Sunlight – This Other Kingdom.

SunlightDescribed as a fusion of “space rock,” “post-punk,” and “neo psychedelia,” Dublin based This Other Kingdom have certainly set themselves a challenge for their EP, Sunlight. Released on April 13th with an in-store at Tower Records, it unveiled the latest incarnation of the band, featuring Del Keaton on vocals, Declan Dunne on guitar, and Fran Mulholland on bass.

Opening with the raucous I’m Still Here, you could be forgiven for mistaking it for something by The Doors. Keaton’s vocals in particular are certainly reminiscent of the legendary baritone stylings of both Jim Morrison and Eric Burdon. That’s not to say this sounds like some kind of ’60s rehash though, what This Other Kingdom manage to achieve is something far more unique. Lofty keyboards and pulsating percussion manage to drive their sound straight into the 21st century.

Fine Line drags the band right into the realm of psychedelia with its ethereal vocal harmonies and aggressive, fuzzbox guitars which pave the way for the rest of the EP. Title track, Sunlight, somehow manages to remind me of Achtung Baby-era U2. The lurching, distorted rhythms certainly sound like the throwback to post-punk that the band promised us.

The record closes with Vacate The Horror, an intense, dystopian march which is driven by the band’s signature, pounding percussion. It’s heavy and heady with a pulsating sense of confusion that lingers long after the final chords fade to nothing. Overall Sunlight is a very solid offering; it manages to showcase the band’s talents—their effective harmonies, their use of reverb—but somehow just falls short of being the finished product. The similarity of the tracks lends itself to a very cohesive sound, but sadly this does mean that after a few listens it all begins to sound a little bit “samey.” A full-length album would no doubt sort this out, and perhaps somewhat more raw production values which could capture the real, live energy that This Other Kingdom have to offer.

This Other Kingdom have a handful of gigs coming up, including May 20th at Whelan’s, the 23rd May at Sweeney’s Dimestore Sessions and the 25th May at The Twisted Pepper, so make sure to get yourself to a gig soon!

You can listen to I’m Still Here below, or listen to the EP in full on their Soundcloud. You can also buy either the physical copy from Tower Records or download it from their Bandcamp. Make sure to keep up with the band’s news and updates on both Facebook and Twitter.

Pretty Keen On Centrefolds.

Fight Like Apes

There’s lots going on at the moment for Dublin alt-rockers Fight Like Apes! They played a few gigs over the weekend, and also dropped a demo for Pretty Keen On Centrefolds, a track from their imminent third album. It’s characteristically FLApes, awash with synthesisers and distorted guitars, all complimented by MayKay’s unique vocals.

If you know the band at all, you’re probably aware that they’re at the centre of what is possibly the most controversial Fundit campaign seen by musicians yet. FLApes parted ways with their label, Model Citizen, citing different visions for the band as the reason for the split, and now, in the run-up to the release of their yet-unnamed third album, are asking their fans for €20,000 to get it released. A lot of people were taken aback by the amount the band were looking for, but all has been explained in a recent Hot Press interview, and luckily for the band, even Amanda Palmer has expressed her support for the project. With five days remaining, the band have been pledged just over 50% of the money needed to make the album happen, so here’s hoping they can reach their target!

Last but not least, Fight Like Apes have just announced a party in the gorgeous Odessa Club in Dublin this Friday, tickets are €10 and only available on the door, and by the sounds of the event description, it’s going to be a hell of a fun night! All of the money raised by ticket sales (and a raffle with some pretty sweet prizes!) will be going into the album, so if you’re in Dublin you should definitely be at this one!

Have a listen to Pretty Keen On Centrefolds below, and make sure to keep up with the band on Facebook and Twitter!

The Way I Tend To Be.

Frank Turner - DJ SetApologies folks, I realise that things have been a little quiet here lately, but have no fear, this week is set to be an exciting one! Not only do we have the release of Frank Turner‘s brand new video for Tape Deck Heart’s soon-to-be second single, The Way I Tend To Be, but the man himself will be playing in Dublin’s Academy this Saturday 11th accompanied by the inimitable Sleeping Souls.

Support on the night comes from Larry & His Flask who have been making a great impression on Frank’s fans on the UK dates, and you can still get tickets for €15 (excl. fees) from Ticketmaster.

