• Premiere: Any Joy – The Sea

    March 25, 2019 - By 

    One of the great hidden gems in Irish independent music today are Cork’s Any Joy. Sublimating varied strains of psych, post-punk & indie rock, they manage to recall the quintessential Deerhunter-esque pop-conscious, experimentally-natured sound of internalised dreams. Their 2017 debut album, Cycles, was a minor triumph, and was followed up last year with ‘Sucker’, a track that was included on last year’s Irish compilation A Litany of Failures: Volume II. Their new single, ‘The Sea’, bears all the Any Joy hallmarks: alpine guitar lines, tension, an impenetrable, masked vocal, and a wall of sound, all imbued with tape adulation. It’s their finest work to date. Another self-recorded effort in…

  • Premiere: Oisin o’ Scolai & The Virginia Slims – Vacation

    March 22, 2019 - By 

    Backed by the Virginia Slims, Belfast-based Donegal musician Oisin o’ Scolai has been on our radar since last July. Signed to Black Tragick Records – a label founded by none other than Kilrea’s finest Robyn G Shiels – he creates folk-pop brimming with pathos, heart and nuance. Exhibit A is new single ‘Vacation’. Taking from o’ Scolai’s forthcoming debut album, Vacant Sea, it’s a heart-stung, lo-fi effort tussling with social cul-de-sacs and growing fernweh. Officially out on April 5, ó Scolaí launches Vacant Sea alongside An Auld Lad, Hatchetfield, Franklyn and more at a Black Tragick night at Belfast’s Voodoo on April 4. Pre-order it…

  • Oranges – Hey Zeus

    March 21, 2019 - By 

    Last December, we premiered first single ‘The Way You Look’ by Dublin three-piece Oranges. We said it “recalled the abrasive, minimalist alchemy of The Fall”. The following single, ‘Upside Upside’ was a “skeletal post-punk riposte that, in its simmering climb and surging climax”. Taken from their forthcoming debut album Hey Zeus, they’re both firm hints at something special. A bare-bones approach has been applied to the entire process of Hey Zeus, which saw band members Gavin Duffy, Mici Durnin and Ed Kelly spit the LP out live in six hours with renowned engineer Stephen Quinn in a room on North Frederick Lane, Dublin, with only two of its eleven segments passing…

  • Premiere: Alpha Chrome Yayo – Cerberus 3000 (Killing Time)/A Sweet Car Named Demented

    March 21, 2019 - By 

    Last month, we had the pleasure of premiering ‘Breakfast in Daytona’ by Belfast producer and musician Alpha Chrome Yayo. It was, as we saw it, “soaked, SEGA-leaning gem” from an artist who, alongside the likes of the equally mysterious Danny Madigan, are flying the chequered flag for Belfast’s surprising, yet thriving synthwave scene. A self-proclaimed “hi-octane hellride”, new single ‘Cerberus 3000 (Killing Time’) ups the ante from ACY. Building on previous releases, the track – just like shorter, but no less inspired b-side ‘A Sweet Car Named Demented’ – is a pure-cut dose of synth-drenched, shred-heavy retromancy from the producer.…

  • Stream: Oranges – Upside Upside

    March 20, 2019 - By 

    Last December, we premiered ‘The Way You Look’ by Dublin three-piece Oranges. The lead single to be taken from Hey Zeus, the band’s forthcoming debut album, we said it “recalled the abrasive, minimalist alchemy of The Fall”. In truth, this is something that – all credit to its players – could be as comfortably applied to the latest track from Gavin Duffy, Mici Durnin and Ed Kelly. Across three minutes, ‘Upside Upside’ is skeletal post-punk riposte that, in its simmering climb and surging climax, hints at something special in the works for Hey Zeus. Set for release on limited orange + black coloured cassettes and…

  • EP Premiere: His Father’s Voice – Context and Perspective

    March 15, 2019 - By 

    The caveat with most ‘scenes’ tends to be that there’ll be some nadir to follow, once its signature sound has had a post-rock-esque fall into over-saturation and self-parody, but Limerick seemingly has no throughline other than its open ear and fiercely independent streak. The city has been responsible for galvanising a new school of Irish artists, and Blindboy seems to be very much emblematic of that. At DIY LK shows, we’ve borne witness to abstract field recording-based performances and 90s-recalling indie rock bands comfortably side-by-side in an idealistic cultural mindset that functions as a microcosm for how we’d love music to be widely presented. A great number…

  • Premiere: Angular Hank – I Don’t Always Like You

    March 14, 2019 - By 

    It’s been a pretty sweet year for idiosyncratic Irish indie rock thus far – look no further than releases from Hot Cops, Postcard Versions & Larry for that – and another name you can add to that heap is Dublin-based quartet Angular Hank. Having only played a handful of shows to date, debut single ‘I Don’t Always Like You’ seeps into the signature Popical Island-style Dublin bedroom jangle that comes pre-loaded with chorus pedals, with a wonderfully human baritone vocal from Mathieu Doogan. Kicking back with dissonance at the hint of a melody getting too cosy like its protagonist does at showing too much vulnerability, the single is a…

  • Stream: The Claque – Hush

    March 13, 2019 - By 

    If you’re missing the gaping void in game-changing guitar music left by Girl Band in the last couple of years, here’s something to sate your appetite. The Claque comprises long-time friends in vocalist Kate Brady, Paddy Ormond – of Jet Setter & Postcard Versions, who released their wonderful debut album last month – and and Girl Band guitarist Alan Duggan. Debut single ‘Hush’ and its noise-pop flipside ‘Stray’ immediately bear Duggan’s inimitable, jarring sonic imprint, dragged into humanity by the oneiric warmth of synth layers & Brady’s soulful vocal – which could be incongruous in the hands of less masterful musicians. Produced by Girl Band bassist…

  • Watch: New Pagans – It’s Darker

    March 8, 2019 - By 

    ‘It’s Darker’, the new single from Belfast-based band New Pagans, has its origins in a messy incident at a house party. A musician, we’re told, became aggressive and wouldn’t tolerate frontwoman Lyndsey McDougall’s opinions. “That’s where the original anger comes from – a confrontation,” says McDougall. “It’s happened to me a few times. It’s like, ‘Oh you’re a girl, you should just shut up’. A feminist anger came from that. Yes, I should be able to have an opinion. And it can be different to yours.” The single wears this defiance firmly on its sleeve. It’s a potent and insubmissive alt-rock blitz from…

  • Premiere: Larry – Liar

    March 7, 2019 - By 

    You may have caught wind: we’re very excited for the release of the forthcoming self-titled debut album from Dundalk three-piece Larry. Set for release via Pizza Pizza Records on April 26, the nine-track release was recorded by none other than Steve Albini at Electrical Audio, and mastered by the one – the only – Bob Weston. A track we called a “fervent, four-minute paean to freedom and psychic wanderlust” lead single ‘Cocker Spaniel’ packed a big punch. ‘Liar’ goes one further. Capturing the band’s increasingly distinctive and implosive push-and-pull, its skeletal dynamics brilliantly mirror frontman Joey Edwards’ confessionalism. Have a first listen to…