The FREQUENCY-IRELAND Music Alternative

2008-04-30T21:47:00.017Z

CRAYONSMITH - WHITE WONDER

An album that has already been championed by many in the music press as one of the highlights of the year thus far, White Wonder is a treasure trove of fuzzed up melodies and infectious indie-rock. Armed with propulsive electronic beats and synth pop sounds it has all the ingredients of a solid album, and well-balanced one.

As with the highly acclaimed Stay Loose début from 2006, there is influence of Grandaddy, a touch of Sebadoh, and to a lesser extent Sparklehorse, that can be heard at various moments throughout. It's often said though, that it is a mistake to make the same album twice, and with White Wonder, bookended by the electronic beats of the White Wonder Theme, we do have an album of notable differences.

Not only does the album take on a propulsion all of its own, most notably in the Grandaddy-esque chorus of All The Elders, Ciaran Smith has also matured as a songwriter on it, and with frequent nods to themes of lost direction often delicately put, 'sometimes tired eyes just can't see clearly', the album could be considered a quaint concept album - a concept of which we had a foretaste of course with the single which preceded the album release, Lost In The Forest. Although many of the beautiful mistakes of Stay Loose are absent in White Wonder, a few more purposeful moments ensure that the album is still full of surprises, such as where the lazily warm exit song in We Sleep culminates in some crowning fuzzed up moments before it tails off back to those same electronica beats of the intro. 10/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/crayonsmith

http://www.myspace.com/outonalimbrecords

2008-04-26T23:04:00.003Z

United Bible Studies - Black Colcannon

As a musical collective in the truest sense of the word, United Bible Studies are not quite like any other band on the local alternative music scene. Members come and go, the music is fluid and freeform, the results are beguiling and enchanting. Black Colcannon, released in February of this year on Deserted Village, captures three such sessions by the band on one limited edition release.

Dealing with the release in three live takes, the highlight of the first is undoubtedly the forlorn folk bereftness exuded in Who Will Put Me In My Grave, warm and captivating folk and perhaps as together as the material gets. Though the making of the release lies elsewhere. Candles For Albert recorded at the now disappeared Boat Club of Limerick epitomes a haunting, enough to make the hair on the back of ones neck stand on end, as if resurrecting the ghosts of the Shannon to capture the audience in a hypnotic four minute seance. The third and final session is a 30 minute medley from The Boom Boom Room in Dublin, reaching in mid-flight a noise that screeches through a freeform psychedelic racket as it rises to bewitching intensity for the best part of 10 minutes before sinking into a sublime lullaby with Christ Is Nailed To Many Crosses. The session closes with the title track from their 2006 album, The Shore That Fears The Sea, and one wonders where the time went. Sublime, even if more than a bit directionless. 7/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/unitedbiblestudies

http://www.last.fm/music/United+Bible+Studies

http://www.desertedvillage.com/

2008-04-24T23:33:00.008Z

Kill Krinkle Club - The Bloody Murder Of Krinkle EP

Delicate. Dreamesque. Dark. Minimalist experimentalist electronica pop for the forgotten and lost. Call it what you will, The Bloody Murder Of Krinkle EP recently released by Kill Krinkle Club has a fairy tale sense of wonder and mystique about it. Perhaps it's the often indecipherable soft vocals of Justin Commins. Perhaps it is how Elina Bergman's compliments his. Either way, it's essential listening, and a welcome deflection into it's dream sequence electronica.

I first became familiar with Justin's vocal style back in the early days of The Star Department, all of two years ago, and since then have come to appreciate his rather unique vocal delivery. It's twee romantic but quirky and mischievous. Hard to put in a nutshell, and though different is not always good, it is here. While one can draw comparisons to the likes of Schneider TM or The Postal Service, Kill Krinkle Club are a rather different proposition. And with the complement of a fondly female vocal from Sweden, and with the use of all from clarinet to chime bars to sellotape, Kill Krinkle Club are surely going places. Krinkle better watch out. 9/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/killkrinkleclub

http://www.sonicbids.com/killkrinkleclub

2008-04-19T12:01:00.003Z

Russolo's Pet Project - It's Clobberin' Time!

And now it's time to bring out the fuzz... Russolo's Pet Project is the experimental side project of Northern Ireland's underground meisters of feedback, SUPER-8. With ample material to download from the Russolo's Pet Project space on the web, it is time to indulge in the mix of material, all curiously themed with choice Marvel & DC Comics Super Hero characters. What do we make of it?

Choice material on offer include Freedom Girl (Catwoman), taking shape as a dreamesque ballad in the mould of the Velvet Underground, while Wrong (The Joker) takes on the best of the Jesus & Mary Chain circa 1991. Elsewhere, in Ben Grimm we have what Death In Vegas might come up with if they remixed a few Velvet Underground out-takes, where the backbone runs in the vein of the claustrophobic dystopia of late 90s, but the melody runs delicate and free as VU 60s. Live Wire Live Moment, another track of note, is Primal Scream putting structure to the dysfunctional Lazycame territory of William Reid. All in all, the demo material, some more recent than others, is well worth the indulgence. 8/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/russolospetproject

2008-04-17T20:45:00.007Z

Terrordactyl EP

A noise that is next to frantic at the best of times, lampooning through melodies that hover between jagged and jive in fleeting moments, the post-rock / math-rock noise of Terrordactyl has rested under a batch of over-listened CDs for the past few months awaiting excavation. Finally taking the plunge this week, one finds the offering an interesting sonic snapshot even if more than a touch debased from the live adrenalin that Terrordactyl have in their more natural environment.

As with many bands of this genre, there is beauty in the controlled chaos, though from the onset in Hikikomori, through to Calabunga and Stingray, the output, though always threatening to explode, in the end fails to ever take flight. The largely instrumental release, brought out last November on the Organised Ideas label in Dublin, leaves one with the impression that there is constrained outburst here where it should be pulverising an audience all the way back to the Cretaceous period. Perhaps in this light it is more worthwhile to go see them live instead, as I'm sure there is a beast within Terrordactyl that is not quite captured here. 4/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/thedactyls

http://www.organisedideas.org/

2008-04-14T22:09:00.022Z

Minus Circus - Hide & Seek EP

02.10.07. The Sugar Club. Dublin. Although it was the launch gig for their Hide & Seek EP, the gig would be remembered as a farewell gig, for Gerry Scullion of Minus Circus was soon to pass through the departure gates. Australia beckoned.

Six months on, Dublin's loss is Sydney's gain, as Minus Circus frequent its venues instead, with wordsworth Gerry Scullion's fusion of acoustic rock into that indie rock format - the same core found in REM and Wilco on through to The Blue Nile.
Hide & Seek is a welcome reminder to those of us who miss the presence of Minus Circus on the local scene, of what makes it all that bit special.

In Good Soul/Bad Soul, which had also featured on the self-titled 2006 EP release, Gerry digs deep to explore his struggle with the darker side of his psyche, and sets the tone for an EP that refuses to sit too comfortably with the listener. In Revolve we have a vibrant pop-leaning track that enthuses in a bitter-sweet twist to an end of a relationship, while we are treated to a soft ballad in Hide & Seek, the title track of the EP, where the analogy to childhood is used to capture the struggle through the years of finding a soul mate. Rounding off the EP, an anthemic track in Hold On Tightly, echos the sounds of a broken man looking to find a new way forward.

It is altogether an engrossing EP well worth the attention of those who appreciate the merits of accessible indie-rock with a lyrical edge. In one of the tracks Gerry questions 'What's left to write that hasn't been written before, we've all lost a love and I think we know the score'. Fortunately, he always finds a new way to put it out there 'sometimes I look and stare right to the stars, I don't believe at all that all of mankind are from Mars'. With an album currently in the works, perhaps we will see Gerry return from exile with Minus Circus on its completion. 9/10.

Related Links:

http://www.minuscircus.com/

http://www.myspace.com/minuscircus

2008-04-08T23:23:00.008Z

ECHO LAWRENCE

At first there were Towers and Timeclocks. The fuzz tone on, the noise loud and hard hitting, the voice heartfelt and emotional. Taking form from the post-punk of Gang of Four, a rock in the mould of Idlewild, and some of the sensitive lyrical meandering of The Cure, Echo Lawrence as they are now known set out with the lofty and admirable aim of becoming their own favourite band. They are cetainly going about it the right way.

A recent stint at home recordings over the holy weekend, sidestepping prayer for the benefit of music, Echo Lawrence have produced six songs from their current setlist which purportly retain all the energy of their live performances. Demo material of particular note now available online includes not just a sublime delivery of The Letter, but also the impressive harder hitting tracks of Into The Blue and Red Blink, while ballad My Lady In Blue touches through all the right spots without ever overstating itself. A band not to rest on their laurels, they are already continuing to work on further new material in preparation for some recording studio time in May, and one gets the impression that we will be hearing a lot more from Echo Lawrence as the year pans out for them. They can be caught live next at Eamon Dorans in Dublin on May 18th as part of the Garageland Showcase gigs. 8.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/echolawrencemusic

http://www.bebo.com/echolawrence

2008-03-23T14:29:00.010-01:00

THE THINGS - TIGER EP

Another assailment of angst and aggression from Dublin's favourite freaks of the underground, The Things' Tiger EP contains three ultra-primitive, garage rock stompers in the shape of Tiger, Voodoo Spells and Lungs. As a limited edition taster for the as yet untitled début album which is now due for release this spring, signs are promising for what could be a milestone psychotic stomper in the mill.

After arising from the dreggs of Dublin's low society back in 2002, The Things have since established themselves as a cult band in their own right as one with a rabid despotism and few peers. The term 'Cult Band' is usually reserved for commercially unsuccessful acts who curry favour with the underground masses but fail to hit the nail on the head in terms of Album Sales, though in the case of The Things, it is a case of not yet putting out that album to test the water. Despite the fact that they've yet to release that long awaited début album, their live shows, backed by a couple of limited edition vinyl releases, have placed them firmly in the shadows of notoriety, with a passionate and ever growing fan base in Europe and around the U.S. Inspired by outsider Rock N'Roll in the shape of The Cramps, The Damned, The Stooges and The Misfits, their Hammer Horror smeared venom has unleashed on us an infested angst ridden core with a dark underbelly of depravity.

Although this Tiger is jammed out to near military precision, the EP marches as close to a live experience that can be captured to vinyl. An EP released on their own Psycho Sound Records label, TIGER is limited to 500 copies vinyl, but also available as an itunes download. Hitting stores this March 28th, this is yet another testimony to all that is vibrant about the alternative/underground scene in Ireland today. One awaits their début album with unabated trepidation. 10/10.

2008-03-19T18:22:00.015-01:00

Lines Drawing Circles - Lines Drawing Circles EP

3 guys. 1 girl. She's French. They're not. A curious synopsis included with the release advertises in brief a multicultural aspect that is now part and parcel of the band. I am dealing with the début EP from Lines Drawing Circles, a band which formed in late 2007 from the ashes of Dublin indie-rock act Cry Yuma. The question is, with the French connection, and a fresh start, do we like them now?

The EP is certainly a step forward from their Cry Yuma days. Creating a sound that is not unlike a mixture of Nada Surf, The Shins and Radiohead, they describe their sound now as progressive pop with a fondness for noise, and one can certainly appreciate both the noise favour and the looser structure within the material now. In parts we can even hear subtle leanings into the circles of Good Morning Spider and the genius of Mark Linkous, in second track, simply titled '108'. Undoubtedly, though, the appeal of the EP will be its Radiohead leanings which manifest in both opener 'Lull' and closing track 'I Wont Let It Keep Me'. Meandering, melodic and adventurous, the three tracks give a fine taster of what may yet come from them. Recorded at Windmill Lane, the début EP which was released this March can be purchased from the band's website. Nice work... 8/10.

Related Links:

http://www.linesdrawingcircles.com/

http://www.myspace.com/linesdrawingcircles

2008-03-12T20:56:00.010-01:00

THE SPIKES - HYPNOTISED

Having taken their legendary live show underground for almost a year, The Spikes return to show the world just how well that time has been spent. Surely their most vibrant offering to date, Hypnotised is the new single out on Thick Neck Records, and one has to now start asking, is this a band on the verge of greatness?

As with the previous three singles, again the influence of The Doors can be heard in the bass line and the confident swagger, though now out of their minds on a half a dime, the new single is more explosive than what we have come to expect. The gamble pays off, and is surely the Ace they have been threatening to pull all along.

The Dublin-based band whom had arrived here from New Zealand just a few short years ago have had many successes to date. Their début single Monster received considerable praise from the press, while the follow-up In Love No More was listed in the top 100 tracks of 2006 by Phantom FM. Their third release Ninja Girlfriend was selected by Hotpress for the Tisch Video production by the Tisch School New York. With a naturally compelling hip-swaying beat, expect this new offering from The Spikes to be as big of a hit on the indie dance floors as on the air waves. One awaits what will surely be an arresting début album. 9/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/thespikesmusic

http://www.thespikes.net/

2008-03-09T22:15:00.004-01:00

Music For Dead Birds - Cathedrals

Latest to arrive through the Frequency-Ireland postbox, the second demo from Galway two-piece Music For Dead Birds. Drawing influences from severe lethargy and the burden of ageing, these two solemn musicians are surely only creating for the benefit of their own mental health, or so goes the press release.

Leaving mental health issues aside, this is a well balanced and varied offering worth sharing with more ears. Opening with a solemn organ backed intro reminiscent of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, the EP branches out subsequently in quite different directions. An acoustic instrumental follows with First Time Seeing An Ocean, before we lead into The Sex, a well penned indie-folk strain which is surely the highlight of the demo. Perfume then recedes into a sleepy and laid back indie-acoustic meandering, which reminds somewhat of The Blue Trees EP from Welsh outfit Gorky's Zygotic Mynci before the remainder of the demo delves into some welcome experimentalism, with Marvellous Dog a curious propulsion overdubbed with chatter, and then an alluring outro takes one on a journey with the sparsest of melodies, about as hypnotic as the last time hearing an ocean. 7/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/deadbirdmusic

http://www.bebo.com/deadbirdmusic

2008-03-06T21:36:00.040-01:00

Crayonsmith - Lost In The Forest

Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself within a dark forest, for the straightforward pathway had been lost...

Sifting through some of the best releases over the coming weeks, Crayonsmith's Lost In The Forest jumps to the fore, as a propulsive, and synthetically cyclical voyage, which spirals quite favourably into a behemoth of bewilderment.

Taken from White Wonder, the forthcoming new album, Lost In The Forest seems a distinct change in direction from the highly acclaimed Stay Loose, which had brought us a lo-fi synergy of Pavement style twisted guitar melodies and moments of Sebadoh crunch, intertwined with the tenderness of Sparklehorse. None the less, it is quite the appetiser, and holds onto the signature lo-fi sensibilities and warmth. Whether it sets the tone for a more electronic White Wonder, time will soon tell, but for now we have a vibrant and exciting new single, from an artist whom has won many admirers over the past two years with Stay Loose. The single will be available as a digital download from March 7th. White Wonder follows on Out On A Limb in April, when we'll find out what it means to be lost in that forest... 9/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/crayonsmith

http://www.myspace.com/outonalimbrecords

2008-03-01T15:34:00.021-01:00

The Discarded Retarded - Devils Tango

There's always that intangible fixation to chaos ridden punk, such is the case with Dublin amalgamation The Discarded Retarded. Listening in on the live material available for download from their space on the web, one finds enough reason to be hopeful of an interesting début release from them.

