• Premiere: nimf – Cloudy Dreams

    July 30, 2020 - By 

    Hailing from Arklow in Co. Wicklow, the self-proclaimed “sugar-pop” performance of Aoibhin Redmond aka nimf filters vocals and theremin via a prismatic, deftly-produced sensibility. Having shined, live, at Whelan’s Ones To Watch, as well as the likes of Arcadian Field Festival, The Button Factory and BIMM Midnight Hour in Whelans, her craft is an open invitation to escape everyday waking life and to yield to the more phantasmal side of one’s mind. With nods to artists including Yaeji, Kero Kero Bonito, and CHAI, her sound feels just as comparable to the likes of Tune-Yards and Micachu & The Shapes. It’s…

  • Video Premiere: Proper Micro NV – So Much To Give & Live For

    July 21, 2020 - By 

    Back in May, Limerick experimental electronic artist Rory Hall aka Proper Micro NV delivered hands down one of his strongest efforts to date. Taken from his forthcoming new album – a released in which Hall says he has set to  “push the boundaries a little bit” – ‘So Much To Give & Live For’ was warped and propulsive in all the right places. Today, we’re pleased to present a first look at the track’s accompanying seven-minute-long video. Speaking about the video, Hall said, “When considering the visual aspect of this new collection of tracks, I definitely wanted to go a little bit…

  • Premiere: Charles Hurts – Living Under Lockdown

    June 26, 2020 - By 

    Though there have been many reunions and recommencements in Irish music since we launched back in May 2013, none have demanded our attention more than the long-awaited return of Charles Hurts. A solo moniker of Belfast musician Philip Quinn aka Gross Net, who is also a one-third of Grave Goods and guitarist with the currently inactive Girls Names, ‘Living Under Lockdown’ arrives eight years on from his last Charles Hurts release (Blue Valentine, a stellar split with Hello Translinks? on CF/Recs). Taken from forthcoming three-track EP Squashed, which is released on July 3, it’s a typically phantasmal effort from Quinn, and a wonderfully balmy rumination…

  • Premiere: Waldorf & Cannon – Dear Richard

    June 19, 2020 - By 

    Many Irish acts have kept remarkably busy in the age of lockdown, not least Derry/Donegal twosome Waldorf & Cannon. Hands down one of the North West’s finest fuzzed-up, no-nonsense alt-rock propositions, today the band release The Lockdown Special, a self-produced, six-track release bringing together live versions of tracks including ‘Syntax Error’ with material including new single ‘Dear Richard’. Doubling up as one of the duo’s strongest single efforts to date, its video – which we’re pleased to premiere below – was shot entirely in lockdown. As DIY goes, Waldorf & Cannon make it their mission statement. Have a first look at the video, and…

  • EP Premiere: Banríon – Airport Dads

    June 18, 2020 - By 

    Fronted by Róisín Hackett, Banríon are a Dublin foursome who bridge alt-rock and carefully-crafted indie-rock in the vein of Soccer Mommy and Snail Mail. Across three tracks, the band’s self-produced debut EP Airport Dads was recorded in a sitting room in Connemara, and is full testament to a band who have caught our attention right from the outset. Exploring the complex theme of disability, alongside broader ruminations on uncertainty, emigration and heartbreak, lead single ‘Yesterdays’ Paper’, ‘Bunkbeds’ and closer ‘Ouchie’ betray the pathos, songwriting finesse and harmonic knack of a band we’re sure will make big leaps in the coming months. Mark our words on that…

  • Premiere: Cruiser – Ovaltine

    June 17, 2020 - By 

    At the beating heart of Limerick’s fully thriving music scene as of late are Cruiser, a foursome comprising Ger Devine, Rachael Drennan, Chris Quigley and Steve Savage. Striking a sweet point between supremely candid indie rock and intricately-woven shoegaze worship, the gentler side of the band’s sonic M.O. is laid bare across the four minutes of ‘Ovaltine’. Originally featured on the band’s split EP with Belfast trio Mob Wife late last year (check out our premiere here) it’s a song evoking everyone from Bedhead and early Slowdive, to Codeine and Duster. Today, we’re pleased to present a first look at the song’s brand new video. Doubling up as one…

  • Album Premiere: Hey Jigsaw – Who’s Your Dark Master?

    May 22, 2020 - By 

    Following on from the video premiere last week, Al Finnerty of Guilty Optics – under the guise of Hey Jigsaw – releases his debut album today on Waffler Records. A departure from the aggressive ouput of his previous groups, Finnerty has called in the corners to feature guest vocals from Ciaran Smith of Crayonsmith / Nome King, Conor Deasy of Tomorrow, Niamh Buckley and trumpets from Dave Prendergast of Glimmermen to round out this nostalgia-tinged atmospheric record, full of melodic nods to the likes of Pinback, The Sea & Cake and June of 44. Of the album title, Hey Jigsaw says: ‘Who’s your dark master?’…

  • Premiere: Tuath – I Am But a Poor Man (But I Have Got Cans)

    May 18, 2020 - By 

    In times of duress, it helps to have a mantra to keep things firmly within the realms of perspective. In the case of the North West’s foremost psych-inflected experimental rock band Tuath, “I am a poor man but I have cans” is an incantation so worthy it doubles up as the title of the Robert Mulhern-fronted band’s new single. Taken from their forthcoming mini-album, the singularly-titled The Fuckening, it’s another sorcerous dose of spaced-out exploration from the Donegal band. Featuring Sega Megadrive MIDI exploits and more, it makes for a suitably shapeshifting effort across three minutes. Have a first look at Kieran Devlin’s video…

  • Video Premiere: Joshua Burnside – Whiskey Whiskey

    May 12, 2020 - By 

    The continued evolution of Joshua Burnside is nothing short of a joy to behold. Over the last few years, the Northern Irish artist has expanded upon his singular folk sound with a healthy dose of forward-pushing sonic exploration. New single ‘Whiskey Whiskey’ retains much of what is familiar about Burnside’s sound, all while pushing into new territory. A masterfully stripped-back effort, the song – and accompanying video – stares down the grip of all-consuming fears via disarmingly confessional songwriting. “I wrote the lyrics for Whiskey, Whiskey whilst on a flight to London,” Burnside said. “I hate flying and l would…

  • EP Premiere: Fonda – No Begonias

    May 7, 2020 - By 

    Our love for Fonda is no secret. Over the last few years, incarnations of the Liam O’Connor-fronted band have split time between Limerick, Glasgow and Galway. Its latest incarnation, compromising John Ahern of Hey Rusty, Paul Cosgrave of Slow Riot and Sean O’Mahony of Inner City Radio, feels like a definitive formation – the logical ultimate form of a band conspiring to make O’Connor’s tales come to life. Recorded last year by Chris Quigley of Cruiser and mixed by Micheàl Keating of Bleeding Heart Pigeons, the band’s new EP, No Begonias, is a masterful consolidation of their mission statement to date. From highlight ‘The Way Out’…