Category Archives: You May Like This

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Rusangano Family – RTÉ Choice Prize Album of the Year winners

What you may need to know…

01. Honestly? This was the YMLT we were hoping to write this morning – mynameisj0hn, GodKnows and Murli took home the Album of the Year last night at the Choice Awards in Vicar Street.

02. Our thoughts on Let the Dead Bury the Dead, from last year’s year-end list:

“Rusangano Family are more than a critically-acclaimed Irish act that’s threatening to go mainstream. They represent a moment in Irish culture, a turning point, a look at the ever-changing Irish identity, the meeting point of tradition and progress, the emerging Irish multiculture.

Equal parts personal earnestness on the immigrant experience in Ireland and social commentary from the perspective of someone raised latterly in the culture, Let the Dead Bury the Dead is, in their words, “an objective album”.

But as important as the weight it carries, the tunes it bears across its near-40-minute runtime run the gamut, from the mid-paced stepping of Kierkegaard to the flat-out, shirt-waving banger that is Soul Food, there’s not a single doubt of the latter either. A momentous accomplishment.”

03. Streaming above are the album that took home the championship, available for streaming and download, and a Guerrilla Session & interview with Ray Wingnut released this morning.

04. See the champs on tour around the country over the course of the next month, including the National Concert Hall in Dublin, among other dates. See here for the full rundown.

Thoughts: The hardest-working outfit in Irish music today begin to reap the rewards of their grind. Proof that hard work, persistence and dedication always pay off.

Rusangano Family

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BARQ – Dublin cross-genre four piece

What you may need to know…

01. It seems remiss of us to have not mentioned Dublin aggro-soul outfit BARQ by this point in the column’s existence. We’d like to apologise for this oversight.

02. Releasing debut single Gentle Kind of Lies in March, the band have seemingly exploded onto the wider Irish music picture in the second half of last year, including a near-complete collection of independent festival appearances in the summer and prominent Spotify playlisting.

03. Streaming above is their first extended-player, covering all of their singles released last year. Pay-what-you-want download, also.

04. They’re heading on a full tour of the country alongside HAWK and Harbouring Oceans in the latter half of this month – full rundown here.

Thoughts: Massive sounds, massive voice, massive tunes. Loads in here to keep loads of different music fans happy.

BARQ

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The Bonk – psych-rock sideproject comes to the fore

What you may need to know…

01. Beginning life as an outlet for Waterford/O Emperor man Phil Christie’s more eclectic ideas, The Bonk has since become something a bit more fully-fledged.

02. Since its emergence, The Bonk has gigged intermittently yet memorably, including a set at last year’s Sudden Club Weekender fest in Cork.

03. Streaming above (in a Broadsheet premiere!) is the video for the Bonk’s new instrumental single Monologue.

04. It releases ahead of a string of dates around Ireland this month and next, including a Leeside return date at Coughlan’s on April 20th (insert word-that-sounds-like-“bonk”-pun here), with support from Patrick Freeman. Full info on their social media in the coming weeks.

Thoughts: A wee creeper of a tune, led by unfettered synth noodling, but underpinned by steadfastly psychey experimentation.

The Bonk

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Krayb David – live techno from Athlone spaaaaaace

What you may need to know…

01. Precious little information exists about the two-headed, seemingly crab-like beast that is Krayb David. According to label pressers, “he drifts through space and time”.

02. Despite the not-inconsiderable logistic problem of being non-committal about on which plane of existence to settle, Earth-bound record company Cut & Paste Records caught the beast long enough to agree to a vinyl release for one of his missives last summer.

03. Streaming above is most recent solo effort, Time Crabs Dream of Electric Egg Ships. Though not to be overlooked is newest effort AcidDavid, a titanic 36-minute live techno jam with fellow astronaut AcidFeen.

04. You can find them on a rare live outing at Community Skratch Games in Galway’s Bierhaus on April 15th and 16th. Ireland’s only live turntablism and skratch festival, no less.

Thoughts: Glitchy hip-hop at the wrong speed? Weird retro-futurist techno? You decide. The crab’s journey will likely wear on through the cosmos regardless.

Krayb David

Cassavettes

Casavettes – Limerick alternative upstarts

What you may need to know…

01. A pensive, post-hardcore take on the broad alternative/indie sound is offered up by Limrock upstarts Casavettes.

02. Emerging in the latter half of 2014, the band has steadily built up a presence in their home city with single Maybe Someday and extended-player The Difference and the Distance.

