Janey Mac - Polygamy

How would one describe Janey Mac? Well, if you ask wiki what the expression means, it will tell you that Janey Mac is an off-the-cuff exclamation of amazement, frustration or excitement from Dublin. In ways this would also be quite a fitting description for the Dublin band which takes this name. As a disjointed and quirky experience, they're off-the-cuff experimental indie-punk foolery.

Formed just late last year, they are very much a side-project, made up of Emily from Party Weirdo, Cathy-Clare who also manages The House of Cosy Cushions at Seadog Records, and guitarist Brian who plays with the band Zing. As with many side-projects, the freedom to express makes for something quite a bit more interesting than many bands on the circuit who try too hard to deliver a package sound, constrained by expectations. Janey Mac have come together to create something that's a bit more spontaneous and unstructured, essentially as a project space for them to be more expressive and creative. They may describe their sounds as that of "DIY and incompetence" but when it does come together (it doesn't always), it becomes spasmodically animated with fever, and a compelling listen.

Polygamy is the choice track, which is currently available to downloaded from their myspace page. It's built around a rolling bass, quirky melody, and a deranged female vocal, and when in full flight is cut in by one of Brian's clambering punk guitar riffs. Regardless of instrumentation though, which is perhaps the least important part of what Janey Mac are all about, the overall effect is one of a crazed excitation. They've yet to release any material, although one would anticipate something materialising through the Seadog Records connection at some point. Meanwhile, they're gigging occasionally on the Dublin circuit, jamming their ad-hoc psychosis out to people with long ears.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/janeymacmusic

Frequency-Ireland Presents... ODi

Firstly, thank you to all who attended our first Frequency-Ireland event recently, which although had quite a small turnout, was a truly memorable night, with magically intimate performances in the main bar by Windings, The Hollows and Vertigo Smyth. Taking it underground to the basement club afterwards, we partied on through the small hours, where an extended LPX set replaced the pre-planned nightclub. Apologies to those disappointed that we weren't given enough time to run the club as well, and also to those who were refused late entry to the venue. There will be more nights like this, and a few clips of video footage may be made available at a later date. As a show of appreciation to Daffy's International Bar for accommodating our pilot night, which stretched them a lot further than they have ever gone before in terms of live music, we've arranged a follow-up event custom tailored for the venues' unique intimacy...

ODi headlines this Sunday 29th April at Daffy's International Bar for an indie-folk night, returning from the UK to promote her independently released debut single 'Crawl', released this Friday 27th April. The stunning Irish singer-songwriter otherwise known as Claire Odlum, also with careers as a model and an actress in the UK, is now emerging into the limelight musically. Since forming ODi in 2006, she has been compared favourably to artists such as Alanis Morissette and Sheryl Crow through to Kristin Hersh and Suzanne Vega.



The single 'Crawl', a strong single in itself, driven by a grunge-esque bass line, but firmly in the Alanis Morissette ballpark, is appended by two more delicate b-sides in 'Don't Let Me Fall', a quaint harmonica infused lonesome balad, and 'Mariposa', stripped to a bare acoustic melody, a song reflecting on letting go. On the surface, Mariposa may seem to be quite warm to the one being left behind, drawing a quaint allusion to leaving behind a butterfly with broken wings, but Mariposa, the Spanish for "butterfly", is also used in Spanish as a profanity when directed towards a male, so perhaps a subtle insult here to one whom she derides in the song for avoiding conflicts, an easy subtlety to ignore, and typical of her intelligent song writing. Quite akin to Kristin Hersh in style 'Mariposa', and 'Don't Let Me Fall' for that matter, are two tracks worth that bit more than just b-side status. Support on the night is by Patrick O'Brien, the much respected Limerick singer-songwriter, who for those not in the know, could be compared loosely with Glen Hansard, albeit perhaps that bit less psychotic than The Frames front man. Others may be familar with Patrick O'Brien through his band Decato, who play in a somewhat similar vein. Daffy's International Bar is the place to be on Sunday for those in the vicinity who wish to experience some very promising irish talent emerging in indie-folk and acoustic alt-rock circles at the moment. A busy schedule of tour dates can be found from their respective myspace profiles. Catch them now while they're still doing the small and intimate venues.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/odimusic

http://www.odimusic.bebo.com

http://www.ubl.com/artists/odi/profile

http://www.myspace.com/paobrien

http://www.myspace.com/decatoband

Mark O'Connor - Robin's Egg Blues

Over the past decade, Mark O'Connor has worked with, played with, produced and recorded for countless musicians and bands to emerge from the Limerick rock scene. Robin's Egg Blues, the album launch for which occurred last Friday April 20th, is the culmination of a lengthly solo effort to finally deliver an album of his own to be proud of, which is precisely what we get with Robin's Egg Blues.


