Tag Archives: new Irish music

melty-press-shot

Meltybrains? – new single and E.P, Irish dates

What you may need to know…

01. Last we saw of Dublin post-rock destroyers Meltybrains?, they were busy outgrowing genre definitions almost entirely, taking their torches to Amhrán na bhFiann.

02. They’ve since been busy working on the next step, with new E.P. Kiss Yourself due out November 18th, and a rake of gigs to follow.

03. Streaming above is the band’s new single Know My Name, premiered today at Clash Magazine. Video directed by Brendan Corcoran.

04. It’s the first single from the upcoming E.P. Preorder it digitally here, and on wax here. They’ll be touring in the run-up to launch, starting October 1st at Nelliefred’s in Dingle, Billie Byrne’s in Kilkenny on the 7th, Connolly’s of Leap on the 8th, and the Roisín Dubh in Galway on the 15th, ahead of a short run to the UK and Iceland for Hallowe’en and early November.

VERDICT: If they hadn’t transcended the norms of post-genre labelling and pigeonholing before, they certainly have now, with powerful pop songcraft and a keen sense of dynamic.

Meltybrains?

image

Trick Mist – back in Ireland, new single and upcoming launch gigs

What you may need to know…

01. Since the last time we stopped in with multi-instrumentalist Gavin Murray, a.k.a. Trick Mist, he’s been busy to say the least.

02. Before departing Manchester, he made an appearance at Chorlton Arts Festival, a ten-day marathon of the arts in the Mancunian suburbs.

03. Streaming above is a video from said appearance, performing Cracking Settlement live. Shot and edited by Claire Byrne.

04. New single Crumbs Abound is available now on iTunes, as well as on 7″ from Tower Records in Dubline, and Dundalk’s Classified Records. Catch him live for a hometown show at Classified on October 14th at 7pm.

Verdict: Sparse and stark electronics and guitar-play are coated with crooning, subverted by space and reverb.

Trick Mist

11990499_893717097373652_8635061642151829657_n

Naive Ted – new single Down the Tubes

What you may need to know…

01. At last, an excuse to talk about the Don of weirdo Irish beats. One half of one-man duo Deviant and Naive Ted, the latter has struck out in recent times with some of the country’s most innovative music, meshing old-fashioned boom-bap and eclectic sampling with spiky noise and pop-culture references.

02. Having accosted decks around the country with his presence under various monikers and in various collectives over the past decade (including the positively outstanding Vince Mack Mahon), Ted has been a cornerstone of Irish hip-hop, from co-founding the Galway Community Skratch Games, to supplying tunes for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s baddest gaijin villains.

03. Last year’s full-length The Inevitable Heel Turn was a bold jump from beats and noise into jazzy, exploratory territory.

04. New single Down The Tubes was released last night, with a little less than 36 hours left on his their customary two days’ free download on new material. Streaming above, also.

VERDICT: Ted’s excellent adventure into the murky depths of his own frame of reference & musical impulses continues. Yurt.

Deviant & Naive Ted

tst6ofb

Shrug Life – new single ‘Your Body’

What you may need to know…

01. Ahead of this Saturday’s March for Choice, Dublin indie-poppers Shrug Life have released free single Your Body in support.

02. Says singer Danny Carroll:

“I wanted to put it as simply as possible. There’s an archaic restriction upon the people we love and the song is just our personal response. In this small way, if we can show some solidarity and reduce a bit of stigma I’ll be happy”.

03. Streaming in the widget above, available for free download. Guest vocals from Máire Carr, and artwork by Naoise Dolan.

04. The fifth annual March for Choice happens this Saturday, starting at the Garden of Remembrance at 2pm.

VERDICT: The very real and very serious message aside, it’s a bit of a choon, in fairness. Share far and wide.

Shrug Life

0008289018_10

So Cow – new album Lisa Marie Airplane

What you may need to know…

01. So Cow is the nom-de-plume of Galwegian Brian Kelly, who rattles out a pretty nifty line of indie-inflected garage-rock.

02. Coming to life in 2005 as Kelly’s recording project while over in Seoul, South Korea (where in 2009, he briefly gained mainstream attention for naming a song after a local actress/model), the band eventually swelled to a three-piece over the course of four full-lengths and a rake of singles/splits.

03. Streaming above in its entirety is fifth album Lisa Marie Airplane Tour. Recorded solo in Kelly’s new home of Spiddal, Co. Galway, the album reflects heavily on the little malaises of rural life with a warm smirk.

04. It received possibly the best album launch in recent times. The following happened last Friday:

Between the hours of 6 and 9 p.m., I’m going to drive my increasingly dangerous and belovedly shitty ’02 Volkswagen Polo around Galway. I’m going to start at THE SMALL CRANE, right outside the Bell Book and Candle (should point out now that they are not official sponsors and should not be subject to any complaints from what may follow).

I’m gonna welcome 4 people who may wish to purchase the album into my car. SEATBELTS MUST BE WORN. I’ll be playing the album on cassette. I’ll drive ye out to Salthill and back. The drive should take 10 minutes. I’ll answer any questions you have about the album. I’ll drop you back at the Bell Book and Candle. You may purchase the album in whatever format if you are so moved. I shall then bring the next group off.

