Here, we profile some of the best acts according to their native region - from Munster electronica to quirky Connacht folk-pop and everything in between.
As clichéd as it may sound, if there's one thing that trawling through the hundreds of Amplify entries has taught us, it's that there is an abundance of musical talent in all four corners of Ireland. Some of them may have been previously tucked away in metaphorical cracks and under stones, just waiting to be unearthed; others were names that were known on a national scale via their previous output; while others still are nearly the finished article, perhaps needing another six months or a year to come to maturity before they foist their wares on the public. In all cases, we were pleasantly startled by the sheer diversity of the music on offer, from hushed singer-songwriters to cutting-edge electronica and everything in-between.
We began our search by casting our eye over the Leinster region, where our main pick was up-and-coming Mullingar band The Academic. The midlands town might be musically famous for Joe Dolan and One Direction's Niall Horan, but give these youngsters a couple of years to add their name to that illustrious roster. With songs like the insta-catchy Bear Claws already under their belt, expect to hear a lot more of their self-assured indie-rock in the coming year.
Our primary pick for Ulster was The Flaws, a name which some listeners may be familiar with. The Monaghan quartet nearly split after the release of their second album in 2012, but after hearing the wistful jangle of new track Animals and their trademark gloomy, indiepop bounce of Million Miles, we're glad that they stuck around. Their third album is out soon.
Attention was then drawn south to Munster, where Tipperary's Ghosts are making a wonderfully eclectic racket with their self-proclaimed "avant-garde pop". The duo dip freely into the genres of electronica, house, dubstep and garage to create some dark, deeply irresistible grooves, on tracks such as Not Now My Love and Kill List. Check out their debut EP, WLVS, for further listening.
The Connacht region threw up a few surprises, mainly in the form of the quirky Ailie Blunnie. Describe the Carrick-on-Shannon songwriter as a novelty at your peril, however; while songs like the cabaret-pop lilt of Coming to Get Ya and Monster are positively packed with idiosyncrasies, there is a tenderness and beauty to You Compare Her to a Rose, that lends weight to her sweet-natured compositions.
We ended our Amplify search in Dublin. Like the rest of the country, it proved incredibly difficult to narrow down such a wealth of talent to one act, but our main choice, Benny Smiles, was a clear frontrunner. The soft, squishy, sunny-side-up electropop practiced by Ross Fortune (the man behind the moniker) seems tailored specifically to put a ridiculous grin on listeners' faces. Bright, bubbly melodies abound on the serotonin-soaring Sunday Morning, while Ham Sandwich frontwoman Niamh Farrell guests wonderfully on Moonlight.
It's been a pleasure to Amplify these talented acts: we raise our glass and tilt our ears to them, and all of our entries.
For more information, visit www.guinnessamplify.com.
