Tag Archives: pop

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ROCSTRONGgenre-juggling pop from Dublin

What you may need to know…

01. South Dublin-based performer/songwriter/producer André Bangala, better known to the world as Rocstrong, has made his presence felt in Irish music as of late, featuring on The Thin Air’s 17 for 17 list, among other accolades.

02. Broadsheet Trailer Park regulars may recognise his tune Go Head: used by none other than the Coen Brothers on the trailer for 2015’s Hail Caesar.

03. Streaming above is debut extended-player Show Off What You Got, available for streaming and download from his Bandcamp. Meanwhile, brand-new single I Gotcha is streaming now on Spotify.

04. Catch him this Saturday night at the Civic Theatre in Tallaght, alongside upcoming hip-hop collectives Loud Motive and Craic Appeal.

Thoughts: Ably balancing accessibility with a number of musical reference points and influences, Rocstrong is a beguiling pop proposition.

ROCSTRONG

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Laurie ShawCork/Wirral guitar-pop peddler

What you may need to know…

01. So, how many albums did you record and release by the time you were twenty-two years old? If the answer is “over 57”, you’re probably Cork-based Wirral man Laurie Shaw.

02. Having resided in Kenmare, where the surrounding atmosphere gave Shaw the space to create in such a rapid-fire fashion, he’s now in Cork city, with his band The Swamp People. Themes vary from love & non-league soccer to alternative soundtracks to popular TV dramas.

03. Streaming above is a preview of Shaw’s next album, The Great British Night Out. Recorded over Christmas, it’s releasing this week via his Bandcamp, and on super-limited handmade CD.

04. Catch Shaw live with The Swamp People on Thursday 13th at Gulpd Cafe in Cork, launching the album, his fifty-something-th full-length(?). No support act.

Thoughts: A musical renaissance man, Shaw moves between frames of pop-music reference with the greatest of ease. Once you get over having wasted your own teens and twenties by comparison, Shaw’s output is immensely enjoyable.

Laurie Shaw

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Come On Live Longsoundscapes and breathy vox from Dublin

What you may need to know…

01. Last time we checked in on Dublin four-piece Come on Live Long, they’d just launched single For the Birds with a gig at the Unitarian Church in Dublin.

02. Since then, they’ve been busy preparing their follow-up album to 2013’s Everything Fall, while vocalist Louise Gaffney also contributed to the sublime Glow, on Wicklow math-rockers Enemies‘ final album Valuables.

03. Streaming above is the video for new single Sum of its Parts, with footage taken by the band from the recording process.

04. It’s taken from upcoming sophomore album In the Still, available for pre-order on vinyl and streaming from May 19th.

Thoughts: A glimpse of something that could be absolutely breathtaking, from the less-is-more school of composition.

Come On Live Long

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Saint CaoilianCork music superman polishes his halo

What you may need to know…

01. Since we last checked in with Shaker Hymn/Southern Hospitality Board/Quarter/regular disc-jockeying man Caoilian Sherlock, he’s met the minimum requirements to formally receive sainthood before embarking on his solo career in earnest.

02. Himself and Leeside music omnipresence Mr.K have been jamming under the Worm name and have started Small Town Disco, a wee label between them, as reported last week.

03. Streaming above is the video for single I’ll Be a Fool for You, premiered last week over at Nialler9. It’s the leadoff single for Faraway, available May 5th through Small Town Disco.

04. Catch him in Dubland on April 6th in Whelan’s, providing support for Marlene Enright on her tour for album Placemats and Second Cuts.

Thoughts: One of Irish music’s real renaissance men; an artist, curator and enthusiastic spectator in equal measure.

Saint Caoilian

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Shookrahneo-soul from Cork

What you may need to know…

01. Last time we’d checked in prog/neo-soul outfit Shookrah they were doing a few gigs ahead of getting ready to put down their new extended-player.

02. Second E.P. Clichés is complete, and due for release in the early part of this year.

03. Streaming above is the video for lead-off single Gerascophobia, directed and edited by the band’s own Emmet O’Riabhaigh. For the pedants among our commentariat:

Gerascophobia is an abnormal or persistence fear of growing old or ageing. Gerascophobia is a clinical phobia generally classified under specific phobias, fears of a single specific panic trigger. Gerascophobia may be based on anxieties of being left alone, without resources and incapable of caring for oneself. Sufferers may be young and healthy.

The term gerascophobia comes from the Greek γηράσκω, gerasko, “I grow old” and φόβος, phobos, “fear”. Some authors refer to it as gerontophobia, although this may also refer to the fear of the elderly.

