• Album Stream: Matua Trap – Thunderous Silence

    May 17, 2017 - By 

    After a long wait seemingly nodded at by its title, Thunderous Silence, the debut album from Belfast progressive alternative rock trio Matua Trap is out today. The band formed in September 2013 from the ashes of Belfast post-rockers Kasper Rosa and experimental psych-poppers EatenByBears. Their sound undulates somewhere between upbeat vibes of 90’s and 00’s alt rock/pop outfits and the razor sharp riffage and mountaintop vocal hooks of ‘nu’ and progressive metal, maintaining a strong sense of song craft; owed in part to a constant influence from esoteric pop legends such as Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. Taking a sharper turn from the post-rock format indulged…

  • Video Premiere: R51 – Heavy Friends

    May 17, 2017 - By 

    Having recently been in the studio recording new material, Belfast five-piece R51 will release a blitzing new single, ‘Heavy Friends’ and a b-side titled ‘Vitamin C’ on May 23. A song “about the realisation that all your friends are depressed weirdos”, it’s another starry-eyed – almost celebratory – blast of gaze-drenched alt-pop from the band. Accompanied by a DIY video (which has become something of a forte for the band), check out our premiere of the single and its artwork below.

  • Stream: Loah – This Heart

    May 17, 2017 - By 

    Having snuck a little preview, we are very excited about the release of This Heart, the debut EP from Irish/Sierra Leonean artist Loah. A release of extraordinary finesse and inimitable pop sway, it was recorded a 6 month period with a fine array of some of Ireland’s most eminent jazz, African, and classical musicians, including Brazilian drummer Andre Antunes, saxophonist Michael Buckley, Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu, percussionist Eamonn Cagney, a string quartet of musicians from the Crash Ensemble, and Loah’s sister Fehdah on backing vocals. Talking about the release, Loah said: “This is a collection of tunes that all deal with similar…

  • Video Premiere: Aaron Shanley & The Horrortongues – My Mind Ain’t Pretty (At The Minute)

    May 17, 2017 - By 

    Primed to release his debut album, Metal Alligator, at Belfast’s Voodoo on May 24, Northern Irish artist Aaron Shanley now has a full band in tow in the form of the excellently named Horrortongues. Ahead of that, we’re pleased to present a suitably tripped-out live video for ‘My Mind Ain’t Pretty (At The Minute)’, a track we said was “a really tidy, very promising taste of things to come from the wanderlust-smitten artist” upon its original release back in 2015. Filmed at Millbank Studios in Lisburn, the well-honed, scuzzed-out lo-fi aesthetic of Shanley and the Horrortongues is laid bare in fine fashion Pre-order the stellar…

  • Premiere: Via: Barvikha – Willie Woods

    May 17, 2017 - By 

    Today, we’re delighted to be able to premiere ‘Willie Woods’, the second single from Via: Barvikha‘s new EP, Chengdu.  The song sees songwriter Chris Leckey make some concessions about himself directly to an unknown listener (‘I moved away, or so I thought’), which take on a deeper profundity within the frame of the EP, written around a period of significant life change, namely songwriter Chris Leckey’s uprooting to a new home 5329 miles away – the titular Chengdu – and then coming back five months later. Channelling a brooding intensity never articulated as dynamically with his past hardcore outfit PigsAsPeople, Leckey has found a waypoint via common denominator Brand New to the…

  • Watch: RUTH – Off My Mind

    May 15, 2017 - By 

    Fast becoming one of the country’s finest alt-pop propositions, Co. Kerry’s RUTH caught our attention back in October with her single ‘Queen of the Con’. A few months on, new single ‘Off My Mind’ goes one further, proving a slick, synth-driven effort that perfect encapsulates her knack for a killer, FM-friendly hook. Be warned: this one burrows deep. Check out the track and its rather celestial visuals (courtesy of Ciarán O’Brien) below.

  • Stream: Morrissey and Marshall – She’s Got Love

    May 12, 2017 - By 

    Set to release their new album, We Rise, on May 26, London-based Dublin duo Morrissey and Marshall know a thing or two about the craft of classic songwriting. With a pop-centric sound conjuring the refined, harmony-driven quintessence of The Thrills, The Charlatans, the duo’s latest single, ‘She’s Got Love’, channels the more earworming – and decidedly sun-kissed – peaks of Britpop’s more discerning exponents, whilst filtering the influence through the prism of their own compositionally slick approach. We’re fans.

  • Premiere: Citog Records – Volume 2: Melancholia in the Mirror

    May 9, 2017 - By 

    Home to some of our favourite artists from the West of Ireland, Galway independent, artist-run label Citóg Records will launch their second compilation at their spiritual home at the Roisin Dubh on Thursday night in association with Strange Brew. Featuring everyone from Drown, Field Trip, New Pope to Whim, Eoin Dolan and Majestic Bears, the fourteen-track release is a carefully-curated, genre-spanning collection of tracks, perfectly encapsulating the imprint’s dedication to commitment to eclectic, homegrown sounds and their firm – and on-point – belief that their neck of the woods is a “culturally significant, artistically stimulating” bastion of creativity. Playing on the launch night are The…

  • Premiere: Milky Teeth – Guess Again

    May 8, 2017 - By 

    Back in February we premiered ‘Sleepiness and Weary Wit’, the stellar debut single from Cork’s Milky Teeth AKA Robbie Barron of The Shaker Hymn and John Blek & The Rats. A single we said embodied his main influence in The Beatles, as well as Ed Harcourt, Elliott Smith circa XO/Figure 8, Friendly Fire-era Sean Lennon and Jon Brion, it hinted at some special things in the making for his forthcoming debut album. Fast forward three months and Barron is back with the similarly spectral psych-pop of its follow-up, ‘Guess Again’, a track whose subtly-symphonic, kaleidoscopic thrust and tone reveals the workings of an artist we’re certain…

  • Premiere: Conor Mason – Follow

    May 8, 2017 - By 

    One of many shining lights in a potent local scene at the minute, Derry singer-songwriter Conor Mason is an artist of equal subtly and humility. Having released one of our Irish tracks of 2016 in ‘On The Surface’, new single ‘Follow’ is a beautiful and brilliantly-realised pop masterstroke conjuring everyone from Grandaddy at their most inward-looking, fellow Derry songsmith Chris McConaghy AKA Our Krypton Son and mid-era Elliott Smith. Released soon as a free download, have a first listen to the track below.