Setlist For Dancer

Oppenheimer Call It A Day

2009-12-11T20:06:00.002Z

This arrived in my inbox earlier today

Dec 12th 2009.

On December 19th at 11pm, Rocky and Shaun plan to take to the stage together as Oppenheimer for the last time.

There will be a farewell EP, a digital release at the start of 2010. A snapshot of where we had arrived at this point, as we have recently been working on new material.

Further ideas that have been worked on will accompany Rocky on his journey to a new band, which in some ways has already started, as the songs and plot lines are already underway, as anyone who has witnessed Oppenheimer recently can no doubt testify.

The reasons for this announcement are multiple yet highly intertwined. Ultimately, to be in any band you allow the band to consume you, becoming every particle of your existence, every aspect of your being, every thought that wakes you up early and every task that keeps you up late at night.

The reward for such dedication and commitment, not to mention the hardship that goes hand in hand with making music for a living is the unrivalled joy and honour that fills your mind, body and soul by getting to do all the things that you can.

The moment this joy falters, rocks or is jolted out of existence, the struggle is of no consequence or purpose.

After five years together, recording and releasing two albums, playing hundreds of shows and touring with some of the greatest bands in the world, the level of commitment, passion and drive that one of us can give to the band has changed.

It's an understandable occurrence and one that we're both delighted to address at this time.

Shaun has realized that in order to fulfill his hopes and dreams he needs to take a new and different path in his life.

Rocky's ideas, dreams and notions for writing, recording and touring are more alive and vibrant than ever.

Due to these changing circumstances, we have decided to part ways.

We have no idea if we will ever work together again, recording movie soundtracks, making ambient albums or even making indie pop songs. Who knows what tomorrow holds?

For now, Oppenheimer have no plans to write, record or play together again after December 19th 2009.

Our thanks and respect for every single person in the world who has done anything to help us is overwhelming, it always has been, it always will be.

Rocky O'Reilly & Shaun Robinson

Cellarscape On Indie Showcase

2009-11-27T20:05:00.005Z

Australian radio station Awesome Radio featured one of my favourite acts of all time Cellarscape aka music maker Paul Terry on their Indie Showcase podcast yesterday. The podcast which runs for just over two hours features an in depth interview with Paul who discusses everything from the early days of Cellarscape to the making of debut album ‘Animation, Suspension’ and beyond. The podcast is also liberally sprinkled with tracks from ‘Animation, Suspension’ which include ‘Bled Out’, ‘You Got The Girl’ the lead single from the album and my personal favourite ‘Patience & Zara’.

If you haven’t heard anything by Cellarscape yet, then I would definitely recommend checking out the podcast. It provides a wonderful introduction to Cellarscape and the debut album ‘Animation, Suspension’ which has already made it on to my list of the top albums of 2009.

Before I direct you to where you can get your hands on a copy of the podcast, I would like to take a quick moment to thank Paul who took the time to mention Setlist For Dancer during the podcast. I really appreciate it and all the support Paul has given the blog since the beginning.

You can download your free copy of the Cellarscape Indie Showcase podcast at the following link:

http://www.indieshowcase.net/files/26-11-2009_Cellarscape.zip

You can find out more information about Cellarscape at the newly revamped and rather fantastic looking Sky Baby Records website:

www.sbrecords.co.uk

Single Review: The Dirty 9s Lucy Opus

2009-11-10T13:16:00.006Z

An angst filled modern day fairy- tale set to a thumping Pop/ Rock beat, Lucy Opus is the first single to be taken from the Dirty 9s forthcoming debut album Stop Screaming, Start Dreaming.

Opening with an imploration ‘Take A Minute, Take A Breath For Me’ that’s set against a backdrop of dreamlike melody that would be perfectly at home in a flash back sequence, Lucy Opus tells a story of what was, while hinting at what might have been.

At the heart of Lucy Opus are the ‘detach with love’ lyrics and the natural way they flow from vocalist Fergal Moloney. Lyrics full of accusation “A Life Of Cold Regret, I See It In Your Eyes” and grief “Lost Her Sanity Inside Her Head, Lost her Innocence In Someone’s Bed” untainted by that forced vocal aggression that usually accompanies angst filled lyrics. Against the lighter melody the tougher lyrics work well because of vocals that are both natural and believable.

What comes with a single of this calibre is the promise of exceptional things to come. The Dirty 9’s are definitely a band to watch out for in 2010.

Lucy Opus is released on Friday November 13th and will be available from iTunes, downloadmusic.ie and directly from the bands MySpace page:

www.myspace.com/thedirty9s

The Swell Season Download

2009-11-09T20:08:00.004Z

Currently on a tour of the US, The Swell Season have made one of their recent concerts available for download. The concert which took place in Milwaukee on November 1st was broadcast live by Radio Milwaukee.

To download the concert just follow the link below:

http://radiomilwaukee.podbean.com/2009/11/05/the-swell-season-at-the-pabst-theater/

Break

2009-10-26T11:55:00.002Z

Just wanted to let you all know that I'll be taking a break from the blog for a few days. Over the last few months the blog has suffered while I've been galivanting in Texas and now that I'm home I've decided to take a few days to get Setlist For Dancer back on track.

Over the next few days I'll be looking into a few ideas I have for the blog and getting through some of the reviews I've had on the back burner. If you have any suggestions for blog features or reviews please get in touch. You can email me at setlistfordancer[at]gmail[dot]com or contact me through myspace at www.myspace.com/setlistfordancer.

The blog will return in November.

Thank you for your continued support

Eadaoin

October News

2009-10-01T17:36:00.004+01:00

I can't believe it's October already, where did the year go. I have to say October is one of my favorite months, the weather is getting cooler the leaves are changing color and Halloween is on its way. October is also a great month for music with lots of gigs and album/EP releases. This year I feel slightly different about October because it means my trip is coming to an end and it'll be back to reality. Anyway enough about me and on with the news.

Cowboy X are set to release a new EP this month with a launch gig Upstairs in Whelans on October 10th. 'Analogue Droids' will feature four tracks including Squirrel Chase Ball’, ‘Ed White’s Glove’ and ‘Villain In Disguise’. Some interesting names there and the EP will also give fans a taste of the upcoming second album 'Meant To Be Machines' which will be released a some stage next year.

Codes have announced details of a Halloween Show. The four-piece who have recently released their debut album 'Trees Dream in Algebra', have teamed up with Dinosaur Pile-Up to produce a night of fancy dress, fun, frolics and of course some great live music taking place in the Academy on October 31st. Tickets for the event are €20.

Hot on the heels of the release of their second album 'Tony Was An Ex-Con' The Coronas have followed in Codes footsteps and announced details of their Halloween Show. They will headline a 4,000 capacity gig at O'Moore Park in Portlaoise after a giant street parade takes place in the town.

The Dirty 9s are set to release their single Lucy Opus on October 23rd. There's a review of their forthcoming album 'Stop Screaming, Start Dreaming' on the State website which you can read here.

Last week Hotpress reported that Modest Mouse were to play a number of dates around Ireland including a gig at Dolans Limerick. This arrived in my inbox yesterday:

Hi Music Lovers

It is with heavy heart that I write this mail to you as contrary to online rumors Modest Mouse will not be playing Dolans this December. There was a whisper of it happening some weeks ago but in the end the band have decided to play just Dublin this time around.

We will endeavour to catch them on their next European tour. In the meantime try to console yourselves with all the other wonderful gigs we have over the next few months. As always, if anything else wonderful happens with Dolans, you will be the first to know!

TD

There are still reports that the band will play the Roisin Dubh in Galway but according to the Modest Mouse website this does not seem to be the case. You can find the tour page here.

Finally this is going to be a cracking weekend of gigs for me. Tonight I'm heading to a little place called the House of Blues to see The Airborne Toxic Event, on Saturday I'll be back there to witness Arctic Monkeys take the Houston stage and on Monday I'll be heading even further downtown to see Snow Patrol grace a ballroom satge. I'm really looking forward to all of these gigs because I've never seen any of this bands live and it'll be interesting to see how they measure up to my expectations.

The Whatmans Devil Shoes

2009-09-10T03:24:00.002+01:00

Here is the new video for the forthcoming single entitled Devil Shoes by The Whatmans. The video was directed by Vincent Gallagher and produced by Dave Leahy.

Cois Fharraige 09 Daily Line Up

2009-09-07T20:58:00.005+01:00

Cois Fharraige the surf and music festival returns to Kilkee this coming weekend September 11th through 13th. The daily line up for the festival looks a little something like this.

Friday September 11th
Joe Echo
Laura Izibor
The Blizzards
Doves

Saturday September 12th
Jerry Fish and the Mudbug club
The Hold Steady
Noah and the Whale
Newton Faulkner
The Saw Doctors

Sunday September 13th
Hallo I Love you
Jazzlite
Lightning Seeds
Stereo Mcs
The Zutons

Gates open at 6pm on Friday and at 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. There are still some tickets available on Ticket Master.

Supermodel Twins Album Update

2009-09-07T18:38:00.003+01:00

Supermodel Twins are probably Limericks best kept secret, so if you haven't heard of these guys I strongly recommend that you check out their highly infectious brand of indie pop. They are currently working on their debut album which they started recording this time last year in an handball alley in Kileedy. Since then the album has been brought through Temple Bar's Sun Studios and is currently being worked on in Noel Hogan's Limerick based studio.

So far they have 10 tracks recorded and are due to work on three more, with the album mixing planned for around November/ December. Supermodel Twins aim to release the album early next year. Below is a track listing of the songs they have been working on for the album although some may not make the final album.

Clowns don't cry
Modern day robin hood
Bruises
The only one
17
Footprints
Love on its own
One step Behind
House from here
While you were out
Hilary
If i let you go
My girl

http://www.myspace.com/supermodeltwins

Delorentos Update

2009-09-07T17:53:00.002+01:00

The Delorentos also have a new album coming out early next month. You Can Make Sound is due for release on October 9th. Here's the track listing:

Sanctuary
Secret
Hallucinations
You Say You’ll Never Love Her
Leave Me Alone
Editorial
Body Cold
Let The Light Go Out
Soulmate
You Can Make Sound
I Remember

This is the video for Secret which was produced and directed by Eoghan Kidney and featured a host of Delorentos fans acting as extras.

Delorentos - S.E.C.R.E.T. from ξοgΙιαη κιdηεγ on Vimeo.

The Coronas Update

2009-09-07T17:23:00.003+01:00

The Coronas are releasing their second album Tony Was An Ex-Con later this month on September 25th. If you can't wait for the album here's a mini documentary on the making of Tony Was An Ex-Con to keep you going.

Recently the lads sent out a call through Hot Press for extras to take part in the making of their new video. The video which was filmed in Dublin on August 5th is for the first single to be taken from the album. The single which is entitled Listen Dear is due for release on September 11th.

Electric Picnic Additions

2009-08-19T17:23:00.005+01:00

More acts have been added to the Electric Picnic line up which takes place in just three weeks time.
The acts include:

Passion Pit
Our Fold
David Kitt
David Geraghty
8 Ball
The Hacker
Optomo DJs
Switch
Zombie Nation
Duke Dumont
Aeroplane DJs
Ebony Bones
Arveene & Misk
Japanese Popstars
Chilean DJ/producer Luciano

Giveamanakick Say Farewell

2009-08-17T15:15:00.003+01:00

Its been an sad week in Irish music. Firstly Star Crossed Enemies have parted ways, although lead singer Brian O'Reilly intends to continue the project in a different form. Now I've learned that one of my favourite Limerick bands Giveamanakick are calling it a day after seven years. This is Steve and Keith's final statement taken from their MySpace blog.