A shambolic avalanche of country-punk propulsion, Devils Tango, spun out by eight parts human and one part noise, is the main attraction thus far from the Dublin outfit, carrying more than enough momentum to make one want to join in and be a part of it all. The Devils Tango is surely an infectious one.

The band predominantly take their que from The Cramps, but there is also a lot of The Ramones, The Dead Kennedys, alcohol, sweat, drunken promises and base impulses in the mix. As a unit they have been on the go on the Dublin circuit for the past 18 months, with their next date set at The Acadamy in Dublin (formerly Spirit) on March 19th, and one can expect an Irish tour come the summer. As for a release, one may not have to wait all that long. Hearing from band member Liamtard recently - "We don't have anything released at the minute, but we're almost there, 4 songs have been recorded and just need some studio wizardry to lick them into shape and then hopefully we'll be able to get something out.. most likely as an independent release that you'll be able to get from here or some other music-type website as a download and then a proper CD to follow when we've built up some funds to finance it." Blending old-style rock and roll with sleazy gutter-drunk warblings, the Retards explode onto stages and fillet their audience with a visceral assault of edgy guitar melodies, with a distraction of harmony that only their big band mentality can provide. Recommended listens for those who love to revel in the chaos of it all - Dirty Shave, Hissing Of Arabs & Devils Tango.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/thediscardedretarded

http://www.nme.com/newmusic/the-discarded-retarded

2008-02-19T22:42:00.000-01:00

Carnival - Fog On The Tyne

Sittin' in a sleazy snack-bar snuckin' sickly sausage rolls... No, not the Lindisfarne hit once destroyed by a 90s football hooligan, Fog On The Tyne is Part A of the new Carnival release to arrive recently in the Frequency-Ireland postbox. A punktastic pop pleaser with as many hooks and as much punch as any bubble gum pop you are likely to hear on the waves today.

With the surprising success of their debut single Andy's 15/Tunnels, produced by the award winning producer Kramer, the band's new release is another step in the right direction, offering both variety and substance. While the opener bears more than a subtle nod to 70s punk pop, with all the get up and go of Eddie & The Hot Rods, the vocal vigour of Debbie Harry, and the vibrancy of vitreo, Part B takes a nod to Neil Young with a touching ballad of how the wicked plunder on the fragile soul. Alas, amped to immodest proportions, Precious Ground has overtures of 80s indie-rock, with that obligatory guitar solo thrown in for a measure just when you thought it was safe to hear it through to the end unscathed. More appealing is the rather less overstated b-side, Shooting Blind, a folk political allegory that wears its 60s Dylan idealism on its sleeve in noughties dystopia, and a fine track worthy of more than b-side status. The EP rounds off with a quaintly colloquial radio interview on KCLR FM featuring in studio performances of Tunnels and Precious Ground. Recommended, warts and all. 8/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/comejointhecarnival

http://www.carnivalmusic.bebo.com/

2008-02-10T20:37:00.000-01:00

The Revellions - Amped for a Point Break

Psychotic garage surf merchants The Revellions are primed for a debut album later this year after roughcasting their sound playing the circuit here and abroad over the past few years. Always raucous, primitive, and a touch off the rails, The Revellions play with that grit-edged garage sound of The Chocolate Watch Band and others of that ilk. An old school rampant garage rock found in recent track Walking Away, a highlight of the material available online, that claustrophobic paranoia of all from The Zombies to The Cramps can be heard, and even a touch of The Doors can be found within the swirling organ sounds of Have It All. While perhaps not one of a kind, even on the Dublin circuit, The Revellions do have it all.

With the band currently in the latter stages of mixing for their forthcoming debut album, expect the as yet unnamed works to see the light of day on this side of summer. Meanwhile, they can be caught live at the Amsterdam Beat Club in Dublin on 28th Febraury, and in London at The Dirty Water Club on 14th March.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/therevellions

2008-02-06T23:38:00.000-01:00

The Brothers Movement

After some four years of MAINLINE pushing the boundaries of all that could be achieved in that psychedelic guitar rock sphere of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Black Angels and The Morning After Girls, the band are now regrouping as The Brothers Movement to take a new direction. It's early days yet, but what can be made of the new material currently available online?

You said if you want peace then prepare for war, because I'm tired of fighting and I want no more...

In both War And Peace and Comin' Home, we have a more reflective, stripped down country rock leaning than what has gone before with MAINLINE. One also can't help but pick up on the bewildered war weary pitch of it all too. Whether The Brothers Movement will be one with a political message, we will have to wait and see, but in an era where the US Military has waged wars that seems to have no direction and no end, its soldiers shipped out with false hope and shipped home in body bags, it would not be a first, or a misplaced agenda. One wonders what has happened to the land once known for embracing the values of liberty, fraternity, and equality, that land of hope and opportunity for the disaffected? Perhaps a noise from Dublin in the shape of The Brothers Movement is now searching for it.

The band aim to bring out a début album later in 2008, with more material sure to be unveiled between now and then. Although apparently on the softer side of psychedelia now, still expect influences along the BRMC axis to permeate through brush-ins with The Verve and a country rock soul taking it all the way back to The Stones. Agenda or not, this is sure to be a movement worth listening in on.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/thebrothersmovement

2008-02-03T22:37:00.000-01:00

A Plastic Rose - Silence You EP

With a glance north of the border overdue for some time here, a mention now for the Belfast-based band A Plastic Rose, a band whom have started to venture south on the live circuit on the back of their Silence You EP released last October.

As their second self-released studio EP within twelve months, the band have quite a lot of momentum behind them, and this three track race through angst ridden melodic rock is an altogether edgier affair than their previous release. All You Know And Love Will Die is quite an attention grabbing title for the lead track, and its substance does not disappoint, where a superbly angular rhythm lifts into a frantic anthem of notable merit, and not surprising it has made its way to national radio play in recent months. In the second track, from which the EP takes its name, we have quite an attention grabber, where charred emotions gripping on hope through to ecstasy, as the song opens 'for fucks sake keep your eyes on me' sets the tone for a mantra of 'this five second stare means so much to me, fuck it my heart don't need company'. The boys know how to use their french in a lyric to good effect. The EP closes off with This Colour Blue, where the influence of post-hardcore bands such as The Appleseed Cast and Sunny Day Real Estate can perhaps be heard most, and all in all this is an EP which is a progression into an edgier direction from the earlier release. A full Irish tour penned in for this side of summer. One would expect it to be very well received. 8/10.

Related Links:

http://www.aplasticrose.com/

http://www.myspace.com/aplasticrose

http://www.aplasticrose.bebo.com/

2008-01-31T22:33:00.012-01:00

Story Of Hair - The Ho! Ho! Ho! Stamp EP

Once upon a time in a land not so far far away, a fluorescent pink pig wished by moonlight what it would be like to visit the great Radio City. Perhaps one of the great kings of Radio City could give him a greater purpose in life than the quite ornamental one he was used to. His wish... Piggy Pig wanted to hear a wee noise.

OK. Time to pull out some hair... The Ho! Ho! Ho! Stamp EP was released last December 13th in Radio City. Arriving through the Frequency-Ireland postbox this week, and having gone through enough cold turkey for another year, it is time to catch up on what was perhaps the finest local release last festive season. A first run through the EP checks a nod to Sonic Youth's Goo, Nirvana's Insecticide, Blood Red Shoes, Pavement, Fugazi. It is a sound which has collectively been described before as alternative noise pop art rock, and indie-punk close to its best. Without Sound, the lead track on the EP and the single début which preceded the release is an infectious triumph of simplicity in motion - I never learned how to shout, but I knew how to scream, without sound. Five tracks follow which alternate between female and male lead vocals, abrasive melodies, instantly lovable hooks, screams, shouts, squallered tunes and a true sense of the simmering sensibilities of get up and go which makes music come alive. Piggy Pig should be rather happy with the pedestal he now appears on.

Choice tracks, which can be streamed from their space on the web, are Udder and Without Sound, though many will give more credit over to that familiar punktastic live favourite of Shoes On Fire as the real go-getter of the EP. 9/10.

Related Links:

http://www.storyofhair.com/

http://www.myspace.com/storyofhair

2008-01-28T21:58:00.000-01:00

The Gandhis - Zaza

The Gandhis release their début single Zaza as a download on 8th Feb with a launch night in Radio City on the same day. A band whom allegedly don't subscribe to trends or images, one finds this wanton untrendy illusion quite an appetiser for a band who are sure to draw attention in the coming year.

And so it's time for some peaceful civil disobedience... Innovation is always the key to making a mark, and their quirky jazz-infused liltfull rock leaves one with the impression that they can and will do just that. Independent music inspired by all from The Beatles to The Buzzcocks, their music is quite instantly catchy in melody, yet is voyeuristic in delivery, with instrumentation as diverse as to include the banjo, the trumpet and the ukulele to fill out their sound. This is music which is right up entertainment street for one looking for, well, let's put it as a turn for the better. Zaza can be found out on their myspace page and website along with Guy Like Me, a promo demo which has already earned them significant airplay, a track which is quite a different kettle of soup, with the euphoria of The Beta Band on quite an overwhelming ration of deleriously happy peace burdened shrooms. 8/10.

Related Links:

http://www.thegandhismusic.com

http://www.myspace.com/thegandhis

2008-01-24T20:45:00.000-01:00

The Screams - Mood Swings & Roundabouts

And so it seems, the return of the band formerly known as The Ant Hill Mob may not be on the cards after chaos leered to overrule a stint at The Voodoo Lounge last month. While the ship of The Screams looks to sink before leaving the harbour, through mood swings and roundabouts, the music survives to tell tale of the Dublin based five-piece who flirted with a comeback after a 15 years hiatus.

The Stranglers through to The Jam, a touch of The Specials, and even some Floyd thrown in for good measure, The Screams echo inspiration from many icons of the 70s. Things Can Only Get Better echoes of an urban underclass boredom with some quite memorable lines, while a track simply titled Don't jilts to an inane delight with a quirky vocal and keys which would fit snugly onto the b-side of a Floyd release circa Wish You Were Here. Demons move in with feedback and propulsion to steal your dead leg away, while Life On Earth has shades of life down at the tube stations at midnight lived out in a living room wanting for more than the end of that last beer can. Although emergence of The Screams now seems ever more distant, these tracks and more are currently downloadable from their space on the web, where one can take a measure or two of what was missed out on. The Screams have a lot of material here to be buoyant about. 7/10.

Related Links:

http://www.thescreams.com/

http://www.myspace.com/thescreamsdublin

2008-01-21T22:37:00.000-01:00

Sons Of Now - Dirty Money

It's simple straight forward no bullshit rock n'roll, and as it should be. Those familiar with the rock scene from Ireland over the past few years will know the Sons Of Now. Dirty Money is the latest offering, which can be tasted in all its angst and raw energy on their space as recorded live in Dublin recently.

Described before as having the devil-possessed poise of The White Strips, the Sons Of Now push out Dirty Money with a driving riff and a sneer from the gutter at the exposed to which The Cramps would have been proud of, baring all the that was infectious about punk inspired rock. A taster from the promise of a SHOTGUN EP, it is accompanied with Sell Your Soul and Into The Sun, also available from their space on the web, the former with a rabid propulsion that makes it the choice track of those on offer. And so that common theme seems to be an undercut at those exposed for a false profit on the soul, the material makes for a rousing punk inspired backlash, and one demanding our full attention at that. 7/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/sonsofnow

http://bandwagon.ie/bands/Sons+of+Now

http://www.bebo.com/RebelShotgun

2008-01-09T18:11:00.000-01:00

Floyd Soul & The Wolf - Welcome To The Woods Again

If you go down to the woods today... Taking influence from The Rolling Stones, Crazy Horse and Kings of Leon, Waterford rock outfit Floyd Soul & The Wolf start the new year preparing for their first single release. Prior to this, echoes of roots rock could be heard in some of the earlier material on their début, the 2006 Welcome To The Woods EP, particularly with Talk On The Rocks, a loose rumbling number all the way from the honkey tonk blues rock counties. In other tracks, Stonewalkin' and to a lesser extent I Am The Room, we catch shadows of a music life raised to and indulging in the sounds of Exile on Main Street.

Having brush-ins with garage/blues rock, filled with harmony and energy, and shoved through to some country-rock narcosis, its hardly surprising to hear that they've a producer coming over from Nashville to work with them on their single, to point them in the right direction, so to speak, before taking it back to Nashville for mixing and mastering. The omens are good. Given that their debut EP is a thoroughly enjoyable listen, one can wait in anticipation of another fine release.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/floydsoul

http://www.electric-circus.net/video/floyd-soul-the-wolf

http://www.floydsoulthewolf.bebo.com/

2008-01-08T18:04:00.001-01:00

CANE 141 - Lost At Sea, Found At Moonpool

Alternative is perhaps the first word that comes to mind when one thinks of CANE 141. Although the works and concepts of Mike Smalle aka CANE 141 have most often been far off the radar of the music scene, CANE 141 has amassed a lot of respect in the alternative music press, and even more so in the sphere of the concept art community. Lost At Sea is of course the soundtrack CD of CANE 141 which found its way to the GraceSpace Gallery in Brooklyn NYC last year. As part of an audio/visual collaboration first exhibited in Galway at a festival in 2006, it applies the musical voyages of CANE 141 to the visual works of Roison Coyle, combining the beauty and struggle of the sea with the individual's response to it. It swathes somewhere between ethereal grey skies and a morning sea mist. Hmmmm.

Lush, ambient, obscure, CANE 141 electronica provides the mind an indulgence well worth the voyage through indirection. Lost At Sea washes perpetually under the narrative words of the commander, the musical journey taking you off course ensuring that the mind may be submissive to the minimalist subtleties of the album. Compared occasionally to ambient works such as those of Fennesz and Biosphere, the album has been described as beautiful and intriguing, and among the best records of its type last year. As an artist who has collaborated in the past with such musical luminaries as Mark Eitzel (American Music Club) Sean O'Hagan (The High Llamas/Microdisney/Stereolab) and Cristian Vogel of Super_Collider fame, this is hardly surprising. Some of the CANE 141 material can be experienced from the CANE 141 space, including the exceptional '1 to 10 and back again' from the highly acclaimed Moonpool 2005 album. As always, music to loose oneself in. 10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/cane141

http://www.cane141.com/

2008-01-05T22:40:00.004-01:00

Oh My God!... (It Might Be Him)

Delivering a kooky psychedelic pop-rock shaped by the influence of the best from the 60s and 70s, from The Velvet Underground through to The Magic Mushrooms, soon to emerge all-girl band from Cork, OMGIMBH, are showing early promise.

Sir Lurkalot and Green For Go key in with all the right ingredients for spontaneity, frustration, euphoria, and spirited garage-pop psychedelia, and all of what pop-rock music should be about at its core. A band currently gigging the Cork area and writing new material in whatever spare time they have, both Sir Lurkalot and Green For Go are downloadable from their fledgling myspace on the net - and is a highly recommended visit for those keen to get in early on the act. 8/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/ohmygoditmightbehim

http://www.omgimbh.bebo.com/

2007-12-08T14:50:00.000-01:00

My OK Hotel - When The Ship Sinks We Stick Together

"On empty streets I stood silent struck with fear, As the city was waking the noise became so clear, The lights kept my eyes shut too bright too strong for me, As the countrysides sleeping and the city shouts at me, And it passed me by…"

The 2007 EP from My OK Hotel brought us a direct and simple debut from the rising Kildare band. Released on indie label Death To Cassette Records, When The Ship Sinks We Stick Together leads off with a tight and delicate delivery of Too Bright, with touches of Snow Patrol-esque harmonies and strong-felt songwriting.

