• Video Premiere: Caolán Austin – Walking into the Furnace (ft. Our Krypton Son)

    November 6, 2024 - By 

    Yes, the world can be an unforgiving place. And yes, we often feel outpaced by both time and grace. But if there’s one thing we’re utterly convinced of, without a shadow of a doubt, it’s that good music will forever guide the way; cat’s eyes on the strange expressway that is waking life. That thought crossed my mind back in June, when Caolán Austin released ‘Walking into the Furnace,’ the first track from his new solo project. After spending recent years getting his flowers as one of the island’s most in-demand producers at Smalltown America, the Derry artist is now…

  • Premiere: TRAMP – The Birds (Lowered Suspension)

    August 21, 2024 - By 

    TRAMP’s music is pure-cut alchemy. Since forming in 2019, the Donegal/Derry quartet has become a singular force in our cross-border DIY scene, packing out venues and nabbing the prestigious Artist of the Year Award at the 2023 Northern Irish Music Prize along the way. Comprised of Siânna Lafferty, Ellie McFadden, Fionnbarr Doran, and Ciaran ‘Steamy’ McCay, TRAMP returns this Friday, 23rd August, with their most incisive effort yet, ‘The Birds (Lowered Suspension).’ Off the back of their stellar fundraising track ‘Postcard from Poland‘ and a series of blistering shows across the island, the single doubles as a statement of intent…

  • Premiere: Bedrooms – crusher/birds of prey

    August 19, 2024 - By 

    It’s hard to believe it’s been over four years since we first sang the praises of Bedrooms. Their third single, ‘Bus Lanes’, was a perfect introduction to a Dublin trio who knew their way around the subtleties of indie rock—a band who could surely tell apart echoing the cool restraint of Luna and the reflective depth of Damon & Naomi—all while quietly carving out their own space. Now, four years on, the band are on the cusp of unveiling their long-awaited debut album, Perfectly Still. Reuniting with Bill Ryder-Jones at YAWN Studios—the same space where they crafted their 2021 EP…

  • Premiere: Hypnic Jerk – Spit It Out

    April 25, 2024 - By 

    Over the last few years, Philip Wallace has underscored his status as one of the island’s most idiosyncratic musical minds. From playing harmonica and percussion in Cashier No. 9, to his amp-blown mastery as one-half of Waldorf & Cannon, the Derry artist has always marched to the beat of his very own, genre-spanning drum. It’s a singular journey that continues with ‘Spit It Out,’ the multi-instrumentalist’s – and now one-man-band’s – first offering under his new Hypnic Jerk moniker. And what a blitzing return it is. Concisely summed up as “a song about getting things off your chest and not…

  • Video Premiere: Two Nice Catholic Boys – Never Wonder

    November 7, 2023 - By 

    Formed in 2020 as a collaborative music project between writer and illustrator Ruairí McCann and writer and filmmaker Maximilien Luc Proctor, Two Nice Catholic Boys smudged the lines between avant-garde pop and spectral ambience on two LPs, Cities in Stitches and Seconds, last year. It’s a wonderfully rewarding arc that the McCann and Proctor – who are also both co-editors of the film and music website Ultra Dogme – pare back with aplomb on their label debut, Three Cheers for the Distant Observer. Out on 21st November via one of the island’s finest indie imprints, Bluestack Records, the four-track that sees…

  • Video Premiere: Nick Carlisle – End of Terrain

    September 21, 2023 - By 

    Nick Carlisle is an auteur who has well and truly made his stamp on the landscape of DIY music culture in these isles. Originally from Dromore in Co. Down, the Brighton-based composer, performer and producer has deftly spanned whole soundworlds in projects such as Peepholes, Bamboo, Katy and Nick and Lean Logic. Last year, he even ventured out solo with his sublime, QFT Belfast-comissioned score for 1922 silent film Häxan. Pay attention and you’ll trace a revelatory journey that leads to his upcoming album Bloody Saturnalia. Taking its title from Sebastian Haffner’s Defying Hitler, it’s a self-produced effort that sees…

  • Video Premiere: Drew Makes Noise – Flame

    July 11, 2023 - By 

    As one-quarter of sadly-missed Northern Irish band Ed Zealous, Andrew Wilson played a sizeable role in soundtracking what’s long been held as the country’s indie heyday. But why look back? In Wilson’s case, it seems lightning most certainly strikes twice. Fast-forward to 2023 and the Belfast-based artist is digging deep to further his prismatic alt-pop craft as Drew Makes Noise. Where recent singles like ‘This Matter’ and ‘Hey’ were lysergic and widescreen in equal measure, new single ‘Flame’ is a feat of masterful restraint. One of several peaks from his stellar debut solo album Let The Whole Tape Run, it’s…

  • Album Premiere: Perlee – Speaking From Other Rooms

    April 21, 2023 - By 

    Four years this October, occasional TTA writer – and acclaimed Irish in her own right – Maija Sofia introduced the sublime dream-pop of Perlee. Comprising Saramai Leech and Cormac O’Keefe, the Navan-bred, Berlin-based duo have since carved out their space via Half Seen Figure and Slow Creature, two EPs distilling their finely-woven dream-pop craft to four each tracks each. Today, the pair underscore the status as one of the country’s most singular talents. Exploring “unconditional love, the banality of a capitalist society, destiny and self-realisation,” Speaking from Other Rooms is a debut LP that feels widescreen and prismatic in equal measure. Featuring highlights including lead single ‘Lampshade’, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs-inspired ‘Reckoning’…

  • Video Premiere: Caoilian Sherlock – Candidate

    March 6, 2023 - By 

    It’s mind-melting to think it’s been nine whole years since we featured Caoilian Sherlock as part of our Track Record feature. As well as pushing forward as frontman of indie-psych foursome The Shaker Hymn, the Cork musician has also carved out a distinctive path under his own name. On singles like ‘Sucker For Love,’ and last year’s four-track EP Big Child, Sherlock’s alternative folk pop has burrowed deep, authentic and earworming. Just last month, Sherlock returned with arguably his finest single to date ‘Candidate’. Produced and mixed by Brendan Fennessy, and featuring Shane Murphy on drums (with additional drums by…

  • Premiere: Akrobat – Zamalour

    February 23, 2023 - By 

    On 18th March, Dublin indie/art-rock band Akrobat play their biggest headliner to date when they take over Whelan’s for a show alongside BiG Fridge. The show is set to kickstart the latest incarnation of the Shane Regan-helmed band, with a line-up reshuffle cueing what’s set to be a busy few months. Ahead of the release of the first of two EPs in 2023 – Shank, which is due in April – we’re pleased to present a first look at the video for ‘Zamalour,’ one of several peaks from the band’s Rian Trench-recorded, wonderfully genre-spanning debut album, Jammed Space Movement. Created by Ray Beggan and Aaron Ross,…