From the outset, where the delicate 'Carthago Delenda Est Blues' opens the album reflecting "only one thing that's worse than being left alone, and that's not being left alone", it is clear we are in for a personalised trip, where nothing is really held back. It's also an album that doesn't hold back sonically, in particular with track 'Lost In Translation', a dark sonic outlay with an uncompromising shoegaze guitar intensity that compares favourably with Dinosaur Jr. This is quite a varied album, full of surprises, everything from a localised Americana through intense shoegaze to guitar punk pop to near tragi-comedy rock n'roll. We get the personal, but also the fun "it's all about letting your shit out through the music", as it is put in track 'Gaypop Anthem 2005 Motherfucker'. An all-encompassing album which is oriented on loud shoegaze guitar but dipping in equal measure into melancholy and uninhibited humour, a common aspect which does run through it is a loose vocal style. It is a style which at times may take a bit of getting used to, but for this listener's money, is the signature which holds the album together.

A personalised album from Mark to the the very end, it also includes five bonus tracks from bands that he has previously worked with, including Moonboot, Tooth and Golf, before quaintly closing with an early recording from circa 1998, back to a time when he was still undertaking his Masters in Sound Engineering at the University of Limerick. He's come a long way since, but it's a fitting conclusion to the album. A few album tracks are currently available to download from his myspace profile, including the afore-mentioned 'Lost In Translation'. The album, which was recorded at his Balls Of Iron Studios, but mastered by the legenedary producer Kramer in the states, is released on his own Mockery Records label. It is distributed by RMG and available in all good record stores.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/markoconnor

http://www.mocstudios.tripod.com

79Cortinaz - New Wave Alternative Pop Punk? Drive Me Home, Mr Strain

Better late than never, 79Cortinaz will finally put out their debut album this summer, preceded by a new single release. The album was last penciled in for an Autumn release after being recorded last June with Rat Scabies (The Damned) and mixed with Mark McCabe (Maniac2000), but for one reason or another, the release was pushed out again. I took an opportunity to listen to the unmastered album tracks recently, just prior to them getting the treatment by audio guru Bob Katz.


A quick run through familiar tracks first sees an Electric Hymn Part 4 (where they finally hit the spot with a Pixies stroke Beach Boys infusion of fun) and a fitting if incidental cover of the VU's I Can't Stand It. Deirdre's Song is there too of course, their quite exceptional debut single from 2004, described before as Mercury Rev meets Grandaddy in a garage fusion. Also, their poignant Simon Community fundraiser charity single for the homeless from 2005, Nowhere To Go, features. However, do they deliver with the rest of the material? Well, we've certainly got a few new gems, none more so than in Drive Me Home, which echoes of the Deserter's Songs album from Mercury Rev in style. The jangly indie-pop of Cindy Sindy, a candidate for the single release, will also surely grow as a favourite amongst fans. Raspberry BonBons adds some indie-pop fun which delves into the near daft that is part and parcel of the 79Cortinaz individuality, but a few tracks do disappoint. In particular, Blew My Clouds Away, surely their lowest moment yet, as colloquial as the Saw Doctors, and as cringe inducing honkey-tonk as Billy Ray Cyrus. Harsh words, perhaps, but true. Some fans will love it. Not for me. The album finishes strongly however (that is, based on the provisional track listing I received) with penultimate track Snowsmoke Serenadade both dreamy and casually transcendental, yet as elusive as the 'cigarette smoke swirling up to the sky' to which it alludes its mood to. Finally, Safe At Home, a wry closing track with a fittingly isolated sax interlude, is a solid indie-pop number with which to close.

Whether the same level of anticipation is still there for the release is difficult to gauge. It's been a while since 79Cortinaz released something new, and with the highlights to their debut album now being tracks which are already a couple of years old, it has the worrying look of anticlimax about it. However, they certainly won't be needing to come calling to the Simon Community for a favour in return just yet. This album will surely be well received. On the balance, a thumbs up.

