Category Archives: You May Like This

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The Shaker Hymn – new single and album now on Spotify

What you may need to know…

01. Last we saw of this Cork four-piece, they’d released the vid for single Trophy Child and were preparing for their second full-length.

02. The album, Do You Think You’re Clever?, has since been released, and was accompanied by a spate of Irish gigs that culminated in an appearance at last week’s Body and Soul festival.

03. Streaming above is the band’s newest video clip, for single Another One of You. Projected visuals by Colm O’Herlihy.

04. Do You Think You’re Clever? is finally available on Spotify, for those who are so inclined.

Verdict: A more leisurely-paced number than previous selections, which plays very well to the band’s well-honed pop streak.

The Shaker Hymn

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Funeral Suits – New single and upcoming Whelan’s gig

What you may need to know…

01. Dublin four-piece Funeral Suits offer up an artsy, electronica-inflected take on indie.

02. Making their home on Dublin indie label Model Citizen, the band have been plugging away for the past few years, gaining notice with 2012 full-length Lily of the Valley.

03. Streaming above is the video for new single The Way Back. Directed by James Fitzgerald, the clip was released last week, alongside the song’s official streams and downloads.

Verdict: One of the better-primed candidates for a bigger stage in Irish music, it certainly seems as though such ambitions are being carried in tunes the size of The Way Back.

Funeral Suits

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zhOra – heading to Wacken, helping launch new metal night in Cork

What you may need to know…

01. Sludgy, progressive metal emerges from the Premier County in the form of beardy four-piece zhOra.

02. Formed in 2011, the band quickly set about getting on metal bills around the country, currying favourable comparison with the likes of Mastodon in reviews. 2012’s EP Feet Nailed to the Ground was a glimpse at some promising heft.

03. Streaming above in its entirety is the band’s last release, 2013’s Almaz. Mastered by the standard-bearer of stupidly heavy tones, James Plotkin (Khanate, OLD). 2014’s live set at the Siege of Limerick was also committed to ones and zeroes, and is available for free download here.

04. The boys recently won the annual W:O:A Metal Battle, pipping several other Irish metal outfits to a slot at the world’s biggest metal festival, Wacken Open Air. As a warm-up, the lads are taking to Cork’s UrbanJungle on July 9th, headlining the debut edition of Welcome to the Jungle, a new monthly metal night.

Verdict:  A well-deserved step onto a bigger stage for the Tipperary heftmongers. Here’s hoping it leads to further new material in due course.

zhOra

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The Hip-Neck Blues Collective – farewell gig in Limerick tonight

What you may need to know…

01. Hip-hop with a live blues/folk tinge was the order of the day for Limerick five-piece The Hip-Neck Blues Collective.

02. Forming in 2011, the band quickly garnering followings in their respective genres in Ireland, and sharing stages with Scroobius Pip, B.Dolan, DJ Woody and Sneaky Soundsystem, amid gigging around Ireland and various radio session appearances.

03. Streaming above are the band’s sole EP, Millie, released in 2012, and the following year’s Bill Murray video, directed by Shane Serrano.

04. Their last gig ever (for now) happens tonight at Cobblestone Joe’s in Limerick. Kick-off at 9pm, free in.

Verdict: A Venn diagram of sounds and influences that came together in distinctive fashion. Get out and bid them farewell if you can.

The Hip-Neck Blues Collective

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Girl Band – new single ahead of Pitchfork Fest appearance

What you may need to know…

01. Taut, noisy and perpetually bothered, Dublin four-piece Girl Band have ascended quickly from the ranks of the Irish DIY scene and onto the world stage of independent music.

02. Debut full-length Holding Hands With Jamie came in last year on a wave of momentum generated by relentless touring, and a string of singles & EPs. It’s received massive critical acclaim, including the affections of The Guardian, among others.

03. Streaming above is the newly-released video for single In Plastic, directed by the band’s longtime visual collaborator Bob Gallagher. A tad more focused than the band’s trademark surrealism, it still manages to take potshots at Trump-era paranoia. In Plastic releases on limited 7″ July 8th via Rough Trade.

