HOUSE OF MEXICO

Dublin based House Of Mexico have produced some beautiful twee psychedelic fuzz-pop songs over the past few years, with an appeal which is hardly surprising seeing as they have drawn from such an admirable cast of musical influences, which includes West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, The June Brides, Spacemen 3, The Velvet Underground and Tompaulin to mention but a few.

They have four songs available for download from their myspace, including the June Brides cover 'Sick Tired and Drunk' and the tracks from a now unavailable 2004 single release. My favourite of these has to be 'Without Blood', a psychedelic melancholy at its finest with some cheekily marvelous lyrics such as "its not that I have no emotions, I just cant stand going through the motions", and sounding quite comparable to Pink Floyd or Spiritualized in their most mellow of moments, it also has an undercurrent of distorted noise which works its way into the floating melody as the song progresses. The song is an absolute masterpiece.

A rather sparse discography to date includes a debut on Earworm Records in 2002, where they had four tracks included on a various artist release entitled A Charabang Trip To The Lights, a limited edition 7" single on The Great Pop Supplement which followed in 2004, and then earlier this year, a contribution of 'Sick Tired and Drunk' to The June Brides Tribute album released on YesBoyIceCream Records. They are currently working on a new EP.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/houseofmexico

http://www.yesboyicecream.com

http://www.greatpopsupplement.com

http://www.earwormrecords.com

THE THINGS

Dublin's psychotic social misfits, The Things, playing their contagiously energetic and chaotic brand of garage punk, are due to release their new single 'Some Kind Of Kick' on 23rd June. Emerging just over the past few years, and drawing on influences ranging from Hammer Horror to The Cramps and The Stooges, they've been described as "the best live performers to hit Ireland in aeons" and headline this years Psycho Fest at Dublin's Voodoo Lounge on 24th June, where Humanzi, Mainline, The Mighty Stef, Aleko and Sickboy among others will also be playing.


As for the new single, it really is an immense tune, an absolute killer of a punk anthem, unleashing a menace awash with almost demented adrenalin, and coupled with classic punk lines like "I get my thrills in the shape of a pill" there is a fantastic rebellious energy about it. It packs an incredible punch.

The video to The Things new single 'Some Kind Of Kick' is available on YouTube.





There are three songs available for download from The Things myspace - 'Demon Stomp', 'Psycho Lover' and 'Horror Movie', where their new single can also be streamed. An additional song, the gnarly, dark and incredibly intense 'Sick Street', my favourite of their material available to date, is available on their cpu.ie space. There are also some live tracks available for streaming from their website. The Things are currently working on a debut album targeted for release later this year.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/thethings

http://www.thethingsireland.moonfruit.com

http://artists.cpu.ie/bands/117

http://www.psychoticreaction.moonfruit.com

THE URGES

A biography on their website describes them as "a proper, stripped down, head on, bare boned, no bullshit racket". The Urges play rock n'roll loud and energetic, raunchy and bluesy, swirly and psychedelic; they are proudly steeped in the 60's garage rock tradition and deliver raucous songs which really grip me into the mood.

It's all so easy to draw comparisons with early Stones or the Kinks, more recently to those 90s self-proclaimed kings of budget rock, The Mummies, and then all the way back again to 60s garage rockers The Mammies and The Sonics, so it is of no surprise to see The Urges list all these and more in their influences.


What makes The Urges special to me, however, is not that they draw influence from such a large plethora of garage rock bands, but that they sound rather unique in doing so, and deliver it with a contagious natural energy in their songs. A rock n'roll like this was most definitely made to be heard live and loud.

The Urges play a number of festivals across Europe this summer, including the IPO Festival in Liverpool next week, and the very prestigious garage festival, Primitive Festival, in Rotterdam in June. As ever, details of all their upcoming shows can be found on their myspace. Four songs of The Urges are also available for download from their myspace, 'Curse It All', which has an incredible, almost self-propelling raw energy to it, would probably be my favourite of them.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/theurges

http://www.theurges.com

DELORENTOS

Unsigned Dublin based alt-rock band Delorentos, who released their new single 'The Rules' last Friday from their forthcoming debut album, are hardly a secret anymore having scooped the British National Student Music Awards in London last year, and reaching the nominee shortlist for Best New Irish Band at the Irish Meteor awards earlier this year.

I've lost count of how many times I've read good press about these guys too, and such accolades, and what seems like the inevitable success soon to follow, usually means that I'm ultimately destined to hear too much of these guys and come to dislike them, but right now, I think they're quite an excellent outfit.


They've instantly infectious songs, a quirky guitar tightness, and a touch of guitar fuzz at times, with enough of a post-punk attitude to compensate for their radio-friendly appeal. Roadhouse Magazine last year described their debut EP, 'Leave It On', as "a disgustingly good record".