“In the seven odd years of this band's existence, we have travelled the world playing gigs, played with some of our all-time favourite bands, and have released three albums and various singles of our music,” Steve and Keith reflect. “We are very proud of what we have achieved with giveamanakick. giveamanakick was always meant to make a certain kind of impact. We feel we've made that impact now, and are both happy to move on. Along the way, we’ve made some excellent friends, and need to thank everybody who has helped in any respect. There are loads of you out there, so, thank you all so much! Thank you to everybody who's supported us, come to our gigs, talked to us after shows, e-mailed us with kind messages, listened to our music, and for being a fan of giveamanakick. All of you people have made it an absolute pleasure to be in this band.”

Giveamanakick are planning a farewell tour, the dates include:

Sat 14th Nov: Cyprus Avenue, Cork
Fri 20th Nov: Whelans, Dublin
Sat 28th Nov: Roisin Dubh, Galway
Fri 18th Dec: Dolans Warehouse, Limerick

While I can't honestly say I'm looking forward to these dates as it marks the end of an era, I will definitely make it to at least one of the shows. If you haven't seen Giveamanakick live then I would recommend going to one of the shows, before it's too late.

News From The Home Front

2009-08-14T18:13:00.005+01:00

Apologies for the shameful lack of posting during the last week. As I'm still adjusting to the time difference and a small bit of Jet Lag I'm finding it hard to keep up with all the news and I'd rather post something interesting than just post for the sake of it.

So here's some news from the home front.

First up Adam Hourigan lead singer of Caleco has started a solo project. He has some fantastic recordings up on his MySpace page that are well worth checking out. Hourigan is currently spending some time in my neck of the woods and has an upcoming date with Kiernan McMullan in New York.

www.myspace.com/adamhourigan

Walter Mitty And The Realists are all set to unleash their album. The album was produced by Fergal Lawler (drummer with the Cranberries) who also plays on most of the tracks and features special guests such as Anna & Tara from We Should Be Dead, providing vocals on Green Light Go, and Limerick's favorite Belgian BenOit acting as a beat-box on My Inner Child Is A Drum Kit. The boys are staging a couple of launch dates for the album as well as an instore appearance in HMV Limerick. They will also be showing their new video for Red Is The Number.

Album Launch Dates
August 27th ROISIN DUBH, Galway
August 28th HMV Instore, Limerick @ 6pm
August 28th BAKER PLACE, Limerick

www.myspace.com/waltermittyandtherealists

Froud have a new single out entitled Over Again. The single is available from downloadmusic.ie and has been doing very well in their charts. They also have a number of tour dates coming up in support of the single.

Tour Dates
August 15th The Chasing Bull, Bundoran, Donegal
August 19th The Zodiac Sessions, Dublin
August 25th Matt The Millers, Kilkenny

www.myspace.com/froudmusic

There have been some changes to one of my favorite Irish bands of the moment Star Crossed Enemies. The duo made up of Brian O'Reilly and Gary White who are two of the most talented musicans I have seen in a while have decided to part ways. While Gary may join another band, Brian has decided to continue the project under the name Briby Goes To Spectre. You can read their parting blog post here:

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=404242060&blogId=505191446

Brian and Gary play their final show as Star Crossed Enemies at The Spirit Store in Dundalk, all other listed dates will be performed by Briby Goes To Spectre.

Tour Dates
August 16th Final Star Crossed Enemies Show, The Spirit Store, Dundalk
Septmber 4th Briby Goes To Spectre, Dolans Limerick

http://www.myspace.com/starcrossedenemies

Finally an Alphastates an update taken from there MySpace blog

"Long time since we've last spoke ....eventful times Its been a while since we've last spoke...life has been very eventful ...Catherine and her Brian have landed themselves with a stunning new baby girl called Rachel Hannah Barnes. She got lungs stronger than Janis...They're all loved up in their bubble of bliss. Gerry been down and busy on documentary and film soundtracks. Graham Gilligan has sadly departed the alphastates camp for the sunny shores of Barcelona. He wants a tan badly. We will indeed miss him. Stevie Kavanagh has been flitting around the globe on glamorous vacations with glamorous ladies and playing thundering bass lines along the way. And well. ....great songs are being written all around."

http://www.myspace.com/alphastates

Director Album Tour

2009-08-10T20:48:00.004+01:00

Director have announced an Irish Tour to promote their second album I'll Wait For Sound. The tour takes place during October and sees dates in Ennis, Cork and Galway to name a few.

Spirit Store, Dundalk October 2
Glor, Ennis October 10
Roisin Dubh, Galway October17
Cyprus Avenue, Cork October 23
Whelan’s, Dublin October 24
Arts Centre, Wexford October 25
Ruby Rooms, Castlebar October30

www.myspace.com/directormusic

The Sunday Playlist: Music From Television

2009-08-09T03:35:00.004+01:00

Draw The Line Artwork

2009-08-06T23:44:00.002+01:00

Its all about album artwork this week or so it seems. Here's a sneak peak at the artwork for David Gray's upcoming release.

MCD Confirm Cois Fharraige

2009-08-06T23:13:00.004+01:00

For some time now it has looked like Kilkee's surf and music festival wouldn't go ahead due to lack of sponsorship but MCD have confirmed that Cois Fharraige will indeed be running from September 11th to 13th. Some of the acts confirmed for the festival include Doves, The Zutons, Newton Faulkner, Noah and The Whale, The Hold Steady, Stereo MCs, The Lightning Seeds and Jerry Fish & The Mudbug Club. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday August 11th with a special early bird price of €89 if you buy before September 1st after which the tickets will be priced at €99.

New Single Release For The Angel Pier

2009-08-06T15:27:00.003+01:00

The Angel Pier are all set to release their latest single this Friday. The release contains two tracks Belong and Align The Seas both of which happen to be my favorite tracks from the guys. This release is slightly different because it comes on Vinyl. Yes Vinyl, which I think is a fantastic idea but I may be a little biased because I think Vinyl sounds better anyway. They also have a gig coming up in Whelans this weekend. If you haven't seen these guys live it's definitely a gig worth going to.

www.myspace.com/angelpier

www.angelpier.com

Wallis Bird To My Bones

2009-08-06T15:21:00.001+01:00

The Resistance Artwork

2009-08-04T21:05:00.003+01:00

Here's a sneak peak at the artwork for the new Muse album The Resistance. Also just to let you know that there won't be much activity here over the next few days as I will be on route to Texas. I'll be back blogging as soon as possible.

The Sunday Playlist: America

2009-08-02T17:40:00.002+01:00

Matchbox Twenty How Far We’ve Come
Of Montreal Don’t Ask Me Too Explain
Plain White T’s Hey There Delilah
Bright Eyes From A Balance Beam
Boys Like Girls The Great Escape
Guided By Voices Teenage FBI
The Shins Kissing The Lipless
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Your Guardian Angel
Violent Femmes Blister In The Sun
No Doubt I’m Just A Girl

The Heathers On Tour

2009-08-01T13:15:00.002+01:00

The Heathers are embarking on a co-headline tour of Ireland with the excellent Hooray For Humans. The tour will see dates in Limerick, Cork, Galway and Dublin. These will be some of the Heathers first gigs in Ireland since May.

www.myspace.com/heatherswhatsyourdamage

www.myspace.come/hoorayforhumansband

Extras Wanted

2009-08-01T12:56:00.001+01:00

The Coronas are going to be filming their new video this week and are looking for extras. The filming is taking place on Wednesday August 5th in Dublin. If you fancy taking part you can email jim@thecoronas.net for more information. Please bear in mind that you need to be over 18 to take part.

Madonna's New Single Co-written By Joe Echo

2009-07-30T17:54:00.002+01:00

Castledawson native Ciaran Gribbin better know by his stage name of Joe Echo posted some very exciting news on his MySpace blog earlier this morning. For the last while Joe Echo has been working with Paul Oakenfold and Ian Green for Oakenfold’s new album and the Queen of pop has picked up two of their tracks. Madonna wrote the lyrics for and recorded one of the tracks entitled Celebration which will be her next single as well as featuring on her latest Greatest Hits album.

Check out the original blog post here:

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=178187018&blogID=502989993

Pocket Promise Album Launch

2009-07-30T17:07:00.002+01:00

Friendly Fires Kiss Of Life

2009-07-29T15:40:00.000+01:00

This is the rather bright new video for Friendly Fires upcoming new single Kiss Of Life due for release on August 31st.

The Blizzards Announce Headline Date

2009-07-28T18:16:00.000+01:00

Earlier today The Blizzards front man Niall Breslin brought himself and his recently injured arm into the Today FM studios. Breslin appeared on Ray Foley’s lunchtime show to announce the details of The Blizzards biggest headline show to date. The show takes place on Saturday December 12th in The Olympia Dublin. Tickets priced between €20 and €23 will go on sale Thursday July 30th from Ticketmaster.

www.theblizzards.ie

David Gray Releases New Album

2009-07-28T17:30:00.001+01:00

David Gray has released details of his forthcoming new album. The album entitled Draw The Line is due for release on September 14th. Draw The Line features guest vocals by Jolie Holland on a track called ‘Kathleen’ and Annie Lennox on a track entitled Full Steam Ahead.

The lead single Fugitive will be released on September 7th. Gray will play a collection of shows in the UK before touring the US in support of the album.

Summersound Festival

2009-07-28T12:11:00.004+01:00

The Summersound Festival is the newest addition to this year’s festivals. The event which takes place on august 22nd in East Point, Clontarf will feature some of the best in Irish independent music as well visuals from artists working in Dublin.

The lineup includes independent hard hitters like The Mighty Stef ,The Spikes ,Saccade ,The Mighty Atomics ,The Red Labels ,Identity Parade ,De Shonos, ,Moebius ,Disconnect 4, Heritage Centre ,Funeral Suits ,The Fade Street Bums ,Eva's agenda and Jumping Orbit. The event will also feature DJ’s Nick James, Coup De Ville and Nacho Villalon will perform sets covering a wide variety of musical styles. The day will wind up with an after show party in the city.

Tickets priced at a pocket friendly €26 are on sale now from Road Records, Citydics and Spindizzy Records or online at www.eventelephant.com/summersoundfestival.

For more information on the event go to

www.myspace.com/summersoundfest

I'm Going On Hoilday...Sort Of.....

2009-07-24T13:45:00.002+01:00

This blog is of course all about the music and not my personal life, nobody wants to know what I do all day (it’s really not that interesting), so forgive me as I go off topic for this post. I just want to let you know what I’ll be up to over the next few weeks/months in regards to the blog.

As the post title implies I’m going on holiday, sort of. During the first week in August I’ll be heading to America to spend an unhealthy amount of time in Barnes & Noble and Half Price Books looking at vinyl while wondering why I never replaced my record player. Now we get to the sort of part. I’m going to be there until the last week in October so it’s more of a trip really then a holiday.

Its frightening how quickly time flies, weeks are becoming little more than hours and days mere minutes. Yet the fact that I only have a little over a week and a half left before my trip has still come as shock to me. So I said I better post this now before my memory gets the better of me and I forget.