The video itself is a somewhat introspective affair, depicting our favourite English folk singer digging holes in a field for what appears to be no reason in particular. Of course with any such bizarre behaviour, a crowd gathers and the media flock to the scene; a few commenters on the Youtube video seem to think that perhaps Frank Turner is exploring the fascinating relationship between intensely personal music which has been released into the public realm and those who listen to it—have a look and see what you think!

You can buy Tape Deck Heart in a plethora of formats (including cassette tape!) from Frank Turner’s official webstore and you can download it from either iTunes or AmazonMP3.

PS. Not only is Frank performing, he’ll also be DJing at Propaganda post-show. Now that’s going to be, for want of a better word, fucking hilarious. You can get discounted tickets in advance for only €4 here, or €5 before 12!

Check out the brand new video below!

To The Lighthouse.

Rat King

Say hello to what is perhaps the most summery of songs released so far this year! To The Lighthouse, a title no doubt knowingly  shared with Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel, is an upbeat dance tune which will definitely have your mind drifting back to those awesome, yet not-quite-as-warm-as-we’d-hoped summer nights spent in Electric Picnic’s Little Big Tent.

Rat King, the make-up clad persona of Dublin’s Dylan Tonge-Jones, should definitely appeal to fans of Le Galaxie and similar, without quite sounding like anything I’ve heard before. To The Lighthouse is accompanied by a superb video directed by Lauren Shannon-Jones, produced by Gean Anderson De Lima and has a whole host of dancers choreographed by Rachel Doyle—check it out below!

Battlescars.

You should know by now that I’m a big fan of The Shoos, and they’ve just released the video for their latest single from 2012′s LP Panic Slowly. It’s for the gorgeous song Battlescars, and last December in Whelan’s they promised us a video featuring sailors, and sailors we received!

The video has lead singer Tex rowing a rather precarious-looking boat across a beautifully-painted set with some characteristically hilarious, self-deprecating annotations throughout.

Check out the video below and make sure to keep up with The Shoos on Facebook and Twitter.

Their album Panic Slowly can be downloaded from iTunes or AmazonMP3.

Cassia + Milo.

Taking a step back from the audacious rock music I usually blog about, here’s an acoustic duo for you to feast your ears on.
Meet Cassia + Milo, a Dublin based band who sell themselves on Milo’s nimble guitar work and Cassia’s gorgeous vocals that just ooze soul. Their songs are built upon quirky lyrics and delicate vocal harmonies, whilst featuring an array of instruments including tambourines and bongos.

The talented pair are currently working on their début EP which will hopefully be released in June.

Check out the video of their song My Damn Dirty Ape which was filmed in Dublin’s Secret Bookstore last year, below.

Everyone, meet Moo.

Tall Tales EP

I received an e-mail from a Dublin-based band called Moo who have recently released their latest EP, Tall Tales. Recorded in the brilliantly named Punkahontas Studios in Dublin, this six track offering showcases a very unique combination of everything from rockabilly to bluegrass, whilst still remaining intrinsically rock and roll.

Moo are a three-piece band comprising of Claudio Mercante on guitar, Darren Flynn on bass and Mark Finlay on drums, with all three sharing vocal duties.

Opening with the gritty Eli Jones, I’d be shocked if your initial reaction is anything other than wanting to get up and dance! This is rock and roll music in its purest form; it’s fun, melodious and full of sweet, disorderly rhythms. The Little Boat and Long Way Down continue in that same rootsy vein, whilst taking a somewhat more acoustic approach; the latter employing violins to really drive home that Southern, Americana vibe.

Man Of Habit is a straightforward yet effective honky-tonk rocker—it’s easy to see why this was chosen as the lead single, here we have a total sing-along tune with a superb chorus. These final three tracks are where Moo’s rockabilly sensibilities really come to the fore. Although Restless Blues is a somewhat more sombre affair, it definitely maintains the band’s characteristic swing, whilst also practising their intricate songwriting skills. The closing track, Running Fool, picks the pace up once more with a crescendo of guitars, tambourines and everything in between; a rather fitting end to a record which wastes absolutely no time holding back.

Have a listen to Tall Tales below, and if you like what you hear, you can download it now from both iTunes and AmazonMP3.

You can catch Moo live at Vantastival on May 4th! For other dates and more general news, keep up with the band on Facebook and Twitter.

Hard To Explain.

Hard To Explain

Today sees the release of The Riptide Movement‘s brand new video for latest single, Hard To Explain! This has always been one of my favourite songs of theirs, so it’s nice to see it finally released as a single.