Touring extensively so far this year, the details of the remainder of their current tour can be found on their myspace, where their new single can also be streamed, and two songs from last year's EP are available for download.

The video to the new Delorentos single, 'The Rules' is available on YouTube, and the single can be purchased online at Road Records.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/delorentos

http://delorentos.net

http://www.roadrecs.com

WE SHOULD BE DEAD

Listening to emerging Limerick band We Should Be Dead can be a bit like taking a step back in time. Perhaps easiest to describe their sound as The Ramones meet The Shangri-Las, when listening to them live it is impossible not to feel a part of you has traveled back to the 70s, witnessing at first hand a peer of The Runaways or Blondie, belting out incredibly catchy tunes to the punk generation.


It is almost surreal how convincingly they've created a sound and feel of a band so rooted in that generation, and whereas today the influence of that time resonates quite emphatically in the music of The White Stripes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, We Should Be Dead take it a step closer and not only resonate that era but actually sound as if they are a true part of that era, and to me that's an attribute which gives them a rather special distinction.

A biography on their myspace simply states "2 girls. 2 boys. When they met, it was moider" (Tara on vocals and Anna on Guitar being the two girls while Stephen on drums and Gary on bass being the two boys) and with just the briefest of mentions of being in the process of bringing out a debut album, they are not giving much detail away, but they do have four songs available for download from their myspace, all top quality songs, with 'My Night' edging it ahead as my favourite.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/wsbd

TWINKRANES

I read a profile of twiNkranes before which described them as occupying a space where "heavily treated snaking guitar riffs flirt with monotonous trance inducing drumbeats under odd but quiet infectious melodies to create what can only be described as the new kraut-poppers guide to the galaxy". They play challenging uncompromising pop music which could be loosely described a quirky disturbing psychedelic electronica-rock.

They've put the video to their debut single 'Plateau' on their myspace, a track which moves from dreamy spacey trippy psycedelia to assaults with aggressive heavy edgy guitar riffs. It's not a combination I'd usually go for, but I think twiNkranes pull it off really well, in their own disturbing way. The single is released next week on Sound Foundation Recordings, and a single launch gig takes place this May 25th in Dublin at the Temple Bar Music Centre.

Two other songs are also available to stream on their myspace, a heavily instrumentalised 'Weather Report' and the rather superb 'Amino Acids', a primal tribal sounding dark spaced out pop tune which I find a real addictive listen, even if thematically it is, yes, very disturbing. The guys have a dark humour about them, which to me is an essential part of what it means to be twiNkranes. They're disturbed creeps, but they're cool at it.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/twinkranes

http://www.musicfromireland.org/nemo_05_band_twinkranes.html

http://artists.cpu.ie//bands/945

CRAYONSMITH - STAY LOOSE

I picked up Crayonsmith's debut album 'Stay Loose' at the album launch gig last weekend and it is quickly becoming a favourite. Consider a melting pot of Pavement style twisted guitar melodies, moments of Sebadoh guitar crunch, and the tenderness of Sparklehorse, entwined into an album brimming full of touchingly despondent and heavy-hearted songs written with an unusual openness, and you are close to knowing the basis of the album's appeal.


Choice lyric:
"I needed some time to myself and isolation seemed okay. It left me feeling upside down, nobody's around, and it's slowly killing me. I'm upside down, nobody is calling and now it's hard to sleep" - Lock-In by Crayonsmith.

Two songs from the album are available for download on the Crayonsmith website and myspace - 'Scarytale' and 'Unnatural', where details of the current Irish tour can also be found. The album can be purchased online from Road Records.

Related Links:

http://www.crayonsmith.com

http://www.myspace.com/crayonsmith

http://www.roadrecs.com

IDENTITY PARADE

Infectious, instantly accessible and effortlessly cool, Identity Parade, an unsigned band from Dublin firmly rooted in the old school of rock n'roll, play it straight up and loud, with kicking guitar tunes closely in the vein of The Undertones, The Jam and The Who. In an e-mail conversation with Kevin from Identity Parade last month, he filled me in on their current state of affairs:

"Currently we are working on four new tracks to put up on myspace and our own site, when the site is finished. Our plan for this year since Jan was, recruiting a keys player which we've now done, recording new gear, which we're in process of doing, and eventually get back out gigging hard in July/August time."


"We've a gig in The Temple Bar Music Centre On Sat 13th May, but, as with our plan, we never intended for this! Its a battle of the bands and we're gonna do it for group tightness, live experience for our keys player and us as a group now, photos of new line up for website and generally a good knees up away from the studio."

Well, that Battle Of The Bands competition was last night, and Identity Parade won it, so congratulations to Identity Parade! While waiting to hear the new songs from Identity Parade, six of their older songs are available for download from their cpu.ie space. My personal favourites among these are "Collette Collar", "Kicking Stones" and "The White Coats", but all are well worth the listen. Related Links:

http://artists.cpu.ie//bands/115/

http://www.myspace.com/identityparade

http://www.identityparade.net

WINDINGS

Windings released a gem of a debut album back in 2005 with 14 songs which range widely from lo-fi acoustic to warm fuzz guitar, but at all times holding true to great pop melodies, soft vocals and often touchingly honest lyrics.