A more subtle Man On Ambulance follows with touches of Elliot Smith and Sparklehorse, rumbling along quite elegantly with a slight alt-country propulsion, while the title track brings out some crunch over another soft and gentle vocal to the tune of calming and waiting through deceptions as the proverbial ship sinks. Closing out with People and Trains, we have a delicate indie lullaby not all that dissimilar to some of Sparklehorses' third album, It's A Wonderful Life. All tracks are available free to download from the My OK Hotel website.

Related Links:

http://www.myokhotel.com/

http://www.myokhotelareonbebo.bebo.com/

http://www.myspace.com/myokhotel

2007-12-06T22:57:00.000-01:00

Neon Flea Circus - Go For The Juggler EP

Come what come May... 2007 saw release of the Neon Flea Circus' Go For The Juggler on Moon Icicle. While a circus is most commonly a travelling candy of performers that may include acrobats, apesgrapes, animals, trapeze acts and hula hoopers, the Neon Flea Circus requires some tequila to get your head around.

While funk beats and blues might not be the cornerstone of underground music championed here, brush-ins with psychedelia and a taint of King Leer debauchery make for compelling listening. The Neon Flea Circus are Cork City's answer to all you'll ever need in an off-centre funk of early Chilli Peppers. Though tainted sulphur and brimstone theatre, they have enough to make one warm more to the fire of lounged out Forbidden Fruit than that frenetic rub of the Skinny Sweaty Man In A Green Suit. Oh.. what have you done.. it started out and you thought it would be fun..... The choice song has to be King Lear, with touches of everything from Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds to a jazz lounge act in purple tainted harmonies of your favourite hell's kitchen. With influences taken from Small Faces, Hendrix and Gallagher, Fleetwood Mac and even shades of The Doors, here is a champion of something quite different, and quite relevant for that reason.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/neonfleacircus

http://www.neonfleacircus.net/

2007-11-18T23:56:00.000-01:00

We Should Be Dead - Forget Romance, Lets Dance

We should be excited... Forget Romance, Lets Dance is the soon to be released début single from Limerick band We Should Be Dead. Released later this month through indie label POP 4 POP, the single captures the essence of a band with nothing held back. For all the 60s girl fronted pop-rock bands who romanced on the leather and motorcycle stubble of the leader of the pack, We Should Be Dead take the romance and turn it upside down, infuse over it with Ramones style punk hooks, and give you a reason to forget and enjoy the moment in equal measure.

So it's poptastic and hooktastic and punktastic, and if you've any semblance of fun in you, of the passion and desire of bubblegum pop-punk, you'll be reaching to get a piece of We Should Be Dead here and now. The single is streamable from their space along with an equally impressive b-side in What Brings You Down which can be pre-ordered from 7Digital Indie Store. To ensure that WSBD get into your every crevice of conscience, and unconscience for that matter, band ringtones are also soon due to be made available for download to your phone. The official launch date for the single is November 30th, and with an album release now set for early February next year, the future is suddenly looking very promising for those from We Should Be Dead, and the resurrected sounds and spirit of a lost generation. 10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/wsbd

http://www.indiestore.com/weshouldbedead

2007-11-17T20:45:00.000-01:00

Revolution For Dogs - Shadow On The City

Following on from their début Let Yourself Go EP earlier this year, Revolution For Dogs released Shadow On The City this November as their second offering. Hard hitting infectious rock rhythms with a nod towards the leading lights of the Scandinavian hard rock wave of the late 90s, The Hellacopters and Gluecifier, for those longer in the tooth, the single may provide a stirring flash back to the sounds of everything from Judas Priest to Deep Purple.

Released on their own Revolution Records, Shadow On The City riffs out a rock n'roll unashamedly reaching for the stadiums. The b-side, Blondie, perhaps veers closer to Saxon territory with a laid back melodic breeze some may cringe and prefer to forget, though for all their variety, surely forgiven for the indulgence. Also streamable on their space currently is indie-rock veering Vampyre of the Soul and the more propulsive garage rock of Let Yourself Go from their earlier EP, which is available for download. Shadow On The City was released on 5th November, while all tracks are due to be included on a début album next year, Music Is Medicine. Among those who appreciate roots rock n'roll bearing influences spanning garage through to stadium hard rock, the album is surely to be well received.

Related Links:

http://www.revolutionfordogs.net/

http://www.myspace.com/revolutionfordogs

2007-11-04T20:54:00.000-01:00

It's A Long Way From That Sort Of Thing You Were Raised...

Warm indie-rock awash with the summer harmonies of late 60s pop culture, the début album from My Brother Woody is proving to be quite a pleasant indulgence since arriving through the Frequency-Ireland postbox last week. Described before as The Beach Boys meets Teenage Fanclub, the material is buoyantly harmonic, yet more often than not remains delicate in delivery.

The work of the new Irish outfit based around the song-writing skills of Michael Cleare, the album opens in an elegant and delectably frail manner with Another Wave of Harmony before leading into the confident and uplifting brass sounds of Wish I Was A DJ, injecting quite a jazz-pop lift to that Beach Boys summer vibe. Third track, Hanging Around perhaps sounds a touch too close to the mainstream rock of the 80s ala Brian Adams territory, as if custom tailored for major station radio play, but elsewhere the album is nicely poised between dippy and melancholic moods, and is quite a triumph of indie-pop. Choice tracks on the album come later, including the dizzy chemistry in Super Serotonin Girl and the more delicate and melancholia entrenched moods of When Summer Comes Around and Not Exactly What You Dreamed Of. As an album which closes with a song titled I Only Like Songs With Bops Oohs & Aahs, its hard to know for sure where the irony ends and the rebuff begins, but regardless of which way you want to look at it, this is an album of genuine merit none the less. 8/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/mybrotherwoody

2007-11-01T22:42:00.000-01:00

Frequency-Ireland Events...

A quick word to say thanks to those who came along to the Halloween Charity Fundraiser with The Things last weekend at Baker's Underground, which raised EUR 342.00 for the local branch of The Samaritans here in Limerick. Dave Barry, the much respected ex-teacher of the Limerick area, who handles all incoming fundraisers at the local branch of The Samaritans, was very grateful of both the funds and the awareness raised of all the great work they do in the area.

I'm currently putting together plans for a return to Daffy's International Bar to put on a singer-songwriter night in mid-December as a Christmas Charity Event, most likely in aid of the Mid West Simon Community for the homeless. Though no dates or plans have yet been set, the intention would be to have quite a casual affair of five or six artists, and a small door surcharge, with all proceeds going to the charity. For those who would like to participate and play a 30 or so minute set as part of this please feel free to get in touch.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/frequencyireland

2007-10-27T15:56:00.000Z

The Urges - Psych Ward

With a debut album launch last night at The Sugar Club in Dublin, The Urges are clanking, spiraling, twanging and hollering into the spotlight from the garage drenched gutter. The sounds of 13th Floor Elevators, The Mummies, The Electric Prunes, and at times some of the psycho-mania of The Things, all moderated by echoes of The Stones in the early days, The Urges unhinge an adrenalised avalanche of psychedelic retro garage punk to be reckoned with.

One of the first bands ever featured here on Frequency-Ireland, The Urges have been around a number of years, rising through the recesses of Dublin since 2004, onto more global exposure through appearances at several major garage festivals across Europe more recently. Backed by the success of their debut single Around Again in 2005, and inclusion on a number of compilations since, Psych Ward finally pulls their sound together into a full length garage album bursting with energy which had been threatening for quite some time.

Read The Signs leads off the album with an infectious clanking rhythm and primal beats that fuse together the best of 60s garage punk with some of the psychedelic underbelly of budget rock in the 80s, though soon It Aint Right takes the noise level down a peg to sleaze out over swirling Farfisa organ. Overall the album brimming equally with menace and paranoia, though an album full of redirections and slants on the classic garage rock sound. The Urges Theme, one of their older songs appearing on the album, takes surf guitar on a journey to ride through the sonic escapade of a 60s wild west movie to gunsling out displaced psychedelic grooves. So Uptight clanks and hollers, but is offset with melodies of the paisley underground of the 80s. The penultimate track Curse It All is rampant with unrestrained propulsive adrenalin and another old favourite of the live sets, while the album closes out fittingly with where the album takes its name, Psych Ward.

Overall a must-have album for those who follow the retro-garage rock scene, and a worthy album besides for anyone who likes to indulge in the genre occasionally. The album is available in all good garages, gutters and high street stores. 8/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/theurges

2007-10-21T23:50:00.000Z

Verfield

It had a sense of discomfort about it but Verston, not being the kind to just up and run away went on a little further. He took a step into the house and could swear he heard whispered voices coming from the room on his right. So in he went bould as brass only to see a corpse wrapped in a bin liner...

While that story can be safely left to be completed by spirited Bebo friends of Verfiled, we've conscripted the band to displace The Bonevilles for the opening set at our upcoming Halloween Charity Gig. Opening for The Things and The Fewer The Better at Baker's Underground in Limerick this Saturday Oct 27th shortly after nightfall, we expect a fun night of demonic proportions, which should ensure our Samaritans benefactors have a Happy Halloween.

A band who are getting quite busy these days, Verfield have a four track EP out this October and also involve in the running of MILF at Daffy's Basement. Tracks streamable from their myspace include Light The Torches, themed on the mindset of a haunted soul, is delivered with alt-country jilted indie rock, is perhaps their most accomplished effort to date. Also on offer online is The Final Tear which builds from sparsity with touches of blues rock into quite coarse metallic riffage veering towards My Chemical Romance that shows enough distance from the mainstream to give Verfield the flag of note as more than just another band on the scene replicating the same old ideas. Add into this a gritty delivery of Until My Ears Bleed, which shades the boundaries between rock and metal, and we have more than enough foretaste here to suggest their EP should be quite a solid work.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/verfield

http://www.bebo.com/verfield

2007-09-30T12:53:00.000Z

Walkperson - Desired Effect EP

Desired Effect is the debut offering from Dublin based indie-alternative outfit Walkperson, the EP released under the band's own Urchin Music label earlier this month. Walkperson cite dEUS, Slowdive, PJ Harvey and BellX1 amongst influences, but are accredited as being more accessible than these influences might suggest, with occasional leanings into alt-country touched acts such as Ryan Adams, The Frames and The Shins.
With an overall melancholic mood which reflects a beauty in sadness, the tracks capture a lot of passion and energy in their delivery none the less, rising at times to Placebo-esqe moments. The three track EP opens with a Flatline, with a driving indie-riff contrasting with the delicate vocal delivery. Following through to the title track, Desired Effect works repetition to steer a melancholy home before rising to a sonic overture of guitar riff and melody that embodies a lot of power and emotion, and is this listeners choice, while the closing track, Simple, recedes to the more quietly spoken alt-country side of Walkperson. All in all, quite an excellent EP, even if running to just over 12 minutes.

Walkperson formed earlier this year by main songwriter and frontman Pearse McGloughlin, who had played the London indie-circuit for a year as well as stints in Montreal and France before finding home in Dublin. On his return from London, McGloughlin quickly paired up with Andrew Deacon on guitar who provided the songs with the textures they required. After several successful support slots Deacon and McGloughlin were soon joined by Alsez Bajgart from the Czech Republic on bass and James T Yearn on drums, whom McGloughlin had previously played with some years previous in Sligo outfit Socialite. As a solid unit of mixed backgrounds and influences, Walkperson are now in a strong position to build on this impressive debut release. 9/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/walkperson

http://www.walkperson.net/

2007-09-28T21:44:00.000Z

Painting By Numbers - Circuits EP

For some of us, painting by numbers was a useful aid in our early days of learning how to be creative. The numbers were our stabilisers. The page, our open world. Listening to Circuits, the latest EP by Painting By Numbers, one can't help but get the impression they take their name in an altogether different context.

Circuits is quite an accomplished piece of work, the title track to which applies the analogy of painting by numbers to a relationship which has regressed to just going through the motions "this chemistry is all just memories.. ..and you're counting on numbers now." It's a lyric quite typical of the band, whose approach to song writing has already earned them much appraisal in the music press here as both accomplished and engaging, comparisons drawn with Crowded House in delivery.

Musically, the tracks on Circuits are all quite consistently harmonious and jangly, with intricately woven melodies, and fronted with the quite crystalline vocals of Ronan McCann, will appeal to those who prefer mainstream indie-rock. The choice track here is Breaking Mirrors which shows the band have the ability to crack out a fuller indie-rock sound when they want to. The unsigned four piece, who formed just over two years ago, are currently embarking a nationwide tour for the run up to Christmas, with their EP now finding its way to most online stores. 7/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/paintingbynumbersband

http://www.bebo.com/paintingbynumbers2

2007-09-17T23:36:00.000Z

Bend This, Uri Geller!

Many musicians and song writers over the years have name checked paranormalist Uri Geller in their music, with an old favourite being from Johnny Cash, where in the song In Your Mind he puts Geller in his place, looking down at him in disbelief with "Eternity is down the hall, and you sit there bending spoons".

Minimalist indie-rock band Bend This Uri Geller are the most recent to join in the mick take on Geller's claim to fame. Some material available on their myspace is worth the visit, which besides the many influences from the home circuit, from Crayonsmith to Waiting Room listed, is actually quite comparable to the quieter moments of dEUS circa '96 (Gimme the Heat, Serpentine, Wake Me Up Before I Sleep). For their worth, the Dublin band take a refreshingly light approach to songwriting. The Innocent stands out amongst those streamable, quirky, rhythmic, melodic, it toys mock bewilderment with charm, but even in the lesser tracks there is something to smile to, with Pissin On A Road showing that with the right delivery one can write a song about just about anything and pull it off. Comedy rarely works well in music, but it does here. Just don't mention the cheese. 7/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/bendthiseurigeller

http://www.uri-geller.com/articles/influence-on-musicians.htm

2007-09-16T21:55:00.000Z

Sydney Parade - If You Ever

What does an icecream headache sound like? Apparently, its the Sydney Parade. If You Ever is to be the first release from them after a few years of toiling away in the back recesses of Dublin. Put out on independent record label Nomadd, they describe their sound as psychedelic indie powerpop, but deliver tight, polished off, and overtly exclamated. Where did it all go wrong?

Coming at us in shimmering panache, three songs, one sound, and echos of the 80's gloss rock in parts, the feed is on those parts that one usually tries to forget. For a band who "just want to write great songs" they are probably failing most for trying too hard. This is polished stadium-wanton indie rock played from your local garage neighbourhood, and for all the curiosity of paradox that runs as a lifeline through alternative music, this one just doesn't wash. 4/10.

http://www.sydneyparade.com

2007-09-10T22:10:00.000Z

Frequency-Ireland presents... The Things

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/thethings

http://thethingsireland.moonfruit.com

http://www.myspace.com/thefewerthebetterband

http://www.thefewerthebetter.com

http://www.myspace.com/thebonevilles

2007-09-09T22:24:00.000Z

Sacrum of Elegy

The influx of foreign culture into Ireland in recent years has brought many benefits, with the enrichment of the underground music scene here a cornerstone example. Returning to the gigging circuit after some months of down time, Sacrum of Elegy fuse the early 90s metal influences of Death, Testament and Paradise Lost with the gothic vocal of Karolina, echoing the haunting theatre of vampiric lust in enchanting slavic accent. Fans of goth-metal such as Lacuna Coil will be suitably impressed.

