The title track from the band’s stellar, Steve Albini-produced, Northern Ireland Music Prize-nominated third album, ‘This Is Nowhere’ by Malojian confines within its three and a half minutes precisely what has always enthralled us when it comes to the Belfast band’s craft. As with many of the tracks on This Is Nowhere – which is available to buy now via Kilkenny’s mighty Rollercoaster Records – this is music that is born when the soul seeks solace through song in a world that doesn’t always reciprocate the simple hopes and wishes of good people. Featuring footage shot both at home, but mainly at Albini’s Electrical…
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The solo project of Dublin’s David Anthony McGeown, Bodies started out when the musician “had the idea of writing something that documents that mid-twenties period in a persons life where you go through things that teach you how to interact with the world. Not the coming of age high school/ college period but the moments in your life where you – truly fall in love, understanding friendship, dealing with death/mental health for the first time as an adult etc.” The first manifestation of that decision is ‘Nightmoves’, an impressively earworming debut track from McGeown that marries dark lyricism with a…
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Not an artist to get too comfortable in one guise, Belfast-based musician Michael McCullagh AKA Son Of The Hound resurfaced back in August with quite possibly the darn catchiest song we’ve heard from an Irish artist this year, ‘I.O.U’. Something of a curveball when compared with the Omagh artist’s previous, more trad and folk-leaning output to date, its 50s swagger and twang revealed yet another colour on McCullagh’s wonderfully varied sonic palette. Whether you missed it the first time around or fancy a fresh listen, check out the single via Colm Laverty’s brand new video for the track – culminating in…
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With the dark and cold evenings started to creep in at rapid pace, Cork five-piece The Shaker Hymn have returned with a suitably titled new single, ‘Baltic Heart’. Taken from their album, Do You Think You’re Clever? the track is a wonderfully produced slice of swooning subtly symphonic throwback pop and – not least in the addition of strings throughout – real testament to the band’s knack for sculpting a song where harmony is at the heart of their craft. The Shaker Hymn play the following dates in December. December 2: McGings, Westport December 3: Tir Na Nog, Cavan December 11: Kino, Cork (w/ Rozi Plain) Have an…
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Ahead of premiering their second album, Time Will Pass, next week, we’re pleased to present a first look at the video for ‘Echoes Softly’ by Dublin psychedelic garage trailblazers The Urges. Filmed in Florence during an Italian tour last year, the video was directed by Amos Kahana and features Julien Vannucchi as Director of Photography. The single is now available via iTunes and all other usual online outlets as a download only. The Urges launch Time Will Pass at Dublin’s Grand Social on Saturday, October 29.
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In case you missed the memo, Dublin’s No Monster Club are catchier than velcro with a cold. They’re catchier than Avian flu on the 212 to Derry from Belfast on a Friday afternoon. They’re catchier than Brian Wilson spinning a whole stack of Ty Segall records back-to-back for eternity, ad infinitum. You get the picture. With its synopsis of “en route to the big gig, the boys cross paths with a peculiar stranger…” the Bobby Aherne-fronted outfit’s latest visual extravaganza is a veritable feast for the senses. The track itself is one of four new songs on the 7″ EP Where Did You…
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Capturing the curious quality of a solitary city traipse on the continent, the video for ‘Old Amsterdam’ by Derry’s Neil Burns AKA Comrade Hat is as uniquely dreamlike as the track in itself. An experimental ambient-pop impression, it’s a nicely layered, bittersweet ode to the eponymous city, bridging “old-world nostalgia and knowing, 21st Century detail”. With a mini-album set for release in June, it makes for an immersive audio-visual encounter with a multi-instrumentalist sure to carve out his path more and more throughout the year.
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Ask anybody who knows their lo-fi from their Lulu, Tuam noise-pop trio Oh Boland are a rare breed of brilliant. Having first caught our attention with their perfectly ramshackle debut EP Oh! back in early 2013, they’ve steadily grown to be one of our very favourite “rural Irish kitchen sink bottle fed rock n’ roll” (their words, not ours – fitting, though. Very.) Accompanied by a short Irish tour in June (see dates below), the band’s mad infectious new single ‘Where’s The Beach’ – recorded by Liam Day at his Tuam home studio – will feature on four-track split cassette A Litany of Failures, also featuring Shrug Life, That Snaake and Junk…
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A self-described multilingual experimental, progressive psych rock/shoegaze band”, Donegal’s Tuath (or tribe in Gaelic) have quickly established themselves as one of the country’s most singular propositions. With a heavy-metal influenced rhythm section and hints of jazz fusion woven throughout their sound, they are far from in the business of seeking slick categorisation – a fact impressively confirmed on their forthcoming second EP. Set for digital release on June 15, the lead/title from Existence is Futile is a downtempo gem that sits somewhere between a lamenting Madlib instrumental and a trip-hop inspired Praxis jam. Directed by Raymond McBride, the track’s accompanying video proves a suitable hallucinatory backdrop here. Check out our…
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Cork based producer Ronan McCann AKA Carried By Waves releases his second LP Resolute this Friday 22nd of April. Following on from his 2012 debut full length Softly Held Together the producer and multi-instrumentalist take spacious, colourful electronics and post-rock elements aplenty and continues to create a sound that could be best compared to the likes of Aereogramme and God Is An Astronaut but which holds enough individually and heart to stand steadfast and confident. To coincide with the album’s release, the producer has debuted the video for leading track Resonation Day. With its orbiting guitars and cinematic pianos and keys the track’s instrumentation is very reminiscent of…