• Exclusive Preview: Sons of Caliber – Albatross

    Ahead of its official release on June 13, we’re very pleased to present an exclusive, one-day stream of Albatross, the debut album by Northern Irish folk singer-songwriter Andrew Farmer and friends AKA Sons of Caliber. Two years on from the Andrew Farmer-fronted band’s critically acclaimed 2012 release The Tundra, the nine-track album is a subtly mesmerising collection of songs, traversing  the laws and hidden depths of nature, love and survival. Albatross will be launched as part of this year’s Open House Festival at Belfast’s Black Box on June 22. Go here to buy tickets and stream Albatross via our Bandcamp page below. (You…

  • The First Time: Robyn G Shiels

    Whether you’re completely new to or just need a little reminding, The First Time is a regular feature by Belfast-based photographer Joe Laverty, in which he meets up with an individual – usually a musician – involved in Irish music, takes a spectacular portrait photo and proceeds to enquire about their musical “firsts” – first album, first gig, first band shirt, etc. Up this time is Kilrea-derived songwriter extraordinaire Robyn G Shiels, a tale-telling master who will launch his long-awaited second studio album, The Blood of the Innocents, at Belfast’s Black Box on Saturday night (May 31). The shoot took place…

  • Robyn G Shiels – The Blood of the Innocents

    Six years in the making, Belfast-based singer-songwriter Robyn G Shiels will sigh a breath of relief on Saturday, May 31, when he launches his long-awaited (not to mention, truly exceptional) second studio album, The Blood of the Innocents. Set to take place at Belfast’s Black Box from 8pm, the show will also feature support from Jonny Black of LaFaro and a DJ set from Clive Moore. An array of guests are also expected to make an appearance on the night. Go here for the show’s Facebook event page, pre-order the album here and stream ‘Drunk Myself a River’ from the album…

  • Frame By Frame #001: Abandcalledboy – Cliff Richard

    In the very first installment of Frame By Frame – a brand new feature looking at the production of music videos by all kinds of  Irish bands and artists – Colm Laverty talks to Ryan Burrowes and Mark Finnegan from Northern Irish alt-rock trio Abandcalledboy about their recent, wonderfully retro tribute to the Peter Pan of pop, Cliff Richard. >Hi guys. First off, tell us a little bit about each of your roles on this music video. Mark (Finnegan, bass): I did a lot of the pre-production (storyboarding, set pieces, locations), it’s something I have a bit of experience in, but…

  • Stream: The Rupture Dogs – Before The Flood

    With an extremely promising year ahead of them, Belfast-based alt-rock quartet The Rupture Dogs have released ‘Before The Flood’, the second single to be taken from their debut album, Feral. Featuring two accompanying b-sides – ‘Hangman’ and an acoustic BBC session version of ‘Wake Up’ – the single comes to from on its chorus, the band’s grunge-tinged chord progressions melded perfectly with frontman Allan McGreevy’s wonderfully rasping vocals. The Rupture Dogs will play Belfast’s Stiff Kitten on Friday, January 31 alongside the likes of Safe Ships and Nomadic Rituals. Go here for the show’s Facebook event page. Stream the ‘Before The Flood’…

  • The Record #004: Stillpoint

    In the latest installment of The Record, Liam Kielt caught up with Belfast alt-rock band Stillpoint as they recorded their forthcoming single ‘Go Ahead and Go’ at Start Together Studio. A semi-swansong as sorts coinciding with the band’s recent decision to go on hiatus for a while, it will be released at some point over the next couple of months. Check out Liam’s photos from the recording and our interview with Stillpoint frontman (and Two Glass Eyes‘ bassist) Dave McKendry below. Hey guys. You recently recorded your single ‘Go Ahead and Go’ at Start Together. Tell us about the recording process.…

  • Stream: The Wood Burning Savages – Flu Season

    Having just announced that they’ve been selected to play at the Derry Music Trail as part of Other Voices in February, Derry four-piece The Wood Burning Savages have released a wonderfully understated new track titled ‘Flu Season’. Written only two days ago, the song – propelled by fingerpicked guitar shapes, frontman Paul Connolly’s increasingly earnest delivery and impressively unravelling vocal harmonies – was recorded in the band’s wood shed just yesterday. Stream/download the track (for free) via Soundcloud below.

  • Stream: Ed Zealous – Diamonds For Eyes

    Belfast-based quartet Ed Zealous have released ‘Diamonds The Eyes’, the latest single to be taken from their forthcoming debut album, Wired. A typically starry-eyed slice of dancefloor-flooding electro-pop, the three-and-a-half minute track comes after the release of the singles ‘Medicines’, ‘Thanks A Million’ and ‘Telepaths’. Check out our exclusive track-by-track preview of Wired here. Wired will be officially launched at Belfast’s Limelight 2 on Thursday, February 20. Go here for the show’s Facebook event page and win tickets to the show here. Stream ‘Diamonds For Eyes’ via Bandcamp below.

  • Gig of the Week: Daniel Avery, Replete & Chris Hanna @ Aether & Echo

    Set to take place at the new-fangled Aether and Echo in Belfast, our Gig of the Week this week is a bill topped by electronic artist Daniel Avery, a man responsible for one of the genre’s finest albums of last year, Drone Logic. Supporting Avery on the night is Champion Sound-signed, Kilkenny artist Peter Lawlor AKA Replete and Belfast-based producer and DJ Chris Hanna. Tickets cost £10 and are available at the door. Go here for the show’s Facebook event page.

  • Watch: Slomatics – Troglorite

    Belfast-based doom overlords Slomatics have long been one of our favourite riff-heavy Irish acts. Ten years and a couple of line-up changes into their evolution, the three-piece have just unveiled the video to their latest single, the decidedly crushing ‘Troglorite’ The four-and-a-half minute minute opening track to the band’s forthcoming fourth album, Estron, the creeping, drop-tuned offering evokes the likes of Sleep/early High and Fire and Conan (a band the guys released a split with back in 2011) in equal proportion. Set to be released next month, Estron was recorded and mixed at Belfast’s Start Together Studios and is a concept album…