• Premiere: Autre Monde – Customs

    March 30, 2017 - By 

    We’re delighted to premiere the debut single, ‘Customs’, from Dublin-based indie supergroup of sorts, Autre Monde. The quartet comprises revered songsmith Paddy Hanna on vocals, Ginnels‘ Mark Chester on guitar, Land Lovers‘ Padraig Cooney on bass and Eoghan O’Brien on drums. Harking toward minimal ’80s college rock and esteemed chiming CBGB’s guitar reinventors like Television, Suicide and Pere Ubu, with a saturated Neil Young crunch, it’s an idiosyncratic, dynamic number; it’s also the first of a series of releases planned for spring and early summer, stemming from their time in the studio with Jamie Hyland & Girl Band‘s Daniel Fox. ‘Customs’ will be initially released on their Bandcamp next week, and available on Spotify the following…

  • Stream: Paddy Hanna – Sunday Milkshake

    March 21, 2017 - By 

    Masterful Dublin songsmith Paddy Hanna has unveiled yet another song in the form of ‘Sunday Milkshake’, ahead of the release of new single ‘Bad Boys’ on March 24. Featuring hints of a motorik beat, filled out with a lush orchestral arrangement, Hanna has once again put his genre-tapping to full use in proving why he’s one of the finest, most artful pop songwriters in Ireland – if his string of singles from mid-2015 following 2014 debut album Leafy Stiletto didn’t already do it – check them out on Soundcloud. On its themes, Hanna states that Sunday Milkshake is “a tale of realisation, of sleeping on a…

  • Stream: Paddy Hanna – Bad Boys

    March 6, 2017 - By 

    Dublin songsmith Paddy Hanna has returned with his first new music since 2015. ‘Bad Boys’ sees Hanna continuing to move from the bockety-pop mastery of his 2014 LP Leafy Stiletto into the realm of textured balladry that defined more recent singles ‘Austria’ and ‘Underprotected’. There are nods to Roy Orbison in his now staple croon and similarities to be found with the likes Kurt Vile and Boxer era The National in the encapsulating strings and horns that decorate the track. Hanna’s knack for engrossing, infectious song-craft is on full display here and with more new music at the end of the month you would be remiss to sleep on this one.…

  • The Redneck Manifesto @ Whelans, Dublin

    February 17, 2017 - By 

    It says a lot about a band who having not released any new music in over six years and who play live so intermittently, that they still manage to more or less sell out two nights in one of Dublin’s best-loved venues. Ever since their formative years, there has always been a strong bond between The Redneck Manifesto and their fans and tonight proves to be no different with bassist Richie Egan commenting after just the second track; “Wednesday was cool but already Thursday feels a lot better”. All six members – Niall Byrne (guitar), Mervyn Craig (drums), Glenn Keating…

  • 16 For ’16: Paddy Hanna

    February 5, 2016 - By 

    Fifteen hugely promising, genre-spanning Irish acts down, we conclude our annual Ones to Watch feature with Dublin’s Paddy Hanna. Words by Cathal McBride. Photo: Mark Earley. Following his 2014 debut album Leafy Stilleto on Popical Island and a pair of strong 2015 singles, Dublin’s Paddy Hanna is on an upward trajectory that shows no sign of faltering any time soon. A string of Irish support dates with Girl Band last year with his backing band, including No Monster Club’s Bobby Aherne, has only helped to raise his profile further. Swapping his old band Grand Pocket Orchestra’s lo-fi art pop for…

  • Stream: Paddy Hanna – Chocolate and Salt

    December 1, 2015 - By 

    To say Dublin’s Paddy Hanna is on a bit of a roll would be a towering understatement. Off the back of November’s sublime ‘Underprotected‘ – hands down one of our favourite Irish tracks of the year – and a string of Irish dates with Girl Band, he has unveiled the bobbing and brilliant mastery of ‘Chocolate and Salt’, the b-side to the aforementioned single. Described by Hanna as “an ode to self-doubt, a story of embracing worth, while mourning the loss of a sorrow which once defined you” it’s another solid, pathos-laden pop effort from the artist, summoning Summertime disconnection in perfectly restrained…

  • Stream: Paddy Hanna – Underprotected

    October 15, 2015 - By 

    A prophetic tale-teller and uncannily perceptive pop talisman, Dublin’s Paddy Hanna is, for us, something of a sub-genre unto himself. A key exponent of Paddyhannaism, week by week, his talents become yet more apparent, not least during a string of dates across the country recently that have coalesced as some kind of Good Word of Irish music and testament to a burgeoning appreciation of an artist who emanates an air of resolution. Taken from the forthcoming two-track EP of the same name – set for release on December 4 – ‘Underprotected’ is another superb statement of intent, coursing and balanced with feverish fragility and…