03. Streaming above is new single Reunion, released last week via the band’s Bandcamp, accompanied by sleepy b-side In April.

04. Catch them next on April 7th in Limerick, supporting Anna’s Anchor at the Loft venue in a full-band show, with Empty Lungs and Life Goals alongside them on the bill.

Thoughts: Dense in their heavier moments, and weighing heavy even in moments of relative levity, “evocative” might even be too stock a word for these lads.

Casavettes

Our Krypton Son

Our Krypton Son – Derry singer-songwriter

What you may need to know…

01. Christopher McConaghy, better known as Our Krypton Son, of course got his pseudonym from watching Superman II.

02. Having released his self-titled debut full-length in 2013, he’s shared the stage with big-name acts like Snow Patrol, Hozier, and Two Door Cinema Club, as well as treading the boards at T Vital and Other Voices.

03. Streaming above is the video new single Everything Reminds Me of You, taken from his upcoming second album, Fleas and Diamonds, releasing via Small Town America Records.

04. Catch him launching said long-player at a special gig in the Nerve Centre in Derry, this day week, Friday 10th.

Thoughts: Creating from the circumstances and tools at his disposal, McConaghy wrings big sounds out of big songs.

Our Krypton Son

rorynellis

Rory Nellis – Belfast solo folkishness

What you may need to know…

01. When not garnering loving glances from the Irish music press, Belfast singer-songwriter Rory Nellis is also the frontman of Belfast indie lads Seven Summits.

02. Having debuted formally with 2014 extended-player The Moon, Nellis’ solo run kicked off in earnest in 2015 with crowdfunded long-player Ready For You Now.

03. Streaming above is Nellis’ new single Casual Discrimination, an earthy riposte to the hardening of empathy in the current climate. Also available for free download.

04. It’s taken from upcoming solo record There Are Enough Songs in the World, releasing in November of this year.

Thoughts: A grand, uke-flecked piece of indie-friendly folk pop that sets the tone nicely for Nellis’ next long-player.

Rory Nellis

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Catacombs – Cork pop outfit call it a day

What you may need to know…

01. Promising Cork psych/gaze/pop outfit Catacombs called time on their brief run last week via social media, after a year’s absence from live activity.

02. They’d been steadily gigging around Leeside, around the smaller venues, sharing stages with lo-fi pop outfits like No Monster Club and HAGS, among others.

03. Streaming above is last single Glow, thrown up on YouTube as a parting shot.

04. For those of you fond of nineties-esque jangles and fuzz, their handful of demos and singles are available here.

Thoughts: A warm note to finish on, erring on the homelier side of indie/pop as opposed to getting lost in reverb and awash with psychedelia.

Catacombs

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Post-Punk Podge – Limerick agitprop

What you may need to know…

01. A very tall man clothed in padded envelopes and The Fall T-shirts, known to turn up at Naive Ted gigs to commandeer the house mic, has begun filing his own material for release.

02. Ted’s label, The Unscene, possibly out of some sort of intimidation or duress, has relented to his ideas, and a collaborative E.P. between the two is due this year.

03. Streaming above is debut single Post-Punk Election Party, released last May with the aid of his house band, the Technohippies. Possibly still relevant given the recent tumult in the Dáil?

04. He’s posting videos of himself in training for the next Community Skratch Games, in Galway over the upcoming Easter Weekend.

Thoughts: A riot for punx, noise types and the Irish political spectatorship alike. Worth the listen for the opening verse’s imagery alone!

Post-Punk Podge

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Auxiliary Phoenix – Carlow beats/jams

What you may need to know…

01. Whether working solo or at the centre of a live trio, James Strain, aka Auxiliary Phoenix, specialises in jazzy, hazy beats.

02. New single Night Light features the vocal talents of hip-hop legend Vast Aire, one-half of Cannibal Ox and former collaborator of Run the Jewels’ El-P, as well as Delaware MC Gentle Jones.

03. Streaming above is the VHS-riffing lyric video, premiered via Nialler9 last week.

04. It’s taken from upcoming EP Power Cosmic, available later in Spring via Dublin tape-based label Little L Recordings.

Thoughts: A polished yet relaxed effort that manages to breathe easy under the weight of the star-power of its featurees.

Auxiliary Phoenix