• EP Stream: ABandcalledboy – Abandcalledboy

    April 8, 2014 - By 

    The follow-up to last year’s promising Dead Academics EP, Northern Irish schizo-punk trio Abandcalledboy have released their seven-track self-titled EP. Including the release’s lead single ‘Cliff Richard‘, the EP features the brims with the Ryan Burrowes-fronted trio’s now fully-formed grasp of fusing earworming melodies with pummeling weight. Over the course of seven tracks, and most impressively on ‘Serotonin’ and ‘Mirrorlover’, drop-tuned riffs meld with deceptively contagious vocal hooks and an unrelentingly impassioned delivery that confirms the arrival of one of the country’s most promising alt-rock bands of a generation. Abandcalledboy kickstart a string of UK dates in Glasgow this evening…

  • Watch: The Altered Hours – Dig Early

    April 7, 2014 - By 

    Ahead a string of Irish dates starting at the end of April, Cork psych-rock maestros The Altered Hours have unveiled their debut video, for the single ‘Dig Early’. Created by Mary Kelleher, Izabella Szczutkowska and Elaine Howley, the video is an entrancing collage of warped black-and-white footage of the band performing in Cork’s Triskel Arts Centre majestically intercut with a hyper-speed, decidedly dream-like coastal trawl in Co. Clare. The track itself – brilliantly bearing the hallmarks of the band’s intent-drenched live shows – was recorded and produced in Cork with Chris Somers and will be released as a 7″ on Art for…

  • Watch: Bouts – Novelty

    April 4, 2014 - By 

    Ahead of a string of Spring live dates, Dublin indie-rock band Bouts have unveiled the video for their latest single, ‘Novelty’. The first track from the quartet’s debut album, the superb Nothing Good Gets Away, this song is an accurate distillation of Bouts’ sublimely starry-eyed craft. The video for the song features the band, ever zealous (as you would be), writing and recording the album. Check out the poster for those Spring dates (including supporting none other than Yuck at this year’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival) and the video for ‘Novelty’ below.

  • Video exclusive: Sullivan & Gold – Glory

    April 2, 2014 - By 

    A week on from premiering the video for their exquisite cover of ‘Nobody Loves You’ by Reuben, we’re very happy to present an exclusive of ‘Glory’, the newest single by Derry singer-songwriter duo Sullivan & Gold. Shot in the charming, coffee-scented surroundings of Lost & Found Bar and Cafe on Queen Street, Coleraine, the video was shot by PIGMINTFILM. A song about “the little things in life, that seems to grow in stature every time the boys perform it live”, it is the second single to be taken from Sullivan & Gold’s debut album, For Foes. Sullivan & Gold will…

  • Stream: Planet Parade – Before & After

    April 2, 2014 - By 

    Having first reared their head back in 2009 with their four-track EP, Ghosts To People, Kildare indie-pop duo Michael Hopkins and Andrew Lloyd AKA Planet Parade have released their latest track, the lulling narcosis of ‘Before and After’. With tracks ‘Prick’ and ‘You and the Devil’ proving equally immersive last month, the two-piece have returned with a three-minute gem, propelled by a hugging, synth-led nocturnalism, gently chopping rhythms and suitably entrancing vocals. Stream the track via Soundcloud below.

  • Choice Cuts: The Best Tracks of… March

    April 1, 2014 - By 

    This month has been remarkable in terms of the quantity of excellent music releases on all fronts, and summarizing it into a playlist of 10 tracks has proven a tad difficult. As such, there are many notable absentees from this list, but at the same time I can assure you the reader that these ten new releases are not just good, or even great, but downright essential listens if one is to keep ahead of the crowd. I wouldn’t lie about things of such importance. As per usual, the first list of songs is in no particular order, with the…

  • Video exclusive: Sullivan & Gold – Nobody Loves You

    March 26, 2014 - By 

    Our second video exclusive from a Northern Irish duo this week comes courtesy of Derry singer-songwriter two-piece Ben Robinson and Adam Montgomery AKA Sullivan & Gold and their heartfelt cover of Reuben’s ‘Nobody Loves You’. Filmed by PIGMINTFILM, the video features Ben and Adam – previously of The Good Fight – performing their rendition of the song in Coleraine’s The Stables Flower Co. Sullivan & Gold will play the following dates over the next few of weeks: April 4 – Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart April 12 – Whelan’s, Dublin April 24 – Cafe Nero (Lombard St, Fountain St, Botanic Av), Belfast April 25 – Cafe…

  • Stream: Benihana – Machines

    March 25, 2014 - By 

    Featuring a sample of Charlie Chaplin’s famous speech from The Great Dictator, Kildare electronic duo Will Molloy and Billy Archbold AKA Benihana have released a new track titled ‘Machines’. Speaking of current plans, the pair said, “We actually havent played any gigs yet so at the moment we’re  working on a few tracks with the hope of building up enough material for a decent set. We’re also starting to look at how exactly we’re going to play our stuff live – still a bit unsure! Once the new tracks are finished, hopefully we’ll be able to start piecing together our next…

  • Watch: Deadlights – Passenger

    March 17, 2014 - By 

    Four months after the release of the stellar ‘Glass Houses’, Lisburn alt-rock band Deadlights have unveiled the video for their new single, ‘Passenger’. Created by Tommy Keery of Dog Kennel Productions, the video, which features the band performing the track, is inter-cut with a story that holds no bars in conveying the harsh reality of abduction. The single, mastered by the masterful Jon Moorehead, was recorded by Mike Mormecha of Mojo Fury at Millbank Studios. Watch the video below.

  • Watch: RAMS’ Pocket Radio – Love Is A Bitter Thing

    March 12, 2014 - By 

    Taken from his album Béton, Northern Irish singer-songwriter Peter McAuley AKA RAMS’ Pocket Radio has released the subtly sublime video for his new single, ‘Love Is A Bitter Thing’. Directed by Darren Lee, the video see a solitary and evidently yearning McAuley – currently in Texas for South by Southwest 2014 – in a desolate yet beautiful woodland, forcefully playing and treating his piano to inevitable (but perhaps necessary?) abandon RAMS’ Pocket Radio play the following dates throughout March: March 12: The British Music Embasy – SXSW, Texas March 14: The Full Irish Breakfast – BD Riley, SXSW, Texas March 14:…