Listening in on their demo material, Never captures the imagery of graveground hauntings, treading the fine lines between love, lust, loss, longing and belonging, with key lyric 'your dark eyes shine through' wisping on the wind. I Wish quickly rises from haunting seduction to power as if it were natural transition, commanding over the the riff and melodies with confidence, and one also of merit, while Firedance, a more direct death-metal track is one possibly more suited to capture the adrenalin of the live circuit. Siren is perhaps the most elusive, but returns to more substance with the distinct sounds of epilogue, and a vocal delivered in native tongue hardly masks or hinders the alure. 9/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/sacrumofelegy

http://www.bebo.com/sacrumofelegy

2007-09-05T18:38:00.000Z

Seneca - Smile / Sweeter Than Bourbon

Don't save your breath just breathe... such is the advise of Rob Hope on Smile, the first single to be lifted from Seneca's soon to be released Sweeter Than Bourbon debut album. They've been compared before to mixing Doves-like waves of sound with the perpetual motion of Arcade Fire, while in the vocal one can hear shades of everything from Jeff Buckley to Elliott Smith, and this single doesn't stray from that set of influences. While the new single is perhaps lacking originality, we do have as expected a radio friendly indie single that is likely to appeal to mainstrem listeners. It comes with So Beautiful, a much more gentle acoustic led affair as a b-side, also taken from the album. A band formed mid-2005, they have received numerous appraisals in the time that has passed since then, and opened for major Irish acts such as The Republic of Loose and Director, and they will undoubtedly receive further appraisals for this single in the mainstream music press also.

Listening through a preview copy of the album this past week, the best of their material lies elsewhere however. Opening with Clarity, a ballad with some of Jeff Buckley's appeal, broken and pulled apart, but held together with bare truth 'why should I take this terrible abuse, I'll tell you one thing I'm a mess but so are you' is quite a strong starting statement, and following through with Playing Fair, warm, propulsive, melodic, anthemic and emotive, we have perhaps the strongest track on the album, or certainly this listeners favourite. The title track, Sweeter Than Bourbon, delivered soft and close over a simple acoustic melody is another high point. Lyrics such as 'your eyes would make heaven hit the floor, something tells me you should be mine' and coupled with references to bourbon and cigarettes, it portrays the art of deception quite wryly, later confirmed with the lyric 'something tells me you see through my lies'. Good For What Ail's You, a coarser affair strikes of 60s pop-rock and has shades of The Beatles around Sgt. Peppers, while No Angel, a propulsive track with a memorable melody, also stands out later on the album, before it fades quietly with a triad of ballads in So Beautiful, Breath and Empty Street. Overall, where a lot of their material may lack in experimentation, the album as a whole makes up for in variety. The single Smile will be available in all good online stores from September 27th, with a launch party to be held at Radio City on September 13th, while the release date for Sweeter Than Bourbon has yet to be set. 6/10 for the single, 7/10 for the album.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/bandseneca

http://www.bebo.com/bandseneca

2007-08-30T22:42:00.000Z

Jimi Cullen - When The Last Leaf Falls

Jimi Cullen, Wexford's self-proclaimed 'political folk grunge' singer-songwriter activist, is here to make a difference. I picked up a copy of his album 'When The Last Leaf Falls' at one of his gigs recently. So, how does the material fare?

"When the last leaf falls, stained by nuclear waste, it will land behind scorched walls, walls of lies and hate. Walls first created in our central heated homes, walls of injustice, hate and cruelty that our politicians built with racism and crimes against humanity. Beyond our great cities of battered families and violence lay the rising deep blue seas slowly washing away the blood stained debris of our failed society. We raped the planet's nutrients to whore away her beauty. Men in power pretend its all ok, letting oil and waging wars, forgetting one day we must pay. So when the skies are scorched and war no longer pays, our planet like a tree will dry up and fade away. Then our powerful leaders will retreat behind their walls, but who will save our children when the last leaf falls?"

An intro which is spoken in the voice of school children about the future of our environment in a near prayer-like manner sets the tone of the album with a rather sobering message, before launching into a Dylan-esqe stormer in The Poverty Song. One delivered in style not far from that of Subterranean Homesick Blues, it is perhaps the highlight of the album. A stirring song which touches on themes of refugees, wars, famine, poverty, human rights and of "fear and paranoia spreading like a disease", it comes as a call for change. Delivered with the simple message "we gotta help see each other through it all" or "get up off your ass and do some good", Jimi Cullen doesn't tend to mince his words and makes sure his point is taken.

Elsewhere, themes run from the heartbreak of abusive relationships in Get Out While You Can, through to another war protest song in G&T On the Rocks, while For Your Smile steps into the more generic singer-songwriter territory of the love song, and stands out as one of the more commercially viable tracks on the album. A few blues-folk songs of varying merit add some much needed variety. The most notable of these is perhaps the harmonica infused Talkin' Religion Blues, which again brushes with Dylan, albeit delivered in quite a light hearted manner. With influences taking in Young, Dylan, Drake, Christy Moore, Byrne, Blake, and even The Beatles, this is an album which will be accessible to most listeners, although all in all is perhaps just that little bit too accessible for these ears. 6/10.

Related Links:

http://thejimicullenshow.bebo.com

http://www.myspace.com/jimicullen

http://www.jimicullenmusic.com

2007-08-28T22:47:00.000Z

SUPER-8 - Raptured In Time

A favourite of Frequency-Ireland's for some time, SUPER-8 from Ballymena, Northern Ireland, have decided to start all over again with a new myspace, new material, and a new band member in Chris Eaton (No More Yesterdays).

Reuniting their alt-rock back to its familiar roots of the 60s, two tracks currently available for download from their myspace lean close to the sounds of The Velvet Underground. 'Good To Be Alive' chills out on semi-acoustic vibes and an exploration into a strange mind-expanse across space-time, reaching along the lines of an Oasis Champagne Supernova precursor finding its way to the minds eye of The Velvet Underground's Jesus. An imaginative direction to say the least, good drugs are required to take this one for a ride. 'Can't Get My Head Around You' is the more upbeat, a retro-spun rock n'roll song evoking images of one in from the cold of dead end streets trying to get their head around the heartbeat of a candy clerk girl in a 60s diner to the tune of unrequited love 'I let you treat me like a stranger, I treat you like a queen, I let you place my life in danger, you like to hear me scream'. A quality song capturing a lost essence of the past in a way too few can achieve these days in rock n'roll motions.

Keep it coming guys, good to have you back.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/super8sounds

2007-08-26T19:56:00.000Z

Hope Is NOISE - APPLAUD FRIENDS... The Comedy Is Over

More often than not, releases from Cork label Rimbaud Records tend to reach beyond the comfort zone of many listeners, a label which proudly pitches itself as a 'slap in the face of public taste'. However, 'Applaud Friends, The Comedy Is Over', the debut album from Hope is Noise, whom have become a favourite among the vibrant Cork scene, is a notable exception, and is an album which has aptly been championed as 'a gem from start to finish'.

A blend of noise and punk melody, influences of early Whipping Boy, Hot Snakes, Idlewild and Fugazi, all the way through to Trail of the Dead can be heard on the release. Angular without being particularly abrasive, anthemic indie-punk-rock melodies dominate over a backbone of quite emphatic songwriting. Described once as 'laced with caustic lyrics of rejection, heartbreak and uplifting revenge', opening track Lions Led By Donkeys sets the tone, but it is Dancing With Johnny Five that perhaps stands tallest here for me, opening on themes of urgency 'and we can talk about it at the airport, and we can write about it in my contract'... it quite soon launches into perhaps the most emphatic chorus of the album 'i'm dancing with johnny five, he asked me was it true'... quite an awesome song, perhaps we should complete a trilogy of Short Circuit movies just so this song can be used as the soundtrack. Continuing the analogies to science fiction celebrity, the album closes with a propulsive punk anthem in I Live With Bruce Banner. Whether this refers to vocalist Dan Breen's personal demons or something else entirely its hard to tell, but regardless it is a fitting psychotic way to take the album a close. 9/10.

Hope is Noise's debut album 'Applaud friends, the comedy is over' is a co-release between Rimbaud Records (RB10) and Squint and Draw Records (SD02) and produced by the legendary Ciaran O'Shea (El Bastardo, Rulers of the Planet, Rest, etc..). The band are currently touring the West Coast of America.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/hopeisnoise

http://www.hopeisnoise.com/

http://www.myspace.com/rimbaudrecords

http://www.myspace.com/squintanddraw

http://www.johnny-five.com/

2007-08-23T23:55:00.000Z

No More Yesterdays - A Sin Of Omission

In general, the sin of omission, consisting as it does in a leaving out of good, is less grievous than a sin of commission which involves a positive taking up with evils. The sin of omission referred to here? Well, given a release which brisks through eight tracks in just over 20 minutes, outtakes in The Cut Throat Manifesto and Skinner Box Experiment previously reviewed here may appear to be unwarranted omissions, but without them we have quite a finely balanced release, offering brief windows into the minimalist post-rock world of No More Yesterdays.

Neatly bookended by line in (intro) and line out (outro), perhaps the most striking track is Sunshine, with voice-overs which account the threat which solar weather and coronal mass ejections cause to radio and satellite communications systems, providing ample headgear for those who are inclined to worry about world issues. Elsewhere, we have a predominantly instrumental release, minimalist and elegantly ambient, though backed with quite compulsive mechanical beats. As for shortcomings, tracks tend to be too short to allow the listener time to settle into them entirely, though a distinctive flow between the tracks helps overcome this. Respect Me Respect Yourself, a hidden bonus track, built on radio talk buried in static, and accompanied by a minimalist guitar melody is a simple but highly effective inclusion at the end. Overall, a release of interest to those who appreciate GSYBE inspired post-rock, but delivered minimalist and with coarse industrialised beats that pull it together rather nicely, and works well on repeat play. 7/10.

Tracks from A Sin of Omission can be streamed from the No More Yesterdays' myspace, where it can also be purchased via paypal. As for those who are curious about CME related phenomena, visit Space Weather.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/nomoreyesterdays

http://www.spaceweather.com/

2007-08-15T12:05:00.000Z

We took it underground...

Here's some footage of A Lazarus Soul headlining at the recent Frequency-Ireland event in Daffy's Basement, a fundraiser in aid of The Samaritans:

Earlier, support on the night was provided by Red Eskimo and Minus Circus:

A Lazarus Soul release their new single, The Day I Disappeared, the final single to be lifted from their album Graveyard Of Burnt Out Cars this August 17th.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/alazarussoul

http://alazarussoul.com

2007-08-10T09:30:00.001Z

Frequency-Ireland presents... A Lazarus Soul

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/alazarussoul

http://www.alazarussoul.com

http://www.myspace.com/minuscircus

http://minuscircus.com

http://www.myspace.com/redeskimo

2007-08-05T10:40:00.000Z

The Bonevilles - Hardtale Lurgan Blues EP

Limited to just 100 copies, The Bonevilles released their Hardtale Lurgan Blues EP last Monday 30th July on Motor Sounds Records. The material isn't new, with some of the tracks appearing previously on the Blood On The Scratchplate '65 garage compilation released a few years back (when they went under their former name of Motorsounds), but that doesn't make it any less of a collectors item to get hold of, and rather tastefully, each copy individually numbered by the band. The release also provides a timely reminder of what The Bonevilles are all about, with a new album set for release later this year.

Garage punk blues influenced by old amps and dodgy recording techniques, The Bonevilles are a duo from Northern Ireland who came south earlier this year to play Crawdaddy and are currently lining up for a number of UK appearances including The Future Of Blues festival in Bristol this September. They've had all the appraisals by the music press already, and described as 'a huge behemoth of a sound, unchained from the traditional structures, and allowed to wreak havoc on the eyes and ears of innocent bystanders', they deliver songs with grit and intensity that are hard, angry and relevant. The title track 'Hardtale Lurgan Blues' rolls through with frantic intensity, comfortably fitting the description of 'reinventing blues for those who grew up with punk and grunge'. Following through with a slower blues-rock slumber in 'Alabama Train' and a gritty free-rumbling instrumental in 'One More Nail outta Rock n Rolls Coffin', the EP closes on a high with 'Army Of One', an assault of emphatic punk-rock blues with a riff that doesn't let up and lifts the adrenalin undeterred. All encompassing, The Bonevilles borrow heavily on the spirit of old school garage, punk and blues, but are highly invigorating in doing so for those who appreciate the genre. 8/10.

The Hardtale Lurgan Blues EP can be purchased via the Motor Sounds Records website, as can the Blood On The Scratchplate '65 compilation. All tracks from the EP can be streamed from their myspace page. The forthcoming album, titled Good Suits and Fightin' Boots, is set to be released later this year.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/thebonevilles

http://motorsoundsrecords.com/

2007-08-01T01:08:00.000Z

We're putting on a Carnival...

Producers would screw them over at the start and they knew it was all part of learning curve, but now things were beginning to fall into place for them in a way they could only have dreamed of. In the end they knew their time was here. The quality street would be dumped and it would be Ferraro Rochet all around... or at least so goes the Carnival biography on their myspace page.

After some time in wait, Carnival are finally putting out their debut single this August. We're throwing a party to celebrate, where we've got Carnival headlining a show at Daffy's Basement in Limerick this Sunday 5th August. We're putting this on as a FREE event, so do come and enjoy if you are in the area. Carnival are spreading rumours that 79Cortinaz will play as special guests on the night, and there may be some truth in this, so it should prove to be quite a memorable night.

Carnival of course have been one of the finest to rise from the underground here in recent years. Fronted by Karen O'Neill who has a vocal close to that of Sheryl Crow finding pop-punk-rock. With a lot of fun, taunting and angst in their music, they've attained an indie-rock stamp of approval here without loosing touch with other genre, right through from alt-country and folk to indie guitar pop, though happily laced with noise as needed to make sure songs are not too pleasant of a journey for those who look for compromise. Enjoy... Everyone loves a Carnival.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/comejointhecarnival

http://comejointhecarnival.vox.com

2007-07-30T23:35:00.000Z

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

2007-07-29T15:12:00.000Z

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

2007-07-26T07:45:00.000Z

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

2007-07-26T07:07:00.000Z

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

2007-07-24T20:04:00.000Z

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

2007-07-19T00:45:00.000Z

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/

2007-07-17T00:56:00.000Z

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

2007-07-15T10:10:00.001Z

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

2007-07-13T06:32:00.000Z

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

2007-07-12T22:49:00.000Z

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/

2007-06-24T11:12:00.000Z

Cascade - Hope In Sound EP

A mention again for Cascade, who recently completed their debut EP, Hope In Sound. Back when their Hourglass demo was reviewed here in January, I expressed a hope that they would follow true to their ambitions of taking that predominantly calm-and-collected indie-rock sound, and combine it with the sort of shoegaze fuzz which MBV inspired so many with on Loveless. So, have they delivered?