04. Playing Connolly’s of Leap tonight, for those of you out Wesht, and tickets/bus available in the city. They’ll also be playing the Right Here, Right Now festival in the Cork Opera House on April 30th, tickets also on sale now.

Thoughts: Treading the lines between jazz, soul, R’n’B, pop and hip-hop, this new material sees the outfit grow ever more musically fearless.

Shookrah

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Cat Palacetextured pop from Dubland

What you may need to know…

01. Cat Palace is a reverb-laden, poppy, vaguely shambolic front for songwriter/vocalist David Blaney and various collaborators.

02. Emerging in earnest in 2015 with two extended-players, the band, fleshed out by long-term collaborator Christopher Barry and Enemies man Oisín Trench, has been between Dublin and Kentucky getting the last touches in on a debut long-player.

03. Streaming above is the video for new single Peddle It, a tragicomic rumination on routine, sustainability of music and all that attends.

04. Having somehow avoided immediate bankruptcy to pay Myles Manley the going rate for the advance on new stuff, Little L Records are releasing the album, entitled Why Don’t You // Why Don’t You, Go Off, next month.

Thoughts: Melancholy, but not without a sideways smirk, and plenty for fans of the wider indie-rock diaspora aside from reverb heads and shoegazers.

Cat Palace

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Myles Manleythe world’s greatest popstar returns

What you may need to know…

01. Last time we checked in with Myles Manley, he was back in Ireland after a spell in Arsenal’s starting eleven.

02. He’s since returned his focus to the oddball, Beefheartian pop with which he’s earned his name, signing to Dublin-based Little L Records for a seven-figure advance on a ten-album contract.

03. Streaming above is the high-budget video for new B-side Pasta Solo, accompanying new single Relax, Enjoy Your Night Upon the Town.

04. The following dates line his tour itinerary before the European festival-headliner swing: March 23:  Buncrana, Ned’s Point; March 24: Derry, Bennigans; March 25: Dublin, The Workman’s Club; Apr 8: Limerick, Dolan’s Warehouse; Apr 9: Dundalk, The Spirit Store.

Thoughts: Smart-aleckry aside, some genuine ingenue on display here, as is typical for someone that seemingly inhabits a creative bubble all his own.

Myles Manley

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Buffalo WomanDublin funky synthiness

What you may need to know…

01. Elements of synthpop, funk, and indie are in evidence throughout the work of Dublin duo Buffalo Woman.

02. Comprised of former Neosupervital controller Tim O’Donovan and actor/dramatist/former Alternative Miss Ireland winner Neil Watkins.

03. Streaming above is 2015 single U Make Me High, a headturner for the outfit that brings together low-key synths and subtle grooves.

04. Playing tomorrow night at Future Proof #1 at Bello Bar, curated by Nialler9 and Homebeat. Also on the bill: Come on Live Long and debuting Limerick outfit Proper Micro NV.

Thoughts: Smart, suave and possessed of some serious songwriting.

Buffalo Woman

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A Lilac Declinelo-fi dream-folk

What you may need to know…

01. Visual artist Cecilia Danell takes the letters of her name and rearranges them into A Lilac Decline, a pseudonym for her dream-pop-inflected folk.

02. Striking out solo after stints with Cubs and Loner Deluxe, the Galway-resident Swede veers between the aforementioned and barebones composition with the implements and objects around her at the time.

03. Streaming above is her do-it-yourself video for single A Fine Day at Last, the first single from her album The Mountain Rages, available for pre-order from Rusted Rail.

04. Performing live next at Rusted Rail’s double-album launch for herself and Phantom Dog Beneath the Moon (more in this column tomorrow) at the Roisín Dubh in Galway on the 22nd.

Thoughts: Heartening, rootsy folk with traces of shoegazing and DIY ingenue throughout.

A Lilac Decline

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The Bonkpsych-rock sideproject comes to the fore

What you may need to know…

01. Beginning life as an outlet for Waterford/O Emperor man Phil Christie’s more eclectic ideas, The Bonk has since become something a bit more fully-fledged.

02. Since its emergence, The Bonk has gigged intermittently yet memorably, including a set at last year’s Sudden Club Weekender fest in Cork.

03. Streaming above (in a Broadsheet premiere!) is the video for the Bonk’s new instrumental single Monologue.

04. It releases ahead of a string of dates around Ireland this month and next, including a Leeside return date at Coughlan’s on April 20th (insert word-that-sounds-like-“bonk”-pun here), with support from Patrick Freeman. Full info on their social media in the coming weeks.

Thoughts: A wee creeper of a tune, led by unfettered synth noodling, but underpinned by steadfastly psychey experimentation.

The Bonk