04. The single releases ahead of the band’s appearance at Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival on the 16th of July. Stateside readers might take note that the band also appears with GREYS at Baby’s All RIght in Brooklyn, New York on the 14th.

Verdict: You can love them or hate them, and they do tend to divide opinion almost effortlessly, there’s nothing quite like them. Absolutely white-hot live, also.

Girl Band

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What you may need to know.

01. Manchester-based Gavin Murray has lost none of his accent, judging by his recent output as ambient-electronic troubadour Trick Mist.

02. Last year saw the release of debut EP Jars in Rows, completely written, performed, mixed and recorded by Murray himself over the course of six months.

03. Streaming above is the video for single Crumbs Abound. Directed by Graham Patterson, it places a full living-room in the bogs of Connemara with which to create a thinkpiece.

04. Coming up next: a visit home, with a gig on Saturday in Dublin at Whelan’s, alongside fellow expat Video Blue and Dublin’s Participant.

Verdict: Pensive yet likeable electronica complements Murray’s baritone, creating sparse, atmospheric songs.

Trick Mist

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Ilenkus – playing Knockanstockan fest

What you may need to know…

01. Galway hardcore/post-metal outfit Ilenkus have blazed a trail around Ireland’s metal scene over the past few years.

02. Second album The Crossing, released in September 2014, came in for adoration from national and international genre press, with no less than Terrorizer mag describing the five-piece’s live show as “truly captivating”.

03. Streaming above is the video for Over the Fire, Under the Smoke, which eagle-eyed observers will remember briefly went viral. Filmed all in one shot, it sees vocalist Chris Brennan shred his vocal chords on the streets of the band’s hometown.

04. The band emerges from hibernation with an appearance at Knockanstockan fest, July 22nd-24th. Here’s hoping it’s an airing of new material.

Verdict: An innovative and focused force in Irish metal, if not in the overall Irish independent music sphere, and a must-see live proposition.

Ilenkus

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HARE SQUEAD – debut major-label single If I Ask, upcoming festival shows

What you may need to know…

01. More Irish hip-hop, this time from Dublin-based trio HARE SQUEAD.

02. Having racked up the laundry-list of Irish independent music milestones, including appearances all over the festival circuit and the gamut of TV and radio appearances, the lads signed to major label Columbia (an imprint of Sony) in January, joining a small but growing list of independent Irish acts to have been courted by the bigs (see also: Le Galaxie, All Tvvins).

03. Streaming above is the video for debut major-label single If I Ask, available now across all digital platforms, and currently on rotation on MTV, of all channels.

04. Catch ’em next at Castlepalooza on June 2, and Longitude on June 15.

Verdict: One of Irish music’s real success stories of the past few years, HARE SQUEAD have it all ahead of them.

HARE SQUEAD

 

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What you may need to know

01. Decent Irish hip-hop with an avant-garde tinge from young, Cork-based producer SCOUNDRELL.

02. One of a multitude of projects emerging from one of an innovative and prolific group of young musicians/meme-peddlers in Cork City, SCOUNDRELL takes grime and hip-hop and puts them through some very odd filters.

03. Streaming above in its entirety is Black Box Renaissance, a collection of demos and other bits assembled from quick-and-dirty productions from the past few weeks.

04. Also available is the Lithic EP, a rather more concise exercise in darker electronics.

Verdict: A mad confab of low-key beats and experimentation, well worth the trip for anyone so inclined.

SCOUNDRELL

Photo 1 by Iza Szczutkowska 2014

Sky, Horse and Death – debut album released last week

What you may need to know…

01. Sky, Horse and Death is an outfit for Altered Hours guitarist Kevin Terry and collaborators’ sonic investigations into the paranormal.

02. Debut album Music for Karla Turner is a tribute to the late academic, author and (alleged) abductee.

03. Streaming above is the album in its entirety, available now online via KantCope records.

04. Cassettes also available, as with all KantCope releases, from their Bandcamp and instore at PLUGD Records.

Verdict: Intense stuff to say the least, but another reason to pay attention to Cork music’s fertile and wildly imaginative outer reaches at present.

Sky, Horse and Death