Album of the week
Planet Parade - Mercury
Michael Hopkins and Andrew Lloyd began back at the tail end of the last decade crafting indie rock but somewhere along the way progress and experience resulted in a fresh sound, and one that is evident on the duo's welcome Planet Parade debut album.
From the Balearic pop of Face To Face to the lounge soul of Begin Again to the tropical upbeat summer song of Blue Sky and the shuffling jazz of Zodiac, Mercury is the sound of band who have worked hard to come up with something different.
Songs of the week
Talos - Odyssey
In terms of sheer sonic majesty, is there any artist is Ireland making music like this? Corkman Eoin French hasn't dropped a clanger yet and Odyssey is sad song built on atmosphere that grows into a redemptive hopeful synthesizer crescendo. His debut album Wild Alee is out on April 21st and an Irish tour is coming. See dates on www.talostalos.com.
Callum Stewart - The Dam
Callum Stewart may well be the most well-connected 19-year-old singer in Ireland. With a voice that sounds a bit like Bieber and a load of other big pop artists, Stewart already has a few years of US pop factory songwriting under his belt thanks to US producer Tre Shepard. Last year's solo single Parachute received over half a million plays online and Stewart will be hoping his The Dam takes him further. I wouldn't bet against it.
The Klares - Gooie
The swaggering lean of the Arctic Monkeys is central to the appeal of this young Dublin band but who cares when they do such a good take on the Sheffield band.
Space Dimension Controller - Exostack
Seven minutes of intergalactic electronic heaven courtesy of Belfast dude Jack Hammil (no relation to his namesake that plays Luke Skywalker). Exostack harks back the producer's debut album Welcome to Mikro-sektor-50 for R&S Records in 2013. This is a welcome return to the dancefloor, somewhere in space.
Video of the week
Max Cooper & Tom Hodge - Symmetry
Created by: Kevin McGloughlin
Taking the title of symmetry in nature into consideration and its role in music for his visual-lead clip for Max Cooper’s Emergence A/V project, Kevin McGloughlin produced this stunning video using the ideas of transformation, reflection, rotation and distortion.
New artist of the week
Darce
Explicit Bantry alt-hip-hop with big beats and an electronic focus, Darce's Sunset EP marks the card of yet another upcoming rapper (something's in the water and it's called youth). Darce says the EP "is the first act in the 'Our Night Upon The Stage' narrative - A story that takes you through a night in my small rural town."
