Tag Archives: music

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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

 

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

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Bitch Falcon – new single Clutch, appearing at Body & Soul

What you may need to know…

01. Alt-rock trio Bitch Falcon emerge from writing & recording-induced hibernation.

02. Forming in January 2014, and turning initial heads for their fusion of grunge’s dirtier take on pop with their own stellar musicianship, their string of singles early last year helped put them front and centre in Irish independent music in short order.

03. Streaming above: brand new single Clutch, which premiered on Nialler9 yesterday.

04. Get an earful tomorrow night at Body & Soul festival if you’re about – they’ll be playing the Midnight Circus stage at seven bells. Failing that, they’ll also be at Sea Sessions and Indiependence.

Verdict: Clutch tackles tough subject matter with a purpose and aplomb that’s fast outgrowing the whole “grunge/pop” label. Glorious.

Bitch Falcon

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FIXITY – Cork percussionist leads sonic explorations

What you may need to know…

01. More improv from Leeside courtesy of drummer extraordinaire Dan Walsh and an assortment of collaborators.

02. He of The Great Balloon Race, Cork Improvised Music Club, jazz night Blue Note, and formerly of a million other bands and outfits, both as composer and session performer, of course.

03. Streaming above in its entirety is his new album Fixity, released on tape label KantCope.

04. Appearing last night as part of the label’s triple album launch at St. Luke’s in Cork, Fixity “represents the beginning of a project that will manifest itself in many ways”, according to Walsh himself.

Verdict: One of the country’s most prodigiously talented percussionists continues to explore his and his collaborators’ horizons.

Fixity

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Meltybrains? – rearranging the national anthem as part of Rising Against Homelessness

What you may need to know…

01. Dublin post-rock/experimental five-piece Meltybrains? have been garnering serious momentum in recent times.

02. The masked marauders’ journey has taken them around the world and back, including appearances at SXSW and Electric Picnic. Following 2013 EP, Attention! Now That We Have Your Attention, the band turned heads with last year’s Donegal/IV double a-side. Naturally, the next step was a mad tropical tune (and accompanying dance!) called The Vine, which has broken out en masse at subsequent live outings.

03. Streaming above is the band’s take on Amhrán na BhFiann, recorded for the Rising Against Homelessness fundraiser compilation. A bold move to say the very least, the band builds a longform, experimental piece around the anthem’s lyrics. CD available at (evil-empire record shops) and (corporate coffee) around the country.

04. Proud inheritors of the question-mark-suffix tradition in great Irish alternative music, also.

Verdict: One of the country’s most forward-thinking and fearless outfits. Capable equally of breathtaking sonics and moments of unbridled derangement.

Meltybrains?