'Surrounded', 'Bubbles' and 'Cathedrals' to mention just three compare very well to the best Belle & Sebastian have produced, while 'God Knows' and 'Princess' are really superb indie guitar tunes whose fuzzy sound reminds me quite a lot of Dinosaur Jr in their more heart reaching moments. Another track, 'To Follow', has a somewhat folk feel to it and almost seems like a slowed down, slightly psychedelic reversal on Bob Dylan's 'It Ain't Me, Babe' - although not enough to know for sure whether it alludes to it or just has a coincidental similarity, but in any case demonstrates the variety of styles brushed against by Windings on this album. All interspersed with some quite beautiful instrumental moments, including a very Sigur Ros sounding opener, the album has an intriguing appeal from start to finish.



Both 'God Knows' and 'Bubbles' can be streamed from the Windings myspace, and the album can be purchased online from Road Records.

Related Links:

http://www.windingswindings.com

http://www.myspace.com/windings

http://www.outonalimbrecords.com/artist-windings.html

http://www.roadrecs.com

THE HOLLOWS

Although clearly drawing inspiration from Sparklehorse, and listing bands such as Casiotone For The Painfully Alone as influences, I also hear parallels with Leonard Cohen's ability to capture the lonely walk between sorrow and hope in their lyrics. The Hollows write beautiful lo-fi songs.

Two tracks from The Hollows forthcoming album, entitled It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It, have been made available for download on their website and myspace profile, along with some earlier recordings. After a few listens, I find the songs of The Hollows to be real growers, somewhat fragile and sparse, they effortlessly drift from one verse to the next. I am looking forward to listening to a full album of this material.



It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It is due to be released this month on Slow Loris. Slow Loris is a small independent label that have released music on CD in handmade packaging since 2004.

"Theres a little room in your chest, where your sweet heart gently rests, and beats so softly to the time of old old songs throughout the night, and everythings as it should be, it will all come right eventually" - Eventually by The Hollows

The album can purchased online from Road Records, where their debut mini-album from 2002 'Seeking To Stand Beautifully On The Earth' is also currently available.

Related Links:

http://www.thehollowsmusic.com

http://www.myspace.com/thehollowsie

http://www.slowloris.org

http://www.roadrecs.com

BUTTERFLY EXPLOSION

Many appraisals have been written about the beautiful shoegaze textures of Butterfly Explosion in the music press over the past year, and deservedly so.

Both atmospheric and haunting, slowing it all down to a mind massage of melodic soundscapes which ebb and flow over the soft melancholic vocals, comparisons with My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive are inevitable. Such comparisons can be over-simplistic however, and Butterfly Explosion do have their own distinctions. I would consider them a more readily accessible and radio friendly experience, with a stronger pop sensibility than most bands associated with the shoegaze genre.


Having had quite a full schedule so far this year, since returning from a highly successful SXSW, they played their debut London gig last month, coupled with some gigs in Ireland, and return to London on Saturday May 27th, playing at The Betsy Trotwood, followed again by further gigs in Ireland in June, details all of which can be found on their website and myspace.

A track from their forthcoming EP due out this summer, Sophia, is available for download from their website, along with older tracks from their 2005 Vision EP and 2004 Demo, while a second track from their forthcoming EP, Score, can also be streamed from their myspace. Related Links:

http://www.butterflyexplosion.com/music

http://www.myspace.com/butterflyexplosion

STAR BELGRADE

Star Belgrade are an unsigned band recently emerging from Ireland who quote My Bloody Valentine, The Cure, and Sonic Youth as their main influences.

They formed in July 2005 and produced a low budget 4-track EP demo for radio airplay which quickly brought appraisal from various sources such as the "Session Unsigned Spotlight Track" on BBC Radio 1 and Aligre FM in Paris, with whom the band were requested to record a session, and subsequently featured regularly in the stations indie airplay.

The track which has received the most attention to date is unsurprisingly "Red Arc", which seems like a radio friendly trojan to their true sound when compared to their other material available to date. More revealing are "All This Noise" which when in its stride makes for a beautiful combination of MBV guitar fuzz with heart-strung vocals reminiscent of The Cure, and also "Checkmate" where the sounds of their Sonic Youth influence can be heard.



The band have since written the basis of a debut album which they plan to record this year, played a very successful debut gig in Dublin's Voodoo Lounge in March, and have since played a number of more gigs in Dublin and beyond. Star Belgrade MP3s are available for download at the following links:

http://artists.cpu.ie//bands/1193

http://www.myspace.com/starbelgrade