Well, with the exception of some crunch late into 'My Final Sleep', the rest of the EP still sits very comfortably into soft indie-rock. However, the EP impresses for different reasons. In both 'My Final Sleep' and 'Chroma Key', some inspired song writing lifts the material well above the norm. In particular, 'Chroma Key' is quite exceptional, a song which puts romance into a situation of one alone who takes to finding comfort in his own company by binge drinking alone in the fields by moonlight, and becoming delusional as his shadows fool, 'yeah, I was so fucked up I was drinking for two.. ..so I fell down to lay down and my shadow followed too, and we gazed at the stars, and now I am content to live out this life far from indifferent eyes, this night is my prize'. A quite beautifully captured moment of what to an onlooker might see as self-destruction actually seeming quite the opposite at the time. The tracks from the EP can be streamed from their myspace.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/cascadesounds

2007-06-19T23:07:00.000Z

Headgear - Flight Cases

Accompanying me on a long haul flight over to the far east recently, to face my ration of humiliation in a job where I had little or no time to prepare, Flight Cases was on repeat. As it happened, my latest on-line purchase, it was the only album on my mp3 player in my rush to make the flight, and my only companion for the week. As an album built predominantly over minimalist melodies, the songs on Flight Cases are allowed to stand tall on their own merit, and fit together as quite an elaborate concept album. From the very first pass, one can see it embraces the eccentric that is within all of us, the fragility and tragedy of the human condition, fears and emotional challenges, bravery and self-defiance. Taken from one perspective, the fear of flying alluded to so much on this album could be associated with the fear of taking a leap of faith with life.

It opens quite fittingly to Harry Truman, an analogy to the lodge owner who perished as Mount St. Helens blew back in 1980 due to his steadfast refusal to leave his home. Later the album picks up on Mister Petit, with another analogy to an eccentric who went down in history, the French highwire performer Phillipe Petit who picked his way between the World Trade Centre's Twin Towers on a tightrope in 1974. Coupled with cover art which reflects on a virtual highwire strung between Dublin's famous Millennium Spike, constructed in 2003, and Nelson's Pillar, demolished on the same site back in 1966, perhaps the highwire act in this case is about rewinding the clock on ones misadventures in life, or just waiting on life's highwire ready to take on what challenges lie ahead. Elsewhere we are treated to a charming look at the flight from romance with the Icarus Girl, reflecting 'all I could see was the dark sky when I looked into her eyes' showing where some see infinity in darkness, for others who fail to see the beauty in it, there is only emptiness. Both 'To Heaven' and closing track 'A Great Singsong In The Sky' take on dark humour with references to ones afterlife, the former a standout track with thunderous guitars which give its line 'come with me all the way down' quite a demonic singe. Elsewhere, amongst some lesser lights, The Emergency Position stands out as a more light hearted cartoon on ones fear of flying, while Airborne, contines the theme with a denial of any interest whatsoever.

Back to my flight, hitting heavy turbulence while passing over the Himalayas, the album cycled back to the beginning, with opening track Harry Truman on play for the fifth time. 'You can move the mountain but I'm never coming down' seemed quite humorous at the time, but it triggered the song for me. It may be about the mindset of the old lodge owner who refused to evacuate his home on Mount St. Helens as it was about to blow, but at that moment it was about standing firm with a struggle to get a career back off the ground 'I have climbed my mountain' even if it meant abandoning other aspects of life 'I have wasted enough time' and a denial that the simple life really mattered that much 'I don't believe in this life and I never have'. Of course we all come back down eventually one way or another, and several hours later, as the plane touched down in Taiwan, Harry Truman was playing yet again, reminding me that he had made the wrong call, and I wasn't going to let myself get run over by any of my life's pending pressures. The first priority was to explore, and take it easy for a while. The next day was going to be long enough.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/headgearmusic

http://www.marthadigs.com/

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Truman_(volcano_victim)

2007-05-18T20:51:00.000Z

The Beat Poets - Post Pop War

The Beat Poets, one of the most promising rock bands to emerge from Northern Ireland for quite some time, have had the media singing their praises ever since they put out 'Staring Stars Down' as a radio-only release back in 2005. If one can get beyond a vocal swagger that can at times make Robert Plant seem demure by comparison, they play a 'modern dynamic rock' that has all the ardour of Primal Scream getting their rocks off to The Vines. A blustering style that is about as audacious as charging a Zeppelin through the NWOBHM without a guitar solo in sight, armed instead with solid T-REX rock guitar hooks that would have Dickinson's old Maiden taking a run to the hills for cover. The Beat Poets rock.

Their debut single from last year 'Turn It On', quite a direct rock song altogether more suited to the live environment didn't quite cut to the psyche with the same invasiveness as the earlier promotional material, and was perhaps an ill-advised choice for a debut single release on those grounds, but with 'Post Pop War', due to be their new single, The Beat Poets are very much on track to win a host of new admirers. Again, the vocal and lyrics twist quite high on octane in a manner that has a lot in common with the Classic Rock/Metal divide, but beyond it, the riffs and melodies are closer to pop-rock here, and outrageously so at times - whether by accident or design, a melody which grows from an interlude has a striking resemblance to the theme tune to a popular American children's television series from the 70s and 80s. I'll say no more lest to spoil it.

With interest from many of the major labels in the UK (Colombia/Sony, Gut Rec, Parlophone, Fierce Panda, Polydor), offers of an MTV licensing deal, and several endorsement deals already in the bag, the only surprise is that they are not already tied up long-term with one of the major labels. An exceptionally busy band, they are now also recording a Fly on the Wall documentary with Graham Smith and Liar films at present. Their live set has been described as blistering, frenzied and blood-stirring, and they will be touring again extensively this year, with the current batch of upcoming dates in the UK and Ireland listed on their myspace page. The Beat Poets, by all accounts, are a live act not to be missed.

Related Links:

http://www.thebeatpoets.com

http://www.myspace.com/beatpoets

http://www.sonicbids.com/thebeatpoets

http://arockpoet.vox.com

2007-05-14T20:18:00.000Z

SWEET JANE

All the poets they studied rules of verse, and those ladies, they rolled their eyes...

Taking the name of the VU song, SWEET JANE formed in Dublin last Autumn as a side-project involving members from Dublin's MAINLINE and Cherrybombs DJ Lydia Des Dolles. Their material cannot be purchased as yet, but a few tracks are available to download from their myspace page, which is one well worth the visit.

As with MAINLINE, the sound is again quite psychedelic shoegaze, and again the influence of BRMC can be heard, particularly in track 'Take Me Home'. However, on the evidence so far, there seems to be quite a bit more going on with Sweet Jane, and not just due to Lydia and Danda sharing vocals from track to track. There's more of a retro rock n'roll vibe going on here as well. Track 'Black Boots Black Heart', a much softer affair, has VU style drumming driving it on, and a minimalist guitar melody to vocals which ache and ooze along rather superbly. Comparisons to some of the material to the Dream Syndicate here would not be out of place. However, a freshly uploaded track today titled 'Heartbreak', a more invigorating punk rock n'roll affair, noised up a notch not far from the sounds that the JAMC perfected over the past two decades, is pure honey to this listeners ears, and the choice track of the three. Although they've yet to start playing to the gigging public yet, their current plans are to have a launch night later this summer.

As a side-project which started out mainly as a bit of fun, they are currently not interested in selling any of the Sweet Jane material, though given all the positive feedback they are receiving at present, one would expect this to change. Meanwhile they are happily distributing EPs of their music free to those interested. Sweet.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/officialsweetjane

2007-05-11T23:39:00.001Z

Ramparts

Ramparts broke onto the Dublin scene a couple of years ago playing rough and ready rock that echoed a lot of 70s punk along the lines of The Ramones, The Stooges, The Jam, and even touches of The Sex Pistols. Foo Fighters could also be heard, and one could be forgiven for believing Ramparts were capable of making considerable impact with the stance they were taking. However, they seem to have softened up a little too much for my liking on their debut EP, Cerca Trova.

Although 'Rage' stands out well with a Teenage Kicks style punk riff, the song itself pales, almost brushing into classic rock vocals at times. In 'Lost' a delicately submissive ballad "now all i can do is say i'm lost.." is a highlight, though a second ballad in 'Never Forget' takes it all a bit too far, in what is overly clichéd, and one has to cringe at lines, which quite frankly wouldn't be out of place coming from a boy band Eurovision entry. Some credibility is restored in 'Stockholm Syndrome' which charges through with echoes of The Sex Pistols, though is delivered too stilted to have anything resembling the credibility of the 70s punk icons, so overall quite a disappointing EP. Ramparts should and can sound a lot better than this. It's a shame this EP doesn't capture it.

Taking the positives, their highlight to date is undoubtedly 'Breath It In', included on the South East Rocks Vol.2 compilation released last year on Cherish Records, a track where a punk vocal delivery reminiscent of The Ramones and The Jam dominate over an instantly appealing guitar riff that isn't a million miles from early Wedding Present in parts. It seems though, overall, that the Ramparts are wimping out on us. Let's hope not. The South East Rocks compilation on which the song 'Breath It In' appears is available through Road Records.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/rampartsrock

http://rampartsrock.bebo.com

http://www.garageband.com/artist/rampartsrock

2007-04-30T23:31:00.000Z

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

2007-04-25T08:07:00.001Z

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

2007-04-24T01:11:00.000Z

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

2007-04-21T23:20:00.000Z

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

2007-04-19T20:48:00.000Z

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

2007-04-10T08:03:00.000Z

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

2007-04-09T22:51:00.000Z

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

2007-03-30T23:54:00.001Z

TWINKRANES - BEING KONG

Technicolor flashes. Disturbing thoughts. Motorik with mushrooms. twiNkranes. Propuslive. Pulsive. Kraut-rock. Psychedelia. Vintage electronics. Experimentation. Primal Beats. Can and Faust. Plateau. Being Kong. It's a Krane thing.

TWINKRANES released Being Kong as their second single this week, which will undoubtedly be playlisted in every conceivable outlet with good taste in music here, and many others besides, as was their more kraut-rock oriented cocktail Plateau from last year. What you get for your money this time around is a propulsive beat infused pulsation, a relentless four minute journey through the warped-up world of Krane. Contrare to insinuating these guys take LSD, I'd actually say they simply don't need to. The world of Krane is strange enough already. Not to be overlooked, the flipside Witch Hunt gives Kong good run for its money. Another four minutes, more tranced than Kong, it is just as propulsive, but more varied, from the twisted dreaminess of 'get your gun, check your change, cut your tongue' to the trance of its adrenalised rhythms.

From the weird world of Krane, the press pack spins Kong as 'this springtime's happiest sick flick jingle'. The video to Being Kong can be viewed from their myspace page. Expand your mind and indulge a little. The single was released this week and can be ordered through their myspace page.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/twinkranes

http://www.twinkranes.com

2007-03-29T22:45:00.001Z

No More Yesterdays

Growing an online presence on myspace quite rapidly over the past few months, No More Yesterdays is an uncompromisingly hardcore solo artist by the name of Chris Eaton from Ballymena in Northern Ireland. An artist who, not to be confused with the christian singer/songwriter of the same name, chose the moniker after an early gig saw a large turnout expecting to hear his namesake. On that particular night, his music must have been received like fingernail to a chalkboard, but I find it quite refreshing to encounter people like Chris pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable to the ear, exploring noise and experimenting with it.

Tracks currently available to download on his myspace include Skinner Box Experiment, The Cut Throat Manifesto, Line In and Line Out. No doubt, the tracks may change soon. I've been listening in the past week, and already a few have come and gone. Crossing the unavoidable terrain of drawing comparisons, lets just pitch his material at a condensed GSYBA delivered hardcore, brutalised and minimalist. I'd guess he would not appreciate the comparison however. This is an artist who apparently deleted his last profile without warning during a temper tantrum, so perhaps not one to be taken too fondly to another drawing lazy allusions on his work. Back to the material currently on offer, yes it's not for everyone, but it will appeal to many who appreciate a challenge. Is the listener the subject of his skinner box experiment? Perhaps. For those looking for an easy inroad, listen to Line Out, an ambient post-rock piece that doesn't draw you into the more characteristic abrasion of his work until its close. If you prefer to jump in the deep end, turn the speakers up to 11, stand at the far corner of the room, and brace yourself for the Skinner Box Experiment. How will you react? Well, that's the whole point of the experiment isn't it? More please.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/nomoreyesterdays

http://trig.com/nomoreyesterdays

2007-03-25T20:04:00.000Z

Crimes Against

Crimes Against are the more experimental side-project of Dublin punk rock band Sickboy. I've mentioned them in passing here before, but with a lot of activity on the Crimes Against front of late, a fresh mention is now warranted.

They've recently recorded a track titled 'Dropping In' which features Shaun Mulroony of Humanzi on guitars and vocals, and is a rather excellent punk song with a massive dose of adrenalin and strong shades of Joy Division, not just in Shaun's vocal style but in the propulsive rhythm section and a gritty overpowering bass line. A track well worth checking out, it is the precursor to a Crimes Against collaborative album which is being worked on at the moment which will also feature Neil Moore of The Things, The Mighty Steff and others, and with such a lineup, is looking like it will be quite a mouth watering prospect. It seem as though Crimes Against are about to overshadow Sickboy this year, which in my book would be no mean feat, given the quality of some of Sickboy's material to date.

Also well worth checking out is the video to 'Barb Wire', the sounds and images of an underground scene, with driving punk beats and an infectiously clanking bass line, inviting “come on feel barb wire, come on feel the wire.. on methadone", it doesn't shy away from the stains of the scene it represents here, and with some sparse rock guitar melodies descending into feedback towards the finish, for me it all makes for quite a compulsive listen. The album is due to be finished by the end of 2007, and from here looks like one well worth getting excited about.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/crimesagainst

2007-03-24T22:25:00.000-01:00

Matt Lane

It may be early days yet, but already showing signs of promise are Matt Lane, a fledgling indie rock band from the Dublin area with a sound quite similar to JJ72, and who will surely be winning admirers from fans left behind by that band now.

Let's not push the JJ72 comparison too far here however, as there are quite a few differentiators in Matt Lane, in particular their tendency to shift gear into a coarser punk frenzy from time to time, as they do in both 'Surrender to Silence' and 'Anything To Come To', the latter of which actually echoes closer to Placebo from verse to verse, so quite a bit more going on here. A third demo in 'Don't Know What To Say' is quite weaker, but they are currently back recording further material, and as a band who really just started recording a few months ago, I think the seeds of quite a decent band can be heard here. I'll leave it to others to figure out why a band made up of a Stephen, a Brien and a Ray call themselves Matt Lane, but with an aim to start playing the live circuit here over the coming months, they could be one to watch out for. I wonder if the real Matt Lane will take exception.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/mattlaneband

http://mattlanemusic.bebo.com

2007-03-09T01:10:00.000-01:00

MAINLINE - Where The Ghosts Meet EP

Although their only previous release to now has been the limited edition 'Black Honey' single from 2005, a lack of further releases hasn't stopped Dublin's MAINLINE from establishing themselves as Dublin's finest psychedelic rock band, nor has the lack of released material prevented them from moving towards an international scene over the past few years which has encompassed the sounds of The Black Angels, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Tamborines and The Morning After Girls. Appearances playing alongside some of these bands abroad have included such venues as the much reputed Sonic Cathedral at The Legion in London. MAINLINE, to say the least, have been impressing audiences.

