and one that is all too often…

  • Watch: The Hot Sprockets – Right Spots

    June 7, 2017 - By 

    Dublin’s blues rock dedicants The Hot Sprockets have shared a tripped-out new video for their recent single ‘Right Spots’. Taken from their forthcoming album Dream Mover which is set to land later this year, ‘Right Spots’ is an infectious and driving outing to watch a bar fight to. If there are no bar fights around, the visual accompaniment for the track curtesy of Little Beast founder Luke Sweetman, three animators and a 30-strong crew is a much more vibrant affair. A feast of hand-drawn psychedelia, neon lights and uncanny-valley choreography, it’s a lot to take in, but an awful lot of fun to…

  • Stream: Fontaines – Liberty Bell

    May 23, 2017 - By 

    Dublin’s Fontaines have shared their debut single ‘Liberty Belle’ with the world, set for release this Friday 26 May. The track is as “Dublin” as it gets, with a snarky, heavily accented sensibility and a backdrop that will make fans of Is This It-era The Strokes very happy indeed. With equal measures of English 80s alt-rock lariness and post-punk playfulness, this is one of the most infectious Irish debuts we’ve heard this year, with a lo-fi nostalgic video to boot. The group have a host of live experience under their belt already, having impressed crowds at last year’s Hard Working Class Heroes and The Other…

  • Stream: Rejjie Snow – Purple Tuesday (feat. Joey Bada$$ & Jesse Boykins III)

    May 9, 2017 - By 

    Rejjie Snow has released the first track off of his forthcoming free mixtape The Moon & You, set for release May 18.  ‘Purple Tuesday’ is a subtly jazzy cut of laid back G-Funk featuring a verse from Joey Bada$$ and a soulful refrain Jesse Boykins III. The track follows from a sold-out homecoming show in Dublin last month as part of his UK and Ireland tour as well as the overcast homage to the capital that was the excellent video for ‘Flexin’. Speaking of The Moon & You to The Fader he has explained that, more so than a mixtape, the release will be “. .…

  • Watch: Vernon Jane – Fuck Me

    April 27, 2017 - By 

    Holy moly! Don’t you dare sit down, gang, this is important. Dublin Jazz-Punk (or, psyjance as they like to call it) collective Vernon Jane are here to kick the living daylights out you and your loved ones and teach you a lesson while they’re at it. Following on from the 2016 EP The Inner Workings of a Damaged Nobody, the group have returned with a vengeance with new single ‘Fuck Me’. The abrasive, merciless track finds the band channelling influences from the brutally hard-rockin’ camps and those of frenzied jazz. Band leader and vocalist Emily Jane bellows lyrics that demand attention and which grapple…

  • Stream: Elaine Mai – The Colour of the Night

    April 25, 2017 - By 

    Elaine Mai will release her new EP The Colour of the Night on 19 May. Following ‘Enniscrone’ from October 2016 and a recent remix of Liza Flumes ‘Sheets’, the Dublin based producer and vocalist has now revealed the title track of the forthcoming release. Much in the same vein as ‘Enniscrone’, which also features on the EP, ‘The Colour of the Night’ is an atmospheric electronic number with a solid backbone carrying it to its peak. Mai’s ability to capture sincere emotion in simple, warm melodies is on full display here with the words of loss and of nostalgia being carried by chiming synths…

  • Stream: Participant – Next Year

    April 25, 2017 - By 

    Taken from his Sampler EP, Dublin’s Stephen Tiernan AKA Participant has unveiled ‘Next Year’. The EP, which was released exclusively on cassette in March, features five singles on Side A and a collection of samples and field recordings on Side B. A delicate slice of atmospheric folk, Tiernan’s acoustic guitar and tempered vocals are gradually joined by additional textures, keys and faint strings, giving the track a neo-classical edge with hints of Ólafur Arnalds creeping through. With candid lyrics confronting themes of complacency, self-worth and commitment, Tiernan said of the track: “‘Next Year’ is a song that for me deals with the idea of…