In regards to the blog, it will continue as normal up until I leave after that I’ll probably limit it to three possibly four posts a week but the important thing to remember is keep stopping by because I will still be posting. When I think about it, I know it’s probably the wrong time to go with all the fantastic gigs and album releases coming up, but at the same time I’m really excited about the prospects of finding new music and maybe seeing a few gigs while I’m there.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the great bands who have gotten involved with the blog. Many thanks too Froud, I am not Left Handed, The Long Knives, Cellarscape, Hollow Towers, State Of Jay, Machine Gun Baby, Autumn Owls, The Whatmans, Bella Clava, Van Cleef whose support means the world to me. Many thanks to all the readers for their supportive comments, who make the blog worthwhile, keep reading. Many thanks also to Leah who acts as the blog photographer an occasion. Apologies if I’ve left anyone out.

Well I had better get back to the packing before I forget to do that as well.

Music Box For Life

2009-07-23T19:24:00.003+01:00

Music Box For Life is a new initiative by Gerry Scullion and Noel Taylor to raise money for Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin. Basically the idea is to sell music by Irish artists to generate funds for the hospital. The project which will be launched on September 1st as so far seen tracks donated by Mark Geary, Luan Parle, Colin Devlin, Gavin Glass, Cactus World News, Bill Coleman, Fiachna O Braonain, Leanne Harte, The Kinetics and The Coronas as well as Minus Circus, Gerry Scullion’s musical alter ego.

By selling the donated tracks directly through the website the project leaders are ensuring that 100% of the money raised goes straight to the hospital. If you’re an artist interested in getting involved with the project the submission deadline has been announced as 31st July 2009 and you can contact noel [at]musicboxforlife[dot]com with your track.

Here’s a snippet taken from the Music Box For Life website:
“Our primary objective with Music Box for Life, is to raise as much money as possible for the hospital. We considered doing a physical CD, putting on a benefit etc. – but that has all been done before. It also costs a lot and we don’t want overheads to take from peoples generous support. It basically would mean that we wouldn’t have been able to guarantee 100% of the money going straight to the hospital. But by doing this digitally, we cut back on a lot of those overheads – and its really blood sweat and maybe some tears, which allows us to get 100% of the money to the hospital. Its also globally and easily accessible and can evolve into a permanent but changing musical feast for supporters and a permanent revenue stream for the kids” says Noel.

It’s a fantastic idea and a cause that is well worth supporting. If you would like to show your support for the project you can head over to the website and sign up for the mailing list, join them on MySpace and also on Twitter. All of the links are provided below.

www.musicboxforlife.com

www.myspace.com/musicboxforlife

www.twitter.com/musicboxforlife

Mercury Prize 2009 Nominees

2009-07-22T14:00:00.006+01:00

The organisers of The Mercury Prize have announced this year’s nominees. The 12 strong list features albums that were released by UK and Irish acts in the last year. Each year the nominations for the prize bring with them a certain amount of controversy as the list is debated. The albums will be judged by their merit and not album sales and have a chance to win £20,000. The winner of The Mercury Prize 2009 will be announced on September 8th during a televised ceremony.

The Nominees
Bat for Lashes - Two Suns

Florence & The Machine - Lungs

Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires

Glasvegas - Glasvegas

Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

La Roux - La Roux

Led Bib - Sensible Shoes

Lisa Hannigan - Sea Sew

Speech Debelle - Speech Therapy

Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Twice Born Men

The Horrors - Primary Colours

The Invisible - The Invisible

The Victory Dance Update

2009-07-22T12:37:00.000+01:00

Dave Geraghty’s new solo album The Victory Dance is due for release on August 28th. The tracklisting was released earlier this week and it goes a little sometime like this:

Tuesday’s Feet
Instant Sunshine
Soft Spot
Wear Out Your Name
Last Time Around
The Emperor’s Hand Me Down
Stones
Change My Mind
Falter

www.myspace.com/davidgeraghty

Hot Press Competition

2009-07-21T18:29:00.001+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a competition Hot Press was running to give an unsigned act the chance to play at Castle Palooza. Of all the bands that sent in entries twenty bands have been selected as finalists and Hot Press are calling on the public to vote for the winning act. I’ve listed the finalists below; follow the link to vote. Voting closes at noon tomorrow Wednesday July 22nd. It only takes a couple of seconds to vote and it would be greatly appreciated.

The Finalists
Bipolar Empire
The Dirty 9s
Herm
Jools King
Killer Chole
Michele Ann Kelly
Miracle Bell
Nugget
The Looks
We Cut Corners
Audio
Funzo
Jezzebelle
The Champan Society
The Red Labels
TKO
Tupelo
Van Cleef
Von Shakes
History Of Harry

http://www.hotpress.com/vote/vote.php?id=5708211&action=view

Single Review: The Whatmans Devil Shoes

2009-07-20T16:47:00.007+01:00

Navan based indie rock outfit The Whatmans are set to release their debut single on September 7th. The single entitled Devil Shoes features three tracks, Devil Shoes, Follow Me and Casino Unplugged.

The lead single Devil Shoes sees the release off to a good start. A heavy rock n roll concoction of ardent drumming and rampant guitars, Devil Shoes is a well produced track that has enough mainstream polish to garner some serious radio play.

The second track Follow Me has a strong almost anarchical vibe to the music. Lead singer John Brennan provides tough, no nonsense vocals against a persistent hard rock inspired beat. In some ways Follow Me is reminiscent of Britpop purveyors Oasis at the height of their game during the mid to late nineties.

Following on from the heavier first two tracks Casino, opening with a mellower lead guitar could easily be described as the acoustic slow burner of the release. The melody is consistent throughout backed by a slightly textured rhythm while the lyrics provide a despairing look at today’s world. At times Brennan’s vocals are restrained but have enough conviction to carry the track through.

Devil Shoes is a release well worth your time and attention, you won’t be disappointed.

www.myspace.com/thewhatmans

The Resistance Tracklisting

2009-07-18T10:58:00.003+01:00

The new Muse album entitled The Resistance is due for release here in September. The tracklisting for the album was released earlier in the month on Twitter. The tracklisting is as follows:

Uprising
Resistance

Undisclosed Desires
United States Of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)

Guiding Light
Unnatural Selection

MK Ultra

I Belong To You (+Mon Coeur S’Ouvre A Ta Voix)
Exogenesis: Symphony Part I (Overture)

Exogenesis: Symphony Part II (Cross Pollination)
Exogenesis Part III (Redemption)

In other Muse news the band are set to make their U.S television debut at this years VMA’s in New York. They will be performing Uprising at the awards which take place on September 13th.

Featured On Friday: Pocket Promise

2009-07-17T21:46:00.003+01:00

Pocket Promise are set to release their debut album I’ve Been Here For Ages next month, an apt title for the debut considering they have been together for almost ten years now. The four -piece who originated in Tyrone were London based for a number of years before relocating to France in 2007 to record in the Black Box Studios, where they worked with David Odlum (The Frames, Gemma Hayes).

Since then they have relocated once again to Belfast, started their own record label Stop:Go music and played The Hard Working Class Heroes festival 08. They also released their debut EP Waving At Strangers which saw five of the tracks they recorded in Black Box getting a public airing. The last few months have been incredibly busy for Pocket Promise with two single releases, I Burnt The Roller Disco in April and the double a side Talkovertalking /If Not The Tide Will Change in June, and a host of gigs in between. Both releases are featured on the album’s track listing as well as some previously unreleased tracks.

Pocket Promise have a number of upcoming tour dates including an appearance at this years Indiependance Festival in Mitchelstown. I’ve Been Here For Ages is released on August 3rd with the album launch gig taking place in The Menagerie Bar, Belfast on the 6th.

www.myspace.com/pocketpromise

Free Neosupervital Download

2009-07-17T18:43:00.000+01:00

Neosupervital has made new single Dance With You available as a free download. T o download track all you have to do is head over to the website and add your name to the mailing list.

www.neosupervital.com

EP Review: Autumn Owls On The Trail Of The Disappearing

2009-07-15T21:29:00.002+01:00

On The Trail of The Disappearing is a beautifully crafted collection of songs from Dublin four piece Autumn Owls. Behind each track lies a complex composition of guitars, keys and progressive drums against the subtlety of intelligent, thought provoking lyrics. Opening track A Thousand Blind Windows has a wonderfully spine tingling moment at the chorus as Gary McFarlane’s vocals roll off the marching drum beat.

Raindrops In The River is a perfect example of the lyrical quality of On The Trail Of The Disappearing ‘the devil you suppress, smokes a cigarette, we get dressed for another day in hell’, lyrics that are delivered against a chilling backdrop of disquieting keys without a hint of emotion. The Wolf By The Mountain opens with an eerie melody before building up to a hauntingly tense atmosphere while Bad Blood is like a butterfly in reverse tapering into a lingering instrumental. The more experimental Childhood Slideshow closes On The Trail Of The Disappearing on a softer note.

On The Trail Of The Disappearing displays a musical diversity that I’m sure will continue to grow and evolve as Autumn Owls do.

www.myspace.com/autumnowls

The Killers T In The Park

2009-07-14T19:01:00.001+01:00

Over the weekend I posted about The Killers live performance at this year’s T In The Park. At the risk of going over board and possibly leading people to believe this blog is solely about The Killers, I promise this will be my last post on the subject.

So on with the post. The performance which as I said in the earlier post, made me look at The Killers in a new light, has be posted on a You Tube Fan Site page. Just click on the link below to go to the page.

www.youtube.com/user/thekillersforum

I’ve been reading a few reviews of their performance over the last day or so and Spaceman has received a good few mentions for its energy and enthusiasm. My favourite by far had to be All These Things That I’ve Done purely for Brandon Flowers little rock n roll moment with the mike stand.

Oxegen 2009

2009-07-13T23:52:00.000+01:00

Over the course of Oxegen 09 2FM interviewed some of the acts in their Heineken Green Room/portacabin interview area. For interviews with Florence and the machine, Jason Mraz and Razorlight to name a few head over to 2FM’s You Tube channel at:

www.youtube.com/user/RTE2fm

The Killers T In The Park 2009

2009-07-12T16:37:00.006+01:00

The first and only time I saw The Killers play live was back at the beginning of the hype at Oxegen 05. I have to say I wasn’t impressed. In fact I left to go see Embrace before they even finished their set. The Killers were one of the main reasons I’d gone to Oxegen that year. I loved Hot Fuss and was really excited to see them play live but I ended up being disappointed. Back then I thought they had no stage presence and couldn’t hold the crowd past the hits into the lesser known album tracks. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I thought they were bad musically, just performance wise. Its one thing to be a gifted musician but it’s an altogether different thing to be a gifted performer. For me that spark, that buzz a good performer has just wasn’t there, I may as well have been listening to the CD. The experience put me off The Killers and I haven’t really paid much attention to them since.

So I was at little surprised to find myself tuning into BBC Three’s coverage of The Killers live at T In The Park last night. I was glad I did though because I was completely blown away by how good they were and since I was watching it on the television I wasn’t getting the complete live experience. I only caught the last half hour or so of their set so I missed some of the newer tracks but got to see them perform most of their hits. I think they first track I got to see was Sam’s Town, I’m not a hundred percent certain on that but what I am certain of is how much The Killers were enjoying themselves on stage. The enthusiasm at playing live and the sheer joy of the crowd reaction was clearly evident on each and every one of their faces. I also got to see one of my favourite Hot Fuzz tracks Jenny Was a Friend Of Mine as well as Mr. Brightside, All These Things That I’ve Done, When You Were Young, Read My Mind and Bones. At one point Brandon Flowers gave the crowd a very emotional thank you.

