Dublin
Track: Sunburn – Jump the Gun
Sunburn are part of an astonishing cluster of indie bands that are bursting out of Dublin at the moment. Indeed, Sunburn have a melodic and passionate creativity that makes them as endearing and enduring as fellow Dublinites Fontaines D.C., The Murder Capital and Just Mustard, with more of a pop flavour. The shard-like guitars of …
Track: The Murder Capital – Live From BBC Maida Vale (EP)
Recorded live at BBC’s Maida Vale Studio just before the pandemic closedown, The Murder Capital have just released an EP that features a sparse, haunting cover of FKA Twigs’s song Cellophane as well as a couple of early singles “Don’t Cling To Life” and “Green & Blue”. Of the choice for lead single off the EP, …
Track: Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death plus album news
Last year, Dublin’s Fontaines D.C. released what what I considered to be one of the best albums of the year, if not decade, with ‘Dogrel’. All the more incredible considering it was their debut album. 2019 began with them playing small venues around the UK (see my review of their April 2019 Manchester gig) and …
EP: Sun Mahshene – Contradictions and Tales of Fiction
Available now on Bandcamp is the latest EP from Dublin-based Psychedelic Rock/ Shoegaze Band, Sun Mahshene. It’s five tracks long and is called ‘Contradictions and Tales of Fiction’. These tracks are awash with colourful, guitar pedal driven psychedelic soundscapes. At times there is a ‘’lived in’ synth element running alongside the guitar sounds, providing plenty of …
Watch: The Elephant Room – Fillipoff
Hailing from Dublin and, by their own admission, rooted within the realms of doing it themselves, indie lo-fi trio The Elephant Room have released their newest single, “Fillipoff.” A melancholic track for a sunny day, “Fillipoff” is a sobering work that manages to create halcyon moments within its melodies. While melodically it may seem downbeat, …
Track: Junk Drawer – What I’ve Learned / What I’m learning
Belfast quartet Junk Drawer are gearing up to the release of their debut album ‘Ready for the House’, out on April 24th via Art For Blind with a new track and the albums opening gambit ‘What I’ve Learned / What I’m Learning’. Of it, co-vocalist Steve says “The title comes from the Dunning-Kruger Effect – …
Album Review: The Murder Capital – When I Have Fears
The Murder Capital will be releasing their epic debut album ‘When I Have Fears’ on 16 August and it confirms Dublin’s place as a hotbed of blistering new talent. This album is a deeply emotional expression of hurt and pain: sometimes delivered through an anarchic punk blast such as opening track ‘For Everything’, and sometimes …
Track: The Murder Capital – Don’t Cling to Life, plus Album and Tour News
Ireland’s art punk maestros, The Murder Capital, have released a third single off their forthcoming debut album ‘When I Have Fears’ which is due for release on 16 August 2019. And based on the singles released thus far (and an accidental preview), this is an album to look forward to. ‘Don’t Cling to Life’ has …
Album Review: Lisa Hannigan and Stargaze – Live In Dublin
The amount I love music is sometimes overwhelming. I want it pretty much everywhere, all the time. Given that, I have a pretty weird relationship with seeing and hearing it live. I’ve never been to a festival, I can’t reel off an impressive list of all the acts I’ve seen or all the iconic venues …
Live: Fontaines D.C. at Gorilla, Manchester on 13 April 2019
Fontaines D.C. have just finished their first major tour across Europe, a tour that essentially was off the back of a couple of outrageously good singles last year and at pessimistically smaller venues. It was sold out everywhere. The Gorilla in Manchester, sold out this night, has a capacity of up to 700 punters. In …