• Stream: R.S.A.G. – Leave A Light On

    May 11, 2016 - By 

    Jeremy Hickey aka Rarely Seen Above Ground aka R.S.A.G. is a musician native to Kilkenny whose music and live performances have for the past number of years, funnily enough, been mythologised as legendary in a very “underground” way. Since beginning to operate under the R.S.A.G. banner in 2008, Hickey has been nothing if not a elusive, from quietly releasing albums like his debut Organic Sampler and 2010’s Be it Right or Wrong to randomly unleashing tracks such as 2014’s infectiously driving ‘I’ll Be There‘. To catch him playing live is a spectacle to behold, watching him relentlessly attack his drum kit, never for a second…

  • Watch: PORTS – The Devil Is A Songbird

    May 12, 2016 - By 

    A perfectly-paced masterstroke of subtle, emotive power, ‘The Devil is a Songbird’ is arguably the strongest single to date from Derry’s PORTS. Accompanied by a superb video directed by the band and Paul Martin Brown, it aims straight for the jugular, confirming the band’s ever-growing standing as one of the country’s finest acts of their inspirited ilk. Speaking to us about the track, Steven McCool from the band said, “Like most of the songs I write it starts off with imagery, daydreaming. I could picture a woman in an old dark candle lit room staring blankly to the side. It looked like…

  • Stream: Flecks – Girl EP

    May 11, 2016 - By 

    Dublin five-piece Flecks‘ debut EP Girl is a four-track statement of intent, keenly balanced between feverish Summertime synth-pop (‘Girl’ and ‘Distance=Distance’ and more ruminating, wonderfully darkly efforts in EP highlight ‘Objects of Desire’ and ‘Fear’. At once yearning and hopeful, it serves as a finely produced, sublimely restrained opening gambit from an Irish outfit we suspect will well and truly make their mark. Stream Girl below.

  • Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool

    May 11, 2016 - By 

    There is a certain degree of futility in reviewing a new Radiohead album. Although the term is thrown around quite loosely, it could be convincingly argued that Radiohead are legitimately a ‘critic-proof’ band and nothing that a bespectacled, pseudo-musical aficionado can say will affect anyone’s views. There is a good possibility that everyone reading this has already secured, listened to and devised their own opinion of the disc and its relative merits and is simply reading this as a form of validation. So since the majority of you have already digested it, let’s get the obvious question out of the…

  • Frankenstein Bolts – Cinematic Views

    May 10, 2016 - By 

    In the most sincere kind way, Cinematic Views by Wexford’s Frankenstein Bolts is just a nice record. It’s not a spectacular exploration of the human condition or a technical behemoth that levels the playing field with its symphonic intricacies. No, Cinematic Views is simply a delightful serving of dreamy folk with electronic overtones, almost like a stripped back Oppenheimer or if Belle and Sebastian covered Zero 7. This, the duo’s debut EP, is comprised of four neatly formed pieces of gentle, soothing musical warmth. The opener, “Station Street” is mellowed slice of sweet, carefree pop; the kind of music that’s…

  • James Blake – The Colour in Anything

    May 9, 2016 - By 

    There has always been something special about James Blake. Ever since his career began in a clutch of dubstep influenced EPs he’s been making music that means an awful lot to an awful lot of people. As he’s progressed, channelling our collective existential scream into a mournful but beautiful whisper, his resonance seems only to have deepened. His sound, one could even say his formula, of spacious, emotive music paired with his own haunting vocals are affecting in a way that is almost primal. Yet that description does a disservice to the intellectual construction of his music. True, there are no massive changes here; it is…

  • Julianna Barwick – Will

    May 9, 2016 - By 

    In a recent interview with Clash, ambient musician and vocalist Julianna Barwick appeard preoccupied with the difficulty of feeling a sense of “home” anywhere, the challenge in finding a place where one can feel empowered and at ease. Travelling to upstate New York, away from her residence in Brooklyn, to work on her fifth album Will just left her craving civilisation. But Brooklyn’s relentless buzz wasn’t right either, and so the album ended up being finished in North Carolina. What we get in Will then is an album awash with luxurious keys and dizzying vocal loops that attempts to sonically provide…

  • EP Stream: Thran – At a Loss

    May 11, 2016 - By 

    Thran is the monicker of Belfast based electronic musician Ronan Scullion. Releasing his debut EP At A Loss on his own label imprint Nonchalant Recordings, Thran’s music has been a patient labour of love over the past couple of years, taking plenty of time before releasing his melodious, frosty electronica into the world. Blending elements of Trip-Hop, post-dubstep and hints of garage, the music could best be compared to the likes of Mount Kimbie, James Holden and Burial. There is an ambient, spacey quality to tracks such as ‘Retreat’ and the EP’s title track that could lead to comparisons being drawn with acts such as MMOTHS and God is an Astronaut.  With a…

  • Susanna – Triangle

    May 5, 2016 - By 

    How does a collection of songs become more than the sum of its parts and coalesce into a greater whole? Surely, sharing a musical or lyrical theme should suffice, but countless records have succumbed to the trappings of the generic in following that format. Given the risk, what’s the real benefit of opting for such rigidity in self-expression? Susanna’s Triangle is a great example of why the album as an idea works and how magical it can be. Over its ambitious runtime, the release primarily focuses on a fluid, transient interpretation of what constitutes a song. The emphasis here is…

  • Watch: The Wood Burning Savages – We Love You

    May 3, 2016 - By 

    Having been steadily on the ascent over the last year or so, Derry quartet The Wood Burning Savages have unveiled the typically frenetic video for their breakneck new single, ‘We Love You’. Directed by Fiachra O’Longain, the B+W accompaniment captures the four-piece at their most urgent, frontman Paul Connolly’s emphatic decrees, in particular, coming into sharp focus throughout. Half measures isn’t an option for these guys.