VERDICT: The sound of someone going not-so gently into that good night, but perhaps not wanting to cause a fuss either. Equal parts hilarious and presciently crafted.

So Cow

13876133_1768478663424981_8420967274272394786_n

Partholón – releasing debut single Hunt

What you may need to know…

01. Leeside progressive/sludge-metal five piece Partholón are named for a semi-fictional character of Irish history and mythos, said to have won the first battle on Irish soil and created a peaceful settlement thereafter, before slaying his wife and her lover after tasting him on his lips. The settlement succumbed to plague a week after this violence. “No God, just life, and then, Death”, as the band says in its bio.

02. While the band’s own story is nowhere near as lofty, they emerged from among the wreckage of local bands, notably the late Five Will Die. Live excursions have been few, numbering among them appearances at the Siege of Limerick festival and several shows in Cork, but expect this to change.

03. Streaming above is debut single Hunt, a heavyweight slab of post-metal weighing in at over the ten-minute mark. Grab a tay.

04. It’s taken from their upcoming E.P., Follow Me Through Body, recorded by Shaun Cadogan at Last Light Recordings in Dublin, and mastered by Marcus Lindberg of Cult of Luna. Physical copies and such are impending.

VERDICT: Maintaining the glacial pace and heft of projects past, and marrying it to atmosphere and dynamics, Partholón have put together something exceptionally promising.

Partholón

10409683_1092020657478811_686465131023814681_n

Starters – final show tonight in Dublin

What you may need to know…

01. Dublin emo/pop-punk five-piece Starters say farewell tonight, after seven years together.

02. Releasing a demo in 2010, the band quickly followed up with extended-player Reasons to Stay, which received separate vinyl and CD releases. A split with Second to Last preceded a self-titled EP, released last summer.

03. Streaming above is the band’s debut album, A Picture Fading, released online via the band’s Bandcamp two weeks ago as a parting shot, after three years in the making.

04. The band’s final show is tonight at eight bells, at Fibber Magee’s in Dublin. Free in, with support from Over Being Under (reunion show), Hollow Truth, January, and Versive.

VERDICT: Earnest, relatable and heartfelt stuff, sans some of the genre’s usual aesthetic trappings. Get out tonight to see them off if you can.

Starters

13876695_2306842079454706_9027723167908648055_n

Soulé – video for Love No More, appearing at HWCH

What you may need to know…

01. R’n’B singer Samantha Kay, aka Soulé, has made waves with her first single, as well as a packed house for her debut solo show at the Workman’s in Dublin last month.

02. Love No More, originally penned as a ballad, is a statement of intent for the young vocalist, who spoke recently to District Mag of her desire to work in dichotomies, “to make tracks that people can dance to, but might have the complete opposite theme in the lyrics”

03. Streaming above is the video for Love No More, directed and produced by Diffusion Lab.

04. Appearing next at Hard Working Class Heroes festival, on October 7th at Tengu, as part of the Word Up Collective’s stage. Kickoff at 8.10.

VERDICT: Ambitious, and in possession of serious potential, Soulé is one to keep an eye on.

Soulé

14088523_10154026438217872_729015186109471910_n

The Redneck Manifesto – playing new songs at Clonakilty Guitar Fest this weekend

What you may need to know…

01. At last, an excuse to talk about veteran Dubland instrumentalists The Redneck Manifesto.

02. Coming together in 1998 from other bands on the Dublin scene at the time, they self-released numerous singles before dropping their debut full-length, Thirtysixstrings to massive acclaim. Companion piece Cut Your Heart Off From Your Head surfaced the following year. Third full-length I Am Brazil released in 2004, recorded in France’s Black Box Studios.

03. Streaming above in its entirety is the band’s most recent full-length, Friendship, released in March of 2010 via the sadly-missed Richter Collective.

04. Appearing live this Sunday in their only date this year at DeBarra’s in Clonakilty, as part of the Clonakilty International Guitar Festival. New material has been promised. Tickets available NOW.

VERDICT: One of the finest bands in the land, and one that’s stayed DIY all this time, to boot. Word of new stuff is most encouraging also.

The Redneck Manifesto

12662727_10156512158275710_5747619216017640280_n

By Any Means – touring Ireland this weekend with Raging Speedhorn

What you may need to know…

01. Hailing from Belfast, By Any Means are a hardcore four-piece plying chunky, spiky riffs in the genre’s tradition.

02. Founded in 2009, the band released its debut E.P. early the following year, and followed up with their debut full-length, Built on Respect, in November 2012.

03. Streaming above is the band’s most recent release, the Bearcat Sessions E.P., recorded at Bearcat Studios in Belfast.

04. Catch them this weekend in support of returning UK metallers Raging Speedhorn. Friday sees them hit the Crane Lane Theatre in Cork, on Saturday they’ll be at On the Rox in Dublin, and proceedings finish on Sunday at the Voodoo in Belfast. Dublin metallers Dead Label are also opening each night.

Verdict: Good, honest, no-nonsense hardcore. Not for everyone, but plenty there for fans of the genre.

BY ANY MEANS