HAVVK – Home

Home is where the art is.

Grunge-pop trio HAVVK soar away on this single from their forthcoming album Levelling, due on September 17.

The video was shot and directed by Tim Shearwood.

HAVVK are Julie Hough (pictured top on Vocals and Bass), Matt Harris (Guitar) and Sam Campbell (Drums). Julie and Matt are also the founders of Dublin-based label VETA Music – home to Maria Kelly Sive, DYVR and St. Bishop, as well as HAVVK themselves.

Julie says:

“Home’ is about the freedom of youth and being oblivious to the protections you have around you. It’s about appreciating the people who have always been there for you even when you were at your worst – even if you weren’t grateful for it – and who’ve helped you get back up again every time. I feel really connected to this song right now.

“Over the past year, we’ve all had our social structures pulled out from underneath us and we’re missing the basic nourishment of human connection. I do miss the obliviousness of normal life (and dancing, and gigs, and hugs!), but I hope I’ll go back to the world a bit more grateful – far less transactional – and really value the humans around me.”

Nick says: Home truths.

HAVVK

A Ritual Sea – Because You Hate To Care About

My life as a dog.

Thirsty boxers Chloe and Liliy are the stars of the show in the new video by Irish dreamwave acolytes A Ritual Sea, which was directed by Niko Bikialo and edited by Donna McCabe.

The single is from their debut self-titled album, due in the Autumn on the French indie imprint Icy Cold.

Donna says:

“Lyrically, the song is about that moment after a heated argument; knowing you’ve both said things you regret, trying to find a way to say sorry, wanting to get back to that feeling of harmony. Musically, we tried to bring that blissful feeling to life.”

The band’s line-up is: Florian Chombart (Lead guitar, vocals); Donna McCabe (Vocals, synth); Nina Ruminska (Guitar); Donagh O’Brien (Drums); Finn McCarthy (Bass).

Nick says: In the clearing stands a boxer…

A Ritual Sea

Blue Fish Diamond – Free

I’m as free as a bird now.

Dublin indie folk troupe Blue Fish Diamond celebrate the optimism of a post-pandemic opening up in this single from their new album Frozen Stars On The Night, due on October 28.

The band are clockwise from top left:  Matilda O’Mahony (backing vocals), Jim Murphy (rhythm guitar & lead vocals), Laura Ryder (piano), Shay Sweeney (drums), Axel McDonald (lead guitar) and Ronan Quinn (bass). Not pictured: Ella Ryan (backing vocals)

Jim says:

“This last year has been a very challenging time for all of us. Thankfully there is hope on the horizon. Our song Free looks forward to that time, when we can embrace ‘sweet life once again’.”

Nick says: Diamond life.

Blue Fish Diamond

BK Pepper – Island

A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Unable to tour his masterful Territories album, Dublin composer and piano wizz BK Pepper (top) recorded a 4-song live EP, ‘From An Empty Castle‘, inside the 16th Century Rathfarnham Castle in south Dublin.

The film was directed by Antimo Puca and Hector Romero and the strings are performed by Glasshouse along with Gareth Quinn Redmond.

Pepper says:

“I grew up in this area of Dublin and my parents still live around the corner from the castle. So I have a strong connection to the castle and the area. I would pass it 3 or 4 times a day growing up so filming a performance here has been really special.

“We haven’t had the opportunity to perform the album live at all since its release. When you record something and release it, it’s time stamped, no going back to change it. Music is a living thing that develops and changes when you perform it. So it was great to record live versions in beautiful surroundings and acoustics.

“We had access to the whole castle so filmed in different rooms for different tracks and this all added to the dynamic of the performance. The castle’s squeaky floor also makes an appearance which adds to it too.”

Nick says: We hope you all enjoy the show.

BK Pepper

Maria Kelly – eight hours

“It’s in the not knowing
If I’m coming or going.”

Alt.folk queen Maria Kelly (top) tackles self-doubt on her introspective and charming single – the follow-up to the acclaimed Martha. Look out for her new album in the Autumn on VETA Records.

Maria says:

“You convince yourself that it’s just one single thing, and that if you could just find it, fix it, get over it – everything would be OK again. Ironically, through that process of invalidating, there’s so much pressure, guilt and shame, which just sends us further into that spiral.