If practise makes prefect than The Killers have definitely taken that philosophy to the next level, they were a completely tight knit unit both musically and performance wise. Even though this has absolutely nothing to do with their performance I have to add that I think Brandon Flowers gets younger every time I see him. I have a theory that crowd reactions keep him the young, the more you sing along the younger he gets because I honestly think he looks younger now than when they started out. After seeing the show they put on for the T In The Park audience I find myself a little miffed that I’m not at Oxegen but I’m willing to admit I judged a book by its cover too quickly and go to see them the next time they roll into town.

The Sunday Playlist: The Killers

2009-07-12T14:55:00.001+01:00

This week The Sunday Playlist is all about The Killers as they make their way from headlining T In The Park yesterday to headlining Oxegen today.

Jenny was a friend of mine
Spaceman
When You Were Young
Mr Brightside
Bones
All these things that I’ve done
Read my Mind
Somebody Told Me
Human
The World That We Live In

The Coronas Album News

2009-07-11T21:01:00.003+01:00

More Irish album news today as The Coronas confirmed the name of the follow up to Heroes or Ghosts in an interview at the Hot Press signing tent. The album which will be available from September 25th will be called Tony Was An Ex-Con. I’ll post a track listing as soon as it’s released.

http://www.thecoronas.net/

Single Of The Week: Codes This Is Goodbye

2009-07-11T15:59:00.002+01:00

Dublin based quartet Codes released their debut single This is Goodbye yesterday. Essentially a track from the indie side of the rock n roll tracks, This is Goodbye is tinged with a wide range of influences, from electronic beats to an almost operatic tone with the soaring vocal harmonies. If I had to describe the track in one word, I’d have to go with emotive with the vocals holding a melancholic air over the animated beat of the music. This is Goodbye is going to lend itself well to a live performance.

www.myspace.com/codesofficial

Featured On Friday: Talulah Does The Hula

2009-07-10T20:42:00.002+01:00

Talulah Does The Hula was formed from the ashes of Irelands own providers of reckless pop The Chalets, who spilt in early 2008. After The Chalets spilt Paula Cullen and Caoimhe Derwin who fronted the band wanted to continue to make music and set about forming a new band.

Having written a number of songs for The Chalets second album that never was, the girls were eager to get going. Former Neosupervital members Lauren and Jessie expressed interest in the project and the line up for Talulah Does The Hula was almost complete. The band originally featured a female drummer who was replaced by Mike who is lovingly referred to as the token male. The name itself was taken from a New Zealand court case where a child was taken into custody to have her name changed after her parents named her Talulah Does The Hula From Hawaii.

Current single Bad Boyfriend is getting a lot of radio play and is available on CD from the lovely people at Road Records or as an MP3 version from download music.

www.myspace.com/talulahdoesthehula

The Swell Season Album News

2009-07-10T13:27:00.004+01:00

It’s definitely a week in news for some of the top players in the Irish music scene. Just yesterday we had a confirmation date for the release of Dave Geraghty’s new solo album and The Swell Season have also confirmed a release date for their new album.The album entitled Strict Joy will be released on September 29th, slightly later than originally planned. This album will feature The Frames as well as a host of guest musicians including Javier Mas.

Strict Joy Track Listing
Low Rising
Feeling The Pull
In These Arms
The Rain
Fantasy Man
Paper Cup
High Horses
The Verb
I Have Loved You Wrong

Love That Conquers

Two Tongues
Back Broke

http://www.theswellseason.com/

Paperdoll On Balcony TV

2009-07-09T19:25:00.001+01:00

Paperdoll were one of the bands to take part in Indie Week Ireland which took place across the country last week. Before they headed back to New York they preformed an acoustic version of Anything At All with Director frontman Micheal Moloney for Balcony TV. I have to add that I really like the new Balcony TV graphics; I think they may be my favourite ones of all the Balcony TV graphics.

Dave Geraghty Album News

2009-07-09T17:51:00.003+01:00

I’ve come to the conclusion that Dave Geraghty doesn’t need to sleep. Since the release of his debut solo record Kill your Darlings in 2007 he hasn’t really stopped going. Sometime in between touring with Bell X1 and the release of their fourth studio album Blue Lights on the Runway, Dave has managed to record a second solo album. The album entitled Victory Dance will be released on August 28th with a tour to follow.

Tour Dates
September 9th The Pavilion, Cork
September 11th Roisin Dubh, Galway
September 12th Dolan’s, Limerick
September 13th De Barra’s, Clonakilty
September 15th Spirit Store, Dundalk
September 16th Button Factory, Dublin

www.myspace.com/davidgeraghty

Gohan Records Release ‘Limrock’ Compilation Album

2009-07-08T15:44:00.005+01:00

Since last year Noel Hogan has been working with Green and Live presenter Alan Jacques to mastermind a track listing for a compilation album featuring all Limerick artists to be produced by his record company Gohan Records. The music scene in Limerick has been growing and growing over the past few years and Hogan felt that a compilation album was a great way to showcase the new musical talent coming out of county to the rest of the country.

“This CD is first and foremost a celebration of Limerick’s rich and diverse music scene.” Noel Hogan Gohan Records

The album, entitled Tonelist, is a collection of 14 tracks featuring better known Limerick acts as well as some lesser known acts. While Tonelist won’t officially be released until Friday July 10th but advance copies are available online at the Gohan Records Store.

Track Listing
Drumming Room Good Riddance
Giveamanakick Brittle Bones
Headgear Where Is Home?
We Should Be Dead Disaster
Supermodel Twins Footprints
Vesta Varro All The Lovesongs
Arkitekt Pacing (AV)
PIO Butterflies
The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra Grace Jones
Alkalai Flat Preferres Vision
Seneca Playing Fair
Brendan Markham False Witness
Walter Mitty & The Realists Sucker Punch
Mark O’ Connor The Bells Of St. Marys

http://www.gohanrecords.com/

The Gaslight Anthem The 59 Sound

2009-07-08T14:07:00.001+01:00

The Gaslight Anthem are getting a lot of attention lately mostly because of this track and its Bruce Springsteen like vibe.

IMRO New Sounds CD

2009-07-08T12:18:00.002+01:00

The Irish Daily Star features the best of new Irish music with today’s addition of the IMRO New Sounds CD. The CD features 21 tracks from some of the best Irish acts around at the moment including Dirty Epics, former Turn frontman Ollie Cole and The Angel Pier. Well worth picking up!

Oxegen Times

2009-07-06T11:15:00.002+01:00

Friday July 10th

MAIN STAGE

1400: The Artane Boys Band
1500: The Coronas
1635: James
1805: Lily Allen
1935: The Script
2110: Snow Patrol
2310: Blur

IMRO NEW SOUNDS STAGE

1400: Prowler
1450: Stone Motion
1545: Home Star Runner
1640: The Brilliant Things
1735: Ruth Anne Cunningham
1830: Cashier No. 9
1930: The Joy Formidable
2030: Heathers
2130: David Kitt
2230:The Flaws
2325: Yes Cadets
0025: The Mighty Stef

HOT PRESS NEW BANDS STAGE

1400: Truffle Shuffle
1500: Priscilla Ahn
1600: Carolina Liar
1700: Mumford & Sons
1800: Dinosaur Pile Up
1900: The Hours
2000: Iain Archer
2100: Metronomy
2200: Spinnerette
2300: Pulled Apart By Horses
0000: O Emperor

DANCE ARENA

1400: Tom Middleton
1500: Gordo
1530: Burns
1620: Japanese Pop Stars
1710: Evil 9
1805: Frankmusik
1900: Aeroplane
2000: Crookers
2130: Swedish House Mafia
2330: Deadmau5

RED BULL MUSIC ACADMEY STAGE

1400: 202s
1515: Lukid/DJ
1645: Special Guest
1800: Johnny Moy/DJ
1930: M83
2100: Ladyhawke
2220: Chloe/DJ
2320: David Holmes/DJ
0010: Arveene

HEINEKEN GREEN SPHERES STAGE

1400: The Dirty Epics
1520: God Is An Astronaut
1650: Dreadzone
1820: Fight Like Apes
1950: Mogwai
2125: Republic Of Loose
2315: 2 Many DJs

THE O2 STAGE

1400: Telegraphs
1540: The Answer
1710: Therapy?
1840: Duke Special
2015: Fun Lovin’ Criminals
2150: Pendulum
2335: Keane

Saturday July 11th

MAIN STAGE

1400: Saw Doctors
1510: Squeeze
1620: The Blizzards
1730: James Morrison
1855: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2025: Elbow
2155: Bloc Party
2330: Kings Of Leon

IMRO NEW SOUNDS STAGE

1400: Distractors
1455: Jenna Toro
1550: Carosel
1645: Angel Pier
1740: Nightbox
1835: Joe Echo
1930: St Vincent
2025: General Fiasco
2125: Director
2225: Codes
2325: And So I Watch You From Afar
0025: Cap Pas Cap

HOT PRESS NEW BANDS STAGE

1400: Seven Days
1500: Will And The People
1600: Howling Bells
1700: In Case Of Fire
1800: Passion Pit
1900: Hockey
2000: Little Boots
2100: Sneaky Soundsystem
2200: Patrick Wolf
2300: Go Audio
0000: The Airborne Toxic Event

DANCE ARENA

1400: Louis Osbourne
1445: Bitches With Wolves
1530: DJ Philth
1630: Don Rimini
1730: Popof
1830: Dr. Lektroluv
1930: Digitalism
2030: Annie Mac
2130: Boys Noize
2300: Tiga

RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY STAGE

1400: Jamie Woon
1500: Rizm/DJ
1555: Defcon
1725: Messiah J & The Expert
1835: Colm K/DJ
1950: Tinchy Stryder
2115: Crystal Castles
2245: Mano Le Tough
2345: DJ Tu-Ki

HEINEKEN GREEN SPHERES STAGE

1400: Fred
1450: Gary Go
1545: Daniel Merriweather
1650: The Saturdays
1800: Regina Spektor
1915: Pete Doherty
2025: TV On The Radio
2145: Pet Shop Boys
2350: Jerry Fish & The Mudbug Club

THE O2 STAGE

1400: Red Light Company
1500: The Gaslight Anthem
1615: The Game
1735: Eagles Of Death Metal
1905: Maximo Park
2035: The Mars Volta
2205: Doves
2335: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Sunday July 12th

MAIN STAGE

1400: Ocean Colour Scene
1515: Calvin Harris
1630: Lady Gaga
1745: Paolo Nutini
1905: The Specials
2035: Razorlight
2210: The Killers

IMRO NEW SOUNDS STAGE

1400: Susie Soho
1450: Bone
1540: Andrew Hozier-Byrne
1635: The Jades
1730: The Chakras
1825: Blood Or Whiskey
1930: Broken Records
2025: Wintersleep
2125: Villagers
2220: Dark Room Notes
2315: Concerto For Constantine

HOT PRESS NEW BANDS STAGE

1400: Box Social
1500: Phenomenal Handclap Band
1600: Bombay Bicycle Club
1700: Wallis Bird
1800: The Maccabees
1900: The Virgins
2000: Wild Beasts
2100: The Chapters
2200: Camera Obscura
2300: The Twang

DANCE ARENA

1350: Scott McNaughton
1430: Hudson Mohawke
1520: Nialler 9
1600: Fever Ray
1700: Kissy Sell Out
1800: Yussek
1900: Bloody Beetroots
2000: MSTRKRFT
2100: Miss Kittin & The Hacker
2200: Felix Da Housecat

RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY STAGE

1400: Ruari
1455: RSAG
1645: Goldielocks
1755: Telepathe
1900: Casio Kids
2005: Of Montreal
2145: Florence And The Machine
2215: Onra/DJ
2305: Mikki Dee & Mystro/DJ

HEINEKEN GREEN SPHERES STAGE

1400: Iglu & Hartly
1455: Noisettes
1600: That Petrol Emotion
1715: Friendly Fires
1830: Foals
1945: Jason Mraz
2105: Glasvegas
2235: Manic Street Preachers

THE O2 STAGE

1400: The Horrors
1455: You Me At Six
1600: Starsailor
1710: White Lies
1820: Katy Perry
1940: Ting Tings
2100: Jane’s Addiction
2250: Nine Inch Nails

Indie Week Ireland: Paperdoll

2009-07-02T17:47:00.003+01:00

Paperdoll are Teresa Lee (vocals, piano), Patrick Moloney (guitar), Steve Paelet (bass) and Chip Thomas (drums). Going the independent route with no formal management or promotion Paperdoll have still managed to carve themselves a niche in New York’s music scene. Paperdoll have described their musical style as ‘’nerdy pop’’ with a rock edge, an unusual combination that has attracted a fanbase New York.

