• Premiere: Heliopause – Falling (Part 2)

    May 25, 2017 - By 

    Whilst you might know him for his distinctive animation work for the likes of fellow Northern Irish songsmiths Malojian, Robyn G Shiels and Our Krypton Son as Lumo, Belfast-based musician Richard Davis has also been crafting some exceptional sounds as Heliopause for a number of years now. Released early last year, his third album How Can We Laugh After This​…  married subtly-woven soundscapes with pining tales of redemption, and explored a range of themes and sounds over twelve tracks. A highlight from that, new single ‘Falling (Part 2)’ tussles with the powerful birth of attachment to another, a motif nicely reflected in the single’s (naturally)…

  • Premiere: Pinner – Head for the Bedlam

    May 24, 2017 - By 

    With the prospect of up to three new albums set for release before the end of the year, (presumed) Northern Irish punk-funk masked duo Pinner are back with a new video single, ‘Head For The Bedlam’. Released in advance of forthcoming radio single ‘Incendiary’ – which will be released ahead of Return of the Pin Vol.2: Bloody Murder Picture on June 1 – this new effort is a typically left-of-centre blast of wilfully DIY garage from the pair, whose penchant for and ease at genre-hopping should fully reveal itself on forthcoming full-length releases throughout 2017. In the meantime, have a first peek…

  • Video Premiere: Planting – Relatives

    May 24, 2017 - By 

    A highlight from the latest Culture Glitch compilation, ‘Relatives’ by Derry producer John McDaid AKA Planting is a track that marries somnambulism and morning light just as effectively as it blends spectral ambience with glitchy textures and rhythms across its four minutes. Lending the track a whole new layer of cinematic panache is its accompanying visuals, courtesy of Derry filmmaker Michael Barwise. Featuring a range of black and white shots – from static scenes and intimate moments to muted, semi-mystical moments of nature – it drives home the longing air of the music in compelling fashion. Have a first look of that below.

  • 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…

  • Album Premiere: Joshua Burnside – Ephrata

    May 5, 2017 - By 

    Ever since the release of his masterfully lo-fi 2012 EP The Winding Straits (and the string of memorable local shows that accompanied that release) Joshua Burnside‘s inimitable brand of alt-folk has commanded our attention like few others. Having really made a dent a year later with the release of his stellar five-track EP If You’re Goin’ That Way, the Belfast songsmith has evolved from wistful folk contender to a fully-fledged artist whose sound incorporates electronica and first-rate experimentalism in fine fashion. The full-length culmination of that evolution, his brand new debut album Ephrata is a real triumph of the spirit. Testament to refusing to be bound…

  • Premiere: Elma – Drive

    April 26, 2017 - By 

    One of the hardest working – and masterfully diverse – musicians in the island of Ireland, Derry multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and songwriter Eoin O’Callaghan makes music both under the moniker Best Boy Grip and as part of Wake America. Adding yet another string to his sonic bow, new project Elma explores more more open-ended, soundscape-based terrain. A seven-month process in which O’Callaghan exclusively used analog gear – a Revox 77B tape machine, cello, bass and a bunch of synths – the project is predominantly instrumental in nature, but will also feature snippets of conversation with a Peruvian hermit by the name of Dolama. According to…

  • Video Premiere: Beach – Bram Toker

    April 26, 2017 - By 

    Released earlier this month, we said ‘Bram Toker’ by Dublin neo-psychedelic five-piece Beach was an effort confirming their arrival as a band to be “considered alongside fellow Irish sonic diviners The Altered Hours and Elastic Sleep“. A few short weeks later, the single – one of our favourite by Irish act this year – comes bearing a visual accompaniment, directed and animated by Ross Ryder. Have a first look at that below. Beach will play a Knockanstockan Presents show in Whelan’s on May 12, as well as their first headline in London on May 18 at the Islington.

  • Watch: Vernon Jane – Fuck Me

    April 27, 2017 - By 

    Holy moly! Don’t you dare sit down, gang, this is important. Dublin Jazz-Punk (or, psyjance as they like to call it) collective Vernon Jane are here to kick the living daylights out you and your loved ones and teach you a lesson while they’re at it. Following on from the 2016 EP The Inner Workings of a Damaged Nobody, the group have returned with a vengeance with new single ‘Fuck Me’. The abrasive, merciless track finds the band channelling influences from the brutally hard-rockin’ camps and those of frenzied jazz. Band leader and vocalist Emily Jane bellows lyrics that demand attention and which grapple…

  • Video Premiere: Video Blue – Hold Muzik

    April 21, 2017 - By 

    London based, Dundalk native Jim O’Donoghue Martin AKA Video Blue has unveiled the video for ‘Hold Muzik’, taken from his album Love Scenes. Following from ‘Dusk Moves’ in March of this year, ‘Hold Muzik’ is yet another slice of snappy, indie-pop with minimalist guitars, subtle keys and vocal work that will remind you of those times you actually really liked the way Bono sang. Video Blue’s knack for earworm hooks and infectious melody shines through on this track as it does across Love Scenes and The Graduate inspired visual accompaniment directed by Freddie Leyden is an equally charming addition. Speaking of the…

  • Album Premiere: This Other Kingdom – Rêveur

    April 21, 2017 - By 

    Hands down one of the country’s most engaging neo-psychedelic propositions, Dublin threesome Del Kerton, Declan Dunne and Git Sweeney AKA This Other Kingdom have long struck a keen balance between hazed-out psych finesse and straight-up rock n’ roll glory. Having released their debut EP Sunlight back in 2013, and their well-received debut album Telescopic two years later, the trio are back with ‘Rêveur’, an eleven-track triumph filtering the band’s kaleidoscopic range of influences, past and present. From the lysergic strut of opener ‘Common Colours Common Sounds’ to closer ‘This is War’, the reverberations of everyone from Jefferson Airplane and Black Lips to The Doors…