The Winter Passing
For fans of: Yuck, Candy Hearts, Cloud Nothings

As one of Ireland's most exciting bands, Tipperary natives The Winter Passing have had a significant weight of expectation thrusted on their young shoulders in recent times; and whilst for some this expectation can turn into pressure, The Winter Passing use it as rocket fuel on 'Significance', their latest single and possibly best release to date.

A DIY band at heart, they've built a loyal following through tours with the likes of Modern Baseball, The Front Bottoms and Moose Blood, achieving plaudits wherever they've been. Explosive live shows, palpable energy and radiant enthusiasm prove integral to The Winter Passing experience, a difficult thing to capture on record. On this occasion they manage to do so effortlessly, as brother and sister vocalists Rob and Katie Flynn sound happier than ever before, even if their lyrics tell a different story.


'Significance', their first release since debut LP 'A Different Space Of Mind', is proof this is a band evolving at their own pace and on their own terms, as shimmering guitars merge beautifully with a driving bass line. Lyrically we see shades of self doubt dipped in colour as Rob sings "Sunshine follows my lonely mind, hold your hand til you let go...". 

We also hear one of the most uplifting chorus' of the year so far, as Katie Flynn's resplendent vocals explode alongside the noise beneath them. We hear clever dynamics at play too, making you wait for the final burst before fading to black.


A fresh and exciting step on from their first record, 'Significance' somehow manages to feel nostalgic too, as if the soundtrack to a happy time you've never had (or haven't had yet).

As an introduction to new EP 'Double Exposure' (released 21st April), this is a near perfect first impression.

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Pre order 'Double Exposure' here.

'Cicatrix' 
Various Artists / Over The Hill Collective
For fans of: The Travelling Wilburys, Kate Bush, Tom Petty

Based in the Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast, the 'Over The Hill Collective' are a band of older musicians collaborating and writing original music purely for the love of it.

The brain child of Oh Yeah's outreach development officer and lead guitarist Paul Kane, the concept grew out of a desire to get older musicians involved in music in a safe, exciting and productive environment. Together they write and record original albums entirely from scratch, with each member contributing a track.

As wonderful a concept as that is, the reality of taking a group of musicians, who haven't been playing together for very long, and expecting them to gel on a record together, is always going to be a tall order. Thankfully 'Cicatrix' proves to be a boisterous, spirit raising throwdown with enough heart to keep you listening straight through to the end...


What makes 'Cicatrix' such a joy to listen to is it's utter spontaneity. Any preconceptions you may have about an album written by a group called 'The Over The Hill Collective' is thrown out the window completely by Bernard Jackson's foot to the floor opener 'Next Time'; An upbeat strummer that could sit as comfortably on an Elvis Costello record as it could on (wait for it) the latest Weezer album, as is Rivers Cuomo's love of The Beach Boys and classic pop melodies.

Other highlights include the hauntingly beautiful ragtime of Liz Kelly's 'Jump In', which warns of the choppy waters of a failed relationship. All the while Kelly's theatrical charm remains reminiscent of American pop songstress Regina Spektor, a fifties swinging beat gently tiding the track to it's conclusion.

Paul Kane's own contribution 'Wash My Hands' provides a folk-driven stomp to proceedings, complete with the most catchy chorus about someone coping with OCD as your likely to hear this year. Elsewhere Rab Wishart's country-tinged ode to missing home could be straight out of a Disney film, whilst Neil Lavery and Danielle Ireland's 'If I Could' brings a floating Pink Floyd-effect to an album brimming with influences from across the decades, and most genres.

'Ultimatly 'Cicatrix' is a record of such unbridled, eclectic, joy that it's near impossible not to take something away from it. It serves as an example too, that it's never to late to go after your dreams, as summed up perfectly by twenty one pilots frontman Tyler Joseph during his Grammys acceptance speech recently;

For more information on Over The Hill & how you can get involved, click here.

Listen to 'Cicatrix' on Spotify here: //open.spotify.com/album/2KXr36Aif6aaoUy8vsIHGS

The Oh Yeah Music Centre's fantastic Women's Work project is coordinating a fun, exciting and ambitious photo call on Saturday 11th March!

They are inviting as many women involved in music and other creative projects as possible to be in a photo which will then go on to feature in an upcoming festival booklet, to be launched at the end of March (date tbc). Dates and content for Women's Work will all be revealed at the launch.

The final photo will also be added to the walls of the Oh Yeah Music Exhibition. 

Want to get involved? Simply turn up at the Oh Yeah Music Centre with a piece of paper stating your name, job title and/or involvement with music; this is in order to ensure you get a mention in the booklet. 

Don't miss out!