Paperdoll’s debut album Ballad Nerd Pop has sold over 3,000 copies. They have also featured in a number of college magazines, indie music sites as well as in allkpop. Paperdoll have also sold out shows in New York venues like the Knitting Factory, Arlene’s Grocery, Crash Mansion and Mercury Lounge.

www.paperdollband.com

See Paperdoll live at Indie Week Ireland

July 2nd Roisin Dubh, Galway
July 3rd Whelans, Dublin
July 4th Dolans, Limerick

Single Of The Week: Machine Gun Baby Yes I'll Wait

2009-07-02T15:53:00.002+01:00

Yes I’ll Wait is the latest offering from Dublin based Machine Gun Baby. A dark atmospheric blend of guitar fuelled brash rhythms and punchy vocals, Yes I’ll Wait finds its roots in the distinctive flavour of contemporary American rock groups. Machine Gun Baby have ticked all the boxes for a future anthem with equal measures of intense instrumentals and affecting lyrics. The contrast of lead singer Keegan’s vocals, from the silky purr of the verse to the rougher bottle of whiskey, 100 cigarettes before breakfast rasp of the chorus, adds a twist to the track giving it a little more bite. Yes I’ll Wait is a polished release from a band I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from in the near future.

www.myspace.com/machinegunbabyofficial

Indie Week Ireland: Bella Clava

2009-07-01T22:35:00.004+01:00

Bella Clava are Caitlin Dacey (keys, vocals), Steve Suttie (guitar, vocals) and Luis Figueroa (drums). According to Bella Clava’s sonic bids page ‘Steve’s the guy at the party who picks up a guitar and serenades people whether they like it or not’, Caitlin is ‘known to offend party hosts by rudely taking over their stereo’ and ‘Luis loves to make hips shake’.

Originally from Thunder Bay Ontario, Bella Clava are now based in Toronto where they are very active in the independent music scene. They were the Canadian winners of Indie Week 2008 in Toronto and have recently played at Canadian Music Week 2009. I’ve been reading some reviews of Bella Clava’s live shows and I can practically feel their energy and enthusiasm. I’m really looking forward to seeing them play live when Indie Week rolls into Limerick.

http://www.bellaclava.ca/

See Bella Clava live at Indie Week Ireland

July 2nd Roisin Dubh, Galway
July 3rd Whelans, Dublin
July 4th Dolans, Limerick

Indie Week Ireland: Vesta Varro

2009-07-01T17:56:00.004+01:00

Indie Week Ireland 2009 kicks off later today in Cork. As I said in an earlier post this week I’m going to be mostly posting about the bands involved in Indie Week. So let’s get things rolling with a bit of background information on Vesta Varro one of the headlining acts of Indie Week Ireland.

Vesta Varro are Damien Drea (vocals), Keith Forde and Peter Forde (guitars), Rod Smith (bass) and Shane Lee (drums). They released their debut album entitled Exit Here on June 8th 2007 and the first two singles taken from the album entered the Irish Top 40 Chart. Exit Here received a lot of positive reviews with Hot Press giving the album 8.5 out of 10. Vesta Varro were also named Best Band at Indie Week Canada 2007 and Best New Musical Artist at the MAMCA awards.

The album was not the only aspect of their music to receive positive press. Their live performances have been hailed as energetic, enthusiastic, breathtaking and have earned them support slots with Republic of Loose, Bell X1 and The Frames to name a few. They have appeared at the Bud Rising Festival, O2 Wireless Festival and The Hard Working Class Heroes Festival. Vesta Varro also have a licensing deal with American Network CBS and to date four of their songs have been featured on the network.

www.myspace.com/vestavarro

See Vesta Varro live at Indie Week Ireland

July 1st An Cruiscin Lan, Cork
July 2nd Roisin Dubh, Galway
July 3rd Whelans, Dublin
July 4th Dolans, Limerick

Indie Week Ireland 2009

2009-06-29T17:13:00.009+01:00

It’s Indie Week! Or at least it will be from Wednesday onward. Some of the best independent acts from Ireland, Europe, Canada and America will be showcasing their music on a four day tour of the country. Staring on Wednesday July 1st in Cork and finishing on July 4th in Limerick.

Headlining the four dates are Vesta Varro and Walter Mitty and The Realists who were the top acts at Indie Week Canada in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The line up also includes Paper Doll (America) and Bella Clava (Canada). The last two dates of the tour (Whelan’s Dublin July 3rd and Dolan’s Limerick July 4th) will see extra stages added for the showcasing bands which will be judged on both performance and crowd reaction. A top act will then be chosen and invited to perform at Indie Week Canada.

In honour of the week that’s in it, over the next few days I’ll be devoting most of the posts to Indie Week Ireland 09. Starting with the line-up and schedules for the four showcases:

Wednesday July 1st
An Cruiscin Lan, Cork

Doors: 7:45

8:30 - 9:00 Bella Clava

9:15 - 9:45 Vesta Varro

10:00 -10:30 PaperDoll

10:45 - 11:15 Walter Mitty

Thursday July 2nd
Roisin Dubh, Galway

Doors: 7:45

8:30 - 9:00 PaperDoll

9:15 - 9:45 Walter Mitty

10:00 -10:30 Bella Clava

10:45 - 11:15 Vesta Varro

Friday July 3rd
Whelan’s, Dublin

Doors: 8

DOWNSTAIRS:

8:30 - 8:50 PINKY

9:05 - 9:25 Sweet Jane

9:40 - 10:00 Sixteen Layers

10:15- 10:35 The Kinetiks

UPSTAIRS:

9:00 - 9:40 Bella Clava

10:00 - 10:40 PaperDoll

11:00 -11:40 Vesta Varro

12:00 - 12:40 Walter Mitty

Saturday July 4th
Dolan's Limerick

Doors:6pm

6:00 - 7:00 Meet N Greet

07:10 - 07:30 Saccade

07:45 - 08:05 Cutaways

08:25 - 08:45 Poet in Process

09:00 - 09:20 Cowboy X

INTERMISSION

10:00 - 10:30 PaperDoll

10:50 - 11:20 Bella Clava

11:40 - 12:10 Vesta Varro

12:30 - 01:15 Walter Mitty

Featured On Friday: The Airborne Toxic Event

2009-06-26T11:39:00.005+01:00

This time last year if I’d have said the name The Airborne Toxic Event you probably would have thought I was discussing some new global warming related catastrophe scientists are predicting, that or some sort of nu- mental industrial rock band. So you might be surprised maybe even pleasantly so to discover that there isn’t yet another catastrophe or nu mental band to worry about, well at least not under the name The Airborne Toxic Event.

So who are The Airborne Toxic Event, well they are a band but they don’t play the type of music that the name would lead you to believe. They are a quintet from Los Angeles that plays a mix of string and keyboard blended indie rock. The line up consists of singer/guitarist Mikel Jollett, guitarist/keyboardist Steven Chen, bassist Noah Harmon, drummer Daren Taylor and keyboardist/violist Anna Bulbrook. The band formed in 2006 when singer Mikel Jollett (who at the time had a promising career as a writer) realised that he was actually composing an album and not writing a novel. The name is a reference to a chapter in the Don DeLillo novel White Noise.

In their first year as a fully formed band they performed extensively around Los Angeles building up a fan base. They received a lot of positive press with Rolling Stone magazine naming them one of the top 25 bands on MySpace and L.A. Weekly /The Los Angeles times naming them one of the top three L.A. bands to watch in 2008. They released their self titled debut album in August 2008 in the US and March 2009 in the UK, but it was the release of single Sometime around Midnight that propelled the band into the limelight. When Sometime Around Midnight was released in the US it was added to commercial radio stations even though the band was at that time unsigned. In the UK the song spent a number of weeks in MTV2’s MySpace chart; it also got the nod from U2 when Adam Clayton chose the song as one of his favourites on a radio show hosted by Shirley Manson. The band are touring the Summer Festival circuit this year and have both an US and UK tour later this year.

The Airborne Toxic Event Sometime Around Midnight

The Airborne Toxic Event play the Olympia on November 11th and the album is available in stores now.

Album Review: Cellarscape Animation,Suspension

2009-06-24T18:39:00.003+01:00

Animation, Suspension is the first long player release by music maker Paul Terry, better known as Cellarscape. Featuring 15 tracks that draw from a variety of different influences and styles, Animation, Suspension is an album that thinks outside the box but has enough mainstream subtleties to tempt even the most genre conscious music fan.

Opening track Crawlspace leads you to believe that Animation ,Suspension is going to be a low-fi trip through acoustic guitars and placid vocals from start too finish. The second track Target Acquired quickly disabuses you of that notion. It’s a louder, edgier track with an uplifting chorus offset by a darker verse. Animation, Suspension takes you on an emotional rollercoaster from the soaring melody of Gravity Can’t Swim through the indie –popesque hands in the air Shadowfight and the crushing heartbreak of Punchlines. December Moon adds gravity to the album and shows the range of Terry’s vocal ability, but the highlight of the album for me has to be the somewhat understated Patience and Zara.

At only one point does the album veer off course with the darker almost malicious The Creek. The track doesn’t lend anything to the album and doesn’t work very well with the rest of the track listing. Overall Animation, Suspension is a first-rate debut that has a diverse ability to appeal to music fans across genres.

The Lynchburg Mob

2009-06-22T20:43:00.002+01:00

I came across this Balcony Tv video recently and thought both the band and the song were very good.

This is the Lynchburg Mob with Edgartown

The Slane Sunday Playlist

2009-06-21T12:47:00.003+01:00

This week’s Sunday Playlist is dedicated to Slane, I hope everyone who attended yesterday had a good time and is spending the day recovering. Here are a few tracks from Slane’s past to help you along the way.

