Tag Archives: Ireland

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Sissy – Dublin agitpop punk trio

What you may need to know…

01. Lo-fi, noisy and aggressive, precisely the way agitpop ought to be. That’s Sissy in a nutshell, a pissed-off, Sleater-Kinney-riffing outfit grappling with gender inequality and other issues facing women in Irish society.

02. September 2014 saw the release of the band’s debut extended-player on cassette, featuring pro-choice anthem Sail and Rail, followed by 2015 EP Gave Birth to a Mum.

03. Streaming above is the latter, also available for download and physical purchase on 7″ from their Bandcamp.

04. Also available for pre-order is Put Ears on Yourself Vol.1, a split single releasing soon via Art for Blind Records, featuring the band’s new track Nice Guy, an affront to “nice guy” syndrome and the privilege that accompanies.

Thoughts: The kind of band our society needs at a time when there’s still a fair amount of bullshit, both current and legacy, to be speaking up against.

SISSY

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Sent to us last week by RTÉ 2XM’s Adam Fogarty, a live cypher, featuring five Irish rappers duking it out on the state broadcaster’s airwaves, presented by 2FM hip-hop jock Mo K.

Rebel P, Jambo, Costello, GI and Mango battle it out verbally, in what’s set to be an ongoing series of live events at the station. Writes Adam:

For more information and submissions for the Cypher Series, please contact demos@rte.ie.

programme
https://youtu.be/Sttms2tJmzM

For the day that’s in it.

Saturday, 20th February, 1999.

The cusp of the BOD era.

Ireland travelled to England to face a then homeless Wales side. Big heavy handbags ensued.

Keith Duggan writing in the Irish Times said:

AH, the incomparable beauty of a Keith Wood smile. We have seen him in all his guises over the past two weeks, from the bleak figure in the blue mezzotint standing ruined in Lansdowne Road to his grinning, pale, headed colossus, gamley stoking the masses at the end of a sporting hour, which will be undoubtedly be rememberd as Wembley’s finest by everyone except, possibly, Geoff Hurst.

Mmf!

Six Nations International: Wales v Ireland (BBC Sport)

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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

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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