Category Archives: Music

Every kind of sound imaginable.

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Twin-Headed Wolf – released/gigging pre-debut album The Long Decay

What you may need to know…

1. Julie and Branwen are Twin-Headed Wolf, a pair of twin sisters from Lahinch, Co. Clare, specialising in wonky, playful folk, making heavy use of the pair’s way with vocal harmonies.

2. Having spent the last few years perfecting their offbeat, ethereal take on the folk oeuvre with an array of non-traditional instrumentation and charismatic live presence, the duo serves us a curveball with an acapella album of folk standards that functions as prelude to their upcoming debut LP proper: The Long Decay.

3. The record is named for its recording in the Emmanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo, back in January, a tomb/acoustic chamber with up to 14 seconds of echo.

4. With the record released in February and launched in Dublin’s Unitarian Church, the pair turn their live attention to Cork Community Print Shop, with a live engagement in the non-profit arts space on Friday, April 8th.

Verdict: Gleeful, joyfully demented folk antics with a bold experimental streak. Their impending debut LP of originals ought to be a treat.

Twin-Headed Wolf

Rusangano

Rusangano Family – launching album Let the Dead Bury the Dead throughout April

What you may need to know…

1. From an intersection of cultures, to the forefront of Irish hip-hop, Limerick/Zimbabwean outfit Rusangano Family have come into their own since assuming the name for their collaborative efforts in late 2014.

2. In keeping with themes of society, identity, belonging, and the celebration of difference and diversity, the trio specialises in a fusion of hip-hop and electronic sounds/sub-genres.

3. Comprised of DJ mynameisj0hn, and MCs GodKnows and Murli, the project came about from their collaborative work in 2013, which resulted in that year’s EP with producer Graeme S, and their first album (and namesake) Rusangano/Family in May 2014.

4. The resultant critical acclaim for their records and riotous live excursions led to supports for Snoop Dogg, Run the Jewels, Young Fathers and BadBadNotGood, as well as festival appearances all over the country. Most recently, they went Stateside to play this month’s SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.

5. Second LP Let the Dead Bury the Dead releases this month, preceded by single Heathrow (streaming above, featuring Windings/Givemanakick man Steve Ryan on guitar), unveiled late last year.

6. The band explains the long-player’s somewhat cryptic title: “Let the Dead Bury the Dead can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. A phrase that conjures ideas of regret, remorse, hope, change, letting go and the resolve to follow one’s own path. To move forward, we must also leave things behind.”

7. The trio are launching the record with a string of dates around Ireland throughout April. Friday the 8th sees them hit The Kino in Cork with Lakerama in support, while on Saturday the 9th, they head for Dublin’s Sugar Club with support from Ben Bix and Feather. Friday the 22nd, they’ll be at Dolan’s Warehouse in Limerick, before playing DeBarra’s in Clonakilty on Saturday the 23rd.

Verdict: One of the country’s most exciting live acts, and one of our most vital and forward-thinking propositions, full stop. Get involved.

Rusangano Family

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The Frank and Walters – We Are The Young Men

Here’s what you may need to know…

01. As synonymous with the real capital’s culture as Tanora, Roy Keane, and music journalists reaching for lazy, obvious cultural touchstones in articles about the city the English Market, The Frank and Walters are one of the quintessential Cork bands, formed in 1990 and named after two local eccentrics of the day.

02. Success found the indie-pop outfit quickly, signing for Setanta in 1991 and releasing EP1. EP2, featuring the enduring Fashion Crisis Hits New York, shortly followed. Following EP Happy Busman, debut album Trains, Boats and Planes hit the UK album chart, with single After All hitting number 11 on the UK singles chart and number 5 in the Irish singles chart.

03. Taking a sabbatical after a busy few years, the band returned in the mid-nineties and have been gigging and releasing records at a steady clip ever since. Having celebrated their 25th anniversary last year with a sellout performance at Cork Opera House (pictured above), the band is currently readying new album Songs for the Walking Wounded for release via drummer Ashley Keating’s FIFA Records.

04. Streaming above is the band’s new single, We Are the Young Men, released ahead of the album’s launch at the Cork Opera House on April 15th. In support are reunited Cork indie group Rubyhorse and The Smiths’ Mike Joyce on DJ duties.

Verdict: A seemingly jaunty, jangly tune, layered with subtle sarcasm (a Franks specialty) and casting a somewhat cold eye on youthful exuberance. Great stuff from a band that’s stood the test of time.

The Frank and Walters

Photo: Kieran Frost. Thanks to Peter Dempsey for corrections.

