Fear The Foliage - Foiled and Foiled Again

Double double toil and trouble... apparently the guys at Fear The Foliage think their band name is cursed with an identity crisis. A camouflage too elusive for many to follow, radio presenters and promoters alike have regularly failed to see our leafy friends for who they are. That said, there's no hiding some good music here, so let's set a record straight and finally get in the obligatory mention here.

Having a refreshing humour in their approach to delivering anything they do, and what seems a mick-take on the formalities of British Radio at times, they've gradually degenerated back in time to rock close to the punk era. As a band who started out as a sub-Blur outfit taking inspiration from early Radiohead, Bloc Party, Gomez and Interpol, that degeneration is quite a relief. Their delivery may be a bit coarse for some to digest, but the choice of daring to be so is one worth tipping a hat to. Recent offerings 'Saviour' and 'All The Pinks and All The Greys' suggest that they may well have been listening to The Fall a bit of late, while the cageyness of influence in their earlier material fade into the gutter.

A number of tracks are available to download from their myspace along with a lot of home video footage and an acoustic performance from Balcony TV. As for when everyone will finally start getting their name right? Who knows. 7/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/fearthefoliage

And then the dancers appeared...

Arising from the sea of myspace over a year ago, Red Dancers Cometh, hailing from Dublin, have quickly amassed a large online following in their myspace playground, and not surprisingly so. With an infectiously savage sound and a pretty unique outlay of chaotic alt-rock, they play it hard, loud and dark, and have been compared before to sounding like Queens of The Stone Age turning south to tell tales from the scorched earth. It's quite an onslaught.

A recently uploaded track Lo-Fi Monastasism adds to growing list of impressive offerings available to stream from their myspace, including ominously dark titled tracks such as 'All of These Sins' and 'Made it my Soul'. It's rock that would have been made for The Book of Shadows - aka the soundtrack to the movie Blair Witch II, a soundtrack bookended by Godhead and the aforementioned QOTSA. Perhaps the Red Dancers Cometh will find their way into a similar soundtrack someday. It's music made for the horror genre. Although the band remain unsigned and the material remains unreleased, they've more than enough material in their arsenal to make a break for world domination now. Watch out, The Red Dancers Cometh...

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/reddancerscometh

http://www.bebo.com/reddancerscometh

http://www.nme.com/newmusic/red-dancers-cometh

Underground Frequencies at Daffy's Basement

As many will know from checking the Frequency-Ireland myspace, we're putting on gigs at the moment at Daffy's Basement, Limerick's newest live music venue, with a target of one Saturday night per month. Last weekend saw our first event at this new venue, and although we had a relatively small turnout, a lot of fun was had. Some video footage of the event was captured, which can now be found on the Frequency-Ireland myspace, along with details of further upcoming shows.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/frequencyireland

Tokyo Rising

Apparently formed on a notion to create music which would have nothing much more to it than a catchy riff and a catchy beat, Tokyo Rising, from Kildare are already showing signs that they can deliver a good bit more than just that. They cite groups such as Rancid and The Strokes amongst their influences when it comes to up-tempo indie-rock, and of course if you want to take it back a lot further, you'll hear The Pixies footprint there too of course. The band are not gigging just yet, but on the evidence of their demos, it shouldn't be long before promoters of the underground scene here will be seeking out a piece of Tokyo Rising to make a live showing, Frequency-Ireland here included. They've a few demos available to download from their myspace, including High On Zhivago, Stop Spit Run and Stereo Killer, which although naturally rough at the edges as demos, are well worth checking out.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/tokyorising

Poltergeist Records - Website Relaunch & Other News

A mention for the independent Irish label Poltergeist Records, who have recently relaunched their website, with some new releases happening over the next while. This will include two digital singles and an album re-issue from The Strangleberries, and also the release of an EP this autumn for Limerick musician Vertigo Smyth, a prospect with which they are naturally very excited about.

Poltergeist Records is of course home to the dreamy indie-pop of left-of-centre Dublin band The Terribles, fronted by Neassa who also runs up Poltergeist Records. The Terribles are recording a new release for this Autumn too and they'll also be re-issuing the last EP, Mistake:Do Over, out in the USA, so all systems go on the Poltergeist Records front at present. The Terribles have also been offered a licensing contract with Penny Distribution out in California and hearing from Neassa recently, they hope to tour the US within the next year...

"We'll probably be heading out that way for a tour, if not this year than next spring, being realistic about things. We've been gigging like mad recently though.. ..I'm just glad to be getting back in action after such a long time in hibernation."

So some great news on The Terribles front, and Poltergeist Records in general, and yes, it has been a long year in waiting. Expect some new gems from this awakening.

Related Links:

http://www.poltergeistrecs.com/

http://www.myspace.com/poltergeistrec

The Things - Wild Psychotic Sounds

Released just a few weeks ago, The Wild Psychotic Sounds EP of The Things bring us more Hammer Horror in the shape of The Damned and The Cramps and a lot of.. psychosis.. and rabid moods.. and angst-ridden adrenalin. The Things bring us some of the best punk Ireland has vomited since the 70s, and it would not be unfair to say they've trumped a lot of bands from that era at their own game. The Things were one of the first bands ever featured here on Frequency-Ireland, at which time there was talk of an album in the works. Well, that album is still in the works, now set for release this Autumn, but the EP now provides ample appetiser.


