Reassurances from a departed love, ancient Irish folk and unabashed anger at Satan himself combine at lightspeed on Joshua Burnside’s sophomore record ‘Into The Depths Of Hell’. Somewhere amidst the melting pot of sounds, Paul Simon-esque African groove can be found mingling with a post-punk atmosphere (And You Evade Him/Born In The Blood). In the darker corners his banjo from embryonic (but still...
Unmistakably Burnside. Undeniably brilliant.
The calypso rhythms and tales from lands afar are buried like treasure, Joshua Burnside has left Ephrata and entered the depths of Hell. What does it sound like? A mesmeric darkness, shadowed by the Irish conflict and traditions 3000 miles closer to home than his debut NI Music Prize winning album.
New single War On Everything (released August 14th...
The world of former More Than Conquerors axe-swingers Kris Platt and Danny Ball have been perpetually in motion since their decision to leave the mosh pits behind in 2019.
Kris' hiatus to France was cut short when songwriting supremo Ciaran Lavery requested his services on lead guitar, and before long he was preoccupied with smashing his own Spotify algorithms in electro-indie project Blue Am...
"Life ain't always empty" sings Grian Chatten over rattling guitars and a hypnotic drum groove. He means it too.
The title track to his band Fontaines DC's new album, A Hero's Death shakes it's head at a planet Earth designed to make you feel like shit. It's a call to arms against self-hatred, a self-proclaimed 'list of rules for the self', spat out in his trademark southern accent. Since Fon...
The Maiden City may have a rich history of punk and anarchic tradition, but with acts such Reevah, Roe and Our Krypton Son balancing the books in 2020, the sound of modern day Derry is more rounded than it's ever been.
White Sun comes from Our Krypton Son's incoming 3rd record Modern Ruins, featuring broad brushstrokes from producer/conductor Ryan Vail. It makes for a beautifully textured rec...
Bleeding Heart Pigeons evoke the foreboding, twisted indie of Jesus and Mary Chain, Echo and the Bunnymen and Radiohead, on a record that delivers on the promise of their debut and intensifies the emotion.
In 2016, Bleeding Heart Pigeons were a major label act, signed to Virgin Records and promised the world. In the turbulent landscape of 2020, now independent, they sound more assured than e...
Denise Chaila is making a habit of writing razor sharp, multi-cultural witticisms in her music.
A voice of increasing importance in the Irish hip-hop scene, Chaila first burst into the musical conscious of many with her live streamed performance with fellow MC God Knows at the National Gallery of Ireland, for Other Voices’s Courage series. (If you've not saw the performance, click here. )
Wh...
Are you wondering what was happening in Dundalk the other day? So were we.
This was a story featuring a rogue hip-hop group, an Irish trad band, and a former staff writer for the Irish Independent. Ready? Allow us to explain...
UCD masters graduate and award winning journalist Gemma O'Doherty is a controversial figure in Ireland. Alongside her journalistic credentials, she is the leader of ...
I would rather live in a world with Notes On A Conditional Form, The 1975's new juggernaut LP, than without it.
The world is a better place for bold visions, and those brave enough to follow through with them. On their fourth album Matty Healy and co have delivered a record of remarkable juxtaposition, perhaps the first true musical representation of the 21st century. There’s trip-hop, anarch...
As co-founder of Burner Records, producer-MC Sick Nanley is rarely far from Ireland's newest cultural movement. Hip-hop in the South is a fast growing enterprise, with new artists emerging every week adding fuel to it's growing fire. In the North, Mabfield collective has blew up, shining a light on alternative culture and new sounds, while artists like Jordan Adetunji, Tebirex and more are pavi...
Sometimes years of hard work, ruthless dedication and perfect timing conspire to create something outstanding. Occasionally, the sheer fact that it's brilliant is enough. In Joel Harkin's case, the pendulum of graft and ability sits at peace in the middle, with 'Never Happy', his debut record, the fruits of a life addicted to music.
On first listen, 'Never Happy' already feels essential. Unl...
