Tag Archives: music

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Pleasure Beach – on the festival rounds

What you may need to know…

01. Belfast dream-pop five-piece Pleasure Beach are busy on the summer’s festival bills.

02. Signed to local label Faction, the band emerged late last year with debut single Go, which quickly made radio rounds, and got a Choice Music Prize nomination for Song of the Year.

03. Streaming above is the video for Go, taken from their Dreamer to the Dawn EP, released this past February.

04. Catch them next on the 25th at Sea Sessions, Longitude on July 15th, and at Indiependence on July 30th.

Verdict: Their EP is one of the strongest by a debuting Irish band in recent years. Ramshackle songcraft with much to like for shoegazers and synth nerds.

Pleasure Beach

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All Tvvins – touring and playing the Marquee

What you may need to know…

01. Unlikely to have flown under very many radars in the past year or so, Dublin/Wexford duo All Tvvins‘ DIY pedigree makes their polished pop all the more of a departure.

02. Emerging properly from their former bands in late 2013, they’re comprised of a core membership of Lar Kaye (Adebisi Shank) on guitars and Conor Adams (The Cast of Cheers) on bass/vox, and joined live by Lewis Hedigan (Elk and Guilty Optics) on drums.

03. Streaming above is the video for most recent single Unbelievable, a big aul’ pop tune with more than a few hat-tips to their math-rock roots.

04. Obligatory soccer reference for the week that’s in it – the band appeared on the soundtrack to this year’s instalment of the annual FIFA videogame, with single Darkest Ocean.

05. Playing the Marquee in Cork on July 5th in support of Foals, the band come back in October from extensive UK/EU touring to play Dolan’s in Limerick on the 29th, and Belfast’s Limelight on the 30th.

Verdict: An adjustment, admittedly, for fans of the lads’ previous outfits, All Tvvins has grown over the last year or two into very much its own beast, and you can expect bigger things from the Warner-signed group in the years to come.

All Tvvins

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Oh Boland – new split tape and gigs this week

What you may need to know…

01. Oh Boland are a three-piece indie/pop band from Galway. Jangles and riffs in equal measure.

02. They’re on the road all this week in support of A Litany of Failures, their new split cassette via Little L Records. Also appearing on tour (and on the tape) are Belfast lads Junk Drawer, Broadsheet faves Shrug Life, and That Snaake.

03. Streaming above is the video for most recent single, Where’s the Beach?

04. Tomorrow night sees all the bands involved with the aforementioned release play McHugh’s in Belfast, they’ll be at Sweeney’s in Dublin on Thursday, and wrapping up with a show in Galway at the Roisin Dubh on Saturday night.

Verdict: Straight-ahead, no-nonsense but likeable tunes.

Oh Boland

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King Kong Company – new single Scarity Dan hits the charts midweek

What you may need to know…

01. Waterford-based outfit King Kong Company have become somewhat of a fixture on the Irish festival circuit.

02. The band’s self-titled debut album releases on the 17th of this month, after a build-up of over a year having first been hinted at with single Spacehopper last year.

03. Streaming above is the vidjo for new single Scarity Dan, released last week. As of yesterday, it’s number seven in the Irish pop chart, still an achievement for a DIY release.

04. Upcoming appearances on the festival grind: June 4th at Vantastival, June 11th at BARE in the Woods, June 24 at Sea Sessions, and July 1 at Waterford’s Daytripper fest.

Verdict: Madcap synth-pop, made specifically for going ape. Pun intended.

King Kong Company

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Enemies – playing ArcTangent festival in August

What you may need to know…

01. Wicklow math-rock four-piece Enemies have been knocking about for the bones of the past decade now, making all manner of bright and fanciful noises. They’ve toured the world in the process, including sold-out shows in New York and Tokyo.

02. Currently resident on Topshelf Records, the band were formerly part of the much-missed Richter Collective, on which debut album We’ve Been Talking was released. Follow-up effort Embark, Embrace is arguably one of the best Irish records of recent years.

03. Streaming above is the video for most recent single Play Fire, taken from their upcoming third LP. Directed by Finn Keenan, it’s a fairly handsome piece of cinematography.

04. If you’re hankering for more, they did a live session for Chicago music channel Audiotree in April. Stream it in full, along with interviews, here.

05. Next appearing at ArcTangent, Europe’s leading fest for all things instrumental, noisy and/or in odd timings, happening August 18-20 in Bristol. Among the frankly insane line-up are fellow Irish soundscapers Alarmist.

