• Irish Tracks of the Week – November 12th

    November 12, 2021 - By 

    It’s been another great week for Irish music. Dig into our round-up below, featuring new releases from Windings, Odd Ned, ANDI, Neil Dexter and more Windings – Focus On The Past 5 Focus On The Past 5 by windings Odd Ned – Arpo Realm Long Mile Works by Odd Ned Caoilian Sherlock – Big Child EP Big Child by Caoilian Sherlock Laurie Shaw – Bargain Hunt Lisa Hannigan – Live at The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 2020 ANDI – CEDARWARD EP Neil Dexter – I’ll Be With You Jealous of the Birds – Belfast Song KhakiKid – Cozy Girl…

  • Irish tracks of the week – October 22nd

    October 22, 2021 - By 

    If you can believe it, it’s Friday again, and there’s a fresh round-up of the very best in brand new Irish music to dig into, featuring MuRli, Gemma Dunleavy x2, Junior Brother, windings, The Altered Hours, Melts, New Pagans and more MuRli w/ Gemma Dunleavy – Odyssey windings – Apocryphal Apocryphal by windings Junior Brother – Life’s New Haircut Life’s New Haircut by Junior Brother Group Zero – Everyone’s Already Come Apart Everyone’s Already Come Apart by Group Zero The Altered Hours – Thistle Convertible by The Altered Hours New Pagans – Find Fault With Me MELTS – Maelstrom Leveland…

  • Monday Mixtape: Windings

    October 18, 2021 - By 

    Spanning Tom Waits, Powpig, Girlfriend, Kurt Vile and beyond, Steve Ryan and Patrick O’Brien from well-loved Limerick five-piece Windings put their heads together for this week’s Monday Mixtape. Windings release their new album, Focus on the Past 5, via Out on a Limb on November 12 Steve The Bad Plus – Anthem For The Earnest I’ve always had an awareness of The Bad Plus over the years, but I kind of had them pigeonholed as “the jazz band that cover indie rock songs”. I totally unexpectedly got to see them play live 10 years ago in Sicily, on our honeymoon…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – September 24th

    September 24, 2021 - By 

    Another banner week for Irish music sees releases spanning the full breadth and scope of the island, with major releases, collaborations and singles from the likes of Brigid Mae Power, A Ritual Sea, Gemma Dunleavy, M(h)aol, David Holmes, K I T C H E N, Erica Cody, Villagers, Invaderband, windings, Gaze Is Ghost, and many more. Gemma Dunleavy – Up De Flats! [Sharda Remix] Brigid Mae Power – Burning Your Light EP Burning Your Light by Brigid Mae Power M(h)aol – Gender Studies Gender Studies EP by M(h)aol David Holmes – Hope Is The Last Thing To Die K I…

  • Monday Mixtape: Niall Jackson

    February 22, 2021 - By 

    London-based Dublin musician and broadcaster Niall Jackson aka Swimmers Jackson selects some of the songs featured on his excellent new radio show/podcast Pears For Lunch. I’m doing a new radio show/podcast on Islington Radio talking to Irish Musicians for an hour. A deep dive, breaking down songs, talking about influences and approach and getting some funny tour stories. The first seven have already been recorded with three episodes out so far. It’s called ‘Pears For Lunch’ and goes out on Mixcloud every Thursday on @IslingtonRadio so far here I’m delighted to give you an exclusive on songs looked at so…

  • Watch: windings – Boring

    January 3, 2017 - By 

    “I tried to throw a plastic bottle at the singer of the Frames…” As first lines go, ‘Boring’ by Limerick five-piece windings captures one’s attention much like Falco of Future of The Left/Mclusky before taking “aim and firing at complacency, ennui and helplessness in the face of everyday adversity.” Accompanied by Philip Shanahan’s brand new live video compiled of footage shot during the record of the band’s fourth album, Be Honest and Fear Not, the single feels like musical target practice for what’s certain to be an interesting year. We premiered Be Honest and Fear Not back in September. Stream it and check…

  • Gigs of the Week: Windings, Kiasmos, James Blake, DJ Yoda & Mhaol

    October 27, 2016 - By 

    Sure, the irrefutable gig of the week has already happened but bearing in mind this feature prefers to focus on the weekend, let’s try and stay positive. As ever, Halloween is a massive weekend in all corners of the country with shows, one-offs and happenings of every ilk cropping up across the board. This year is no different. Here’s our five must-attend gigs. James Blake Limelight 1, Belfast/Olympia Theatre, Dublin Friday, October 28/Saturday, October 29 Having released his stellar third studio album, The Colour In Anything, back in May, these are positively unmissable Irish dates from the Grammy-nominated Londoner. Kiasmos (DJ Set) Saturday,…

  • Album Premiere: windings – Be Honest and Fear Not

    September 27, 2016 - By 

    It takes a certain amount of gall to open an album with a 7 minute epic culminating in an arena-seeking, solo-drenched crescendo. But in the case of much-loved Limerick alt/folk five-piece windings that gall is something far more akin to collective poise and confidence on ‘Ambivalence Blues’, the lead track from their wonderfully-realised fourth studio album, Be Honest and Fear Not. Four years on from the release of the band’s sublime, Choice Prize-nominated I Am Not The Crow, this new record – recorded at Attica Studios in Donegal with Villagers’ Tommy McLaughlin – bursts forth with the band’s “modus operandi in 2016: if you are…

  • windings – Be Honest and Fear Not

    September 30, 2016 - By 

    There could be no more apt a title for the fourth full length LP from one of Ireland’s oft unsung but widely respected acts, Windings. Be Honest and Fear Not arrives after a four year spell of silence from the Limerick outfit and shows us a band, fronted by former Giveamanakick vocalist and guitarist Steve Ryan, who have absolutely nothing to camouflage and no affectation to assume. While this record might not match its 2012 predecessor I Am Not the Crow in terms of ambition or cohesion, it makes up for that in unabashed heart and candid songwriting. Lyrically, Ryan has discussed how the album plays…

  • Watch: Windings – You’re Dead

    September 7, 2016 - By 

    Limerick’s well-loved and broadly respected outfit Windings returned yesterday with ‘You’re Dead’, the first track to be unveiled from their forthcoming fourth album Be Honest and Fear Not. Four years since the release of their quietly triumphant I Am Not the Crow, the five-piece has never been the type to operate on anyone else’s timeline or rush releases, instead always opting to operate at their own pace. After showcasing two new tracks, ‘Stray Dogs’ and ‘Helicopters’, some time ago, ‘You’re Dead’ is paired with a delicate video by Stephen Boland featuring psychedelic colouring over monochrome backdrops, floating along perfectly with the songs flow. Like a strong…