A Litany of Failures: Volume II review – The best of Irish indie

A Litany of Failures: Volume I was a split four-track EP released in 2016 on the antiquated formats of cassette and CD, featuring Irish bands Oh Boland, Junk Drawer, That Snaake, and Shrug Life.

Now they've seriously upped the ante with Volume II, which will also receive a full digital and vinyl release. Bands from Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Donegal and Derry all participate with phenomenally successful results.

This is heartfelt DIY rock delivered with infectious passion. One of its many strengths is it spectacularly shows up a lot of people who pander towards a market as the charlatans they are.

Volume II opens with a prescient song about consent by Dott, and takes all sorts of glorious and bonkers twists and turns, such as a song by Ghost Office called Here Come the Elders! about encountering Mormons on the streets of Belfast. Nervvs provide another highlight, but the entire project is remarkably consistent.

In addition to the top drawer acts and songs on offer, this is also a victory for Irish vinyl lovers. It will be released on a 180g double-vinyl gate-fold package manufactured by new Irish pressing plant Dublin Vinyl.

There will also be a litany of DIY gigs across the country, in Jaja Studios in Dublin, Belfast's Art Department, Pharmacia in Limerick, Róisín Dubh, and The Roundy in Cork, to celebrate this landmark Irish release. Roll on volume three.