• Watch: VerseChorusVerse – Category

    July 5, 2018 - By 

    Just last week, we shared news about outro, the new third album from Belfast-based singer-songwriter Tony Wright AKA VerseChorusVerse. Now, the musician and and former And So I Watch You From Afar riff-slinger is back with the video for the release’s lead single, ‘Category’. Shot on location and “on a whim” in the beautiful commune of Casalattico in Italian region of Lazio, it features a solitary Wright mirror this wonderfully carefree, sun-tinted effort, all while offering up some contemplative lyrical subtext: He said, “The lyrics are a meditation on contradictions and the restrictive construct nature of labels in this age of fluidity, masked…

  • Watch: Tayne – Haunted

    July 5, 2018 - By 

    Fronted by Galway native Matt Sutton, London-based noise-pop band Tayne has returned with new single – and their strongest track to date – ‘Haunted’. Lifted from the band’s forthcoming debut album, Breathe (which is expected some time in October) it’s a brilliantly full-blown, fist-clenched affair from the band, brimming with synth arpeggios, larynx-shredding vocals and a rhythm section that pummel without mercy. Speaking about the track’s homespun visuals, Sutton said, “With the video for ‘Haunted’, I wanted to recreate some of the themes from the record and also give an insight to the chaotic, intense live presence of the band. The…

  • Video Premiere: Aul Boy – Wait

    July 9, 2018 - By 

    Elaborated and delivering upon the promise laid down by his solo bedroom debut EP Blue Ghosts, Fionn Robinson, aka Aul Boy – now expanded to become fully fledged band – has given us a first peep of the video for their new latest single, ‘Wait’. Featuring Bjørn Patzwald, Peadar Coll & Jeremy Howard, the song is a wry, tongue-in-cheek, slice-of-life (“I’m not buying milk for two, baby“) distillation of Mac DeMarco, or Terror Twilight-era Pavement were they late-risers from Donegal. And, much like Mac reclaimed the vieux jeu Steely Dan, Aul Boy’s heartfully reclaimed Hendrix blues noodling works much to the song’s strength. The song was recorded and mixed by Percy Robinson…

  • Stream: Remains of Youth – Settle West/South Africa

    June 28, 2018 - By 

    Back in July 2016, Belfast alternative quartet Remains of Youth returned after a long hiatus with There Is Hope Without Progress, a five-track EP we said brimmed the band’s “carefully-considered musicianship, strong sense of urgency and deft vitality”. One memorable, TTA-promoted gig at Lavery’s in Belfast later, the band dropped off the radar again but now, two years on, they’ve re-emerged with two of their strongest efforts to date, ‘Settle West’ and ‘South Africa’. Where the material that comprised the TIHWP EP struck a chord with us, these new tracks find the Adam Shirlow-fronted band at their most inspired and inspirited. Striking…

  • A Litany Of Failures Vol. II Announced

    July 3, 2018 - By 

    Following the limited release of cross-Ireland Little L Records compilation, 2016’s A Litany of Failures – featuring Oh Boland, Shrug Life, That Snaake and Junk Drawer – an expanded second edition has been confirmed for release on July 13. Set to be released on 180g gatefold double vinyl, as well as through Bandcamp, Spotify and the usual outlets, it features 18 acts from Belfast, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Dublin, Galway & Limerick. The DIY, co-op endeavour aims to provide an opportunity to perform outside each of their hometowns, shortening the mental distances between bands, and encouraging a cross-pollination of musical communities. Splitting costs between artists and the organisers, a sense of…

  • Stream: DANI – Samson and Goliath

    June 28, 2018 - By 

    A multi-instrumentalist with a remarkable knack for eking out sublime, burrowing melodies evocative of Irish traditional music, Belfast-based singer-songwriter DANI has returned with ‘Samson and Goliath’, a three-minute gem of pastoral alt-folk exploring the concept of “disconnection and being unable to recognise oneself.” Having spent last year facilitating music workshops and performing in Colombia and Indonesia, namely working in the field of conflict transformation, this is the sound of a musician who is renewed and ready to take her rightful place in being recognised as one of the island’s most singular alt-folk talents. Listen to the single – and check out its artwork – below.…

  • Premiere: Peter J. McCauley – Where Do We Belong

    June 22, 2018 - By 

    We last heard from Belfast singer-songwriter Peter J McCauley when he released his five-track EP Liminals back in 2016. Two years on, the multi-instrumentalist and vocalist — who previously released music under the moniker Rams Pocket Radio — is back with one of his most nuanced and carefully-crafted single efforts to date. Threaded with some subtle electronic ambience, it’s a wonderfully sparse piano-and-vocals paean to the eternal conundrum of not knowing where one is going, but taking solace in both perspective and faith in que será, será. Have a first listen to the single below.

  • Stream: Laurie Shaw – That’s Life

    June 21, 2018 - By 

    Back in January, we had the pleasure of premiering Weird Weekends, the latest album from prolific Cork-based artist Laurie Shaw. Six months on, the 23-year-old Wirral musician is back with ‘That’s Life’, a lyrically exemplary effort striking a perfect midpoint between two of his main influences in Bill Ryder Jones and Jonathan Richman via early 1970s George Harrison at his most commanding. Having recorded up to 50 albums since the age of 14, the lead single from Shaw’s forthcoming album Year Zero. We said it back in January and we’ll say it along, this time a little more pronounced: if there’s any justice in…

  • VerseChorusVerse – outro

    June 20, 2018 - By 

    Former ASIWYFA axeman Tony Wright’s VerseChorusVerse has surprise released his third album, outro, to accompany the news of his debut book later this year. Blending the literary & theatrical prowess displayed on last year’s The Tragedy of Dr Hannigan with the folk & blues he’s become known for under the VCV moniker, outro marks his return to Big Guitar Anthems, indulging in the alt. rock edge and dynamic he gave to ASIWYFA. The LP was minimally by Wright & Andrew Coles in a mansion on the North Coat, assisted on backing vocals & bass by Arvo Party/LaFaro’s Herb Magee. Stream it here: outro by VerseChorusVerse As explained in the following video, proceeds…

  • Stream: SPIES – Uriah

    June 20, 2018 - By 

    Three months on from making a triumphant return with ‘Young Dad’ – a single we eagerly deemed “the band’s strongest single effort to date” – Dublin five-piece Spies are back with its follow-up ‘Uriah’. Propelled by Motorik groove, it’s a four-minute gem layered with balmy synth textures and the band’s evolved widescreen alt-pop. Mirroring themes of friendship and betrayal, vocalist Michael Broderick called the song, “A reflection on the story of Uriah and King David.” ‘Uriah’ is taken from Spies’ forthcoming debut album, Constancy, which is expected to drop later this year.