Starring Gerard Whelan of Jerry Fish & The Mudbug Club fame, two adventurous £1 notes, and the TRM lads with their faces smothered in traditional mime makeup (I think we can all agree that JP was Robert Smith in another lifetime!) it’s a really great video and you’ve got to check it out below.

You can download the single version of Hard To Explain from iTunes now!

The Riptide Movement play The Olympia Theatre on May 24th and 25th, and you can get your tickets from Ticketmaster with prices starting at €16.85.

Remember Saturday.

Remember Saturday

Does anyone remember pop music? I’m talking about real music with real instruments and real voices which has been recorded on real equipment that still manages to qualify as pop. I can almost guarantee that your mind has drawn you back to the 1960s with the likes of The Beach Boys and The Buffalo Springfield, and that’s a long time to have lost out on pop music. The issue seems to be that classifying your music as “pop” has almost become taboo these days. Playing pop music seems to mean that you’re not a real musician and everything is manufactured; if Biggles Flys Again‘s Conor Deasy had this mindset, he’d probably have described their latest album as ”indie-folk-pop” or something else equally as ridiculous.

Well, luckily for us, he didn’t. Deasy is a proud, no nonsense pop musician. Their début album is called Remember Saturday and it was released on the 30th March. Recorded primarily with vintage Casio and Yamaha keyboards, a Hammond organ and the monstrous BBC Neve Recording Console in Dublin’s Hellfire Studios, it manages not to come across as being unnecessarily retro, but still emulates that warmth and familiarity you might feel whilst listening to your favourite records from the ’60s and ’70s.

Opening with gentle birdsong and Deasy’s expressive vocal, Morning is awash with lush harmonies and swelling keyboards. It’s a gradual but fascinating beginning, drawing us softly into this almost otherworldly land of nostalgia established throughout the record. Lead single Friends and the subsequent Singalong up the tempo markedly, the former a cheerful, keyboard-driven ode to friendship, whilst the latter employs a distinctly rockier guitar tone, but doesn’t seem at all out of place.

I’ll admit that Library was a bit of a slow-burner for me. The leisurely opening didn’t initially grab my attention, but the more I listen to it the more it appeals; two minutes in and you’re met with some gorgeous piano riffs and an enchantingly personal atmosphere. The Beach Boys are definitely a prime influence on tracks like the dreamy Roadkill with it’s quirky, electronic flourishes that spill over into Old Pop Song, a song which quickly became a firm favourite of mine.

Local Legend is a beautiful, mellow retrospective that employs those aforementioned vintage instruments, and the result is glorious; it captures a very ‘full’ sound, yet still manages to remain stark and almost hauntingly dreamlike. One of the most striking songs on Remember Saturday is Chambers with it’s poignant lyrics and dramatic, crashing cymbals. The warm, rounded bass lines and the fluid guitar tone on Imaginary Fire lend themselves to a far more stripped-back sound; the band taking a backseat whilst Deasy’s stirring voice takes centre stage on a powerfully honest song, sustaining the listener’s interest even nine songs in.

Although not the last song on the album, Last Song of the Night does manage to make you feel like the end of the journey is drawing near. The language is prosaic and simple, almost childlike, driving home that sense of nostalgia accompanied by gentle keyboards; it’s just enchantingly wistful. A Simple Plan is a primarily drum-driven track that builds to a crashing culmination of cymbals and staccato piano sounds which fall silent before gliding into the ethereal, aptly-named closer, Beginning Not An Ending. 

It’s not a wholly sentimental offering per se, but certainly harks back to the past on more than one occasion. Solid musicianship, marvellous vocals and fine-tuned songwriting make this album a seriously impressive début, and when combined with the unique production values it really begins to make sense. These songs are the kind that get better with time, both alone and in the context of the record, which is something I always tend to look for, as no matter high-brow a release may be, it’s practically useless if it’s not listenable. Remember Saturday is an downright success, giving us exciting insight into what’s to come from one of Dublin’s most unique bands; if this is what pop music can be, then please, let’s have some more!

You can stream Remember Saturday below, and if you like what you hear you can purchase it from either Bandcamp or iTunes and make sure to keep up with the band on both Facebook and Twitter!

If you want to catch them live, Biggles Flys Again are playing a set in Freebird Records on Wicklow St. along with other great acts such as The Hot Sprockets for Record Store Day this Saturday (20th April)