• Stream: Dandy’s Loft – Shadows In Motion

    January 2, 2018 - By 

    Set to release their debut album in the first quarter of 2018, Lurgan indie quintet Dandy’s Loft well and truly grabbed our attention last June with their four-track debut EP, Introspector. Seven months on, the band are back with the ‘Shadows In Motion’. The lead single from their upcoming LP, it picks up where Introspector left off, proving a carefully crafted and masterfully mournful effort conjuring the likes of Grizzly Bear, Department of Eagles and The Black Heart Procession. As first gambits for upcoming debut albums go, this is right up there with the most promising we’ve heard from an Irish act in quite…

  • Album Stream: Crevice – In Heart

    December 18, 2017 - By 

    Comprised of Irene Buckley of Wry Myrrh, Elaine Howley of the Altered Hours and Morning Veils, and solo artist, Morning Veils member and co-runner of KantCope, Roslyn Steer, the music of Crevice was made for these early dark evenings and associated end-of-year contemplation. Recorded by Cathal Mac Gabhann (also of The Altered Hours), their debut album, In Heart, is a ten-track journey masterfully blurring the lines between electronic nocturnalism, balmy darkwave and sleepy-headed dream-pop. Released via Irish cassette label Fort Evil Fruit today, the album – which was mastered by Noel Summerville, and features a great cover image from Carolyn Collier – conjures the smalltown phantasm…

  • Hands Up Who Wants To Die Announce Lineup Change & Return Show

    December 18, 2017 - By 

    For several years, arguably Ireland’s finest noise rock outfit, Dublin’s Hands Up Who Wants To Die have devastated rooms across Ireland & Europe, led by the singular stage presence of one Barry Lennon. His ominous presence read death knells over the unified metallic discord conjured by Paul Clynes, Matt Hedigan and John Breslin – known for respected DIY-spirited acts like No Spill Blood, Wild Rocket and Vatican II. Two spectacular records rose out of that particular alchemy: Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo, and Vega In The Lyre. The band have announced Lennon’s unfortunate departure from the band with the following statement: “It’s been a…

  • Somadrone – Wellpark Avenue

    December 13, 2017 - By 

    Dublin producer Neil O’Connor AKA Somadrone has announced details of his forthcoming sixth studio album. The full-length follow-up to 2015’s stellar Oracle, Wellpark Avenue will be released on February 1. According to O’Connor, the album will mark a departure from previous outings. With “dystopia, LSD, Timothy Leary and TV music of the 1970s” all contributing to the sound of the album – elements of which have permeated his work over his two decades of activity – it will forsake drum machines and heavy synth usage in favour of a return to traditional song and instruments akin to his 2010 album Depth of Field. O’Connor has also said…

  • Comrade Hat – Ho Ho Hum

    December 13, 2017 - By 

    After the year we’ve had, it’s quite honestly surprising we’ve not reached another Gary Jules moment of collective despair, but fear not: Comrade Hat has it covered in a typically loungey, subversive fashion. Following up on his five previous Winter ‘festering season’ releases between 2009 & 2015, this latest EP, Ho Ho Hum, manages to smirk through winter’s grimace. It proffers five sunnily low-key ditties that dabble in jazz muzak, apocalyptic calypso [see ‘Driving Home for the Apocalypse-oh’] and and some swooning Stevie Wonderesque turns that bely its sinister undertones, offering another glimpse at the singular, surrealistic, oneiric sonic tapestry woven by Derry-based experimental pop songwriter and avant-crooner Neil Burns. To help set the scene, here’s the…

  • Watch: Fox Jaw – Heel To Toe

    December 11, 2017 - By 

    With over 300 shows, nine singles, two albums, two EPs, one live album, Limerick’s Limerick five-piece Fox Jaw have really put the legwork in since forming back in 2006. Having spent the guts of 2017 to focus on songwriting, the Ronan Mitchell-fronted five-piece are back with the latest single, ‘Heel To Toe’, an unravelling four-minute lament conjuring the slow-burning introspection of The National and the more orchestral chamber-rock of Hope of the States-esque circa The Lost Riots. The single – which is accompanied by a video directed by the band’s drummer Shane Serrano – is released in conjunction with a…

  • Wyvern Lingo – Wyvern Lingo

    December 12, 2017 - By 

    It’s been a long time in waiting as the Bray trio have traipsed across the world, dominating stages in clubs, arenas and festivals alike in support of fellow Irish icons like Hozier & James Vincent McMorrow, but it looks like Wyvern Lingo are set to arrive, when they unleash their eponymous debut album on Friday, February 23. Out through Rubyworks on vinyl, CD & digitally at the usual outlets, it was primarily recorded in Dublin by producer James Kelly, as well as in Donegal, London & Cologne. The trio of Karen Cowley, Caoimhe Barry & Saoirse Duane released their debut EP The Widow Knows back…

  • The Altered Hours – On My Tongue EP

    December 8, 2017 - By 

    In many eyes the country’s best band, Cork’s The Altered Hours have just announced details of a forthcoming new EP, On My Tongue, and an accompanying European tour. The follow-up to their stellar 2016 full-length In Heat Not Sorry, the five-piece will release the four-track On My Tongue via Art For Blind Records and Penske Recordings early next year. A typically first-rate effort from the band, lead single ‘Open Wide’ premiered over on Clash. To coincide with the release, the band will also embark on a nine-date European tour across February-April, which incorporates shows on March 29th at Dublin’s DBD Venue, Letterkenny’s Regional Cultural Centre on 30th. Yours truly will…

  • Premiere: Aural Air – The Torpor of Minds

    December 6, 2017 - By 

    It’s released this Friday, December 8, but we’re pleased to premiere today The Torpor of Minds, the debut EP from Aural Air, the project of Sligo native Laura Rai. This EP follows up on her 2016 debut two-track, Edinburgh – both of which are included on this release. The EP is propelled by the pairing of dreamily soaring, ethereal vocals with the kind of ethereal, off-kilter guitar chime you’d hope for on an Angel Olsen, Anna Calvi or Jeff Buckley record. Following a productive 2017 that saw her play the likes of Stendhal Festival and Sligo’s own Live On Air, The Torpor of Minds looks to propel her further again in 2018. With artwork by Tom Doig, it…

  • Premiere: Yankari – Enyimba

    December 1, 2017 - By 

    And now for something completely different. We’re delighted to present a first listen to ‘Enyimba’, the sublime new single from Dublin-based band Yankari. A collective luminously bearing the imprint of their main influence of the legendary Fela Kuti, the band “aspire to advance the original Afrobeat genre by incorporating contemporary sounds, such as, jazz, funk, dance, rock-and-roll whilst keeping the traditional groove elements of Afrobeat.” Nowhere is that more on display than ‘Enyimba’, a six-minute burst of beatific, masterfully-layered Afrobeat incorporating guitar, bass, percussion, brass, keys, vocals and more. The track’s title stems from “Enyimba enii” meaning ‘the elephant is coming’ a traditional…