Thin Lizzy The Boys Are Back In Town
The Rolling Stones Wild Horses
Bruce Springsteen Philadelphia
R.E.M Imitation of Life
The Verve Bittersweet Symphony
Stereophonics The Bartender and The Thief
Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication
Oasis Don’t Look Back in anger
Foo Fighters Everlong
Feeder Piece by Piece

Olympia Dates Confirmed

2009-06-20T17:32:00.001+01:00

The Airborne Toxic Event have confirmed that they will play the Olympia Theatre on Wednesday November 11th. Tickets are a bargain at €21 including booking fee and are on sale now. I’ve mentioned these guys in previous posts, mostly about oxegen because they are putting in an appearance there as well this year, but I haven’t really said much about them so expect a feature post in the coming days.

Biffy Clyro have also confirmed an Autumn date for the Olympia. The Scottish trio will take to the stage on Thursday October 29th. Tickets are priced at €28 and are on sale now.

Music fans from all parts of the country have flocked to Co. Meath today for the first of the big Summer gigs. Slane got underway slightly after 3pm when The Blizzards opened their set with Miss Fantasia Preaches. Kasbian are due on shortly with headliners Oasis due to play at 8.30.

Featured On Friday: Angel Pier

2009-06-19T22:46:00.003+01:00

Hot Press have named them Best New Discovery. NME have dubbed their sound classic indie pop, and me? Well I just think they make some incredibly heartfelt music. Who am I talking about you might ask (if you haven’t read the title of this post), I’m talking about this weeks Featured On Friday Artist Angel Pier.

Angel Pier are Darragh Nolan, Luke Paluch, Vinny Redmond and Mark Colbert or as their MySpace puts it three parts Irish to one part Canadian. They have had a pretty good 2009 so far. Not only have they played to a packed out Whelans , they’ve headlined the Best Of IMRO Showcase Tour gig which took place in early May at The Village. To date they’ve released two EP’s entitled Sacrifice and Bullet Holes & Broken Sectors and are due to release a limited edition 7” in the next few months.

Angel Pier are hitting the Irish festivals this summer, you can see them at Oxegen on Saturday July 11th and at Castlepalooza over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

www.myspace.com/angelpier

www.angelpier.com

The Dirty 9s Lucy Opus

2009-06-19T14:31:00.001+01:00

The Dirty 9s are a Dublin band that I never get tired of listening to. This is their first video for Lucy Opus which was one of the music videos made as part of the collaboration between Hot Press and Tisch School of Arts at NYU. The video was directed by PJ Yurcak one of the student filmmakers from Tisch and was showcased as part of a special screening of all the Tisch Videos in The Odessa Club, Dublin.

Single Of The Week: M83 Graveyard Girl

2009-06-18T14:28:00.003+01:00

M83 is the work of Anthony Gonzalez with the help of a few other musicians along the way. Graveyard Girl is currently part of the voting list for MTV2’s MySpace Chart. The lyrics are slightly bewildering (Dark Rags and Red Stars, She’s the dirty witch of her high school, She worships Satan like a father, But dreams of a sister like Molly Ringwald) and are startling contrast to the wispy almost dream like vocals.

There is a bit of an eighties feeling throughout the track which has borrowed traits from both the shoegazing and dream pop genres to produce a classic indie sound. What really struck me about Graveyard Girl is the monologue about half way through, while I have to admit the wording is slightly depressing it’s an interesting concept that lends an added depth to the track.

You can find out more about M83 on the MySpace at:

www.myspace.com/m83

This is the slightly off the wall video for Graveyard Girl

Music News

2009-06-17T19:10:00.005+01:00

Muse have announced that they will release their fifth album entitled The Resistance on September 14th. A tour will follow the album’s release including seven UK and Irish arena dates.

The Flaming Lips have revealed the title for they’re forthcoming 12th studio album. The album which is due for release in September is a double album entitled Embryonic.

Due to lack of a producer The Klaxons will not be releasing the follow up Myths of The Near Future until 2010. In a recent interview with BBC 6 Music frontman Jamie Reynolds stated that they have about 28 songs and are just about to put together a complete record and are looking for a producer.

Two new Uk Charts are to be launched. The Independents Breakers Singles and Albums Charts are aimed at showcasing alternative and indie artists. The first of these charts will be published on Monday June 29th.

Festival Survival Guide

2009-06-16T20:14:00.004+01:00

This time of year most of the newspapers, magazines, websites etc offer some kind of festival survival guide. They’re nearly all in the same vein offering advice about camping, what to and what not to bring with you and clothing choices. I particularly liked the one Drink Aware have available for download on they’re website. It’s much the same as the others but it has some great competitions to win tickets for some of the summer festivals including Oxegen and Castlepalooza.

http://www.drinkaware.ie/

Oxegen Update

2009-06-16T18:23:00.004+01:00

It’s a little over three weeks until Oxegen takes place and people are getting in the festival mood. It was announced yesterday that Carolina Liar, Jerry Fish & The Mudbug Club, That Petrol Emotion and The Artane Boys have been added to the line up. Usually more bands are added to the line up during the final run up to the event. So far this is what the line up looks like:

Friday 10th July

The Main Stage
Blur, Snow Patrol, The Script, Lily Allen, James, The Coronas, The Artane Boys Band.

Stage Two
Keane, Pendulum, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Duke Special, Therapy?, The Answer.

Heineken Green Spheres Stage
2 Many DJ’s, Republic Of Loose, Mogwai, Fight Like Apes, Dreadzone, God Is An Astronaut, Dirty Epics.

Dance Area
DeadMau5, Swedish House Mafia, Crookers, Tom Middleton, Aeroplane (DJ Set), Japanese Popstars, Frankmusik, BURNS.

Hot Press New Bands Stage
Spinnerette, Howling Bells, The Hours, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Mumford & Sons, Priscilla Ahn, O Emperor, The Truffle Shuffles.

IMRO New Sounds Stage
David Kitt, Heathers, The Joy Formidable, The Flaws, Yes Cadets, The Mighty Stef, Cashier No. 9, Ruth Anne Cunningham, The Brilliant Things, Home Star Runner, Stone Motion.

Saturday 11th July

The Main Stage
Kings Of Leon, Bloc Party, Elbow, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, James Morrison, The Blizzards, Squeeze, The Saw Doctors.

Stage Two
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Doves, The Mars Volta, Maximo Park, Eagles of Death Metal, The Game, The Gaslight Anthem.

Heineken Green Spheres Stage
Pet Shop Boys, TV On The Radio, Peter Doherty, Regina Spektor, The Saturdays, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, Daniel Merriweather, Gary Go.

Dance Area
Tiga, Boys Noize, Annie Mac, Digitalism, Yuksek, Dr Lektroluv, Popof, Don Rimini.

Hot Press New Bands Stage
The Airborne Toxic Event, Patrick Wolf, Passion Pit, Hockey, Little Boots, Sneaky Soundsystem, Go Audio, Magistrates, In Case Of Fire, Will and the People.

IMRO New Sounds Stage
Director, General Fiasco, St Vincent, Codes, And So I Watch You From Afar, Cap Pas Cap, Joe Echo, Nightbox, Angel Pier, Carosel, Jenna Toro.

Sunday 12th July
The Main Stage
The Killers, Razorlight, The Specials, Paolo Nutini, Lady Gaga, Calvin Harris, Ocean Colour Scene.

Stage Two
Nine Inch Nails, Jane’s Addiction, The Ting Tings, Katy Perry, White Lies, Starsailor, You Me At Six, The Horrors.

Heineken Green Spheres Stage
Manic Street Preachers, Glasvegas, Jason Mraz, Foals, Friendly Fires, That Petrol Emotion, Noisettes, Iglu And Hartly.

Dance Area
Felix Da Housecat, Miss Kittin & The Hacker (live), Fever Ray, MSTRKRFT, The Bloody Beetroots, Hudson Mohawke, Kissy Sell Out.

Hot Press New Bands Stage
The Twang, The Maccabees, Wallis Bird, Camera Obscura, The Virgins, Wild Beasts, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Phenomenal Handclap Band, The Chapters.

IMRO New Sounds Stage
Villagers, Wintersleep, Broken Records, Concerto For Constantine, Dark Room Notes, Blood Or Whiskey, The Chakras, The Jades, Andrew Hozier Byrne, Bone.

Also playing across the weekend on the Red Bull Music Academy Stage are:

Ladyhawke, M83, David Holmes Crystal Castles, Tinchy Stryder, Telepathe, Goldielocks, Florence And The Machine, Of Montreal, Casio Kids, Chloe, Lukid, 202’s, Defcon, Tuki, Mano le Tough, Colm Kenefic, Messiah J & The Expert, Johnny Moy, Jamie Woon, Mickey Dee, Onra, RSAG, Rory Donohue.

More acts may or may not be announced in the coming days/weeks. In other festival news although Sony will not be sponsoring the event, MCD have applied for a licence for this years Cois Fharraige. MCD are hoping to source funding for the festival elsewhere.

Single Review: I am not Left Handed Everybody Sleeps

2009-06-15T17:18:00.001+01:00

Everybody Sleeps is the latest offering from the brilliant I Am Not Left Handed. Starting off as a quiet, reflective track before becoming slightly louder Everybody Sleeps has a great low to high balance. The rhythms are catchy, the vocals vivid and the harmonies flawless.

Everybody Sleeps is available to download free of charge from the band’s website at:

http://www.iamnotlefthanded.com/everybodysleeps/

The Sunday Playlist

2009-06-14T14:39:00.007+01:00

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Heads Will Roll
East Hundred Slow Burning Crimes
Bell X1 The Boys Of Summer
The Blizzards First Girl To Leave Town
Phantom Planet In Our Darkest Hour
Fred Skyscrapers
Cowboy X Japanese Toy
Au Revoir Simone Lark
The Low Anthem To Ohio
God Help The Girl Come Monday Night

Lenka The Show

2009-06-13T18:41:00.001+01:00

I really like this song and this video. Watch out for the dancing tomatoes.

The Show

Sparks n 'Mind Released Today

2009-06-13T00:13:00.007+01:00

Sparks n’ Mind, put together by the final year students at The Sound Training Centre in Temple Bar was released today. Sparks n’ Mind is a collection of Irish musicians covering tracks that have inspired them. Proceeds from the album will go to Aware to aid the organisations work with depression. These are a few of the tracks included on the album:

The Flaws Killing Moon (Echo & The Bunnymen)
Ham Sandwich Stay (Shakespeare’s Sister)
Republic Of Loose God Moves On Water (Blind Willie Johnson)
Damien Dempsey The Heckler From Grouse Hall (Christy Moore)
Dave Couse Caroline, No (The Beach Boys)
Lisa Hannigan Courting Blues (Nick Drake)
Le Galaxie Maneater (Hall & Oates)
Cowboy X Gigantic (Pixies)
Dirty Epics Glory Box (Portishead)
Bell X1 No Retreat, No Surrender (Bruce Springsteen)

You can hear Ham Sandwich's cover of Stay over on the albums MySpace at:

www.myspace.com/sparksnmind

Priscilla Ahn Dream

2009-06-12T23:47:00.001+01:00

For some unknown reason I couldn’t upload this video earlier as part of Featured On Friday. This is Priscilla Ahn performing single Dream.

Featured On Friday: Priscilla Ahn

2009-06-12T13:46:00.003+01:00

Priscilla Ahn is an American singer-songwriter, musician and multi-instrumentalist. She has an incredible voice and plays a beautiful blend of acoustic folk rock. Ahn has had a pretty interesting career in The States and is fast becoming a well known name. To date she has sang with the likes of Joshua Radin and Amos Lee, opened for Jason Mraz and Brandi Carlile and had songs feature on hit US shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Ghost Whisperer and Brothers & Sisters.

