If I could have been at Belfast's Oh Yeah Centre from 7pm, believe me I would have. The prospect of a line-up featuring Dublin's answer to Hole (Kate's Party), great quality pop punk (thank you, Dream Awake) & a big ol' slice of hardcore (The Geneva Experiment) looked a tantalizing prospect. Thankfully, my House Of Fraser name tag in hand, I managed to get down just in time to catch 'The Sea, Close By's headline set.

This was undoubtedly a big gig for the band. Not that long into a new name, new line-up and an array of new material, their readjustment period wasn't necessarily over, coming into this. What those at The Oh Yeah Centre witnessed, however, was a display of total confidence in their new form. Relaxing into a set of both old and new, 'The Sea, Close By' shimmered as headliners here. Quick to thank the tireless work of the Volume Control team and their fellow musicians for opening proceedings, it was great to see a band so totally at ease.

Latest single 'The Modern Mercury' was given a new lease of life, as the acoustics of it's current recording was replaced by pulsating drums and some Billy Corgan styled guitar work from Alastair Greyson; all the while bassist Kate Cannon's haunting vocal are left to simply carry the song. It's not a million miles away from 'His New Atlas' and sounds excellent here.

Songs from the bands Paper Man era were also given a run-out, and it was here the crowd really started erupting to the bands definitive alt-sound. 'Poetry's electricity picked up the pace, whilst heavier number 'Kissy Face' kept things frantic, the audience really getting into things now. Then came 'Like TV', a personal favorite and a great example of the maturity of Greyson's songwriting.




'Eyes' too, sounded reinvigorated here. Raw, punchier and considerably more angry than previous live renditions, whether the band were feeding off the energy of the crowd or simply in the zone, this was proving a special night for those in attendance.

Now pretty exhausted, it looked as though The Sea, Close By had given everything they had to their audience (including a stray Wispa bar to one guy who looked as though he'd actually passed out. He didn't though. He was fine.), but they weren't finished yet. Closing number 'Collisions', a song older than the band itself, is simply brilliant. Tonight, it is better than brilliant, it is anthemic, and by the end of the night here in Belfast everybody knows it.

Name: SALAD BOYZ
Genre: Salad-Core//Grunge-Punk 
For Fans Of: The Descendants, Weezer, Parquet Courts
Location: Belfast
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SALAD BOYZ really couldn't care less what you think. The four piece, born out of a mutual love of punk and riffs (and seemingly salad) have came out of nowhere on a four man mission to shake up the local music scene. 'IT'S ALIIIIVE!!!' follows the feel and energy of the 'plastic America' backlash of the early to mid 90's. Seattle had Nirvana, Boston had Pixies, hey even the disconnected LA kids had Weezer to hold onto. These band's sang about their angst towards the looming 21st century with wit and charm, even when it was masked beneath a sea of feedback. One feels SALAD BOYZ roots lie firmly within this turning tide, screaming for change and the man to fuck off.

'IT'S ALIIIIVE!!!' is a live Ep of real warmth, character and frightening energy. Showcasing the band's debut gig, in all it's raucous glory. was a clever move and with each listen more details emerge of this mysterious, underground act. 'LoudCrowdWowed' is a distortion heavy, jump and down call to arms; frontman Tommy Haghighi's lyrics remaining brilliantly relateable throughout. 'Dankatron 20000' see's The Descendants influence begin to emerge, as a punk-styled melee erupts. The prospect of a room full of people singing this back to the band is very exciting indeed. Even 'Balls', encompassing 15 seconds of screaming, has a charm you can't really explain. Think 'Crash & the Boys' classic 'I Am So Sad, So Very, Very Sad' from Scott Pilgrim VS The World. 'Gone Fishin' follows a similar path (including the brilliant line 'Salad powered so efficient') . Then, out of nowhere, you're hit with 'T-4-2' and everything you thought you knew about this band is thrown out the proverbial window once more.

A simplistic, Pixie's style strummer, 'T-4-2' is a simply beautiful ode to  life's darker times. Again, Haghighi's introspective lyricism cuts deep here, but when wrapped around lead guitarist Simon Gilbert's strikingly melodic lead line, a feeling of hope remains above water. There's even room for some harmonious backing vocals from bassist C-More Major, who's falsetto compliment's Haghighi's dynamic style excellently. (A Plastic Rose-esque, perhaps?)

  'Empty' too, stands out on this record. More aggressive than it's predecessors, 'Empty' see's the SALAD BOYZ frontman claim he's 'not eloquent enough to explain this pain' ~ on the contrary, it's his 'heart on his sleeve' style that will see their fan base grow. Held together by an exhilarating performance from drummer Michael Alexander, who remains steadfast under every potential pitfall of this debut, 'Empty' must surly have been marked down as a set closer from the second it was written. Punchy, forceful and clearly emotional, it's a sign of just what SALAD BOYZ could become.

Eat your greens, SALAD BOYZ are aliiiive and kicking.

