It’s a cliche because it’s true – no good music is made without a struggle. Compare the Wu-Tang Clan’s nervy, feral debut 36 Chambers to the Disney rap of A Better Tomorrow, or anything Metallica […]
20 European music festivals to mark in your 2018 diary
No matter how many times we say it, talk of Irish festival fatigue is greatly exaggerated – at least where ticket sales are concerned. This week we woke up to the launch of a new […]
Have we any patience left for Morrissey?
In 2008, Sparks released the song ‘Lighten Up, Morrissey’ – an arched eyebrow nod to Stephen Patrick’s reputation as indie music’s greatest curmudgeon. Some 10 years later, Baltimore rapper JPEGMAFIA has a song on his […]
Back from Jupiter: Dr Octagon returns – Octagon Octagon
As if the title itself isn’t a double scream from the rooftops that it’s the return of one of hip-hop’s greatest outliers, Kool Keith deals out the word Octagon dozens of times in this first […]
Sharp and slithery synthesis from NYZ on FLUF Records
There’s nothing stripped-back about minimalist electronic label FLUF’s output over the last few months. This new one from NYZ is the Swedish label’s ninth digital EP release since the end of September, and a recent interview […]
This time it Burns: The Soft Moon – Criminal
In 2009 Trent Reznor started selling all his gear on eBay after he announced Nine Inch Nails were “waving goodbye” to touring – a promise he thankfully broke a few years later. On the Soft […]
Franz Ferdinand on the Ascent again
It takes balls to call your fifth album Always Ascending – especially if your singles from over a decade ago are still trailing behind you as a reminder of past chart dominance. But Franz Ferdinand’s […]
No one knows whose friend he is: Kissing The Pink – Big Man Restless (1983)
The Big Man Restless by Kissing the Pink is one of the most deceptively bonkers pop singles of the 80s — a cult hit that appears on the odd DJ mix but wouldn’t get a mention […]
Kendrick Lamar is for the children – and everyone else
Ol’ Dirty Bastard once proclaimed that “Wu-Tang is for the children”, a claim so absurd it’s been a perpetual meme ever since. ODB made the audacious claim at the 1998 Grammys after crashing the stage […]
Don Letts marks Bob Marley’s birthday with new Reggae 45 podcast
Bob Marley was born 73 years ago today — and to mark the occasion, DJ, reggae historian and all-round music icon Don Letts has released a new edition of his Reggae 45 podcast. Following on […]
The city of Groningen off the Eurosonic path
For four days every January, the small Dutch city of Groningen becomes the centre of Europe’s music scene — with tens of thousands landing in northeast Holland for Eurosonic. Eurosonic-Noorderslag is Europe’s biggest showcase of […]
Tick off these Irish gigs in your diary
IMAGINING IRELAND: 21st Century Song, National Concert Hall, tomorrow. A couple of weeks ago, Dublin MC Mango put out the tweet: “I started rapping out the back of school by the bike sheds. Now they’ve […]
Sound Carriers of the world unite: Damo Suzuki and United Bible Studies in Galway (2005)
Damo Suzuki would “like to see you and make smile on your face everywhere in the world”, according to the press release for his Never Ending Tour. His tour is the second ‘Never Ending’ one […]
All the right noises: January 2018 in 21 tracks
Dry or no dry, January’s usually a slim few weeks for music – with new albums lost under last year’s best-of lists, the Christmas hangovers and the general bitching and moaning that doesn’t let up […]
Dutch and go: 20 things to take away from Eurosonic 2018
The dust has settled on this year’s Eurosonic – the annual showcase in the Dutch city of Groningen that’s a platform for breaking new bands, filling Europe’s festival line-ups and bookers, labels and industry heads […]
Moo Kid 