Ahn released her debut album A Good Day this time last year in The States and is touring the European Festival circuit this summer, including an appearance at Oxegen. For anybody attending any of the festivals this year, I’d highly recommend seeing Priscilla Ahn live.

European Tour Dates
27 June Hard Rock Calling, London
28 June Glastonbury Festival, Glastonbury
29 June The Pigalle Club, London
30 June The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth
2 July Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam
3 July Rock Werchter Festival, Werchter
5 July Heineken Open’er Festival, Gdynia
7 July Zelt Music Festival, Freiburg
9 July Hultsfred Festival, Hultsfred
10 July Oxegen, Kildare
11 July T In The Park, Scotland
12 July North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam

You can find out more about Priscilla Ahn on her MySpace at:

www.myspace.com/priscillaahn

Declan O'Rourke & Ari Hest Tour Ireland

2009-06-11T18:52:00.003+01:00

Declan O’Rourke has announced dates for a mini tour of Ireland with Ari Hest. Hest is a singer songwriter from New York who has recently released new album Twelve Monkeys. I’ve seen O’Rourke live several times and I’ve heard and liked a good few of Hest’s songs. This is a tour I’m definitely looking forward to. Here are the dates:

July22nd Ballyvaughan Burren College of Art, Clare
July 23rd Trinity Rooms, Limerick
July 24th The Pavilion, Cork
July 25th Whelan’s, Dublin
July 26th Campbell’s Tavern, Headford Galway
July 30th The Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny
July 31st Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaoise
Aug 1st Cafferys, Oldcastle Co. Meath (part of the Le Cheile Festival)

Tickets for the tour are available from the venues

http://www.declanorourke.com/

http://www.arihest.com/

Single Of The Week: Pocket Promise Talkovertalking/ If Not The Tide Will Change

2009-06-11T15:34:00.004+01:00

This weeks Single Of The Week is actually two singles. A two track double A side from Pocket Promise entitled Talkovertalking/ If Not The Tide Will Change.

Talkovertalking with the softly accented vocals and guitar driven chorus is a must listen for any indie fan. The soaring choruses/ softer verses pattern of the track gives it a memorable feel. Its infectious radio friendly rock at it’s best.

If Not The Tide Will Change is a crushing, stirring declaration of heartbreak ‘you can’t deny a broken heart’ that really emphasizes lead singer Cormac Fee’s vocal range. The single opens with an impressive intro before becoming a quieter more somber affair and finally morphing into the emotive, sweeping anthemic ending.

Talkovertalking/ If Not The Tide Will Change will be available to download from Friday June 12th on Pocket Promise’s website at:

www.pocketpromise.com

Find out more about Pocket Promise on their MySpace at:

www.myspace.com/pocketpromise

Album Review: Dave Matthews Band Big Whiskey And The Groo Grux King

2009-06-10T20:21:00.004+01:00

‘If I was run over by a car now, then this album-none of the others-is my greatest single achievement besides my kids.’

The above quote was taken from a recent interview with Dave Matthews in the Sunday Times Newspaper. For those of you who don’t know who Dave Matthews is, here’s a quick back story. Dave Matthews is the man behind Dave Matthews Band who are an absolute phenomenon in The States. They’ve had countless albums enter the US chart at the top spot, had highly successful tours and to top it all off have had two Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavours named after them. Yet they’ve never really become a household name this side of the Atlantic, which brings me to the next quote from said interview.

‘But will we ever get his music?’

If I were to give you the long answer I’d end up trailing off into a rant about how I hate the term ‘get the music’ because music creates different reactions for different people. If I were to give you the short answer I’d be trying desperately to put it politely. So let’s concentrate on the album instead.

Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King is Dave Matthews Band seventh studio album and the one Matthews is convinced will make the band a household name this side of the Atlantic. That’s what will be the albums downfall. In his bid to impress possible new fans, he’s tried to hard and produced an album that has too much going on and to be quite frank is difficult to stick with. The album opens with a cool jazz track entitled Grux and immediately moves on to the rockier Shake Me Like A Monkey. My Baby Blue has a Damien Rice feel to it, if Damien Rice played contemporary Jazz while Squirm sounds almost new metal. Dive In is the most accomplished track on the album and Why I Am was my personal favourite. Throughout the album Matthews goes from high to low, loud to quiet and through quite a few genres on the way. It’s almost impossible to listen to in its entirety and definitely takes a few plays to get into.

So I’d have to disagree with Matthews and say that Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King isn’t the record that’s going to break Europe for the band but it may just become a classic in The States.

www.myspace.com/davematthewsband

Single Review: Hollow Towers Early Days

2009-06-09T19:34:00.002+01:00

From the opening line, even before the drum or vocal kicks in Early Days has immediately captured your attention for all the right reasons. It’s one of those tracks that gets under your skin and stays there. There’s no escaping the fact that Early Days is about heartbreak but it deals with it in an unconventional almost defiant way full of emotion in its rawest form.

The ingenuity of the lyrics and the genuine urgency of the song, which you can hear especially in lead singer Briby’s vocals on the chorus, gives Early Days its edge. Its gritty indie rock you can sink your teeth into. If you’re not defiantly proclaiming ‘Take my heart from the ground, give it a home again’ by the end, you will be by the second listen.

www.myspace.com/hollowtowers

State Of Jay

2009-06-08T14:11:00.005+01:00

Take five musicians with punk pop sensibilities, add some decks ,a little bit of rock, mix it all up in a blender and you get the colourful sonically pleasing explosion of raw energy that is otherwise known as State of Jay.

Hailing from Cork, State of Jay are influenced by the future and have already supported the likes of The Blizzards. What’s great about State of Jay is that their not trying to be a punk rock band or an electro pop band or a fusion of the two. They march to their own beat, drawing on a range of influences that produces music with a diverse flavour.

I particularly like this line from their MySpace:

“A succulent explosion through you're mind creating an episode of massive eruptions in you're eardrums.”

You can also sample some of State of Jay's tracks on their MySpace. Track to watch out for is Stay and Dance. It’s a rough live recording and has the sound of a future hit.

Which you can find at:

www.myspace.com/stateofjayband

Take a visit to their website at:

www.stateofjay.com

Album Review: Little Boots Hands

2009-06-07T20:26:00.004+01:00

Hands is a fair debut but I don’t think it’s the record the hype would have you believe it is. A lot of the tracks are love songs hiding behind electro beats and any of them would be perfectly at home on the Eurovision Stage. Not that theirs anything wrong with this, but there’s only so much you can take. The album opens with the strongest track ‘New in Town’, the current single and the source of all the hype around Little Boots. With its toe tapping rhythms and catchy lyrics it’s easy to fall in love with it.

The following few tracks (Earthquake, Stuck On Repeat, Click) start out great but fade into monotony before you even get to the chorus. The next track Remedy is more along the lines of what New in Town promised, along with Mathematics and the previously mentioned single it’s one of the stronger tracks on the album. After Mathematics the later half of the album falls into the same pattern of familiarity as the opening, with the exception of Tune Into My Heart which is somewhat better.

Hands is probably an album that you’ll listen to once maybe twice after you put New In Town on repeat for a few spins and before its banished to the CD rack. Still I’d have to say that it will sell pretty well on the back of the singles success.

Single Of The Week: Caleco Celebrate The Silence

2009-06-04T15:31:00.002+01:00

Caleco (formerly known as Idle Hands) release their first single under their new name tomorrow Friday June 5th. Caleco are a four piece rock band from Limerick who enjoyed great success with their debut album Ready For More in 2007. Judging from the sound of the new single their about to enjoy even more success with its release. Celebrate The Silence is a single that will appeal to all types of music fans. It has the perfect balance between rock and pop combined with great vocals and some fantastic riffs.

Celebrate The Silence is only available as a download from downloadmusic.ie and goes on sale tomorrow at 5 pm.

www.myspace.com/calecomusic

IMRO New Sounds Stage Line up annouced for Oxegen 09

2009-06-04T14:58:00.004+01:00

Oxegen and IMRO (Irish Music Rights Organisation) have announced the full line up for The New Sounds Stage 09.

Friday July 10th
David Kitt
Heathers
The Joy Formidable
The Flaws
Yes Cadets
The Mighty Stef
Cashier No. 9
Ruth Anne Cunningham
The Brilliant Things
Home Star Runner
Stone Motion

Saturday July 11th
Director
General Fiasco
St Vincent
Codes
And So I Watch You From Afar
Cap Pas Cap
Joe Echo
Nightbox
Angel Pier
Carosel
Jenna Toro

Sunday July 12th
Villagers
Wintersleep
Broken Records
Concerto For Constantine
Dark Room Notes
Blood Or Whiskey
The Chakras
The Jades
Andrew Hozier Byrne
Bone.

A great line up so if you’re going to oxegen don’t forget to pay a visit to the New Sounds Stage.

Something For The Weekend

2009-06-03T18:34:00.002+01:00

If you’re thinking of heading out this weekend here are some of the gigs taking place across the country

Dublin
Thursday June 4th The Purity Sessions
Friday June 5th Phantoms First @ ALT
Friday June 5th Funeral Suits Listen and Obey @ The Thomas House
Saturday June 6th Hired Hands Whelans
Sunday June 7th Colm Lynch Parkers Dundrum

Cork
Thursday June 4th Indiependence Festival Launch Cyprus Avenue
Friday June 5th Alterosa Crane Lane Theatre
Saturday June 6th The Kultz DeBaras

Galway
Thursday June 4th Classified The Volvo Ocean Race
Friday June 5th The Kanyu Tree Roisin Dubh
Saturday June 6th Bobo Roisin Dubh
Sunday June 7th No Banjo Roisin Dubh

Limerick
Friday June 5th Kiernan McMullan Dolans Warehouse
Saturday June 6th Crude Magazine Launch Bakers Place
Sunday June 7th LCD Soundsystem Pat Mahoney Trinity Rooms

Rodrigo Y Gabriela annouce Irish Dates

2009-06-03T14:18:00.001+01:00

Rodrigo y Gabriela have just announced two Irish dates for July to preview their new material from the forthcoming album. The acoustic rock duo will play Dolans Limerick on Tuesday July 28th and also have a date lined up for Cork. The new album which features 11 new tracks will be released the same weekend as they take to the Electric Area stage at Electric Picnic. This appearance has been confirmed for Friday the 4th of September.

Irish Summer Music Festivals

2009-06-02T19:14:00.004+01:00

I posted a round up of the International Summer Festivals that caught my eye yesterday and since the sun is still shining I thought I’d continue with the Festival theme. So here’s a round up of the Irish Music Festivals (besides Oxegen and Electric Picnic) that caught my eye.

The Surf and Music Festival runs from the 26th to the 28th of June in Bundoran. Headliners include Super Furry Animals, David Kitt and Kila. Tickets are priced at €35 for a day ticket and €53.50 for a weekend ticket.

More information can be found on the website at:

www.seasessions.com

La Cheila runs July 28th to August 2nd in Oldcastle Co. Meath. This festival has a great line up of Irish acts including Lisa Hannigan, Declan O’Rourke, Delorentos and many more. Tickets are priced at €100.

More information on the website at:

www.lecheile.com

Castlepalooza is back on the August Bank Holiday weekend in Offaly with another great line up. Acts performing include Dark Room Notes, Angel Pier and Nell Bryden. The two day ticket is priced at a very reasonable €89 and includes camping. They are also offering Couples Treat Yourself Tickets which you’d have to see to believe.