Name: Fleece
Genre: Alt-Psychedelia 
For Fans Of: Pixies, The War On Drugs, Yuck
Location: Montreal
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Some guys form a band in Montreal and release an Ep. Nobody really cares. Those same dudes make a homemade video eating rice cakes and showing just how easy it is to write an Alt-J song. The video goes viral ~ the band gets noticed, and then 'Wake and Bake', their latest single, gets re-recorded and an album follows. Everybody cares.

As band history's go, the story of 'Fleece' is a lot more Scott Pilgrim, than Oasis ~ but that doesn't mean they haven't had to work for their new found success, nor that they're anywhere near where they want to be yet. 'Wake and Bake' is the trippy first release from an album sticking out beautifully in a world where nothing seems original anymore. Hazy, lackadaisical and dripping in nonchalance, 'Wake and Bake'  sounds like that song your older, much cooler cousin Kenny used to play at his house parties back in 1994. It's got that great dynamic of sounding new and exciting, but weirdly nostalgic. There's even room for a gloriously messy breakdown, with time signatures temporarily forgotten and some sort of jazz-inspired bass line dancing through the cracks. 

All things considered, this is as strong a debut as Fleece could have hoped for. It could be for them what 'Get Away' was for Yuck ~ an indie-rock crossover into the mainstream. Their debut album, 'Scavenger' is great too ~ even if it requires a little patience. That said, even those that don't 'get' Fleece, will probably want to be them, and that is a truly great sign indeed.

'Wake and Bake' is a pretty high bar for Fleece to vault over for their next release, but why not aim high?

Name: Rory Nellis
Genre: Alt-rock
For Fans Of: Pete Doherty, Jeff Buckley, Elliot Smith
Location: Belfast
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Rory Nellis has been a prominent name in the Northern Irish music scene for some time now. As the face and voice of the seriously great Seven Summits, Nellis' grunge-pop songs slowly evolved over the years into it's own niche. On debut solo album 'Ready For You Now' we see a greater cohesion, a finer balance between the tracks; Whilst 'Outdoorsman' really stands out.

With it's Jeff Buckley styled introduction and stunning string-section, 'Outdoorsman' is an isolated ode to the Summer, tragic and powerful. It feels cinematic, and certainly wouldn't look out of place on a Bond soundtrack. Whether that's what the songwriter was going for here is another matter.

Vocally, it's a passionate effort, every bit as alluring as those early Seven Summit's recordings. Where Nellis will go from here is anyone's guess ~ thankfully he seems anything but short of ideas.

Today all female supergroup 'Go Girl' released the music video for a single supporting the world-wide  'Free The Nipple' campaign. A synth-led, hook heavy tune, the wondefully titled 'Boobs' is actually a pretty catchy tune ~ but that's almost irrelevant compared to the positive work these creative woman are doing for Belfast!

Fronted by the Wonder Villains Cheylene Murphy, Go Girl's ethos is incredibly simple; it's a club for girls to get together, support eachother and try to make a difference through the arts and self expression.

Interested in being a Go Girl? Click here!

And check out the official music video below, featuring Bee Mick See.

Name: Craft Work
Genre: Trip-hop, Neo-classical
For Fans Of: Robocobra Quartet, Rob Dougan, Moby
Location: Belfast
Facebook//Twitter ~ n/a

There are times I feel some what unqualified, (naive perhaps?) in trying to analyse the sound made by Chris Ryan. His sense of spacial awareness within his music, the ever expanding distance between the light and the heavy; it's all a bit much at times. Lyrically, again, I am occasionally left some degree of self-doubt. Am I really understanding this? Is this what he means? Having got to know Ryan relatively well over the last two years, I can now confidently conclude that his answer to these thoughts would be to not overthink it ~ and so I won't. 'Three Songs' is a beautifully pieced together collection of sample-heavy tracks linked by the authors growling poetry at the microphone.

'Car Crash #1' sounds like the cinematic sequel to Robocobra Quartet's 'Bomber'. There's an underlying intensity matching it's title, percolated by Ryan's hypnotic, iron cast drum beat. It has the brooding intensity of an old war documentary, so very menacing. Ryan has his finger hovering above the self destruct button throughout. Will he press it? Well, er, no, but it's a strong start none the less and sounds better with more than one listen.

Follow up 'The Major' continues this dangerously uneasy-feeling, and we are beginning to wonder if Chris Ryan has some deep lying post-war stress disorder. Whether or not the drummer//producer had intentionally wanted to take us back to 1944 is anyone's guess ~ but it's an interesting thought.


Regardless, the rising and falling of the string section in this song is truly beautiful, particularly around the 1:36 mark. To us, this is a journey to the edge of the human mind. Again filled with a dark foreboding, Ryan does just enough to stop himself falling off the edge.

Climaxing in fine fashion, 'Different Trains' is Ryan's take on the anthemic, again led by a remarkable string section. Percussion wise, Ryan again judges things perfectly, a trip-hop 90's vibe making it's way to the surface. There's some lyrical gems in here too, the way with which Ryan shouts them adding to their carefully orchestrated triumphant feel. Never gratuitous, the passion with which 'Different Trains' is sung is as if he's screaming in the face of the universe ~ as if he's daring time to prove him wrong.