Related Links:

http://www.79cortinaz.com

http://www.myspace.com/79cortinaz

http://www.simoncommunity.com

The Chapman Society - Blood Red Room

Fate, factions and transfiction. In 2005, an association formed in North Carolina called The Chapman Society, to educate on the truths of American history, and in particular American Civil War history. I'm not particularly familiar with it. It's just one of those incidental nuggets of information one stumbles across online. That same year, an indie-rock band formed in Dublin by the same name, a coincidence which one would have to presume was just per chance.

While their counterparts in the 'states have kept themselves busy with ho-hum roundtable discussions on history, The Chapman Society in Dublin have remained silent for most of the interm period. However, they've recently sprung to life again, uploading the first taster of what is to come from them, Blood Red Room.


For where it's at, it's quite a great tune. A sparse melody adds a sense of an awakening to the opening line 'I've been counting troops...' and a military beat and a call to arms follows before we launch into quite an emphatic indie-rock song undershadowed by shimmering guitar feedback and occasional military style drumming. It's just a rough mix at the moment, but with some punchy verses and strong melodies through it too, we have quite a cracking first song regardless.

At a guess, the song probably takes inspiration from a Japanese horror animation called The Red Room, a bizzare scarytale cum urban legend of cyber-supernatural forces and gorey cult suicides. It may veer off the credibility scale in terms of theme, if that is what it is about - perhaps they use it as an analogy, but cartoon in theme or otherwise, The Chapman Society should be taken seriously for their ability to craft infectious indie-rock. Not to be drawn into the themes of their music themselves, they state in matter-of-fact stance that 'We are The Chapman Society and this is our music' and I'm not going to spoil their fun by attempting to join the dots any further here either. They plan to launch an official website shortly and release a promo radio single towards the summer, while they are also in the process of completing a debut album. This is a band which may very well demand our attention before the year is out.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/chapmansociety

http://www.thechapmansociety.com

http://www.chapmansociety.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Room

Frequency-Ireland Event

A brief reminder that Frequency-Ireland hosts our first event at Daffy's International Bar in Limerick this Saturday 14th April, an intimate night with Windings, The Hollows and Vertigo Smyth. We'll turn up the volume a bit after that, following on with the more noise-laced experimental electronica of LPX. Details over on the Frequency-Ireland myspace page.

Also an indie-rock club spiked with walls of feedback will follow downstairs afterwards. Expect it to go on very late, and expect it to be loud. Thank you to all those who unexpectedly packed out Daffy's Underground last Saturday night for the trial run. Much fun was had.

For the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with the bands involved, headline act Windings is the more sensitive side of Steve from Giveamanakick, with songs pared down to the bone-marrow, predominantly acoustic, but uncontained enough to break into moments of Dinosaur Jr fuzz to scare away the budgies. The eponymous debut album from a few years ago was very well received throughout Ireland, and a follow-up album is currently being worked. The Hollows who play as extra special guests, are one of Dublin's most underrated lo-fi bands with two very fine albums already behind them. They play songs quite akin to Sparklehorse's Sad and Beautiful World, with a tinge of Grandaddy and Casiotone For The Painfully Alone. They don't do happy songs. If you're the over-sensitive sort, bring a few tissues, you might need them. LPX (Lube: Project X) is the electronica/dub sounds of Leigh O'Gormon, the man behind The Electric Fix shows in Dublin. Vertigo Smyth opens the night as a much respected songwriter with a touch of bedroom Lennon about him, although with a lot more indie-appeal. He's also been compared before to Jeff Buckley. Come early to avoid disappointment and make up your own mind. Doors 9pm. Vertigo starts around 10pm.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/frequencyireland

DAE KIM - Sticky Fingers

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the words 'sticky fingers' is always barbecue spare ribs, and getting hands on and messy indulging in fun food. Dae Kim's new single isn't about food of course, but parallels can be drawn. It's messy and fun in that Sonic Youth Goo sense. It's also spunked up, propulsive and rousingly infectious as guitar driven indie-rock groove that lifts its volume a notch higher at every turn, and seriously hits the spot.

They play Whelans with A Lazarus Soul and Ruby Tailights on 14th April for A Lazarus Soul's album launch gig, a gig I shouldn't mention here for obvious reasons, but which will surely be one of the most memorable gigs in Dublin this year for those who attend. As for Sticky Fingers, the single is released on May 18th. It can also be streamed from their myspace page. Get sticky. Have fun.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/daekim