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Various Artists – Le Chéile (compilation in aid of mental health awareness)

What you may need to know…

01. Yeah Meng Records is the one-man operation of Drogheda man Ryan Carroll. Indie label, local shows, etc. based out of the Wee County’s capital.

02. Le Chéile (“together” as Gaeilge), is a compilation released this past month through the label, comprised of a book of mental health-related quotes & quips (as well as contact info on mental health services in Ireland), and a CD full of Irish and international punk, emo and folk acts (streaming above).

03. Among the many acts on the compilation include Dublin punks Chewing on Tinfoil, post-rock youngsters Megacone, Tipperary emo five-piece The Winter Passing and Limerick singer-songwriter Anna’s Anchor.

04. All proceeds go toward various mental health charities, and Bandcamp orders (€10 + €3 postage in Ireland) come with advance digital download of both audio and text.

Verdict: It’s our generation’s cause: striking up a conversation and national discourse regards mental health. Anybody looking to help facilitate that, and provide a point of focus for anyone that might be struggling in the form of the accompanying book, deserves the support.

Le Chéile (thru Yeah Meng Records)

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Race the Flux – Matty Rusko

What you may need to know…

01. Galway math-rock quartet Race the Flux premiered new single Matty Rusko on their social media yesterday. It’s available for streaming on Spotify and download from iTunes.

02. Having spent the last few years honing their sound, including debut LP Dutch Buffalo and last year’s more experimental Olympians EP, the lads have supported Tame Impala, And So I Watch You From Afar, and The Redneck Manifesto.

03. Rugger buggers may recognise their track Olympus Mons as Munster’s pitch walkout music, also.

04. The video, shot and edited by Limerick media veteran Shane Serrano, sees the band accompany a man who can’t get their them out of his head. Literally.

05. Having played Sweeney’s in Dublin last night, tonight they’re off to slaughter London’s Old Blue Last, a 317-year-old pub, formerly a brothel, now run by VICE Magazine. Grand.

Verdict: The evolution of the Tribesmen from electronicky alt-rockers to the forefront of Ireland’s enviable math-rock scene has taken definite shape. Matty Rusko continues the process in fine form.

Race the Flux

THE BREAKFAST CLUB, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, 1985. ©Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Dublin-based remix artist/editor Steve Collender strikes again.

This time reimagining teen classic The Breakfast Club (1985) as a concept video for Arcade Fire’s We Used To Wait.

Footage from the movie is intercut with clips of the five actors in later life.

Sez Steve:

Fans of the movie know it’s all set on one day – March 24, which is next Thursday. I’ll be promoting it like mad in the run up to that day. Please take 5 minutes to watch and share it around if you enjoy!

So do that if you’re so inclined.

One of the gang already has:

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OUTSTANDING in any capacity.

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Come On Live Long – For The Birds

What you may need to know…

01. Luscious, luxuriant electronic-inflected stuff from Dublin four-piece Come On Live Long, in new single For The Birds.

02. Formed in 2011, and having run the gauntlet of Irish festivals as well as releasing a number of EPs and singles, the band’s currently gearing up for their second album Move As One, following on from 2013’s Everything Fall.

03. Over at The Thin Air, the band have been chatsky about the album’s creative and recording processes, which see the band get together in a cottage in Co. Roscommon. They also premiered the vid yesterday, which can also be seen above.

04. The band launches For The Birds Saturday week at Dublin’s Unitarian Church. Tickets available here. Tickets €10, kickoff at 7.30.

Verdict: A tune that’s equally sultry and strident in different places, it sees the band refine its focus on its strong points, and makes the most of them.

Come On Live Long

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Overhead, the Albatross – Big River Man (from new album Learning to Growl)

Here’s what you may need to know…

01. At long bloody last. Dublin instrumental six-piece Overhead, the Albatross have finally announced their debut full-length record, entitled Learning to Growl, for release on May 13.

02. The band have unleashed singles and snippets from live sessions, but single Big River Man, released last November, was the first indication of what the outfit have really had up their sleeve. A lush, eight-minute excursion with a grandiose video to match, streaming above.

03. Another leadoff single is due this day next week, with a teaser for the video here. We’ll keep you posted.

04. Ahead of that will be a big gig in Dublin on Saturday April 9th, at the Workman’s Club, where the band finishes what they started at their last show, before a power cut took out the venue and stopped the band.

Verdict: What we’ve heard from the band over the years, and the rep they’ve developed, has been  a prelude to this record, and Big River Man may well only be the tip of the sonic iceberg. Roll on, May 13.

Overhead, the Albatross