Back when I reviewed a gig of theirs last year, I singled out their unreleased track 'Where The Ghosts Meet' for particular mention. As a noisy psychedelic groove with an aching vocal akin to that of Spiritualized's, primal drumming coupled into a melody echoing The Velvet Underground's 'Heroin', and an excellent riff towards the finish touching on some from The Jesus and Mary Chain's Honeys Dead era, it has all the right ingredients of a perfect psychedelic rock song. It finally sees the light of day this week as the title track to their debut EP, released this March 9th.

As for the other material on the new release, 'No Compromise' stands out as a rather beautifully stripped down song delivered with quaint harmony on vocals all the way through, and with understated lyrics such as "well I know it's kinda hard to be in your shoes right now" it's all quite charmingly captivating, '52 Strings' may be familiar territory, but has a deliciously repetitive groove to it, which gradually builds up without ever blowing over, while closing track 'The Call' takes a slight shift in vocal style, edging more powerful and confident, almost along the lines of Ian McCulloch in parts, but keeps to their characteristic feedback laced guitars, and is quite a strong track to close the EP with. This is a long overdue release by MAINLINE, which goes some way towards correcting an imbalance in unreleased material, but with other fine tracks recorded such as 'Mary Jane' held back from the EP, and the 'Black Honey' single long since sold-out, one wonders whether an aggregate album could yet lie in wait.

A short Irish tour is lined up over March encompassing gigs in Dublin, Belfast, Limerick and Waterford, with more dates expected to be announced soon. Material from the EP can be streamed from their myspace page.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/mainline

http://www.mainlinesounds.com

2007-03-08T01:28:00.000-01:00

The Beauty Contest

A rather interesting find of late have been The Beauty Contest, an instrumental indie/shoegaze 3-piece from Galway who seemingly formed earlier this year. They've two demos available to download from a recently created myspace page, simply titled 'Demo 1' and 'Demo 2', with influences credited to Whipping Boy, The Cure, Joy Division, VHS or Beta, Velvet Underground, The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. I'd like to turn your attention to the second of these demos, which has melodies reminiscent of The Cure's Disintegration period, yet once in it's stride is overtaken by fuzzed up shoegaze guitar melodies. It's all quite simple in idea, but works well as a hypnotic blend of sounds, and could be a band worth keeping an eye on for more material now.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/enterthebeautycontest

2007-03-05T20:44:00.000-01:00

Aviator Shades

More metal for a change.. Maynooth based Aviator Shades, although still unsigned it seems, have been one of the more talked about metal bands in Ireland of late, and are certainly amongst the best of them emerging here. They've put their EP from last year up on their myspace page free to download.

Doin' Alright, the standout track on that EP has an incredibly catchy metal riff to it, and although not amongst their influences, the vocals remind me quite a bit of Ian Astbury from The Cult. All around, this one is quite an excellent track. As for influences, you'll hear some a lot clearer in the rest of their material. Eye Of The Storm sounds particularly influenced by early-mid Metallica, with an intro reminiscent of For Whom The Bell Tolls, and once the track launches into its stride it isn't a million miles from Harvester Of Sorrow in terms of style. Slice Of The Pie is perhaps a bit closer to early metal such as Black Sabbath, where they go for a classic twin lead sound, while a rather fine power ballad is also to be found in Other Side Of Heaven, which sounds all the more appealing in the more casual setting of a live video broadcast, also on their myspace page. Built around lyrics such as 'ill wait for you like the roses for rain, and i just can't fight this pain' it's clear they've taken inspiration from Poison's Every Rose, as so many others have done before, and more than a touch clichéd at this stage - but why not, it was and still is the definitive power-rock ballad. However, I still have to cringe at a Bryan Adams influence also to be heard running through this Aviator Shades track. All in all though, there's a lot more good than bad in Aviator Shades, clear even from the perspective of someone who has been sick to the back teeth of 80's power-rock bands and those inspired by them for a very long time, with just the odd exception. Aviator Shades are a band that take influence from a wide berth of 80s power rock, metal and some older generation metal, a berth which shows they know their genre well, and know how to craft an impressive marksmanship into material which has and will continue to win them admirers. I expect we'll hear a lot more to come from these guys as they begin to look further afield than Dublin now, having already played many top venues there.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/rawnovember

http://www.aviatorshades.net

2007-03-04T22:58:00.000-01:00

ALCHEMY - Room66

Dipping into the metal scene here in Ireland a bit of late, a track which has stood out above the rest has been 'Room66' by Roscommon band Alchemy. A hard working band who've gigged around quite a lot over the past few years, they've supported a few high profile bands from here I'd rather never mention. They're certainly not in the sphere of bands I'd normally listen to. However, describing their sound as 'a blend of anger, love, revenge and tears exploding through your speakers', in Room66 this is essentially what you get, and is quite a good one. Unfortunately, in terms of the appeal of their music to this particular listener, it gets a lot worse after that, but I'll happily take exception with Room66. It may be anthemic and power metal, but it's also grounded in a trashy fast tight riff, edging, raw and angry enough to have an interlude veering on punk without it sounding out of place. I'm not a fan of metal, and haven't been for some time, but a good song is a good song regardless of genre, and this is one worth mentioning here. As for influences, they cite everything from Muse to Trivium to Foo Fighters, though none are too obvious listening back, or not to my ear anyway.

They've some new material on the way soon, so perhaps worth watching their space. In the meanwhile, for those interested, the current material comes from a self-produced album made last year, a copy of which can be obtained by getting in touch with the band via their myspace or bebo page, where 'Room66' streams.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/bandturbulencemusic

http://band-alchemy.bebo.com

2007-02-28T23:37:00.000-01:00

The Star Department - Auditions

The Star Department, who released quite an outstanding debut EP last year in Flickering Lights, release their new mini-album Auditions this March on CableAttack Records. I've been listening through the album the past few weeks, and enjoying the indulgence, looking forward to writing something about it.

Again, we have a fractured gem of near highest quality, or an album of fractured gems, depending on which way you want to look at it. In typical Star Department fashion, tracks are spread further within themselves than they are to each other. From the outset in 'The Morning After' we are presented with vague aching bewilderments that run as a theme through a lot of the EP "well if you don’t need that, then you don't anything, but everybody needs something". With the Star Department you get an emotive indie backbone, but layered with shoegaze shimmerings, and while each track is quite impressively unstructured, and fractured into itself, they tend to flow into each other quite seamlessly. It would seem at first that the second track 'Sandcastles' attempts to shift the tone, introducing itself with a positively uplifting melody, but the true story lies in the lyric and vocals "you might as well let go of this" "like an old man kicking over sandcastles as the child drowns in the sea, just be stronger, make it easier and let go" "its not natural". The melody is there as a taunting reflection of the past, the mood more one of uncomfortable compassion. In 'Time Passes' we get another track which works its way under the skin with suggestion "wipe yourself off the floor" "you walk sideways and your dreams you can keep", while in 'The Sky Will Fall' we have a track bursting with emotional draw of an impending sense of past catching up despite regrets. Fifth track 'Palettes' opens with a sparse melody, suggesting a moment of clarity, but embroiled with a caution that "matchstick man will burn you again, a desperate man, works in desperate ways" it becomes clearer that this album surrounds a lot of darkness despite being one that will more than likely be embraced by most who hear it. A lot of people won't fully get it. Most people won't need to. On the surface, The Start Department offer quite a brilliant sonic and emotive outlay of unstructured indie-shoegaze crossover forays, and it's difficult not to fall into its charm. Underneath it all, themes run quite a bit deeper.

Tracks from the mini-album can be streamed from their myspace, where the track 'Embers' from last year's EP can also still be downloaded.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/thestardepartment

http://www.cableattack.com

2007-02-27T23:36:00.000-01:00

Secret Police - Bootie Call

Limerick's Secret Police release their debut single 'Bootie Call' this March 2nd. Despite some good press, I hadn’t been expecting a lot from it. My first experience of them was back at an IMRO showcase about a year ago, where at the time I was left unimpressed; an over-indulgence in the old Pearl Jam influence I thought, not enough originality, and nothing particularly special, and I declined mentioning them here in favour of some of the other bands who performed that same night.

Well, the Secret Police have been evolving and growing from strength to strength over the past year, and I have to say they've proved me wrong with this, their Bootie Call. They're still not the most original band around, but this is quite an excellent single. Long shaken off is the over-indulgence in Pearl Jam - actually a Foo Fighter's influence is more noticeable now - but leaving comparisons aside, Bootie Call is an infectious rock track in itself - loud, melodic and quite anthemic, and although I've a tendency to dislike the more rawk-ego side of rock vocals, this it powered forward by the gravely vocals of front-man Pete Mullins impressively, in a way that gives the song and the band a signature well worth shouting about.

The band play their single launch gig in Limerick at Baker's Place this Saturday, March 3rd, and follow it up with a number of shows around Ireland throughout the month. The single can be streamed from both their myspace page and website, while other material they have online shows some diversity in what they're doing these days. They're proving to be quite an impressive band after all.

Related Links:

http://www.secretpolice.ie

http://www.myspace.com/thesecretpolice

http://www.nme.com/newbands/secret-police

http://thesecretpolice.bebo.com

2007-02-25T21:51:00.001-01:00

Hooray For Humans

Emerging out of Cork City late last year as a come together of musicians who previously performed with other bands from the city, Hooray For Humans have had a lot of people talking about them of late as one of the best new bands on the Irish music scene, and featured on Hot Press magazine recently amongst others written about here on Frequency-Ireland last year as "Ones to Watch" for 2007. So what do you get with Hooray For Humans? Indie fun and punk-pop attitude.

While the demo material they’ve had online hadn’t quite captured my imagination, catching them live this weekend impressed considerably more, where they played support to Crayonsmith at Baker’s Underground in Limerick. Actually, I was quite taken aback by how good they were. This is a band bubbling over with fun attitude; quite casual, yet with an assured indie-rock confidence of knowing what they’re doing is quite cool. They slot in somewhere between a less minimalist Blood Red Shoes and a semi-modernised B52s, although their influences lie elsewhere in Robocop Kraus, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Postal Service, Sonic Youth, Pavement, MBV and so on. Recently signed up to Out On A Limb Records, they are currently writing material for their debut album, which is targeted for release towards the end of this year. In the meanwhile, do yourself a huge favour and catch Hooray For Humans live if you have not done so already.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/hoorayforhumansband

http://www.outonalimbrecords.com

2007-02-24T18:37:00.000-01:00

Cowboy X

With a well received debut album last year in 'Who Are These People?’, which received quite unanimous appraisal in the media in Ireland, two singles, and their first UK tour last November, Cowboy X had a busy year in 2006, and hardly need any introduction here. I've read a lot of nonsense written about them however, so perhaps we're overdue pitching in an opinion here.

For all their refreshingly electro guitar-pop sound, and alluring vocals in Karen McCartney, the album as a whole falls a bit flat and has a formulaic ring to it. In such light, it's not a surprise to see that two of the band members also involve in the production of soundtrack music. Harsh, perhaps, as this hasn't stopped the band amassing quite a massive fan base online, but to me it's all quite comparable to Garbage with a sophistication-complex, gone a touch soft. Actually, in Gabbi, a single taken from the album, they almost sound borderline Dubstar.

However, when they do get it right, as in track '2nd Second', they can be quite irresistibly delicious. The recently made video to this track can be viewed on their myspace page, and is well worth the visit for, while sound nuggets from all the album tracks can be streamed from their website. For those suitably impressed, the album can be purchased directly from their website and myspace page.

Related Links:

http://www.cowboyxmusic.com

http://www.myspace.com/cowboyxmusic

2007-02-23T22:32:00.000-01:00

Lords of the Empty Ballroom

The rather superbly titled 'Lords of the Empty Ballroom', in both name and nature, evoke vivid images of isolation and abandonment, moving from deconstructed soundscapes to a gothic morose. The sound is one which is quite chillingly described as 'music to drown by'. Uncomfortable with the analogy but intrigued by the sound and imagery, I've been listening in today.

Including the likes of William S. Burroughs amongst influences, it should not be a surprise to see some fine lyrical slights here - 'if you have to break my heart, then throw my eyes away' one such moment, taken from track 'St Remy'. However, skipping over this, and beyond two soundscapes in 'Sorrows New Day' and 'Static FM', the choice track of those currently presented on myspace is 'Sienna'.

In 'Sienna' you'll notice the influence of Nick Cave, again with some impressive lyrical slight of phrase - 'lonely dancing in the crowd, you're the last one here now', it is built over a simple but effective gothic melody which grows on one uncontained like a poison ivy, and overall sounding quite disturbing, dangerously terminal, yet enchanting, lyrically it is perhaps more akin to Ian Curtis. With some studio time booked in March, expect an impressive EP later this year.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/lordsoftheemptyballroom

2007-02-23T22:06:00.000-01:00

Vertigo Smyth
On one of the more intimate nights in Baker's Underground in Limerick since this new venue opened, Vertigo Smyth played as guest to Windings late last year, just before the Christmas reigned in. On the night, live, it was one man and his songs, armed with no more than an acoustic guitar, a pickup and an effects pedal, for a characteristically warm lo-fi sound. Vertigo Smyth of course has done the circuit in Ireland at low key venues many times now, and also plays with The Terribles, so no stranger to the intimacy of the small stage. It was however, the first time I've been there to catch him live.

In Vertigo Smyth you get a bedroom Beatles, a bit of Bowie and doses of retro-indie, while justified comparisons with Jeff Buckley have also been made in the past, not just in terms of style, but in his ability to write songs which reach out. The song which caught my attention then as it does now listening back to the material online is 'Rock Out' and its open expression of heartbreak and romance with music 'you're my bloody valentine, you're my jesus and mary chain' - how could it be better put? Tracks available online include 'Rock Out' and 'The Button Sellers Song' both taken from a Triptych DVD from 2005, while a fine demo in 'Broken Things' shows a more experimental side. If you have a love/hate relationship with The Beatles - love your retro indie-pop, but hate a polished production, and if you find yourself being drawn into listening to Jeff Buckley for his honesty in songwriting, but prefer music in the live setting - then Vertigo Smyth is a willing solution to your dilemma.

Edit: Vertigo Smyth is lined up to play at Frequency-Ireland's pilot event in Daffy's International Bar in Limerick on SAT 14th APRIL with Windings, The Hollows and LPX. Details of this event can be found on the Frequency-Ireland myspace page.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/vertigosmyth

2007-02-19T00:56:00.000-01:00

My Invention - Lo-Fireworks EP

One of the more impressive bands in Ireland of late in my opinion are Kilkenny based band My Invention, who independently released an excellent 5 track EP last year in Lo-Fireworks, tracks from which can be listened to on their myspace page. Although I've yet to explore their back catalogue (which includes some 4 EPs and an album), the recent EP has apparently been a change in direction for them, with a more lo-fi approach and dirtier sound when compared to their earlier offerings. What you get now is a melancholic indie-rock band with shoegaze tendencies, and it's right up my street in terms of music I like to settle into.

Influences I hear range from Grandaddy to dEUS, Sparklehorse to Yo La Tengo, Mercury Rev to Pavement, and many other fine bands in between. An additional aspect about My Invention though is their lyrical strength, with songs which often contain strikingly thoughtful subtleties, such as the bemused sense of desertion conjoured by Jellyfire, one of the more delicate tracks on Lo-Fireworks. Alas, after what had been quite a successful year for them on the back of that EP, they called it a day over a month ago due to personal circumstances within the band. However, all My Invention members are presently working on other projects now, so all is not lost. News on some of these new projects to follow later.

