Tag Archives: new music

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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?

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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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Thumper – new EP and festival appearances

What you may need to know…

01. Dublin five-piece Thumper have been carving out a niche in the city’s lo-fi/pop community.

02. Starting as a solo project, Thumper’s debut EP released in March of least year, and led to regular gigging around Dublin, as well as a run of dates with Blades Club.

03. Streaming above is the video for new single Rent is Due, available with a pre-order of their new E.P., magnum opuss, releasing June 17th via Little L Records. A limited run of tapes is also on the way.

04. Appearing next at Knockanstockan, Electric Picnic, and the UK’s Truck fest.

Verdict: Noisy, jagged poppy ruckus covered in tape hiss and overdrive.  No-nonsense action.

Thumper

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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

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Owensie – playing Limerick and West Cork next month

What you may need to know…

01. Michael Owens, aka Owensie, specialises in an alternative-leaning folk, informed by his previous life as part of various DIY bands, including Puget Sound, Terrordactyl, and Realistic Train.

02. First garnering adoring glances in 2011 with debut album Aliens, Owensie has slowly but surely built a quality body of solo work, expounded upon with 2012’s Citizens, and remix album I Saw the Flashing Lights.

03. Streaming above is the promo clip for the title track of third album Dramamine, available for streaming and download via Bandcamp and physically via Out on a Limb Records.

04. Next up for Owensie are appearances in Limerick and West Cork: Friday June 10th sees him play Limrock’s Stormy Teacup, and on Saturday June 11th, he plays Connolly’s of Leap as part of Southern Hospitality Board’s SuddenWestSummer one-dayer.

Verdict: Evocative without being schlocky, relaxed without calling for a halt to your grey matter. A welcome deviation from the standard singer-songwriter schtick.

Owensie