Date: Saturday 11th March
Time: 3pm-4pm
Location: Oh Yeah. 

Name: Life Goals
For fans of: PUP,  Joyce Manor, The Menzingers
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Belfast three piece Life Goals have returned to the studio in fine form, unleashing new single 'Alright' into the world just before their latest tour announcement.

A hook-laden suck punch of a track, lyrically we hear frontman Decky McBride wrestling with the truth, and what he wants to be the truth."He could be corrupted, but he could be convinced...that everything's alright", as Life Goals third person storytelling is allowed the space to make it's deserved impact.


Catch Life Goals live here:

30/03 Galway, Roisin Dubh with Anna's Anchor
31/03 Dublin, Fibber Magees with Anna's Anchor
01/04 Belfast, The Barge with Empty Lungs and Anna's Anchor07/04 Limerick, The Loft with Empty Lungs and Anna's Anchor

Name: Paper/Boy
For fans of: Robocobra Quartet, Cloud Nothings, The Libertines

When I think back to being fifteen/sixteen few things of any significance come to mind.

Football until dark, my first solo trips to Belfast to meet friends, perhaps? The most creative plans I had were to avoid doing homework! Yet hidden somewhere in the tranquil hills of Donegal is 'Paper/Boy', a ferociously ambitious two-piece of that age, creating exciting, fuzzed-up punk with a message.

Unlike punk two-pieces who have came before, (Slaves, Drenge, Royal Blood etc.) Paper/Boy have no clear frontman/drummer dynamic. Instead beat maker Lochláinn Kelly and guitarist Joshua McNutt share both the stage and vocal duties in perfect harmony, the Donegal duo's equal enthusiasm breathing life into songs that seem both lyrically and musically mature beyond their young years.

Having caught them at a recent gig up North, the bands confidence was clear from the first fuzzed chords of Talking Heads' classic, 'Psycho Killer', before a barrage of original material already well developed.



Amongst those original tracks 'Guerilla Therapy's gently swinging verses and Libertines-y chorus stood out a mile. The dry wit of the lyric shows tremendous promise too, songwriter Lochláinn Kelly's emo-tinged knack for a one-liner evoking the same sort of maudlin prose Dylan Baldi made his own on Cloud Nothing's debut 'Turning Off'.



Indeed the similarities between the two projects seem intertwined at times, both have a passion for the rougher edges of indie, whilst holding on to the pop melodies of the bands which inspired them. In Paper/Boy's case, this is the likes of Bell X1, Radiohead and most devotedly, Car Seat Headrest, the emotional boundaries of Kelly's prose becoming all the more obvious with each reference point.

Provided they continue to channel their inner-punks in the polite, articulate manner they have so far, anything could happen to Paper/Boy. Their bare wit captured the crowd at their most recent gig, whilst the energy kept them there.

Though few musicians manage to hang on to the same band they were in since the age of fifteen, Paper/Boy have something undeniably exciting. You can be sure these two young punks will be dishing out tinnitus for years to come.

M Y L K
For fans of: Weezer, Los Campesinos!, The Muffs

M Y L K are the sound of a Summer day slowly fading into the evening. Vibrant and glorious, yet tinged with the sadness of knowing it can't quite last forever.

'Are You Happy?' is a record painting an honest picture of love, self doubt and the reality of life in the 21st Century. Straddling the line between sincerity and irony is a tough game to play, but one M Y L K do brilliantly over the course of four tracks, each with their own story to tell.

It's an emotional bombardment from the very first line, which see's frontman Brendan Seamus channel his inner Frank Skinner, dropping  poignant social commentary all over his band's infectious energy. Whilst opening a record with the line "Wish I didn't miss you anymore"is a refreshingly honest approach on it's own, to do so over the top of punchy-indie guitars and an uptempo drum beat keeps things cheeky, but meaningful, a recurring theme on this full throttle EP.

If 'Sad and Lonely's doomed romance sets a bleak scene, the title track doesn't do much to bring things back from the brink for our plucky protagonist. A banging indie-pop anthem, this time fronted by Empty Lungs guitarist Kevin Jones, 'Are You Happy?'s sweet harmonies and charming riffs disguise the fight 'to get better' that goes on throughout the track, albeit with their tongue placed firmly in cheek.



'At A Loss' follows a similar pattern, in probably the most infectious pop song about alcoholism you'll hear this year. For a finalé, we find 'Slane Girl', a song so desperately needed in today's rapidly regressing society that it's words catch fire from the very first listen. This melancholic tale of a girl humiliated at a music festival packs an emotional punch that the other songs on this record flirt with, without exploring in quite as much detail.

As I'm brought back to that fading Summer day, I have to say yes.

Taylor Johnson