Verdict: Play Fire represents a turn to broader strokes and a poppier feel. It suits their more blissed-out moments of old, and this next LP might well be the one that puts them in front of a wider audience.

Enemies

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New Jackson – doing the festival rounds in Ireland and Europe

What you may need to know…

01. The man currently known as David Kitt, is also currently known as New Jackson. Yep, the very same.

02. Out with the moody singer-songwriter stuff, in with sunny, disco-y house.

03. Streaming above is Having a Coke With You, from his EP of the same name released in 2014 on Permanent Vacation. Following up with 12″ single Metroflex, he’s since been getting attention for remix work with the like of the xx.

04. Next appearances are this Friday at Cobh’s Sirius Arts Centre, this Saturday at M-NUS (note the on-brand spelling) in Cork, July 1st at Derry’s Celtronic festival, July 3 at Castlepalooza fest. More info on UK and Europe dates here.

Verdict: A big romance with the horizon for Kitt, embracing sunnier sounds and following his own muses.

New Jackson

Pic: Robin Parmar

Roslyn Steer – launching new album You’ll Know next month

What you may need to know…

01. Cork-resident singer-songwriter Roslyn Steer stretches that oft ill-fitting label to breaking point, taking in noise, drone and psychedelia on her adventures.

02. Formerly of Saint Yorda and also currently of Crevice and Morning Veils, she’s been prodigiously busy in recent times solo, releasing last album Still Moving less than a year ago.

03. Streaming above is said debut record in its entirety, released on her own label, Kant Cope.

04. Next appearing to launch You’ll Know as part of her label’s triple album-launch show at St. Luke’s in Cork city, alongside new projects Fixity and Sky, Horse and Death, both unveiling themselves and releasing cassettes on the night.

Verdict: A joy to watch live, slowly becoming more and more entranced over the course of a set, to the point of appearing almost to be elsewhere. Mesmerising.

Roslyn Steer

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Shookrah – announced for Quarter Park Party

What you may need to know…

01. Multiple-headed prog-soul outfit Shookrah have been turning heads for the past few years now.

02. Debuting as Moustache Latte in 2013, the band had a brief run under the name before regrouping the follow year under their current moniker, in time to launch their Implicit Content EP. Festival appearances have followed, including Electric Picnic and Knockanstockan.

03. Singer Senita is also busy with other projects, including Lakerama and appearances with Daithi and Le Galaxie. You may also recognise the drummer.

04. Streaming above is I’ve Had a Nice Time, Thanks, filmed live in the intimate surrounds of Cork’s Mother Jones’ Flea Market.

05. Appearing next at Quarter Park Party, an all-dayer (and sister fest to Quarter Block Party) put on by the all-round wonderful folk at Quarter and Southern Hospitality Board in Fitzgerald’s Park in Cork on July 23rd.

Verdict: Genuinely soulful harmonies and impeccable musicianship, meet whip-crack tunes.

Shookrah

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Coscradh – releasing Demo MMXVI

What you may need to know…

01. A band named for the Irish for “massacre” set an appropriate tone in their debut release. Death metal with black-metal overtones abounds.

02. No Clean Singing has sung/growled the band’s praises effectively: “when they punch the accelerator, it’s pure howling destruction”.

03. Streaming above in its entirety is the band’s demo tape, released digitally via Dublin metal lifers Invictus Productions. Physical cassette to follow, and likely to disappear quickly.

04. Appearing Sunday week in the Voodoo Lounge in Dublin alongside Belfast grinders Unyielding Love in support of Scandinavian metallers Degial and Vorum. Also scheduled for Galway’s Dark Arts fest this August.

Verdict: Ominous, bleak noises, amid sparse, yet considered production. Blistering stuff at its high-speed, suitably grim at a crawl.

Coscradh

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The Altered Hours – playing the Workman’s Club next month

What you may need to know…

01. Cork-based psych-rock five-piece The Altered Hours have been in fine form as of late, with their debut album and extensive UK/European touring meeting critical acclaim.

02. The band’s early days were characterised by an ever-changing line-up and explorations of folk and psychedelia, with subsequent releases taking in forays into post-punk and shoegaze.

03. Streaming in its entirety above is said debut album, In Heat/Not Sorry. It’s a lot more focused than we’ve heard from the band prior, while retaining their more eclectic elements.

04. Appearing next on June 24th at the Workman’s Club in Dublin as part of the Wellington Weekender, alongside Cian Nugent, Toby Kaar, the Word Up Collective, and others.

Verdict: One of the best bands in the country right now. See them live in an intimate setting now, while you’re able.

The Altered Hours

Pic: Isabela Szczutkowska