Eileen Gogan And The Instructions – Don’t Let Me Sleep

The cold winter just got a little warmer with this new tune by the inimitable Eileen Gogan (top) and her band.

Having sung with The Would-Be’s, The Revenants, The Drays and most recently Microdisney, Eileen is very much in demand.

So we’re glad to see her back with a new record of her own. Don’t Let Me Sleep can be found on her forthcoming album Under Moving Skies.

The mind-bending visuals come courtesy of Niall McCormack. Turn on, tune in, space out.

Nick says: Waking up is hard to do.

Eileen Gogan

Eamonn Dowd & The Racketeers – Cu Chulainn’s Lament

Calling all Horslipss fans.

Two of the founding members of the legendary folk-rock ensemble Eamon Carr (top right) and Jim Lockhart recently reconvened in Arad Studio in Dublin to play on Eamonn Dowd’s reimagining of the old Horslips classic ‘Cu Chulainn’s Lament’ from their 1973 album The Táin.

In John Fleming’s newly uploaded video footage of the recording session (above), we see the collaboration take shape.

The finished result can be found on the album Songs From The Fever Ship.

Nick says: More flute please.

Eamonn Dowd

Arborist – Taxi

Those were the days, my friend.

Arborist is the alter ego of Belfast musician Mark McCambridge, whose debut album Home Burial received rave reviews in Uncut Magazine and The Guardian in 2016.

Now the follow-up A Northern View (top) is set to be released next month by Kilkenny’s Rollercoaster Records and has also been rapturously received by Uncut.

Taxi is the first single from the new album and Sam O’Mahony‘s soulful video complements the gripping spoken word tale of a 1970s rock’n’roll life remembered.

The digital single available on bandcamp also features a nifty remix by Seamus Fogarty.

Arborist launch A Northern View in Belfast’s The Menagerie on February 28.

Nick says: Special branch.

Arborist

Lisa Lambe – Tiny Devotions

Iceland go bragh.

There can’t be many places that look even colder than Ireland to shoot a video in. But Lisa Lambe appears to have found one!

The singer/songwriter/actress gambols around Iceland for the promo (directed by Hen Of The Woods productions) for her new single which can be found on her forthcoming album Juniper, due on April 3.

You may know Lisa through her work with Celtic Woman. However, she will be headlining her own show at Dublin’s Pepper Canister Church this Friday as part of the capital’s TradFest.

Nick says: I second that devotion.

Lisa Lambe

Luan Parle – My Something Beautiful

Fancy a walk in the woods?

Then feast your eyes on the new video by Wicklow singer/songwriter Luan Parle.

My Something Beautiful is smartly written tale of romantic disappointment anchored by a splendid rootsy riff and Luan’s yearning vocal.

It’s the first single off Luan’s new album Never Say Goodbye which was recorded in Kilkenny and is out on February 7 on LPR Records.

The first part of Luan’s nationwide tour takes in Wexford Arts Centre on February 8; Bob’s Hideout, Durrow, County Laois, February 27; Birr Arts Theatre, County Offaly, February 28; and Balor Arts Centre, County Donegal, February 29.

Nick says: Something in the way she sings…

Luan Perle

A.S. Fanning – Abandoned

Desperate times call for committed songwriters.

Step forward Berlin-based, Dublin-born gothic-folk musician A.S. Fanning (top).

Formerly frontman of Porn Trauma and The Last Tycoons, Fanning is set to release the follow-up to his 2017 debut album Second Life.

The golden-voiced Fanning describes his new single ‘Abandoned’ as being based on…

“…the sense that there’s this other tier of society, whose actions have a huge impact on the rest of us, but who behave with complete recklessness and without consequences. I suppose the song is written from the point of view of someone who’s feeling those consequences.”

The striking video comes courtesy of Grant and Adam Conversano.

Nick says: Get the message.

A.S. Fanning

Lankum – Hunting The Wren

How do you like your trad?

If it’s dark, moody and brooding then you’re going to love this new live video by Lankum which was shot by Peadar Gill at their recent sell out show in Dublin’s Vicar Street.

Joining the band on stage are Adrian Crowley, Alex Borwick and John Dermody.

The song appears The Livelong Day which has been nominated for the Choice Music Prize.

Nick says: Winging it.

Lankum

Kodaline – Wherever You Are

Just ‘dropped’.

Director Riley Blakeway’s interpretation of Kodaline frontman Steve Garrigan’s lyrics focuses on a young couple (played by Teresa Oman and Nick Mahady ) in a blossoming relationship.

However…

‘…they’d always planned a trip to Morocco together, but his tragic death meant that it was an ambition that they couldn’t fulfill. She later decides to complete the journey alone. It’s a bittersweet experience: it’s the trip of a lifetime and a fitting way to say goodbye, but his absence is heartbreaking.’

Nick says: Mmf.

Kodaline

Tracy Bruen – Dream Away

Listen up, folks.

Galway singer/songwriter Tracy Bruen (top) has written an uplifting ode to the new Ireland.

She says:

“Dream Away is an anthem for love. Inspired by the feminist marches and protests for the rights of minorities across the island of Ireland, the song speaks to all in our society who have been marginalised and oppressed by a system which has left them in the cold.

“The song is a call for inclusion, solidarity and love. It appeals to the power of people to heal through kindness and effect change for all together.”

The video was shot by AMW Visual, on location in Galway and features many well known Galweigans, members of Tracy’s own family, her bandmates and closest friends.

Nick says: Sweet dream.

Tracy Bruen

Brian Mooney – The Kind Kind Of People

You may remember Brian Mooney (top) as the lead singer of Dublin indie stalwarts The Idiots who made the long gone White Horse their fortress for a time in the 1990s.

Brian has also recorded under the name Beautiful Unit and recently supported A Lazarus Soul in Whelan’s.

Check out his latest video (above) which he uploaded to Vimeo last week. Great title too!

Nick says: Loving Kind.

Brian Mooney

Top pic: Andrew Sheridan