Tag Archives: new Irish music

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Nocturnesfolk-tinged electronica with Sligo roots

What you may need to know…

01. Composer Pearse McGloughlin (pictured), late of indie bands Socialite, Thy Swan Army and Walkperson, now makes less ruckus with electronic project Nocturnes.

02. Under his own moniker, McGloughlin has released a triptych of long-players, most notably 2013’s Idiot Songs, a concept album that tackles and reinterpret Dostoevsky’s The Idiot.

03. Streaming above is the project’s debut long-player The Soft Animal, released last July via Bluestack Records.

04. Catch McGloughlin and collaborators this Sunday at Dublin’s Bello Bar, launching new single Dear Infant. Support from Ella Naseeb.

Thoughts: Simple pop songs, sans the saccharine, and set through a grimy, greyscale filter with fitting ambience.

NOCTURNES

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Wastee‘bangdance’ sideproject

What you may need to know…

01. Veteran column readers may remember we covered Dublin electronic/glitch man Wastefellow last year upon releasing his debut E.P.

02. This past week saw his much harder-edged beats and pieces released under the name Wastee, in advance of a number of festival dates flitting between pseudonyms.

03. Streaming above is the project’s debut single, Cola, available now for download via ‘Dublin-via-Sweden imprint’ Lyxliv.

04. Wastefellow spreads his wings to the UK this summer, including Y Not Festival in July before Another Love Story in August.

Thoughts: Wastefellow’s trademark pop/glitchiness through a bassier, grimier, filter. Filth.

Wastee

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I Draw SlowDublin Americana/roots

What you may need to know…

01. When not on the Irish touring grind for the past decade, Dubland five-piece I Draw Slow have been busy whittling away at modern Nashville, appearing regularly at folk & country fests across the States.

02. After thirteen Stateside tours, the band may have made their breakthrough, signing to Americana label Compass Records, joining Altan and Ron Sexsmith on the roster.

03. Streaming above is their new video, for single My Portion, filmed on Achill Island.

04. New album Turn Your Face to the Sun releases on May 12th, having been funded entirely through pre-orders. They launch the record at Whelan’s in Dublin on the 14th, and play Cork’s Cyprus Avenue on the 20th.

Thoughts: Harmony-laden contemporary roots music that never slips into well-trod genre schlock.

I Draw Slow

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Field TripGalway garage-pop

What you may need to know…

01. Super-jangly garage-pop with C86 overtones are what Field Trip, a four-piece of Galwegian origin, is slinging.

02. Since forming in late 2015, the band has released a pair of singles and shared stages with lo-fi luminaries So Cow, Oh Boland, Land Lovers, and No Monster Club, among others.

03. Streaming above is the band’s most recent extended-player, Evening’s Over, released this past March via the band’s Bandcamp.

04. Catch them this Saturday for Record Store Day at The Record Spot/The R.A.G.E on Dublin’s Fade St., alongside a bunch of other bands and deejays.

Thoughts: Perfectly charming indie-laden pop with oodles of burnt-out atmosphere.

Field Trip

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Bleak Stackhip-hop out of the West

What you may need to know…

01. Coming out of the country’s wild West, hip-hop duo Bleak Stack keep further details rather close to their chest, preferring instead to let their music speak.

02. Emerging last year with a number of A/V sets and live appearances in Dublin, Cork and Galway, the pair have been slowly gearing up for debut album Check or Fold.

03. Streaming above is the video for single When We’re Whole One Day, released last September via their YouTube channel.

04. Catch them this Saturday at Dublin’s Grand Social as part of a stellar line-up of Irish hip-hop that also includes Cork-based cutman T-Woc and Sligo boom-bappers This Side Up.

Thoughts: A dark horse running quietly amid the exponentially accelerating development of Irish beats ‘n’ pieces.

Bleak Stack

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Hot CopsBelfast indie/alternative

What you may need to know…

01. Washed-out, jaded Americana-esque alt-rock? Right this way, please, to Belfast poster boys Hot Cops.

02. They’ve been busy in the last year or so, with a pair of 7″ releases via Paper Trail Records, enroute to more touring and releases in 2017.

