Heroes In Hiding - Hospital
This sprightly indie-pop song from a Dublin band is actually a warning to those who stand up on overcrowded buses. Band member Joe Carroll fell out of the door of a hired bus onto a motorway and ended up luckily with only a neck brace. The bright tones of the song actually come from a recording of a hospital machine, making this song akin to finding out Outkast's Hey Ya is actually about a terrible relationship.
Carriages - Moving Parts
Harry Bookless and Aaron Page have returned with their unique brand of field-recorded folktronica. Moving Parts was made from some interesting sources: Harry’s three year-old nephew Alex singing, drain pipes, gravel, puddles and branches. Best of all, it's wrapped up in a lush tune that nods to Bronksi Beat. Salt of the earth tunes.
James Vincent McMorrow – Get Low
This week, James posted a Spotify playlist of song inspirations for the new record We Move which included Doobie Brothers, Girl Band, BadbadnotGood, Vince Staples and Wiley. That mix and Get Low's R&B boom, synth-bass notes and caterwauling guitar solo make for a very promising first listen to the that third album when it does drop next week.
Paddy Groenland - Djigui
As a musician with Ensemble Eriu, RiZa and Feather, Groenland is no stranger to global sounds and new ways of using them. The lead track on his new Nativism EP ("a reference to the current global struggle for identity and ownership"), is a beautiful guitar piece that has an African, jazz, blues and folk in its DNA.
Lisa Hannigan – At Swim
When it came time to write her third album Lisa Hannigan felt adrift from her craft. Living between London and Dublin, the singer felt a little unmoored to her creativity and her place in the world. A meeting with Aaron Dessner of The National rekindled a spark for songwriting that accumulated in a seven-day recording session with Dessner in Hudson Bay in New York. That transition leaves an imprint on At Swim, Hannigan's most sombre collection of music yet finds her with a heavier heart and an atmosphere denser than ever. Dessner adds textured weight to the music as Hannigan's voice floats above, a guiding light in darker times.
Junk Drawer
Fans of Dinosaur Junior and Melvins will dig the throwback guitar sound of Belfast four-piece Junk Drawer. Stevie Lennox, Jake Lennox, Rory Dee and Brian Coney (who is the editor for Irish online publication and magazine The Thin Air) make squalling lo-fi rock music and were recently on tour with Oh Boland. A short two track EP called Their Self-Loathing Debut (Mostly) is available on Bandcamp
New Portals - Cage
Director: Emily McDonald
A seedy city at night is the setting for McDonald's interpretive dance metaphor-heavy video for the Belfast Aicken husband and wife's song.