“It’s a cycle I think a lot of us fall into, because it’s really hard to give yourself permission to struggle. I spent a really long time fighting against my own experience. Feeling down or lost always equated to ‘not trying hard enough’. I was always on the hunt for something to fix, but I’m constantly reminding myself that nothing is inherently ‘broken’ – so there is nothing to fix in the first place.”

Nick says: Maria’s the name.

Maria Kelly

Robert John Ardiff – Black Dog

“When the black dog sings
And the half light ends.”

Erstwhile member of Choice Prize-nominated Come On Live Long, Robert John Ardiff (top) gets introspective on this ballad from his second solo album The Corridors Of Love.

Robert writes:

“The album is a love song to the forgotten; the left behind. I wrote the songs over the past year, while I was looking around at the city I live in, thinking, ‘what the hell is going on and where has the soul from this place gone?’ And I don’t just mean because of the pandemic.

“The anxiety that people feel because they can’t afford a house or a place to rent, when they are living paycheck to paycheck, when they are trying to create art or raise children or buy food – and the people in charge don’t seem to care for them.

“The idea came about after reading a book by Deborah Levy entitled ‘The Cost of Living‘ in which she describes the apartment she lives in as ‘the corridors of love’. So I took this idea and tried to tell the stories of the people behind these doors and incorporate it with my own personal experience.”

Nick says: Rooms with a view.

Robert John Ardiff

Pa Sheehy – I Saw You At A Funeral

A family affair.

Pa Sheehy (top), the former singer with Kerry rock giants Walking On Cars, gets personal with his debut solo single that makes for a compelling if uncomfortable listen.

Pa writes:

“This is a song I find easier to sing than talk about. I didn’t want to give this part of my life too much attention because I was doing my best to focus on the good things in my life. But every time I sat down to write a song, it was always the first thing that jumped out of me. So I knew I had to get it out of my system.

“After it was written, it was all about not over doing it with the production. With such a blunt song it didn’t need any bells and whistles. A little keyboard arpeggio and some atmospheric sounds was enough to glide it home. My siblings listened to it once but won’t listen to it anymore. I take that as a compliment.”

Nick says: In the midst of life…

Pa Sheehy

Adrian Crowley – Take Me Driving

That petrol emotion.

Adrian Crowley (top) takes the passenger seat in the fourth single from his new album The Watchful Eye Of The Stars, out now on Chemikal Underground.

The star of his previous video A Shut-In’s Lament, Vera Graziadei is back behind the wheel in this charming promo co-directed by Vera and Trevor Murphy.

The song was partly inspired by a poem by Patrick Chapman from his 2007 collection Breaking Hearts And Traffic Lights.

Nick says: Tyred and emotional.

Adrian Crowley

Lisa Gerrard & Jules Maxwell – Aldavyeem (A Time To Dance)

A time to Dead Can Dance?

DCD stalwarts Lisa (top), who is Australian of Irish ancestry, and Jules, from Bangor, County Down return with the enigmatic third single from their new album Burn, produced by James Chapman and released on the Atlantic Curve imprint.

The video was directed by David Daniels.

Nick says: Maxwell’s silver hammered dulcimer.

Lisa Gerrard

Jules Maxwell

Ali Comerford – Knots

A is for anxiety.

Classically trained musician and singer/songwriter Ali Comerford (top) has penned a heartfelt pick-me-up for those in need of reassurance.

And props to the beautifully illustrated lyric video.

Knots is the second single and title track from Ali’s debut album, due on July 29.

Kilkenny-based Ali writes:

“Knots is a song I wrote about anxiety, something we all struggle with at one time or another. At the time, I was going through a stage of intense anxiety. I worried about the fact that I hadn’t released any music, about whether people would enjoy my songs or not and also over-analysed every little thing I had ever done wrong. I wasn’t sleeping properly and found I was lying awake at night replaying old conversations and feeling ashamed and embarrassed.

“Anxiety is an extremely isolating thing because when you’re in it, you believe that you are the only person who feels like this. I think it’s powerful when people can speak about their own struggles and maybe eventually it will help us all feel less alone.”

Nick says: Empathy for the bedevilled.

Ali Comerford