03. Streaming above is new single Dumbbo, with b-side Auto, available for download and on pink 7″ from their Bandcamp.

04. Catch them next in Cork on the 22nd of April, in a free show at the Crane Lane Theatre. 8.30pm, with support from fellow Northy noisemakers Junk Drawer. An Alliance Promotions™ production.

Thoughts: A contemporary, disengaged, wonderfully bleary-eyed take on the old slacker tropes.

Hot Cops

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ROCSTRONGgenre-juggling pop from Dublin

What you may need to know…

01. South Dublin-based performer/songwriter/producer André Bangala, better known to the world as Rocstrong, has made his presence felt in Irish music as of late, featuring on The Thin Air’s 17 for 17 list, among other accolades.

02. Broadsheet Trailer Park regulars may recognise his tune Go Head: used by none other than the Coen Brothers on the trailer for 2015’s Hail Caesar.

03. Streaming above is debut extended-player Show Off What You Got, available for streaming and download from his Bandcamp. Meanwhile, brand-new single I Gotcha is streaming now on Spotify.

04. Catch him this Saturday night at the Civic Theatre in Tallaght, alongside upcoming hip-hop collectives Loud Motive and Craic Appeal.

Thoughts: Ably balancing accessibility with a number of musical reference points and influences, Rocstrong is a beguiling pop proposition.

ROCSTRONG

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VIRCOLACDublin death metal

What you may need to know…

01. Recalling early death-metal, VIRCOLAC is the convergence of a number of Irish metal veterans.

02. Emerging in late 2013, the four-piece’s debut release, Codex Perfida, released in November of 2014 and promptly sold out of its limited CD and cassette releases.

03. Streaming above in its entirety is The Cursed Travails of the Demeter extended-player, released last Hallowe’en in a split release between Sepulchral Voice and Dark Descent Records. Also available for digital download and on CD, vinyl sold out.

04. Catch them at the Siege of Limerick all-dayer festival, this Sunday, alongside 20+ more Irish and international metal bands, across all three stages of Dolan’s in Limerick.

Thoughts: Peddling trenchant tales of the horrific and heinous, VIRCOLAC do so with genuine aplomb.

VIRCOLAC

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Laurie ShawCork/Wirral guitar-pop peddler

What you may need to know…

01. So, how many albums did you record and release by the time you were twenty-two years old? If the answer is “over 57”, you’re probably Cork-based Wirral man Laurie Shaw.

02. Having resided in Kenmare, where the surrounding atmosphere gave Shaw the space to create in such a rapid-fire fashion, he’s now in Cork city, with his band The Swamp People. Themes vary from love & non-league soccer to alternative soundtracks to popular TV dramas.

03. Streaming above is a preview of Shaw’s next album, The Great British Night Out. Recorded over Christmas, it’s releasing this week via his Bandcamp, and on super-limited handmade CD.

04. Catch Shaw live with The Swamp People on Thursday 13th at Gulpd Cafe in Cork, launching the album, his fifty-something-th full-length(?). No support act.

Thoughts: A musical renaissance man, Shaw moves between frames of pop-music reference with the greatest of ease. Once you get over having wasted your own teens and twenties by comparison, Shaw’s output is immensely enjoyable.

Laurie Shaw

Deep Sky ObjectsCork/Kerry alt-rock

What you may need to know…

01. Big riffs and dirty bass-tones emerge from the most recent studio excursion from Cork-based trio Deep Sky Objects.

02. Having emerged a few years back, the band have been steadily gigging around Cork city, with the odd excursion home to Kerry, including last year’s K-Fest in Killorglin.

03. Streaming above is single Desire, the first in a series of monthly singles leading up to August, to be accompanied by UK and Irish summer touring.

04. Catch them at Whelan’s in Dubland on the 15th, and back in Cork city’s Brú Bar on the 22nd.

Thoughts: A tighter, more elastic take on stadium-filler indie/alt, sans the bullshit. Good hustle.

Deep Sky Objects