More information at:

www.castlepalooza.zom

Competing with Castlepalooza on the August Bank Holiday Weekend is The Indiependence Festival in Mitchelstown Co. Cork.The line up includes Ocean Colour Scene, Mundy, Super Furry Animals and a few of the acts listed for Castlepalooza, I can see a lot of mad dashes. A two day ticket is a bargain at €59 and a one day ticket is just €39.

More Information at:

www.mitchelstownfest.com

International Summer Music Festivals

2009-06-01T21:27:00.003+01:00

Yes folks it’s that time of year again, festival season. I’ve just spent most of the day in the sun listening to 2fm count down the top 100 Oxegen songs of 2009, with the good weather and music combo it definitely got me in the festival spirit. Oxegen has a great line up this year but to be entirely honest I don’t know if I could face it again. So full of the joys of the festival spirit I started looking into different music festivals in Europe. Here’s a round up of the ones that caught my eye.

The FM4 Frequency Festival takes place in St. Polten Austria from Thursday 20th to Saturday 22nd of August. With six stages, some excellent headliners including Radiohead and The Prodigy and a three day ticket priced at £79 (that’s about €92) I wouldn’t blame you for looking into flights.

More information here:

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/fm4/2009/

Pukkelpop (what a great name) takes place in Belgium on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of August. Headliners for this three day festival include Faith No More, Placebo and N*E*R*D. Also The Airborne Toxic Event are playing on the Friday and they are definitely worth seeing. Day tickets are priced at €75 and the combi ticket is priced at €135.

More information on the festival’s website at:

http://www.pukkelpop.be/

Roskilde runs in Denmark from July 2nd to 5th. A great line up including a load of Danish acts I’ve never heard of but will take a listen to during the week. Headliners include Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Kanye West and Nine Inch Nails. The Festival Ticket is priced at DKK 1785 + a fee (that’s about €240 plus the fee) and includes the warm up from June 28th to July 1st.

More information at Roskilde’s website at:

http://www.roskilde-festival.dk/

And if you really want to go far afield for the festival experience there’s the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan which takes place from July 24th to 26th. Headliners for this event include Weezer, The Killers and Oasis but with six stages and a diverse line up there’s something to suit all tastes. The three day ticket is ¥39,800 (that’s about €292) and we just won’t think about the cost of the flights.

More information here:

http://www.smash-uk.com/frf09/

Of course I haven’t mentioned the obvious international festivals such as Glastonbury, Rock Werchter, Bennicassim (only because it’s sold out, although there are some tickets left for Thursday)and Switzerland’s Greenfields which are of course well worth going to.

The Sunday Playlist

2009-05-31T16:26:00.004+01:00

In honour of the sun we rarely get to see, here are some of my favourite Summer Songs:

Weezer Island in the sun

Sheryl Crow Soak up the sun

Kiernan McMullan Borderline

Vega4 You and Me

Sparks' n 'Mind

2009-05-30T10:55:00.005+01:00

A new compilation album entitled Sparks’ n ‘Mind is set for release on Friday June12th and is in aid of Irish Charity Aware. Aware helps Irish people deal with the effects of depression, they run support and awareness programs for both sufferers of depression and their families all over Ireland. . Final year students at the Sound Training Centre in Temple Bar are behind the album and many of the songs were recorded at the centre’s Apollo Studios.

Sparks’ n ‘Mind will feature acts such as Cowboy X, Republic Of Loose, Dave Couse, The Flaws, Lisa Hannigan and Bell X1 who have recorded cover versions of some of their favorite songs. Songs by Nick Drake, Pixies, Portishead, Brian Wilson and Echo & The Bunnymen have been covered for the album.

A launch event for the album takes place in Tower Records, Wicklow Street Dublin on June 11th. Performances from Le Galaxie and Ham Sandwich have been confirmed with more acts to follow.

Single Of The Week : Snow Patrol The Planets Bend Between Us

2009-05-28T15:40:00.005+01:00

I’m a big Snow Patrol fan, I have been for years but if I’m brutally honest I’ll have to admit that I wasn’t a huge fan of latest album A Hundred Million Suns. It was slightly dull with a big radio hit that when you listened to it on the album; you were shocked to find that it really was an empty track that lacked a certain punch. I am of course referring to Take Back The City. After Eyes Open which I think was their most accomplished release to date, it was a huge let down.

That being said A Hundred Million Suns had one saving grace and that was The Planets Bend Between Us. To me it’s a track that spoke of the kind of album A Hundred Million Suns might have been if they had recovered the spark that went into Eyes Open. A reworked version of The Planets Bend Between Us was released as a single this week and I have to say that I still love it. It’s only available as a download and well worth checking out. If you’re an iTunes fan you can also download a special iTunes bundle which features The Planets Bend Between Us and non album song Reading Heaney To Me.

Snow Patrol The Planets Bend Between Us (Single Version)

Album Review: The Resistance Bag of Bones

2009-05-27T13:50:00.005+01:00

Bag of Bones is the debut album from Dublin five piece The Resistance. It’s an album that in many ways has managed to cater to all musical tastes, but more than that it’s an album that makes you feel and think. With lyrics like ‘How long is a piece of string that holds us together? Precious is the glue that binds and makes us feel better' and ‘Are you happy with what you have? Do you know who I think I am?’ it’s hard not to sit in contemplation.

Opening track Better I take a Breather is a cool, jazzy number and reminds me somewhat of Athlete’s early work. While title track Bag of Bones has a bit of a Duke Special/Neil Hannon moment. A good choice for the opening tracks as they are two completely different tracks that immediately catch the listeners’ attention leaving them wondering what direction the next track will take. Cue the somewhat softer, more pop orientated 10 Step Plan.

The album also features some great radio friendly tracks like, To Have And To Hold, Spinning Tops and Show Me A World To Love which has an excellent intro, the kind of first glance, slow motion world stopping moment music you hear in romance films. Spinning Tops has a summery feel to it, the kind of track you could easily play at full blast while driving around with the windows open on a sunny day. The Water, Half The Burden and Dug In have a rockier sound that will appeal to people who like their music darker and edgy.

Although most of the album’s strength lies in its diversity and ability to offer something for every music fan, it’s the appealing lyrics and catchy melodies that will keep you coming back for more. Overall Bag Of Bones is a strong and talented debut.

www.myspace.com/theresistancedublin

Fred Keep Me Clear

2009-05-26T22:21:00.002+01:00

Directed /animated by Leo Kavanagh and taken from their latest album Go God Go this is Fred’s new video for Keep Me Clear.

A Starlight Incident

2009-05-26T15:42:00.003+01:00

A Starlight Incident is Oregon native Trevor Schmidt’s musical alter ego. Trevor formed A Starlight Incident in 2008 and has recently released an EP entitled Mixtape Genesis. A Starlight Incident’s sound is one part alternative, one part pop and one part rock. What’s different about A Starlight Incident is that he manages to produce this sound acoustically, that’s no mean feat and he does it well. It’s catchy; sing a long, dance like no ones watching music.

Here’s a bit of Background on A Starlight Incident:

Trevor grew up with the Oregon Music Scene. He has attended Oregon State University where he pursued a degree in English. Trevor credits most of his song writing ability to creative writing and poetry classes where he learned that ‘expression is the key to success’. He played multiple shows with Jamestown Story and was the Concert Director at Oregon State University’s Memorial Union Program Council before he started A Starlight Incident.

You can find out more about A Starlight Incident and hear some songs from Mixtape Genesis on MySpace at:

www.myspace.com/astarlightincident

Mixtape Genesis is available on itunes

A Starlight Incident Her Photographic Life

The Dirty 9s Sexo Infermo

2009-05-25T14:45:00.001+01:00

There’s a lot of covers of ‘Sex on Fire’ going around, but how many have you seen in Spanish? This is Dublin band The Dirty 9s take on the hit. Enjoy!

Featured on Friday: The Troublemakers

2009-05-22T22:55:00.005+01:00

The Raw Sessions have gotten together with some old and some new faces of the Irish music scene to recreate the Horslips legendary ‘Trouble with a capital T’ track. Now those of you, who like me have gone all recessionary and spend their Friday Nights in front of the magical tellybox, have probably already caught The Troublemakers live performance of the track on tonight’s Late Late Show.

The Troublemakers feature members from The Blizzards, Republic of Loose, Brian Hogan, Kevin Godley and some former members of The Horslips. While the single is available to download from today, the special Charity version of The Raw Sessions, where you will see all the behind the scenes work that went into the single, won’t air until June 9th on RTE 2 at 23.45.

Trouble with a capital T is in aid of The Irish Youth Foundation and can be downloaded at:

www.therawsessions.ie

www.downloadmusic.com

Single of The Week: Joe Echo If I Were A Boy

2009-05-21T18:34:00.005+01:00

Joe Echo aka the wonderfully talented Ciaran Gribbin released this cover of Beyonce’s If I Were A Boy back in March. Gribbin started out his music career as the singer/songwriter in Belfast’s Leya, who unfortunately called it a day after nearly eight years back in 2007. Since then Gribbin has been releasing his music under the name Joe Echo.

A little excerpt from his website

‘I want the Joe Echo sound to be upbeat, groove orientated but like the Leya sound I want it to be real, and passionate…Basically I’m trying to make music that moves your heart and soul as well as your feet!’

This is a great cover track. It’s not completely reworked and overdone to the point where you have no clue what the original song is, or what exactly the musician is trying to achieve. It’s a simple, understated version that lends itself well to the song and gives Gribbin’s vocals a chance to shine.

Catch Joe Echo Live
May 28th Live on The Ray Darcy Show, Today FM
May 29th Waterfront Hall supporting James Morrison, Belfast
May 30th Whelans Upstairs, Dublin
Jun 12th O Keefs supporting Republic of Loose, Clonmel Tipperary
Jun 26th Dolans, Limerick
Jul 18th An Grainan Theatre supporting the Inishowen Gospel Choir, Letterkenny

Joe Echo performing If I were a boy/If God was one of us at 2fm Sessions

www.joeecho.com

www.myspace.com/joeecho

Hot Press Competition

2009-05-21T16:04:00.002+01:00

Fancy playing at Castle Palooza? Hot Press are offering an unsigned act the chance to get on the music festivals line up. How? Simply send them one song.

You can either email one mp3 to playatpalooza@hotpress.ie

Post a CD of one song to Play at Palooza, Hot Press, 13 Trinity Street, Dublin 2.

Don’t forget to include your contact details and you can find out more information on hotpress.com.

Good Luck

Castle Palooza takes place on August 1st and 2nd at Charleville Castle, Co. Offaly.

Music News

2009-05-20T20:16:00.001+01:00

James are set to play a pre Oxygen date, July 8th at the Academy.

James Sit down

Blur have announced that they will be releasing a compilation album this summer. Midlife: A Beginners Guide to Blur goes on sale June 15th.

Limerick band Caleco will release new single ‘Celebrate The Silence’ on June 5th.

Sixteen Layers are planning to showcase the ‘Into the Hurricane’ documentary at their June 12th Sugar Club date.

And finally Hoarsebox’s video for Rosey

Free Delorentos Download

2009-05-19T19:21:00.004+01:00

The Delorentos are offering a free download. Click the link to download You Can Make Sound:

http://www.delorentos.net/youcanmakesound