• Young Fathers – Dead

    February 27, 2014 - By 

    Calling your album Dead doesn’t exactly promise a party, and to that end Young Fathers deliver few surprises. Take them at face value as hip-hop however and your expectations are much likelier to be challenged (unless perhaps your hip-hop collection is already coming down with acts boasting lineage from Liberia, Nigeria and Scotland). It might be difficult to imagine cold what such a combination might sound like, but once you’ve heard it, generally it adds up. The beats are the most obvious link to Africa – ironic though that may be since chief producer ‘G’ Hastings is the Scottish element…

  • Watch: Oh Volcano – Oceans

    February 26, 2014 - By 

    General Fiasco brothers Owen and Enda Strathern have unveiled their debut track as Oh Volcano, titled ‘Oceans’. Marking a decidedly more progressive and electronic direction, the track is accompanied by a video directed by local musician and filmmaker Edward Butler. General Fiasco announced a hiatus in early 2013 but have played a few gigs with Duke Special and a one-off small gig in Belfast. Check out the video for the ‘Oceans’ below.

  • Watch: Malibu Shark Attack – Better Off As Friends

    February 24, 2014 - By 

    Featuring a heartbroken BeeMickSee, transatlantic indie-rap group Malibu Shark Attack  have released their first music video, for ‘Better Off As Friends’. Set for release on March 17 via No Dancing, the single features vocals from Dudley Colley of Dublin three-piece The Dudley Corporation. According to the band’s Soundcloud page, the video “shares the turmoil and heartache in the loss of some of [our] most-loved groups. From The Undertones and Sleater-Kinney to The Streets and ABBA. [We] want you to remember one thing. No matter what happens, you’ll always have the albums. As long as you don’t smash them up”. Malibu Shark Attack…

  • Watch: We Cut Corners – Best Friend

    February 24, 2014 - By 

    Set to play our new gig/club night, No Tomorrow, on May 3, Dublin indie rock duo We Cut Corners have revealed the beautifully animated video for their single, ‘Best Friend’. Following on from the release of ‘YKK’ and ‘Every Thief’, the track is taken from the band’s forthcoming second album, Think Nothing.  The video for the single was created by Kijeki/Adamski. Watch the video for ‘Best Friend’ below!

  • Stream: Sleep Thieves – City Of Hearts

    February 20, 2014 - By 

    Having reached no. 40 in out Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013 with the stunning slice of indie/electro-pop that was ‘Sparks’, Dublin trio Sleep Thieves have released a stream of their latest single, ‘City of Hearts’. Propelled by a strutting, synth-lined beat, the track blossoms into a subtly kaleidoscopic chorus, its Solar Bears-esque twists and turns governed by Sorcha Brennan’s wonderfully lulling vocals. Taken from the band’s forthcoming new album, You Want The Night, the single – recorded by Keith Byrne and mixed by Rian Trench – is the trio’s first release since recently signing to Chicago-based record label Minty Fresh Records. Stream ‘City of…

  • Inbound: Women’s Christmas

    February 17, 2014 - By 

    Comprised of members from Dublin bands Villagers, Jogging and No Monster Club, lo-fi indie rock three-piece Women’s Christmas are much more than just an intriguing band name. Having released the superb debut EP, Tremendous, last month, we chat to the Ronan Jackson from the band about their formation, the recording of the aforementioned release and what 2014 holds in store for the band in terms of playing, recording and getting their music out there. Hi Ronan. First thing’s first: how did Women’s Christmas come into being? It was a pile of guitar songs that I had kicking around for about two or…

  • Stream: We Cut Corners – Best Friend

    February 11, 2014 - By 

    Taken from their forthcoming second album, Think Nothing, Dublin indie rock duo We Cut Corners have released their latest single, the brilliantly bobbing ‘Best Friend’ The follow-up to the equally impressive ‘Every Thief’ and ‘YKK’ by Conall Ó Breacháin and John Duignan, the track is a stripped-back affair, vehement vocals melding with abrasive guitar textures and a rhythm that emerges from a strut to a crashing conclusion. Think Nothing is released via Delphi in April. Check out the artwork for the album and stream ‘Best Friend’ via Soundcloud below.

  • Actress – Ghettoville

    February 7, 2014 - By 

    Actress, AKA Darren Cunningham has prowled the dark world of experimental, minimalist electronica for nearly a decade now. The title of this his fourth album harks back to Hazyville, his debut full length, and, if the finality hinted at in the album blurb is to be heeded, the pair seem likely to bookend the Actress story. Accordingly Cunningham has decided to create his masterpiece. Adopting varied approaches, Actress hunts the murky territory of a glitchy, avant garde noise and presents the results in phases. These phases become most obvious over five (not six) sides of vinyl LP (everything needs to…

  • Album Stream: Alana Henderson – Windfall

    February 6, 2014 - By 

    Having had an extraordinary breakthrough year in 2013, Belfast-based singer-songwriter Alana Henderson has released a new album, Windfall. Ahead of entering the studio again soon to record some material of her own, the eight-track album is, in Henderson’s own words, “a side-project, separate from my own contemporary writing, in which I recorded an album of re-worked, contemporary arrangements of traditional songs from the North of Ireland.” Featuring the likes of Shauna Tohill AKA Silhouette and Mike Mormecha from Mojo Fury amongst a cast of musicians, the album is available as a limited edition cardboard release with enclosed sleeve-notes. Stream and/or download…

  • Watch: Feet For Wings – Cathedral St.

    February 6, 2014 - By 

    For one reason or another, the sea seems to occupy a special place in the hearts of many acts trying to visually capture the essence of their sound or  lyrical content. Take, for example, ‘Holy‘ by Scottish band Frightened Rabbit or ‘Can’t Make You Come Back‘ by Derry’s Our Krypton Son – just two songs that are not only complimented by their accompanying, nautically-inclined videos, but wonderfully transformed by the simple poetic majesty of the ocean. Adding themselves to such esteemable company is Belfast-based alt-acoustic four-piece Feet For Wings, a band whose short film-like video for their new single, ‘Cathedral St’,…