• Irish Releases of the Week – October 30th

    October 30, 2020 - By 

    Another phenomenal week of Irish music, we’ve expanded this time around to feature full length releases, including Nealo’s long-awaited debut LP, Kobina’s phenomenal charity compilation -featuring Jape, Arvo Party and more – a Tuath & Lunch Machine collaboration, Bitch Falcon, Dunluvly, Rebekah Fitch, Mick Flannery, Jackie Beverly, Silent Ghost and more. Nealo – All The Leaves Are Falling Kobina – For Nora For Nora by Kobina Tuath & Lunch Machine – Mountains and Grooves Dunluvly – Something On My Mind Mick Flannery & Anais – Minnesota Rebekah Fitch – Game Over A.S. Fanning – All Time Jackie Beverly – Sea Glass…

  • Premiere: The Mad Dalton – Skeleton Waltz

    April 27, 2020 - By 

    Belfast-based songwriter Peter GW Sumadh aka The Mad Dalton first appeared on our radar back in 2015, via the release of his ruminating, Americana-tinged debut EP The Little Belfry. Five years on, Sumadh’s craft has evolved to a point where harmonic savvy and incisive turns-of-phrase effortlesly take centre-stage. Having finished 2019 with gigs supporting both Malojian and Junior Brother, new ‘Skeleton Waltz’ arrives, fittingly, in surreal times. Recorded at Millbank Studios, this latest offering featuring Michael Mormecha on drums and artwork by renowned Belfast creative Andrew Train (Giraffe Stairs Tattoos), it follows cancellation of recording sessions and ahead of the…

  • Premiere: The Mad Dalton – Spirit of Rocky

    October 8, 2018 - By 

    Belfast-based alt-folk singer-songwriter Peter Sumadh AKA The Mad Dalton has unveiled the video for his new single, ‘Spirit of Rocky’. Taken from Dalton’s full-length debut album, Open Season, the single – one of Sumadh’s strongest to date – now comes accompanied with Elspeth Vischer-directed video, with camera work by Ayrton McGurgan. Trigger warning: may contain an oversized, sax-wielding bunny. The Mad Dalton play Belfast’s 39 Gordon Street on Thursday, October 11th.

  • In Season: An Interview with The Mad Dalton

    June 7, 2018 - By 

    Ahead of the launch of his debut album, Open Season, at Belfast’s Black Box on Thursday, June 14, Belfast-based musician and songwriter Peter Sumadh AKA The Mad Dalton talks to us about process, influence, the imprint of literature on his work, how his Scots/Canadian heritage frames his craft, the musicians that have helped bring his music to life and more. Go here to buy tickets to the launch of Open Season. Your debut album, Open Season, is set for release on June 15. You’re releasing it via a successful pledge campaign. Were you hesitant to do this and how was…

  • Premiere: The Mad Dalton – Seafaring Man

    April 13, 2018 - By 

    Officially launched at Belfast’s Love & Death last night, ‘Seafaring Man’ is the new single by Belfast-based Scots-Canadian singer-songwriter Peter Sumadh AKA The Mad Dalton. Taken from his forthcoming debut album, Open Season – which will be released in June following a successful pledge campaign – it’s another full-bodied slice of wistful Americana that, rather than getting ensnared in the images and memories of the past, aims two eyes firmly on the horizon. Open Season is launched at Belfast’s Black Box on June 14. Have a first listen (and look at Chris Molloy’s video) below.

  • The Sad and Beautiful World of Sparklehorse @ The MAC, Belfast

    April 10, 2017 - By 

    Few events in Belfast are likely to be as emotionally charged as this evening’s tribute to Sparklehorse. Anyone familiar with the band’s output -and it immediately transpires that not one soul in tonight’s intimate gathering does not hold every beat, note and lyric in their hearts – will already know that frontman Mark Linkous took his own life seven years ago. That fact, tragically, is unavoidable, and there is certainly no avoiding the spectral shadow that such an unnecessary and painful loss casts over the entirety of Linkous’ back catalogue. It is impossible to listen to his music without feeling…

  • The Sad & Beautiful World of Sparklehorse at The MAC

    February 13, 2017 - By 

    On April 8 we will co-host a special, two-part event The MAC as part of Belfast Film Festival celebrating the life and music of the sadly-missed Mark Linkous, aka Sparklehorse. Following a screening of Alex Crowton and Bobby Dass’ new documentary ‘The Sad & Beautiful World of Sparklehorse’, the evening will also feature a Q+A with the filmmakers, as well as a live, one-hour performance, ‘A Night of Sparklehorse’ with Belfast-based singer-songwriters Tom McShane, The Mad Dalton, Heliopause, Pixie Saytar and more. Tickets are available from The MAC, priced at £10.50 & £12.50. Things kick off at 8pm.

  • Premiere: The Mad Dalton – Oh Marseille

    January 15, 2017 - By 

    Taken from his forthcoming debut album, which is set for release at some point this year, ‘Oh Marseille’ is the latest single from Belfast-based Scots-Canadian singer-songwriter Peter Sumadh AKA The Mad Dalton. Featuring Zarah Fleming on cello and Ciaran “Scruffy” Gallagher on accordion, the track – a gently affecting folk-classical ballad produced by James Lyttle at Lisburn’s Millbank Studios – is something of a delicate, more formalised departure from previous material, including October single ‘The Devil Came To Derry’. Have a first listen to the single and check out Dog Kennel Productions’ video below. ‘Oh Marseille’ is officially released on Saturday, January…

  • Premiere: The Mad Dalton – Devil Came To Derry

    October 20, 2016 - By 

    Keeping the candle burning for the dying tradition of the Halloween single, Belfast-based Scots/Canadian singer-songwriter Peter Sumadh AKA The Mad Dalton’s ‘Devil Came To Derry’ is a slow-burning dose of malevolent Americana that puts sparsely plucked guitar guitars and a bleak, unravelling narrative centre-stage. Accompanied by a video shot up Derry way by Dog Kennel Productions, the single is the follow-up to Sumadh’s 2015’s The Little Belfry EP, which we reviewed here. Have an exclusive first look at the video for the single (“a song for people of all faiths and for people with no faith at all.”) below.  

  • The Mad Dalton – Little Belfry EP

    December 2, 2015 - By 

    From the outset, one of the elements of The Mad Dalton’s Little Belfry EP that stands out is its ability to conjure a sense of location. With its lumbering, laboured melodies and guttural sadness, the record constantly evokes images of this kind of ‘Last Chance Saloon’ in the American midwest. A darkness at the edge of town where the shallow husks of self-proclaimed saviours keep knocking back glass after glass before the sun creeps over the horizon to remind them that time is endlessly creeping forward and that the fire water won’t burn away what they’ve done. Their stories are…