• The Thin Air Halloween Playlist

    October 31, 2014 - By 

    Without any hint of exaggeration, we love, honour and observe Hallowe’en more than pretty much anything else here at The Thin Air? Easter? Pah! Christmas? Pffft! We laugh in the face your cheap crackers, familial small talk and ceaseless indigestion. Yes, for us, Samhain eve is where it is well and truly at. And to commemorate that fact, our Autumnally-inclined editorial team have very happily selected three of their favourite Hallowe’en songs each. Read, listen and go forth into the night. Brian Coney – Editor Graham Coxon – Bonfires Conjuring some truly wonderful images of late-on-Halloween-night solitude, ‘Bonfires’ by Graham…

  • Stream: We Were Promised Jetpacks – Safety In Numbers

    July 9, 2014 - By 

    Gloomy Scottish alt-rock group We Were Promised Jetpacks have unveiled a new track from their just-announced album Unravelling, entitled ‘Safety In Numbers’. The track begins with pretty swells of vocals and driven piano chords, but builds into a fantastic crescendo in a way that Scottish groups always seem to do so well (think Arab Strap, Frightened Rabbit or Blackened Sky era Biffy Clyro.) The track features some of the more pop-sensible and catchy melodies from the bands previous releases, and is a triumphant return for one of Scotland’s strongest acts right now. Listen to the new track ‘Safety In Numbers’ below. [soundcloud params=”auto_play=true&show_comments=true&color=0ac4ff”]https://soundcloud.com/fatcatrecords/we-were-promised-jetpacks-10[/soundcloud]

  • Stream: Tim Hecker – Amps, Drugs, Mellotron

    July 8, 2014 - By 

    Experimental multi-instrumenalist and producer Tim Hecker has released an alternate version of his track ‘Amps, Drugs, Harmonium’ as part of the Adult Swim singles series. The re-imagining of the track, entitled ‘Amps, Drugs, Mellotron’ may seem foreign to the album from which it has been taken, (2013’s Virgins,) despite the original song being a moment of respite amid some of that years most cacophonous songs. This alternate version lowers in volume and tension more so than any other track from his starkly brilliant last album, though his fondness for drones and slow musical evolutions has not wavered. You can listen…

  • Stream: Spoon – Do You

    July 4, 2014 - By 

    Everyone loves the good weather at this time of year, right? And who better to sing a song about the searing heat than the Austin, Texas band Spoon? On the second single from their upcoming album, They Want My Soul, they have perfectly captured that sense of summer euphoria. The song, titled ‘Do You’, is the sound of the wind going through your hair as you drive the coastline with the top down – yes, its undeniably corny in a sense, but its just too lovely to pass up. The track is wonderfully textured, with shimmering keys and quirky backing vocals keeping…

  • TTA TV: The Wood Burning Savages

    June 26, 2014 - By 

    Currently en route to perform at this year’s Glastonbury – an extraordinary feat for such a relatively new act – Derry quartet The Wood Burning Savagespopped into Belfast’s Voodoo last week for a quick interview and live session. Filmed and edited by photographer and filmmaker Colm Laverty, Paul, Dan, Shea and Aaron perform a couple of songs and talk about forming, recording and playing the greatest festival around.  

  • Stream: Courageous Endeavors – Prototype

    June 25, 2014 - By 

    Jazz is great. Isn’t jazz great? The genre seems to be enjoying a resurgence, fronted by Toronto trio BADBADNOTGOOD, who recently dropped a rather sublime record as well as collaborations with the likes of Danny Brown and Earl Sweatshirt. The newest release in this new wave of modern jazz comes from a quartet called Courageous Endeavours. Hailing from Minneapolis, their debut album, Prototype, is an enthralling and vital addition to the rejuvenated movement; it’s brilliant, and absolutely worth listening to. In particular, check out ‘Habits Of Entitlement’ and ‘Second Hand.’ You can listen to Prototype below, and watch the music video for…

  • Listen: Bent Knee – Being Human

    June 21, 2014 - By 

    ‘Being Human’ is the name of the newest single from Boston-based art rockers BENT KNEE, taken off of their forthcoming album Shiny Eyed Babies. The young band take the phrase ‘shifting dynamics’ to new extremes, constantly twisting and contorting their sound in new ways, and this new teaser is no different. The track begins delicate and ethereal, before shifting into something much more bombastic. The rhythmic and melodic explorations on the track are completely fresh, creating moody atmospheres trumped by theatrical breakdowns. The album, due July 15, can’t come soon enough. Listen to ‘Being Human’ below. Shiny Eyed Babies by Bent Knee

  • No Tomorrow: The Bonnevilles & Rhinos @ Voodoo

    June 16, 2014 - By 

    Presented by yours truly, The Thin Air, the next installment of our monthly gig/club night No Tomorrow at Voodoo Belfast on Saturday, July 5 will see two of the country’s finest garage-rock duos lay masterful waste to eardrums, limbs and everything in between. Headlined by garage-blues twosome The Bonnevilles – a duo (pictured) with an incredible live reputation, bursting with energy and sweaty zeal – the show will also feature the Paul Currie-fronted Rhinos, a new fangled Belfast garage-noise duo who have had tongues wagging and ears rattling from the get go. Back-to-back, it’s safe to say that we’re very…

  • The Thin Air/CQAF Hüsker Dü night @ Voodoo

    May 5, 2014 - By 

    As part of this year’s The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, we’re very happy to present a special celebration of boundlessly influential U.S. three-piece Hüsker Dü at Voodoo Belfast on Monday, May 5. As well as hosting a one-off screening of Every Everything: The Life, Times and Music of Grant Hart, Hüsker Dü drummer, songwriter and visionary, Belfast-based punk and rock n’ roll bands, No Matter, The Groundlings (headliners) and alt-rock three-piece, Abandcalledboy will play three sets balanced between original material and their very own takes on classic Hüsker Dü material. In Every Everything, The Life, Times and Music of Grant Hart,…

  • The Thin Air 1st Birthday/No Tomorrow #2: We Cut Corners, Liza Flume & Deadman’s Ghost @ Voodoo Belfast

    April 29, 2014 - By 

    Twelve most excellent months in, we celebrate our very first birthday – to the day, no less – on Saturday, May 3 at Belfast’s Voodoo at the second ever outing of our gig/club night, No Tomorrow. Headlining on the night are We Cut Corners (pictured), the Dublin indie-rock duo whose new second album, Think Nothing, is set to see them elevated to the highest echelons of worship-worthy fanboyery (and, indeed, -girlery). Brilliantly urgent and idiosyncratic in equal proportion, recent singles ‘YKK’, ‘Best Friend’ and ‘Every Thief’ are go-to tracks to heed their mastery. Main support on the night comes from Australian…