Folk music has seen something of a resurgence in recent years in the form of bands adopting traditional influences and updating them for modern listeners. Cork-based four piece The Good Rain do just this with their debut album “Some Other Plan”. Describing themselves as somewhere “between indie and Americana, post-punk and folk” The Good Rain have produced a collection of [...]

‘Give Up’ was, in every way, a slow burner, with singles still coming out in 2005, and only reaching platinum status last year, but alas, 10 years on and it’s still the one and only release from The Postal Service. Outselling The Shins ‘Oh Inverted World’ and on its way to becoming Sub Pops biggest record since Nirvana’s ‘Bleach’, ‘Give [...]

Writing a review for a bad album is extremely difficult. More often than not you are stuck with it for a week, labouring through the tracks in an attempt to form a balanced and fair opinion without coming across as cruel. For me it just sucks the enjoyment out of music for those seven days. On the flip side when [...]

It isn’t that long since Paramore’s distinctive blend of incredibly catchy emo rock earned them legions of teenage fans (and more than a few older ones too), but still their new self-titled album has the air of a comeback record about it. ‘Paramore’ sees the band attempt to recapture their signature sound while also pushing themselves in new musical directions, [...]

Seven albums in and Tegan and Sara are still singing about being poetically heartbroken and desperate. Consistency isn’t always a good thing. Quite a few tracks fall short of ironic pop and find themselves stuck in girl band territory. I Was A Fool is the first instance of this, where they lose a bit of their edge and end up [...]

 Jake Bugg at The Academy, Dublin on February 10th 2013 There is plenty of excitement around Jake Bugg these days  after having a number one album, touring with huge names and he played to a jam-packed Academy on a rainy Sunday night.  Hudson Taylor were the support act, and they impressed with their intelligent arrangements, and their pleasant harmonies. The [...]

‘Clocks’, the ever-dynamic Julie Feeney’s third self-produced album comes at a very strong moment in Irish music. Irish music in 2012 saw a burgeoning scene across multiple genres from folk singer song writers to hippity-hip-hip indie music bands gaining much acclaim, resulting in sell out venues up and down the country. Amongst all this excitement, all on it’s own, sits [...]

It’s not often that you fall in love with an album.  Like, yes. Love, no. It’s even more rare to love an album on first listen. Most of the time you come across slow-burners; ones that require a few spins before you can form any real opinions. There have been very few times that I have been enthralled by an [...]

Delphic shot to prominence in 2010 with their début album ‘Acolyte’. The band managed to create something bright and new by drawing on a wide range of influences including dance, electro and indie-rock. Their single Good Life was also one of the official songs for the Olympics. Now forgot everything that Delphic were on ‘Acolyte’. ‘Collections’ is a huge shift [...]

It’s a rare case to see an act revisit their recent release with an acoustic version of the songs. The talented young man with the biggest following in the world has had a tough time lately and this release takes the focus off his personal life a bit and puts the focus back on the music again. Sometimes the fans [...]