• Premiere: Strength – The Crying Game (Record Store Gay)

    One of our ones to watch in 2016, Derry’s Strength have really made their mark on the live circuit throughout the country over the last few months. Set to continue in that fashion with a show alongside Temper Drone at Whelan’s in Dublin on May 20, the Rory Moore-fronted outfit are also one of several Irish acts set to feature on this year’s Record Store Gay compilation, which is set for release – as ever – via the mighty Little Gem tomorrow (Friday, May 20). And what a cover they opted for: a synth-pop rendering of Dave Berry’s ‘The Crying Game’. A handful…

  • Watch: StopTheWheel – ShakeUp

    How many ‘Campfire R&B’ artists can you think of off the top of your head? It’s a curious sonic genus, after all, and one that appears to be exclusive to Italian avant-pop explorer StopTheWheel AKA Francesco Candura. Taken from the (we hope and pray) Danny-Glover-in-Lethal Weapon-referencing Too Old For This Shit – an EP which be released via Dublin’s Little Gem Records on Friday, May 20 – ‘ShakeUp’ is his latest single. Accompanied by a video by Gustav Willeit, it’s all a bit tUnE-yArDs meets Royal Trux, Candura’s pitched vocals, 4-track production and measured acoustic patterns merging to create something that can only be described as borderline dangerously catchy.

  • Record Store Gay @ Outhouse, Capel Street

    We spent last Saturday in Outhouse on Capel Street for the annual Record Store Gay celebrations featuring Crayonsmith, Little xs for eyes, Fierce Mild, Laura Ann Brady, Gross Net, Switzerland and The Former Soviet Republic. Photos by Isabel Thomas and Abigail Denniston.

  • Exclusive: Stream Three Record Store Gay Tracks

    Fast becoming an Irish music institution Dublin’s Record Store Gay has some obvious added import this year ahead of the forthcoming Marriage Referendum. Now in its fourth year, the self-proclaimed celebration of music and diversity will host a mini-music festival, poster exhibition and pop-up music shop for international Record Store Day tomorrow at Dublin’s Outhouse LGBT Community Resource Centre. Hosted in association with Little Gem Records, the annual Record Store Gay CD covers compilation will also be released on the day, featuring some excellent tracks from the likes of Hi Fashion, Kate’s Party, I Heart The Monster Hero, Florence Olivier, Katherine Lynch…

  • Watch: Cave Ghosts – Come Into My World

    Released as part of this year’s Record Store Day (and, indeed, Gay) Dublin alt-pop band Cave Ghosts‘ sublime rendering of Kylie Minogue’s ‘Come Into My World’ has more than a touch of Devotion-era Beach House about it. Helping raise funds for Dublin’s Outhouse LGBT Community Centre, the woozy cover was released in the name of Record Store Gay on Saturday. Speaking about the track, the band said, “We wanted to completely reimagine the original song and create a visual accompaniment in the form of a music video. We desired a more lush sound to our previous recordings and achieved this…