On St Vincent’s new album All Born Screaming, Annie Clark sings “So, who am I trying to be?” It’s a question critics and fans have been asking of her across all of her albums and […]
Category: Gig previews
A Lauryn hill ticket is always a gamble…
THERE’S been a lot of talk about the fragile nature of the Oasis comeback next summer — and intense touching of wood hoping Liam and Noel can last 12 months without killing each other. But […]
Simple Minds: Weirder than you remember
In two separate parallel universes, Simple Minds could’ve been bigger than U2, or carved out a niche underground career as experimental cosmic synth visionaries. Their 1981 instrumental track Theme For Great Cities is the ultimate […]
CASisDEAD emerging from the shadows
North London rapper CASisDEAD has been an enigmatic underground figure for over a decade, but he peeked his masked face from out of the shadows this week after winning Best Hip-Hop/Grime Act at the Brits. […]
The Pharcyde’s complicated nostalgia trip
After playing Cork and Belfast last year, hip-hop veterans The Pharcyde are returning to play their spiritual Irish home of The Sugar Club — one of the best, maybe the best place to see a […]
Rick Astley: Treat ’em meme, keep ’em keen
Rick Astley’s second big comeback has been a lot more culturally sound than the first. That first time the 80s cheese-pop star reignited in the public consciousness was the ‘Rick Roll’ internet meme — sending […]
Fire and sonic fury – The Bug & Flowdan
In a great long-read interview with Droid on the Nialler9 site this week, Kevin ‘The Bug’ Richard Martin really opened up about the power and cathartic release of physical music, saying “loud music rearranges your […]
Soda Blonde cut the Small Talk at the end of the year
Dublin act Little Green Cars called it a day in 2019, after a few years building up a a grassroots following with their subtle indie-rock with nods to London Grammar and The xx. Four of […]
Real Lies’ MELANCHOLY rave contradictions
London act Real Lies are all about contrasts and contradictions, with rave-inspired pop music that’s about so much more than the obvious signifiers. Their 2015 debut album Real Life was poetic, heartfelt recount of a […]
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis talk Carnage
As surprise album drops go, this year’s Carnage by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis was always coming. Since 2013’s Push the Sky Away, Warren Ellis has become the leader of the Bad Seeds, with his […]
Bad Religion’s 90s deep dive
Los Angeles punk veterans Bad Religion released an authorised biography last year on their 40th anniversary, and they’re continuing the retrospective with a month of weekly streamed gigs cramming the best of their four decades. […]
Your city to burn – 30 years of Smashing Pumpkins’ Gish
Before Billy Corgan became known as a meme-ready eccentric megalomaniac, with bizarre appearances in the wrestling ring, and a hire and fire policy straight from the Mark E Smith playbook, he led Smashing Pumpkins’ early […]
Iggy Pop — Still growing old disgracefully
James Newell Osterberg is celebrating 74 years on this Earth — nearly 60 of them fully locked in to the feral, transcendent power of loud music. The undisputed king of hellraising rock’n’roll still standing, the […]
With Phil Anselmo it’s always about to get ugly
The early 90s was a gold rush for heavy music, with some mega success stories that seem kinda baffling in hindsight. In the few years after Nirvana’s Nevermind, there was a rush to sign alternative […]
The mental plain to spark the brain – GZA revisits Liquid Swords
Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA lived up to his Genius tag the last time he appeared on stage in Dublin. While many rappers turn to cosplay in Dubs jerseys while skulling pints of Guinness, GZA was boasting […]
Moo Kid 