• Watch: The Altered Hours – Thistle

    October 19, 2021 - By 

    Over the last couple of weeks, Cork’s finest the Altered Hours have been conjuring up their singular magic, night after night, in support of Fontaines D.C. at shows the UK. As an act that has commanded our attention since 2013, it’s been second-hand thrilling hearing high praise for the five-piece in their element. Ahead of a few more weeks zig-zagging across the UK and Ireland (including a Thin Air show at the Black Box with Documenta on November 27th, don’t you know?) the band have unveiled the video for their stellar new single, ‘Thistle’. Taken from their forthcoming second studio album,…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – October 8th

    October 8, 2021 - By 

    As well as a plethora of great singles from the likes of Whozyerman?, Silverbacks, Rory Nellis, Wynona Bleach, Cabin and more, the week has featured new EP and album releases from the likes of Silverbacks, Elaine Mai, Shibashi and Rachel Mae Hannon. Whozyerman? – Why What Silverbacks – Archive Material Wynona Bleach – Aubergines Aubergines by Wynona Bleach Rory Nellis – Strange Behaviour Cabin – Dull Aonair – Think Twice (feat. Caoi de Barra) Shibashi – Shibashi EP Rachel Mae Hannon – Like It Is EP Odd Morris – Silhouette

  • Premiere: Eoin Dolan – Amulet of Love

    September 24, 2021 - By 

    For as long as we can remember, Galway’s Eoin Dolan has occupied a singular place in the Irish music community. A songwriter that goes beyond the everyday – an artist who ekes out real majesty from the uncanny – his craft is at once deeply considered and remarkably his own. Next month, Dolan unveils his fourth full-length album, Mirror Liver. Bearing the imprint of artists as mottled as Vashti Bunyan, Super Furry Animals and Donovan, it’s that album that delves into everything from love and mysticism, to day to day reflections of people who lived through the evolutionary times of…

  • Stream: M(h)aol – Gender Studies

    September 22, 2021 - By 

    Back in March, Róisín Nic Ghearailt, Constance Keane, Jamie Hyland, Zoe Greenway and Sean Nolan, otherwise known as M(h)aol, returned with one of the most emphatic singles of the year. Six months on from ‘Asking For It’, the band – who are based between Dublin, Cork, London and Bristol – are back with the no less powerful ‘Gender Studies’. Clocking in at 1 minute and 50 seconds, it’s a brief and masterfully understated effort taken from the band’s forthcoming debut EP of the same name. “Gender Studies weaves past and present in an exploration of how the construct of gender shapes our lives,” said lead…

  • Premiere: Peter Sumadh – Parting Wounds

    September 16, 2021 - By 

    Over the last few years, Belfast-based singer-songwriter Peter Sumadh has set out his stall under the moniker The Mad Dalton. Releases such as ‘Timebomb’, ‘Skeleton Waltz’ and 2018 LP Open Season found him carve out a consistently rewarding niche in a saturated alt-folk scene in the North. Today, Sumadh makes a break, and ventures out under his name to present his strongest single to date, ‘Parting Wounds’. Accompanying by a sublime video courtesy of Belfast videographer Richard Davis, it’s an entrancing, wonderfully woven effort that confronts disunion and the power of moving on. Recorded by Mojo Fury’s Michael Mormecha at Tree Song…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – September 10th

    September 10, 2021 - By 

    As things look set to gradually open again, this week sees some key releases from the likes of Sive, Thumper, This Ship Argo, Elaine Mai & Sinéad White, Lisa Hannigan & Crash Ensemble, Let’s Set Sail, Vale, as well as the long-awaited collaborative album from Mick Flannery and Susan O’Neill. Mick Flannery & Susan O’Neill – In The Game This Ship Argo – The Ornament of the Lovestruck Heart The Ornament of the Lovestruck Heart by This Ship Argo Elaine Mai – Go Slow (feat. Sinéad White) Lisa Hannigan & Crash Ensemble – MCMXIV MCMXIV by Lisa Hannigan & Crash Ensemble…

  • Stream: Silverbacks – Wear My Medals

    September 2, 2021 - By 

    With the release of their debut LP, Fad, last year, Dublin five-piece Silverbacks‘ deftly-crafted art-rock well and truly came into its own. A year on – and ahead of a string of new dates over the next while – the band have just announced that they’ve signed with London imprint Full Time Hobby, home to the likes of White Denim and Micah P. Hinson. To mark the occasion, new single ‘Wear My Medals’ is a typically first-rate effort from the band. With Emma Hanlon up-front, its transit from an Ulrika Spacek-like blitz to slow-burning sorcery fully hits home. Check out Laura Gregory’s sublime video for the single…

  • Premiere: Strange Boy feat. Hazey Haze – Hahaha

    June 17, 2021 - By 

    Back in April, we had the pleasure of premiering one of the Irish songs of the year so far: ‘Waiting’ by the fast-rising Jonen Dekay aka Strange Boy. Two months on, the Limerick rapper is on the cusp of releasing his highly-anticipated debut album, Holy/Unholy. Dropping next Friday, June 25th, the 10-track album features collaborations with the likes of Clannad’s Moya Brennan (‘Beginnings’) and Seán McNally Kelly (‘Forgotten’). Elsewhere is an outright peak from the album, ‘Hahaha’. A collaboration with fellow Limerick rapper Hazey Haze, it’s a masterfully believable effort that marries marrying skeletal trad with bars of pure-cut personal truth. Have a…

  • Watch: Cherym – Listening To My Head

    June 10, 2021 - By 

    Without question, Derry pop-punk trio Cherym have emerged as one of the real success stories from these shores in recent times. Earworming to high heaven, their razor-sharp, harmony-laden craft is something we fully look forward to experienced live, once again, when the time is right. In the meantime, the soap video for the Hannah Richardson-fronted band’s new single ‘Listening To My Head’ is scratching the itch. A mini soap opera condensed to three minutes, it really drives home Cherym’s uniquely joyous M.O. Check it out below and revisit our recent interview with the band here.

  • Premiere: Jake Wallace – Empyrean

    June 3, 2021 - By 

    As one-fifth of Belfast doom merchants Elder Druid, Jake Wallace knows a thing or two about the power of heft. Today, he offers a new vantage point to view his craft Taken from his debut solo EP, Lacuna – which is officially released via Black Tragick Records tomorrow – two-minute instrumental ‘Empyrean’ is a masterfully restrained effort that shines a light on the many hues of Wallace’s full-spectrum sound, Speaking about the EP, Wallace said, ‘The project came about as a result of lockdown and a few rainy afternoons in Belfast. I had never recorded any acoustic music at all, although I had…