Available for download from their myspace at the moment is the effervescently deep and meaningfully titled 'la la la la la'. It's a lot better than the song title suggests. The Things are about entertainment. The Things are about theatre. The Things are about all that is important in rock'n roll and punk, and that piece of je ne sais whack horror-vision that sends your granny to the local parish priest worrying about what the youth of today are up to. Also available for your ears on their myspace from the EP is The End, which fittingly for The Things, sits midway through the EP. It's not supposed to be conformant. Completing the EP are 'Something new', something a bit older in 'Horror Movie', 'Going Home' and the serendipitously titled intro to the EP 'I Hate You', which you can listen to a live performance of on their myspace also. How about that for community service. The Things have come to steal your heart and give you butterflies... not. They're here to rock you over the top and rip off your soul in a lombast of horror-vision inspired rockn'roll theatre. Buy it. Now, where's my credit card got to...

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/thethings

http://thethingsireland.moonfruit.com/

Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters

Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters released their debut EP back in April on Manga Boy Records. I've had this on the back burner ever since, keeping it in mind to review, so lets set the record straight and finally get in the mention here.

Best pitched as Soundgarden with a smirk, Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters mix shades of dark imagery and heavy sledding, but relieve us from too much weathering with dollops mockery and a good sense of fun to boot. Reviews of the EP in the music press have been quite positive all round, and I'm not going to stand in their way here either. I will pick out different highlights however, with Little Black Marble, which opens with a haunting intro that evokes images of deathly western showdowns before lumbering through its menace, being the stand-out track of the EP as far as this listener is concerned. However, Darker Shade Of Blue, a lament not far from some of Nick Cave's material, also deserves particular mention, and not just for reasons of diversity. Elsewhere we descend into near-daftness with echoes of Funbobby, their former band, but the EP is worth suffering the lows for its stronger points. We are also treated to two bonus tracks, including a demo of the much lauded Delorian Obsession, which makes the EP an 8-track offering in total, with over 30 minutes play time. At that length, we have a release which some more mercenary labels would pitch as an album, double the price, and halve the worth. Fortunately for Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters sake that has not happened. As it stands as an EP, this is a 7/10, and recommended for those who appreciate a piledriving rock/punk-metal crossover, where the browbeating is almost always served up with ample cartoon buffoonery, and roughest textures are left unchewed.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/foxjawbountyhunters

http://www.foxjawbountyhunters.co.nr

http://foxjawbountyhunters.bebo.com

http://www.myspace.com/mangaboyrecords

Model Tourists - Wreckin' Some House

A random mention for Model Tourists who come from Wicklow, a band who seemingly started as a comedy/country outfit before amping up to meet the indie-pop-rock genre, but have held onto a healthy dose of fun attitude through that metamorphism. They cite bands such as The Strokes and Supergrass amongst their main influences now, though I hear shades of Modest Mouse and even The Monkeys in their package, in which light they remind me at times of a Chicago based band by the name of Outrageous Cherry. Anyway, enough comparisons, Model Tourists spiel that they set about to 'put into words all the magic, sadness, wonder, fear and general mayhem we see and help create every day, with a pinch of fiction thrown in for good measure', which doesn't really say much out of the ordinary, but then again, it doesn't need to. In the music, we get four tracks to stream 'Go Back and Change the Future', 'Wreckin Some House', 'Friendly Fire' and 'Miracle Ride', and a video to 'Go Back and Change the Future' with a lot of antics thrown in for good measure. If at times you find some bands in the music industry here can get a bit too deep about what they write, then you could find Model Tourists a breath of fresh air, wearing it all out on their sleeves, and an enjoyable listen at that. Choice track is 'Wreckin Some House'.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/modeltourists

Frequency-Ireland presents... The Chapman Society

Frequency-Ireland is back putting on events, this time to raise funds for The Samaritans. Thanks to The Chapman Society for offering to travel down to do the gig on their own expenses and also to some others in bands in the Limerick area who have been keen to get involved on their own good will - namely Mark O'Connor and Hatch77. It should be a fun night, and it's all come together so naturally, the intention is to run fundraisers as quite a regular theme here now.
As for why The Samaritans to start with, well, let's not go there. First and foremost, it's about putting on some shows for everyone to enjoy, so do come along and enjoy these gigs. The aim is to put events on monthly from here out, with A Lazarus Soul already lined up to headline our main event in August.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/chapmansociety

http://www.myspace.com/markoconnor

http://www.myspace.com/hatchseventyseven

Minus Circus - Shadow In Your Eye

Minus Circus is mainly Dublin's Gerry Scullion, and Shadow In Your Eye, brought to us late last year, has been playing on my mind a bit of late. It's probably unrelated, but it reminds me of an old fable I once heard back in my Christian Brother School days, told by one of the elder Brothers. It's quite an old tale I think. Anyway, he told of a girl with a shadow in her eye being taken as a test of parenthood towards the end of times, the eye marking a symbol of an armageddon clock stuck in poise. In the tale, the parents never give up, so the clock never moves on, and the world is saved, even if left a bit bemused to what it's all about. I'm not about to declare the end is nigh, but sometimes when it seems parallels in the real world are being acted out by fantasists, one wonders if the end of the sane world is, with our fantasist in this case getting wrapped up in the throes of his latest fiction in a fishing village in northern Morocco, or from there out across the wide sea, watching for something a parent would of course never do, stop searching. Any get-rich-quick punters out there anxious to chase up on the astronomical rewards being offered for solid information on a recent widely publicised kidnapping, please remember that this is all just based on the memory of an old tale, to which there is unlikely to be any substance to whatsoever. Still, that's a bit of my headgear, to which no-one listens.

As for Minus Circus in general, well, passionate alt-rock touching more often than not on acoustic delivery, with influences from U2, Wilco and The Blue Nile, they will and do appeal to many. The most surprising aspect about Minus Circus to date, is not that they are good at what they do, but that they have remained lesser than they ought. The song is streamable from their myspace, as it has been all year.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/minuscircus

http://www.minuscircus.com/