Gary Numan may have spent 40 years with his biggest hit Cars in the rearview mirror, but he’s an artist who doesn’t keep coasting along in the nostalgia lane. True, Numan still performs his classic […]
Category: Gig previews
Jah Wobble: Post-punk’s steady pulse
Jah Wobble was there at one of the most important forks in the road for music – answering a call from his old mate John Lydon to start a band after the sordid implosion of […]
Pere Ubu’s singular ‘avant-garage’ vision
It’s no hot take to say punk music itself was less important than all the bands and artists that flourished in the no-rules year zero late 70s after the tide washed back out. Emerging in […]
Jay Electronica’s an Eternal enigma
New Orleans rapper Jay Electronica is a social media pioneer of sorts — first making his name on MySpace with his viral (at least for those days) beatless composition Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), […]
10 hyped acts at Electric Picnic 2019
Electric Picnic is now a far cry from its ‘boutique’ beginnings in 2004, with the site expanding to 57,000 this year, and a move in recent years to include huge pop stars among the leftfield […]
Stiff Little Fingers: ‘Still putting the fast back in Belfast’
When stiff little fingers formed in Belfast in the late 70s, the idea of them playing an outdoor gig for thousands beside the High Court would have been beyond a surreal joke. But the veteran […]
The Murder Capital strike Fears
With post-punks Fontaines DC this year becoming the most hyped band in Ireland — or anywhere else — fellow Dubs have quite a lot of ground to make up, to capitalise on the buzz around Fontaines’ […]
Spread the Love Sensation
In the last few years, Pride events in Ireland have grown exponentially, we voted an emphatic Yes in the marriage referendum, and no one batted a false eyelash when drag queen Panti Bliss was declared […]
Post Malone might be shit, but just get over it
Most mega-successful stars – maybe with the exception of Queen of the Universe Beyonce – can be pretty divisive, with uber stan fans going to bat while half the population scratches their heads. Pop-rap superstar […]
The Human League: It could’ve all been so different
In a parallel electronic universe, the Human League could’ve been a cult industrial act, instead of one of the most celebrated synth-pop acts of all time. Formed in 1977 by Phil Oakey, Martyn Ware and […]
If you want Blood… Russian Circles
Grabbing elements of metal, post-rock and experimental prog and jazz, Russian Circles are one of the most intense live acts around. The Chicago instrumental act have just released their seventh album Blood Year, some 40 […]
Dreadzone: Decades in dub
Formed in 1993 from members of Big Audio Dynamite and Julian Cope’s band, Londoners Dreadzone explored the dub, reggae and new wave avant-garde of their earlier bands and added more breaks and emerging electronics for […]
Kerbdog Turn it on again
When Kerbdog played a full-band reunion tour in 1996, frontman Cormac Battle called it the “midlife crisis tour”, but it seems like the crisis has been averted. The Kilkenny band have been buzzing on social […]
Who’d spend an evening with Shaun Ryder?
An evening with Shaun Ryder could go off in any number on tangents, but you know it won’t be boring. This is an interview with the Happy Mondays kingpin and the scallywag surrealist behind the […]
Fuck, that’s sweaty: Action Bronson in the club
There’s a danger that Action Bronson’s gonzo cookery travel show Fuck, That’s Delicious has started overtaking his music, but he’s still one of the most colourful rappers in the modern game. He got involved in […]
