01. Limerick four-piece Cruiser make minor-key pop that falls somewhere inbetween shoegaze’s fuzziness, and pop-punk’s enthusiasm.
02. Coming together in 2014, the band settled on a solid line-up in 2015, and have since been a solid presence on Limerick gig bills, sharing stages with The Altered Hours, Windings and Rats on Rafts among others.
03. Streaming above is the HOT 4U E.P., released in May of this year. Available for free/name-your-price download along with the rest of their tunes on Bandcamp, including a non-loathsome take on Fairytale of New York. In fairness, etc.
04. Catch them next at Dolan’s in Limerick on Stephens’ Night, as part of I’ll Be Home for Christmas, a big, feck-off wedge of Limrock for holiday returnees, also including Windings, FONDA and Slow Riot.
Verdict: Immediately likeable, earnest music, slathered in fuzz and feedback, with a notable (and much-needed) lack of notions.
The Orange Kyte – madness escaping Dublanders via Canada
What you may need to know…
01. Dublin-rooted psychedelia/fuzz/pop, emerging nowadays via their home in Vancouver, British Columbia.
02. Led by vocalist/guitarist Stevie Moonboots, a solo recording project took a transcontinental move to be fleshed out into a functioning band, but the last year has seen exponential growth, including monthly single releases throughout 2016, and consistent gigging around their new home territory.
03. Streaming above is the band’s last single of the year, Fizzy Orange, available for streaming and download at their Bandcamp.
Verdict: A madcap rush through a whole musical idiom, from minor-key shoegazing and psychedelic walls of sound to retro-pop keys and four-to-the-floor indie-rock stomping. A treat for those what wants it.
01. Bleak yet subtly atmospheric black metal is the modus operandi for Cork four-piece Demeter.
02. Comprised of veterans of Irish metal and hardcore, including members of Kawtiks, Soothsayer, Dominus, Slugbait, Hope is Noise and one-man project Molde, the band have more than enough miles behind them.
03. Streaming above is the band’s first demo, Blight, available now for free download from their Bandcamp.
04. Catch them tonight in Cork at Fredz, supporting for Soothsayer, and on the 25th of February at the Urban Assault all-dayer, confirmed for An Spailpín Fánach on Cork’s North Mall.
Verdict: Raw and unremittant black metal with a quietly melodic sensibility, alternating between barebones riffing and blast-laden noise.
The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s theme) by John Williams, doinked out on a table edge with a coffee stirring stick by Russian YouTuber Истории Рабиновича.
Last week, we offered you the chance to win a fluttering €25 voucher for Golden Discs, usable at any of music giant’s 14 locations around the country.
We asked you to complete this sentence:
‘The finest exponent of the bass guitar in contemporary music would have to be_______________________especially during_____________________________’
It was another hard one to call…
But ‘Yer Man There’ has it.
The finest exponent of the bass guitar in contemporary music would have to be James Jamerson especially during the Motown era of Marvin Gaye. His playing is the stuff of legend, and not something that they teach in no fancy music schools. Listen to the way he carves out his own space by shifting ahead of the beat or behind it, or sitting on a note unexpectedly, while never sacrificing the groove or taking away from Marvin Gaye’s vocal (as if that was possible). An extremely influential musician who unfortunately never got the recognition he deserved and lived a poor, hard life.
Hard to argue, that.
Some more highlights from the going:
Yep: “The finest exponent of the bass guitar in contemporary music would have to be Victor Wooten, of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones especially during Amazing Grace. Showing mastery of technique while transforming the song from sonic bliss to infectious grove and everywhere between.”
Martin: “The finest exponent of the bass guitar in contemporary music would have to be Jaco Pastorius, especially during his life.”
Royal M: “The finest exponent of the bass guitar in contemporary music would have to be Geddy Lee of Rush especially during Digital Man from the Signals album.”
Birneybau2: “Stephen Morris, amazing. Bernard Sumner, terrible lyricist, amazing guitarist. Ian Curtis, one of the greatest. Peter Hook; ’nuff said.”
Serval: “The finest exponent of the bass guitar in contemporary music would have to be Andy Rourke, especially during This Charming Man.”
Thanks all
Bassists (above) clockwise from top left: James Jamerson; Andy Rourke; Victor Wooton; Jaco Pastorius; Geddy Lee; Peter Hook.
01. Chris and Aimie (no surnames) are the transatlantic synth-pop duo LE BOOM, based between Dublin and Brooklyn.
02. Hotly tipped by the Irish Times and State.ie for bigger things domestically, their work in the U.S. is paying off, with recent glowing reviews from Paste Magazine.
03. Streaming above is the video for single What We Do, a taster of their first formal release due next year. Filmed in Brooklyn, with featured dancer Breckyn Drescher.
Verdict: Super-tight synth-pop with indie touches, the duo easily has it in them to elude the big-name comparisons and put their own stamp on Irish electronica.
01. African Fiction is the new nom-de-beats of former Agitate the Gravel/Elastic Sleep man Chris Somers, now holding it down as the events man at Cork’s PLUGD Records.
02. Trading shoegaze for techno, Somers utilises live synths, drum machines and guitar pedals, investing his new project with a similar density.
03. Streaming above is a sampler of what can be expected from African Fiction, in an as-yet untitled eight-minute piece.
04. Catch him this Saturday at the Triskel’s TDC space, with a live set. DJ support from OutOut, kickoff at 10.30. €4 in.
Verdict: A new chapter for one of Cork music’s hardest-working folk, with no-nonsense, ambient yet layered electronics that ought to translate well to the live stage.
