NEW ARTIST OF THE WEEK
EDEN
Here's an interesting one. How does an Irish musician sell out venues in Dublin, LA, New York, San Fran, London and Toronto without as much of a peep back home? At 20 years of age, Jonathon Lei Ming is EDEN, a multi-instrumentalist who has been making moves in the world of online electronic music for the past few years, drawing influence from EDM, dance and pop music, and artists such as Flume, Kygo and Ryan Hemsworth.
His most popular tracks on Youtube and Soundcloud have received four to five million plays each and last year his End Credits EP collated his songs in a release in which each song has a million plays. Lei Ming's style is of the dance-pop zeitgeist, filled with rhythmic drops and pings, bright acoustic guitar and singalong lyrics with a mix of R&B, electronic and pop. This week, he played his debut Dublin show in the Academy's Green Room, which was sold out well in advance. EDEN has found a considerable audience, his star is only going to rise in 2016.
SONGS OF THE WEEK
Lisa O'Neill - Potholes In The Sky
It's always a pleasure to hear the Cavan singer-songwriter spin a yarn and her new single is no exception. The title song reintroduces the singer stumbling into complications as the music takes off around her. O'Neill's new album will be released on April 22nd on Plateau Records and an Irish tour kicks off in May.
Shit Robot - End Of The Trail
The third album from DFA Records' resident Irishman Marcus Lambkin,
What Follows,
is released in May and the first single proper features the voice of Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor doing his mournful effective vocal thing over an analogue dance production. It's fantastic.
Kojaque - Being Earnest feat. Faye O'Rourke
The late-night rap style of Dublin's Kojaque is consistent in its reflective nature. For his upcoming mixtape
Sunday Roast,
the rapper has roped in Little Green Cars' Faye O'Rourke for this pleasant track.
.
Million Little Gods - Wilderness of Myth
Meath trio of brothers Josh and Daire Bass and Al Cannon introduce themselves with a melodic indie-rock song that recalls Manic Street Preachers. A debut album is forthcoming this year.
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Little Green Cars - Ephemera
Three years on from the Dublin band's fine debut
Absolute Zero
, their follow-up is a refined release, drawing on experiences in that time, from touring, to break-ups to losing family members to estrangement from others. On the last album the band were teens;
Ephemera
revels in a maturity that manifests in harmony-soaked indie-rock, brimming with rich band arrangements. Highlights include the mournful twilit
The Song They Play Every Night, Easier Day
and
OK OK O
K, fronted by the bellowing sharp-focus vocals of Faye O'Rourke and the majestic rock of
The Party
. It may not win them too many new fans due to the album's introspective nature and lack of variety in style. But three years on the road have clearly made them better players and better songwriters. Little Green Cars will keep on chuggin'.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Beauty Sleep - The Dark
Video by Post Carpentry Productions
The new Belfast band's debut single is a Phoenix-esque dreamy pop number about finding love in friends when you're down. The video for it reinforces the bright aspect of the production in the tune. The band wanted the lo-fi video to play with lights and shadows. Bass player Aimee is a visual artist who animated the original artwork by Maisie Cousins and those spectrums serve as a backdrop for the band's silhouetted performance and dancers Abbie Madden and Neil Hainsworth from Pony Panto.
