SONGS OF THE WEEK
Meltybrains? - New Don
The aural oddity and experimentation inherent in the music of the Dublin-based band is a big attraction at this point. With each new song, the band showcase a different side of themselves, perhaps one they did not know existed until it manifests. After a few years of elongated songs and fumbling in the dark, it's starting to sound like Meltybrains? are compacting their craft into a more digestable format without compromise, albeit, as
New Don
proves, one that sounds like a creepy song written under a duvet with a heavy dose of the fear.
Sea Pinks – Depth Of Field
Neil Brogan has been tipping along making some sweet indie guitar pop since leaving Girls Names a few years back. The new single from forthcoming album
Soft Days
doesn't deviate from his formula much, but it doesn't need to, as
Depth Of Field
is built on a lush guitar groove that could lighten many a mood.
Runaway Go - Alive
Dave Jackson and Fiona O'Kane are the pair behind the Belfast Band Runaway Go, and have just released their debut album, which has come after six singles and tour support for Bastille and Editors in the UK.
Alive
is the the title track and lead single, an indication of how these two musicians mix indie and pop with an uplifting manner.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
SOAK – Reckless Behaviour
Directed by Bob Gallagher
The latest video from the Mercury Prize-nominated debut album from the young Derry musician Bridie Monds-Watson is tied together by two women of different generations united by their own reckless behaviour.
RELEASE OF THE WEEK
Brian Deady - Non-Fiction
Versed in soul he may be in style terms, but on his second album
Non-Fiction
, his first in six years, the Cork musician is baring it too on songs which delve into the aftermath of a relationship, and his relationship with his father on the deeply affecting
Dad
. There's space for some radio-friendly CeeLo-style upbeat pop on
Clap Both My Hands
and the bluesy
Tapes
too, but
Non-Fiction
gives its priority to the personal, dressing it with a deep knowledge of soul, blues, gospel and R&B.
NEW ARTIST OF THE WEEK
Wizards Of Firetop Mountain
The members of Wizards of Firetop Mountain are drawn from bands who have played around the Dublin rock scene over the last number of years including No Spill Blood, Dread Sovereign, Vircolac, Realistic Train, Zom and Puget. If you don't know any of those bands, it matters little, as Ain't Gonna Lose suggests, Wizards of Firetop Mountain are too busy throwing back to hi-octane 70s American rock, kicking out the jams and enjoying themselves to care.