"When the Sun goes down in this town, you can still feel its ghost heating up the street, and there's nothing left to do in this town, honestly."
- Jellyfire, My Invention.

Related Links:

http://www.myinvention.ie

http://www.myspace.com/myinvention

2007-02-18T21:20:00.000-01:00

De Novissimis

This is unlikely to appeal to any regular readers of Frequency-Ireland, but for the benefit of variety, a mention now for De Novissimis, whose 2005 debut EP was one of a number of hardcore-metal releases sent on by Rimbaud Records for digestion (indigestion) recently. De Novissimis are undoubtedly one of Ireland’s heaviest bands at the moment. They sound like a slow lurching evil, with doom laden satanic themes growled out with menacing vocals over deathly slow stoner riffs, although every now and then the double bass kicks in, the pace of riffs is upped four fold, and in those moments they're almost like a direct descendant of Morbid Angel. It's all quite disturbing, like an ensemble of possessed incarnates.

Actually, to me they sound quite a bit like a stoned-up death metal band. I went through a short phase of listening to bands such as Morbid Angel and Obituary back in my mid-teens (quite embarrasing as it is looking back now), and it's easy to relate back the similarities. Despite the comparisons however, they don't seem to have much to do with the metal scene here in Ireland, apparently sitting more comfortably with hardcore-punks, and fitting in with the resurgence in doom and slow heavy stoner bands. They've been compared by those more familiar with the genre to the likes of Corrupted, Burning Witch and Boris. I listened through the EP just once, and am unlikely to again, it's not a genre that interests me at all these days. Perhaps I should just now donate it to a local church group to see what they make of it, I'm sure they'd love something to get riled about.

The 2005 EP was a limited edition release of 500 copies, which is by now almost sold out. More recently, they released a split single with Tungsta on Rimbaud Records. For the curious, a track from De Novissimis can be downloaded from the Rimbaud Records website - although please note you have been warned!

Related Links:

http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=82483

http://www.rimbaudrecords.com

http://www.myspace.com/rimbaudrecords

http://www.superfirecords.co.uk

2007-02-17T15:36:00.000-01:00

Dark Room Notes - Love Like Nicotine

Considered by some to be one of Ireland's best kept secrets at the moment, Dark Room Notes release their debut single 'Love Like Nicotine' next month.

What you get is radiant electro-indie-pop which has been likened before to both New Order and The Human League, though overall they are more uplifting in purpose, and have veerings into Muse rock territory at times, and while I'll decline joining their posse of cheerleaders as a fan of their music, I'll concede that Love Like Nicotine is a quality single, quite vibrant and emphatic, sounding custom made for both radio and dance-floor alike. It could well break them into the spotlight.

Worth mentioning also is an interesting remix of the single by Flood (New Order, Depeche Mode, The Killers, U2) included as a b-side, which experiments with sparsity, static and samples, bursts into a brief pulsating chorus mid-way through before tripping back into quite a cool breezy female vocal suiting 'its a love like nicotine yeah' over building static to a close. Not a version for everyone, but it does offer a good alternate take to its more commercially viable a-side.

Love Like Nicotne will be released on Gonzo Records, an Independent Record Label based in Dublin. The single launch takes place at Crawdaddy on 24th March. The single and remix can be streamed from their myspace page.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/darkroomnotesireland

http://www.myspace.com/gonzorecords

2007-02-14T01:36:00.000-01:00

The Balducci Lift - Threerock Sessions EP

The Balducci Lift is an experimental-folk band from Dublin that grew and matured over the years out of being a teenage grunge-metal band back in the 90's. These days they are a lot more mellowed. They got in touch with me recently to raise my awareness about their recent Threerock Sessions EP.

This could be described as suave bedroom folk with an offbeat indie groove. Some comparisons could be drawn with Gomez too, although I'd rather not draw that parallel too far, as they are quite different - not just in The Balducci Lift's marked use of vocal harmonies, which they drift in and out of quite a lot in their songs, but in an overall impression that they are a bit more up-town, particularly with song 'The Here and Now', which is the one that has received most attention to date, and to which they have created their first video for.

It's not the sort of music I'd usually listen to, but it does have it's appeal, and track 'Hey One' which eases along effortlessly in a more carefree indie spirit, is my choice of them, although the charming 'All For The Love Of A Girl', which rounds off the EP, also has its merits. I'd pitch this as pleasant music to get sleepy to; dreamy music, lulling and loose. All three tracks from the Threerock Sessions EP can be previewed from their myspace page, where the aforementioned video to 'The Here and Now' can also be viewed, while further information on the band can also be found on their website and sellaband page.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/muttonhooper

http://www.sellaband.com/thebalduccilift

http://www.thebalduccilift.com

2007-02-03T21:49:00.000-01:00

Fight Like Apes

Giving us a quirky new-wave punk with equal cut of humour and aggression, Fight Like Apes are emerging with tempestuouly bolstered songs built on synth and digitised fuzz over driving bass lines and tight punk beats, and are easily one of the most promising punk bands to come out of Dublin for quite some time.

Leading off with the line 'I wanna cut you with glass...' early flagship song 'lend me your face' is a piece of punk brilliance. Led by the semi-psychotic female vocals of May Kay, which flit from a sweetness in anger and effortless tease to sheer loutish angst, they've got abundance of adrenalin.

Although defiantly new-wave punk, the majority of their influences seem to lie in the indie-rock and shoegaze genres, with the likes of Pavement, Yo La Tengo, My Bloody Valentine and Chapterhouse listed off in their mainstay of influences. I hear everything from Patti Smith to Sonic Youth in Fight Like Apes, but they're not a band I would comfortably nail with any such 'sounds like' tag - and that in itself is surely a sign of a band doing something special.

They've three independently produced demo tracks currently streamable from their myspace page, including the afore-mentioned 'lend me your face', plus tracks 'jake summers' and 'battlestations'. I'll edge towards 'battlestations' as my favourite of the three, but all are quite strong. A number of gigs are lined up over the coming month in Dublin, Cork and Belfast, with details to be found on their myspace page.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/fightlikeapesmusic

http://artists.cpu.ie//bands/1545/

2007-01-31T23:42:00.000-01:00

Morning Stardust

Morning Stardust have announced they are due to independently release a debut single/EP in April/May of this year, the tracks from which are now available for streaming on the bands myspace and bebo pages.

I had been quite lukewarm about Morning Stardust in the past - earlier material had sounded overtly Oasis influenced and quite dreary. Fortunately, Morning Stardust have taken a new direction, and in this new material have taken a massive leap forward. In 'Don't Be The One' we have a perfect indie-pop single with strong vocals, a vibrant sound, instantly appealing, and easy to identify with. Don't be too surprised if this track is being played across Irish radio as the summer kicks in.

The quality of the release runs deeper than that however. In track 'Transfiction' we are treated to a more psychedelic-rock lean where comparisons could be drawn withh some of Spiritualised's material, and easily my choice of the three, while 'Sad Boys Shout' rounds off the three as a quite pleasant Verve-esque indie-ballad.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/morningstardust

http://morningstardust.bebo.com

2007-01-28T23:58:00.000-01:00

Mirakil Whip - PCP EP

With a blend of electronica structure, experimental folk, reverberating guitars, and emotional indie vocals, Mirakil whip released a very impressive and varied EP last year, simply titled ‘PCP’. It is a release which I had overlooked until recently.

Lead track 'hot', for the first 30 seconds or so, reminds of early New Order, with militaristic beats, a synth harmony, and vulnerable downbeat vocal and lyrics. Then the reverberating guitars kick in, with ample crunch and grit, and you could almost be listening to early Pavement. An excellent track, yet it still doesn't capture all of what Mirakil whip are about... This is followed by 'mushi mushi', an elegant piece of ambient electronica, before we are then treated to a Sebadoh style acoustic track in 'candle falls'. Fourth is another instrumental piece, this one sounding particularly alt-folk, dominated by the use of a mandolin and an accordion. Fifth, we are back to reverberating guitars in 'she added some gel', quite americana indie-rock in style and reminding me a lot of Yo La Tengo around the time of 'i can hear the heart beating as one', and an excellent track. Bringing the EP to a close is then 'pcp song', a dreamy indie track with slow minimalist instrumentation, and this time with a soft female vocal, it is again quite different from the others. All in all, this is a very varied EP, quite inventive, and I would have to say one of solid quality throughout. Highly recommended.

Mirakil Whip are a duo from Galway consisting of Aaron Coyne and AnneMarie Deacy. Their PCP EP was released on Rusted Rail last year as a 3-inch mini-CD.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/mirakilwhip

http://rustedrail.com

2007-01-28T21:50:00.000-01:00

CRY YUMA

I received a demo from Cry Yuma recently, a 4-piece alt-rock band from Dublin. As far as I can tell, they formed about three years ago, with the material on the demo recorded last May. According to the details included with it, they've been compared before to bands such as Pavement, Television, Pinback and Radiohead. Regardless of influences though, they're not a band I'd be overly keen on.

Overall, their material is generally a touch on the soft side for what I look for in indie-rock. They do have their moments though, and in particular, third track 'lost and amused' is quite appealing, reminding me of some of Jeff Buckley's more amplified material. The second track 'by all means' is one not to be dismissed either, with some fine Pavement style guitar crunch in it, but lead track 'no moon no stars', as a style in general, I find quite a turn-off, sounding overly composed and stilted - although I'm sure it will have it's admirers.

Anyway, in short, for me, this is a band who are at their best when they loosen up a bit, and at their most unstructured, as in the afore-mentioned track 'lost and amused'. A debut EP is due to be released this coming summer. The tracks from the demo can be streamed from their myspace profile.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/cryyuma

http://www.cryyyuma.com

2007-01-25T00:26:00.000-01:00

The Circus

"Bourne out of the slums of Dublin, these wandering souls found music as their only escape from a world of drugs, alcohol and poverty. Hoping to one day enter a world of drugs, alcohol and lots of money"

That was the biography which drew my attention to The Circus recently while browsing myspace, and I've been quite impressed by some of their material on offer. Here you will hear the sounds of the 70s - The script reads from Bowie to Iggy and The Stooges to T-Rex, and so on. It's not surprising to read The White Stripes as the only contemporary band listed amongst their main influences.

Finest track is surely This House of Rumours - emphatically T-Rex in influence. Creepin' Crawlin' is another not to be overlooked, this one with a bass line which threatens to break into Iggy's Lust For Life before settling into its own, and while not one of my favourites, for Bowie fans, listen out for echoes of 'All The Young Dudes' from verse to verse in The Time Box. So, very much steeped in the 70s.

As for details on the band, there's not much information on offer here. They're a four piece from Clondalkin, Dublin. It seems they formed a few years ago, and a debut EP is apparently being recorded at the moment. It could be a quite a strong one looking at the best of their material on offer.

Related Links:

http://thecircusbebo.bebo.com

http://www.myspace.com/theoriginalcircus

http://www.myspace.com/thecircustracks

2007-01-22T00:03:00.000-01:00

El Descamisado

Amongst quite a large sea of singer-songwriters here in Ireland, many mediocre, it is refreshing to listen to one which stands apart. For me, Dave Caughey from Bangor in Northern Ireland is one such singer-songwriter.

A true musical recluse by his own admission, he actually hasn't played a gig in years. He has however, been busy recording material under the guise of his current project as 'El Descamisado', where one can hear the strong influence of artists such as Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Neil Young. Tracks from an album titled 'The Sweetheart Stone, And Other Tales Of Woe' can be streamed from his myspace, including recently uploaded 'If I Was Your Girl'. He writes an account to the inspiration for this song, summing it up with 'sometimes I wonder if they're still together, for her sake I hope not'. I think that comment frames the mood of the song. It's based on his thoughts after observing someone smug in relationship that has let all their charm dissipate into ambivalence. It fades, quite fittingly, to the sounds of a dog barking in the distance.

His best material on offer lies elsewhere however. There's something quite chilling about 'Smiling Faces' that I can't quite figure out. I think there's a frustration here at another's depression, although I'm not quite sure, and I’ll not try to dissect it here. We also get an appeal for politics of peace in 'Rosebud', a song which featured on Neil Young's website 'Songs Of The Times' late last year, showing the level of respect for this artist, but it is 'Oak Creek Angels' which perhaps stands out most, relased as a single last year, and for which he has donated all profits to Rafikis Children, an organization which runs non-profit orphanages in Kenya for HIV/Aids orphans (actually, a country I've been lucky enough to spend a short time in some years ago, got to know a few locals, and visited a local school there - it's quite humbling to witness at first hand how little they have, and how far what we'd consider small change here can go towards helping kids to get on in life out there). Anyway, in itself, Oak Creek Angels is quite a chilling song, instilling guilt on one giving all when giving it too late to matter, and a very fine piece of songwriting.

“You wish you'd helped me; you didn't even try. You were too self obsessed, my life was in a mess, and you knew it; are you feeling guilty? do you wish that you’d done more to take away the pain, absolve yourself from blame, now i'm gone?”
– Oak Creek Angels, El Descamisado.

Related Links:

www.myspace.com/losdescamisados

2007-01-20T23:45:00.000-01:00

Magnetize - Biome

Instrumental electronica is not a regular part of my diet, so when Magnetize's Biome CD arrived on my doorstep recently, it was going to be quite a challenging listen - or perhaps a tiring listen, depending on one's perspective. Released back in 2004 on Rimbaud Records, it is a collection of unedited drones, loops and soundscapes recorded live @ dron3 between 2000 and 2004. It could be described as eerie sci-fi space music, although on the down-side it can sound overtly sterile at times. It has its moments however, most notably in the monolithic 'Maximal', a long droned out soundscape of distorted noise that is quite a mind blowing experience, and not lightyears from what The Telescopes are at these days.

In essence though, Biome could be considered as a soundtrack to an old sci-fi movie. It's slow to start, but pays dividends to those who wait through for the plot to unfold. 'Daria' is a rather conventional dawning, and the following track, 'Free Running' hardly breaks the mould either, so by the time we reach an interlude in 'Icke Carumba', where we hear the voice of a scientist lecturing on such matters as metaphysics, one wonders where the album is headed. It finally awakens in 'Elsewhere Is Rubber', where one starts to feel that eerie space sci-fi draw, a sense of no turning back, a slow and methodical opening of valves that cannot be restored to a safe equilibrium if matters get out of hand, as so happens in 'Maximal', which follows. This one is a relentless assault on the senses, which resonates to alarming levels, and one can't help but get an overpowering sense that its source is about to blow at any moment. Ejecting from this situation in 'Vega Instrument', we reach the second heightened panic in 'Go For The Light'; this one has an atypical clanking rhythm which seems dangerously purposeful. Three minutes in and a coarse synth melody adds to its eeriness. It is in chase, sounding distinctly out-of-step with any natural sense, one could feel it is devoid of acknowledging the plight of those in its path, and a force which cannot be reasoned with. It’s quite brilliant, and works perfectly well as a pre-climactic track on an album which suffers from sterility at times, as this is a track which takes that weakness and makes it its strength. The album closes with a short reprise in 'Re-Sensifier', the sounds perhaps of an AI systems mainframe with draining cells playing out its own funeral procession, and herein the credits roll; the movie per se is over.

