• Gig of the week: Farriers, Anthony Toner & more @ Empire Music Hall

    April 7, 2014 - By 

    Headlined by alt-rock band The Farriers, our Gig of the Week for this is a special fundraising show for disaster relief in Syria at Belfast’s Empire Music Hall on Friday, April 11. Not merely totally laudable for the great cause – aiding the afflicted caught up on the Syrian crisis – the line-up has all the makings of one of those all-too-rare “I was there” shows, with Anthony Toner, Master & Dog and Seven Summits (pictured) also amongst the acts set to perform. Tickets are £5 and it’s £6 at the door. Go here for the show’s Facebook event page.

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013 (35-1)

    December 30, 2013 - By 

    Sixty-five increasingly exceptional songs in, we’re pleased to round up our first ever countdown of the Top 100 Irish Tracks of the year. Truth be told, this list could have been much, much longesear – such was the extent and quality of the output from our homegrown musical talent over the last twelve months. From unassuming bedroom artists treading the often very thin line between absolute anonymity and mass recognition to genre-defining, decades-spanning bands that fall comfortably under “legendary” status, we’ve been very happily bombarded with some truly extraordinary Irish music over the last year. Until next time… listen, enjoy…

  • Eleven Must-See Shows in Belfast This Christmas

    December 3, 2013 - By 

    Whilst we haven’t exactly been neglected of great shows of every conceivable kind all throughout 2013, there’s something about the Christmas period that somehow brings together some of the most downright irresistible line-ups of homegrown (and occasional international) musical talent. This year is no different, both across Belfast and much further afield. That said, keeping our eyes (and ears) firmly fixed upon the aforementioned hub of seismic musical happening, we present to you our eleven “must-see” shows in Belfast this festive period.  Radar: Feet for Wings – Speakeasy, Thursday, December 19 Radar at Belfast’s QUBSU Speakeasy has delivered for some…

  • Video exclusive: Seven Summits – Little Twist

    November 11, 2013 - By 

    Just over a year since the release of their stellar second album Fossils, Belfast-based indie rock band Seven Summits have unveiled their ridiculously infectious new single ‘Little Twist’ – and we have an exclusive first look at the video. Directed by the band’s guitarist and keyboardist Dominic Coyle, the black and white video features, among other things, some of the most hypnotising slow-motion flapping of the lips that has ever been committed to film. The single – released as part of Belfast Music Week – was recorded by Phil D’Alton and mastered by Jon Moorehead. You can stream/buy it via…

  • Line-up announced for Belfast Music Week showcase

    October 28, 2013 - By 

    Belfast indie-pop band Go Wolf, fast-rising Derry collective Little Bear and indie rock quartet Seven Summits (pictured) are amongst the twelve acts confirmed to play this year’s Belfast Music Week showcase at Belfast’s Limelight Complex on November 12. Set to be a showcase of this year’s proceedings, the line-up for the showcase was hand-picked by a broad panel of industry figures from Northern Ireland and further afield. According to the official Belfast Music Week website, “it’s a chance to see legends and breaking talent, and to appreciate the ongoing success stories and a musical city that continues to make us…

  • Stream: Rory Nellis – Mind Control

    September 20, 2013 - By 

    When he’s not making sweet music with his band, Belfast-based indie pop foursome Seven Summits, Rory Nellis is also a fully-fledged songsmith in his own right. Whilst we somehow missed the initial release of this last week, we’ve been spinning his new track ‘Mind Control’ over and over this week, ever more in anticipation of a full-length album, expected to be released early next year. Featuring Phil D’Alton of Master & Dog on keys – who also recorded and mixed the single – and Dave Kennedy on drums, stream the track via Bandcamp below (and purchase for it a paltry…

  • Revisited: Seven Summits – Fossils

    August 11, 2013 - By 

    In the first of a new weekly feature revisiting various relatively recently-released records (everyone loves alliteration, right?) from local acts we take a look at the effortlessly enchanting Fossils, the second album by Belfast-based indie pop band Seven Summits. Released last August, the album’s wonderfully inimitable, masterfully melancholic sound is underpinned by deeply woven introspective intelligence of frontman Rory Nellis. Currently recording new material for a new release, the band – now a quartet featuring Joe McGurgan (Malojian) on bass – recorded Fossils with Phil D’Alton of Master & Dog and was mastered by Fergal Davis. Propelled by Dominic Coyle’s synth lines,…