In the indie-movie I'm perpetually starring in in my own head, 'Oh No, Give Up' is the song playing as I return to my childhood home.
After years away, you'd expect it to have changed. Not so. The trees stand as tall as I remember, the garden shed still the perfect hiding spot for hide and seek. The only discernible difference, is the slip 'n' slide my siblings and I spent hours on is gone. M...
If you're looking for divine inspiration during lockdown season, or at least a reason to turn off the news and go outside, Swimmers Jackson provide it all in 'Summer's Here'; the meandering, Fleet Foxes under-water sounding second track on their new album 'Murmuration'. A Dublin summer is encased in amber, preserved forever amidst Irish multi-instrumentalist (and former Bouts bassist) Niall Jac...
"I want to be more accomplished...I wanna be like you, I wanna have a big IQ and have a kid like who would want to fill my shoes, you always pushed me to know more than what I think I do"
When young Dublin rapper JyellowL crossed paths with Scottish/Irish electro-pop duo SIIGHTS all the ingredients for a heartbroken banger were in place. Still, it takes real skill to tie it all together and on...
"I've had my fair share of conversations with twisted metal and broken glass, but if lightning is gonna strike me twice, this time I'm gonna do it right."
Where do you start with Joshua Burnside? The enigmatic, alt-folk songwriter is somewhat an alien force these days. Since 2018's award winning breakout 'Ephrata', he has traveled the globe, been streamed in the millions online and offered pre...
It's hard to imagine sometimes, that there was a world before this.
A connected humanity. An interactive society. We were doing so well, weren't we? Like anything, it's easy to romanticise the past, and with most of planet Earth stricken by the worst infectious outbreak since the 1800's, we are understandably desperate to resume some semblance of 'normal life'; but it wasn't all roses pre-C...
10 years ago Philip Watts d'Alton's band 'John, Shelly and the Creatures' were the folk pantheon of the NI Music scene. Their debut record 'Dinosaur' was a Neil Young shaped, epic road trip. Starry eyed and smelling of campfire smoke, it's magnificent lead single 'Long May You Reign' will forever be synonymous with Irish beauty spots, soundtracking a 'Discover Ireland' TV campaign. If there w...
Joel Harkin is on a roll.
When the Donegal native first arrived in Belfast, he was as aspiring a songwriter as any. Not anymore, now he's the real thing. The release of debut EP 'Rosewater' in 2018 showcased Harkin's natural wit and conversationalist tone. At live shows, he garnered a reputation as a truly unique performer, talking to the audience in two facets. Firstly, in the space in-betw...
When Derry punk-trio Cherym released 'Abigail' earlier this year, the game changed.
A dynamic, pop-punk punch to the throat, 'Abigail's penchant for sparking a singalong was obvious from the first riff. The nuances were subtle, the delivery biting and when you've a chorus that good, it's difficult to get things wrong. On debut EP 'Mouthbreatherz', we heard a band finding their feet, albeit wit...
A dark, self-effacing portrayal of a modern life more alien than the one Damon Albarn and co declared 'rubbish' in 1993, Junk Drawer's debut arrives in the midst of a global pandemic. With much of the housebound world uncertain of its future, the timing couldn't be better.
Framed through the eyes of Junk Drawer's dynamic songwriting duo, brothers Stevie and Jake Lennox, 'Ready For The House' ...
Approximately 2,368 miles from Belfast, 20 year old songwriter Rio was dreaming of joining a jazz band.
Like Amy Winehouse before her, Rio's pop-ambitions were secondary to the simple art of self-expression; a shy exterior hiding a voice of nostalgic vulnerability. Upon her return, the singer placed an ad to turn the dream into reality; Meanwhile, like a twist from a Jennifer Egan novel, Newr...
As the ripple of COVID-19 careens across the world, it’s forcing humankind to innovate and change the way we live. We have already looked at the immediate impact the virus is having on the scene, but what might the future hold for music? Here we make 7 musical predictions for a world with Covid-19 left behind.
1. Live gigs return with a bang
There was a time, in the early to mid-2000's, wh...
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