So a few immense tracks on Biome, but given the sterility of the album as a whole, it is probably best summed up with a number. 6/10.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/magnetize

http://www.magnetize.biz

http://www.rimbaudrecords.com

2007-01-15T22:41:00.000-01:00

Cascade - Hourglass

Cascade are a recently formed indie-rock-shoegaze band from Dublin. They write songs which fuse shoegaze dreaminess into accessible indie-rock. Although yet to hit the live circuit, they have put together a 3-track EP, titled 'Hourglass', recorded late last year. I've been giving it a listen recently.

There's a strong influence of Ian Brown to be heard here, but with some occasional swathes of light guitar fuzz over the background, comparisons with early Verve material are well fitting too. A few easy comparisons so, but there's more behind Cascade than just replicating what has gone before.

Cascade guitarist Mick Farren explains how some of the band's influences have shaped their sound, how the EP has come about, and how a quite positive response has now helped motivate them on -

"It's exactly what we're trying to do with Cascade. We want to take the dreamy ambience/noise of the whole shoegazing sound, particularly Loveless, an album I'll never tire of... and combine it with melodies that could be played on an acoustic guitar without sounding utterly shite. We also like electronic stuff such as Aphex Twin and Biosphere; we use samplers and field recorded stuff in our tunes too."

"The songs on the Hourglass EP were recorded in late 2006 in my project studio, at the time there were only 2 of us - Dave Greene did the singing, I did everything else. We put them online as a sort of litmus test, to our surprise, we got mostly positive response, which was great. So we've recruited a couple more musicians to fill out the sound, and we've a lot more stuff on the way. We aim to play live in a few months when we've got a good selection of songs to pick from."

I'm interested in hearing what happens next with Cascade. I’d like to see them deliver more on their intent of fusing in a shoegaze sound into what they are doing, to distance themselves from direct comparisons with their indie-rock influences. As the band have filled out their sound considerably since the recording of that EP, perhaps we will see this happen, with a live set and subsequent material a little less light weight than the material on Hourglass, and I'm anticipating something more unique will then emerge in Cascade.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/cascadesounds

2007-01-06T02:13:00.000-01:00

(retards) - sex is a weapon

Dublin experimental hardcore band (retards) released their debut album 'sex is a weapon' back in 2004. I've been giving it a revisit this past week after it arrived on my doorstep. I must say, I've found it a challenging listen.

A disturbing intro monologue leads off with 'dear diary...'. It's taken from an 80's horror b-movie, and aptly sets the tone. The first track proper 'no! no! dear friend' continues the journey inward. To sparse beats which gradually grow somewhere towards propulsion before fade-out, we're treated to a voice over reflecting thoughts of disgust at how fucked up the world is and how fucked up one is being part of it. This is followed by a more typically crass 'under sixteen whores', and a few more aimless tracks before picking up again with two definitively deranged tracks in 'michael caine' and 'chinese girl in my trunk', both of which remind me quite a bit of early Therapy (ala teethgrinder era), especially the latter. We then reach the gem of the album in 'he put something in my drink' - this one is rather different from anything else on the album. It's delicate electroncia, fey and melodic. It also boasts a superb video which comes as a bonus on the album. The video can be found now on the Frequency-Ireland myspace. Watch it. It's quite brilliant.

Following on, 'the immaculate anus' has rhythms which remind me a lot of Aisha, the Death In Vegas track, but with feint pitched vocals sifting around in its shadows instead of Iggy's dominating dark vocals. Skipping over a crass and uninspired 'stuck in my head', we come to 'syndrome', with helium vocals which sound decidedly evil, and something perhaps a bit Aphex Twin about it. Next up, 'dead balloons' has a superb train-like rhythm through it which drives it on, combined with haunting wails, electronica feedback and an atypical voice-over, but the penultimate track, a lyrical turn on The Crystals song 'and then he kissed me' is the more excellent, which quite brilliantly changes the mood of that song into one of fear. After this, the album dips again to tail off rather poorly, but overall, this is a very worthwhile album, albeit an inconsistent one. There's more than enough moments of ingenuity here to ride out the more mundane crassness.

More recently Rimbaud Records released (retards) latest 7" EP 'kicking against the micks' in December of last year, which to the best of my knowledge is (retards) fifth release now. Of this EP, opening track 'will drum for food', which can be streamed from their myspace, is decidedly hardcore-punk, an angry and disturbed track built around rhythm rather than melody. I find 'x equals one', currently streamable from the Rimbaud Records space more interesting - its a derangely unfocused noise meandering, but give it a few listens and it has a real messed-about appeal. The EP also includes a reworking of 'michael caine' from the 'sex is a weapon' debut and another uncompromising track in ‘string theory will collapse’. I'd probably stop short of recommending buying up the (retards) back catalogue, if one could get their hands on them, that is - all releases have been rather limited edition releases - but a release capturing the best of their material to date could be quite a mouth watering prospect if it ever transpired.

Related Links:

http://www.retards.plasticdonkey.com

http://www.myspace.com/xretardsx

http://www.rimbaudrecords.com

http://www.myspace.com/rimbaudrecords

2007-01-03T01:13:00.000-01:00

The Hot Sprockets

The Hot Sprockets describe their sound as 'country dirt' and play an acoustic blues garage rock with quite a strong influences from The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, et al. Actually, with the tracks streaming on their myspace listed as taken from 'The Best of... 1976-2006' and some photos captioned to suggest that the band have been through it all already, one could be forgiven for thinking The Hot Sprockets were a band around quite a long time. A quick clarification from the band confirm however that they are actually very new... apparently formed just seven months ago, the tracks on their myspace were all recorded in a single session last year, played out live in the confines of a shed - or 'ghetto recordings' as they liken them to.

With nine songs written at the moment, they prefer to work on their material in the live environment, where the bands vibe is best captured - and to date, this strategy is working out quite well for them. As for the tracks which are currently streaming on their myspace site, it is easy to get that sense of live energy - with Cherry Popper my choice of the four, although all are quite impressive. Incidentally, The Hot Sprockets share some band members with another quite different band from the Dublin underground scene, Sopers Dirt, a band previously featured here on Frequency-Ireland. Anyway, happy new year all! The Hot Sprockets are surely a band on the Dublin underground to catch live this year.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/thehotsprockets

2006-12-27T02:49:00.000-01:00

The 2006 Frequency-Ireland Music Awards!

Here's a run down through Frequency-Ireland's favourite albums, EPs, singles, gigs and demos from Ireland over the course of 2006.

2006 album of the year: Crayonsmith

The album of the year is Crayonsmith's Stay Loose. At the time it was released, I hinted that it could well be my favourite for the year. Well, it turned out that way. I've never really put the album down. Whereas a lot of albums shrink over time, this one has grown personal. It's not just that there is influence from many favourites here, everything from Sparklehorse to Pavement and Grandaddy to Sebadoh, but in essence this is an album bursting with endearingly personalized songwriting. A real favourite. Anyway, here's my choice top five albums of 2006:

1. Crayonsmith - Stay Loose
2. Humanzi - Tremors
3. The Ruby Tailights - Dressing up
4. The Hollows - It was On Fire When I Lay Down On It
5. Si Schroeder - Coping Mechanisms

Related Links:

http://www.crayonsmith.com

http://www.myspace.com/crayonsmith

2006 mini-album/EP of the year: Butterfly Explosion

This was quite a difficult category to narrow down to just a top five, as 2006 has been a particularly good year for the mini-album from bands from Ireland. However, the choice EP as overall favourite was quite a straight forward one, and is the Butterfly Explosions' Turn The Sky EP, an EP which contains some of the most beautifully haunting and mesmerising shoegaze sounds to come out of Ireland in a long time, and leaning into some more generally accessible indie-rock melodies, it is an EP which has a much broader appeal than others of the genre. All in all however, these are five really excellent EPs listed here, none of which should be missed:

1. Butterfly Explosion - Turn The Sky
2. Glenwash - Bottle Of Cop
3. The Star Department - Flickering Lights
4. The Terribles - Mistake: Do Over
5. Sanzkrit - Yeah But What If

Related Links:

http://www.butterflyexplosion.com

http://www.myspace.com/butterflyexplosion

2006 single and/or music video of the year: The Things

What I consider a great single is one that grabs you by the balls and arrests you, demands your attention. In that sense, this has been quite a massive year for those associated with Sound Foundation Recordings, who dominate this years' top five. The Things could well be the best garage punk band to come out of Ireland in the past 10 years. Some Kind of Kick was their anthemic single from last summer, indulging everything from Hammer Horror to Elvis to The Stooges. When this has also been a damn good year for Humanzi (a truly rebellious band, who were unfortunately over-hyped and over-embraced by the media here, perhaps to their disadvantage) and the superbly unique Twin Kranes (is it psychedelic kraut electronica punk or what?), it seems that Sound Foundation Recordings have managed to sweep up most of the best of what has festered in 2006. Here's my choice top five singles/vids of 2006:

1. The Things - Some Kind of Kick
2. Humanzi - Out on a Wire
3. The Rags - Razors & Ropes
4. Sickboy - The A-Tune
5. Twin Kranes - Plateau

The videos to these, amongst others, can be streamed from the Frequency-Ireland myspace page.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/thethings

http://www.thethingsireland.moonfruit.com

2006 live band of the year: Whipping Boy

If the focus of Frequency-Ireland had not been on emerging bands in Ireland, I would have mentioned Whipping Boy long before now, one of my all time favorite bands from Ireland. It's almost a decade ago now back to when I first enjoyed and grew to love songs such as 'We Don't Need Nobody Else' and 'Twinkle', but while those songs had grown to become a massive part of my past, they had more or less been confined to memories. It was a real awakening to see them back on the circuit in Ireland this year again. I caught them live when they played in Dolans' Warehouse in Limerick in March of this year. A night which started with a very fine performance by emerging band Dry County (new to me at that time, but whom I now rate very highly), and then led into a rather polarising Jinx Lennon (whom I openly derided, although I was not amongst the bottle throwers), finally saw Whipping Boy take centre stage. It was quite a late showing, and I was quite pole-axed already from many beers, but highlights of the night still ring vividly clear - first to hear tracks such as 'So Much For Love' and 'Bad Books' live, I'm not quite sure if it was my first time hearing those songs live, but it was certainly my first time hearing them live in familiarity, as Whipping Boy had split before that third album from which they were taken was released, but also being there again for 'We Don't Need Nobody Else', and to witness them giving equal measure to some of the older material. On the night the performed 'I Think I Miss You', which really struck a chord with me. I think I miss you? I know I missed you, Whipping Boy. An immense gig by a legendary band.

Here's the choice top five local gigs by Irish bands attended this past year (i.e, in the Limerick area), with the supports indicated also an important deciding factor:

1. Whipping Boy - Dolans' Warehouse. Mar 2006 ( /w Dry County).
2. Crayonsmith - Limerick Boatclub. May 2006 ( /w Windings).
3. Berkeley - Limerick Boatclub. Nov 2006 ( /w Walter Mitty & The Realists).
4. We Should Be Dead - Underground, Baker's Place. Dec 2006 ( /w Hatch77).
5. Coldspoon Conspiracy - Dolan's. Nov 2006 ( /w Givamanakick, Crayonsmith).

Related Links:

http://www.whippingboy.net

http://www.myspace.com/dublinwhippingboy

2006 best demo by an emerging band: SUPER-8

This catagory is specifically for bands who have yet to release any material to date and who either sent Frequency-Ireland their demo material for review over the course of 2006, or who first made their demo material available online this year.

This was a really tough catagory. More than anything, what has perhaps differentiated Frequency-Ireland from other webzines/blogs has been a focus on demos and unsigned bands. There has been a lot of material waded through over this past year, both of bands uploading material online and those who have taken the time to post me CDs of their demo material. Apologies to bands who have sent in demos I have not had the time to write a review on, but I can assure you that I have listened to just about everything I received this past year, and I thank you all for sending on the material. The very best demo I received this year hailed from Ballymena in Northern Ireland. The band are called Super-8. They have still yet to perform any live shows, but their home-recorded material is exemplorary (ok, rock n'roll for those who love feedback-drenched melodies), I've chosen their track 'Undercover Blues' as the winner, but I could have just as easily picked out one of a half dozen which could have fulfilled the purpose. Here are the top five demo tracks of this year:

1. Super-8 - Undercover Blues
2. Black Soul Strangers - Down and out in Vegas with Amphetamine Psychosis
3. Star Belgrade - Disconnect
4. The Ugli Violas - Sick
5. Carnival - Sunday Morning

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/wearesuper8

2006-12-25T00:04:00.000-01:00

Christmas Boys

Some months ago I had bookmarked an emerging band from Belfast I found by the name of Christmas Boys for a timely mention here on Frequency-Ireland this holiday season. Playing a somewhat experimental alternative folk-rock, they had just started gigging earlier this year in the Belfast area. Despite this lowly status, in the interm they have received a massive volume of visitors as an unexpected side-effect of their name in the run up to Christmas, so the secret of Belfast's Christmas Boys is well and truly out now it seems (150,000 profile views, the majority of which occurred over the past month). Anyway, a few words on Christmas Boys here now regardless.

They have a few demos up on their myspace, with 'Heebie Jeebies' and 'Xmas Music For A Film' their finest efforts to date in my opinion. The sound is somewhere between Neil Young and an acoustic Violent Femmes on sedatives. Not quite in the traditional spirit of Christmas as their name might suggest, when I first encountered their myspace they had described themselves rather wryly as 'Satan's little bit of honey'. The demos have an alluring folk-leaning, somewhat embellished in degenerate life, and an overall sound which is a touch experimental in the sense that the recordings sound a bit warped, almost as if ghosted out on an old tape recorder. So, in a holiday season where we hear too much of the same old glossy Christmas songs year in year out, I’ll glady take Christmas Boys demo ‘Xmas Music For A Film’ as an alternative theme tune on Frequency-Ireland this festive season. Happy Christmas to all from Frequency-Ireland!

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/christmasboys

2006-12-24T00:05:00.000-01:00

Ham Sandwich - Words

Dublin based Ham Sandwich, fronted by the dual vocals of Podge McNamee and Niamh Farrell, have been frequently referred to as a treasure from the underground scene in Ireland, with a following of cult-like status to be envied. I picked up their most recent single 'Words' recently.

For those less familiar, what you get is an unlikely dual vocal with a euphoric indie-harmony always veering on chorus, coupled into some strong guitar crunch with influence from the likes of Pavement. There's brushes of The Delgados and Doves here too, some of the eccentricity of The Flaming Lips, the tenderness of Camera Obscura, and a fun touch of the throwaway fun-pop appeal of (eek) Prefab Sprout. More than anything, though, what you get with Ham Sandwich is a rather uniquely lovable pop rock, and something definitely not to be overlooked.

As for 'Words', it’s not their best song to date, that credit I'll still hold out for the brilliantly warm 'Sad Songs', but it is a good one. Actually, 'Words' is insanely euphoric, and such is its repetition that it seems almost like a half-baked concept, rushed out while the idea was still fresh, but that's one if its appeals - it can't but make you smile at its audacity. What hasn't had enough attention from the release however is it's b-side, a beautifully touching indie-ballad on the familiarities of regret in 'Stars'. By the time the fun of the 'Words' has tired with me somewhat, 'Stars' has embraced, this one is quite special, and the reason why the single won't be taking a back seat for a while just yet. Available to stream on their myspace are their three singles 'Sad Songs', 'Words' and 'St Christopher'.

Related Links:

http://eathamsandwich.bebo.com

http://www.myspace.com/eathamsandwich

http://www.eathamsandwich.com