THE last time Guns N’ Roses played Ireland you wouldn’t have laid any bets on them returning. The gig in the then-O2 Arena was a crazy night that was ripe for dissection on Joe Duffy’s […]
Irish gigs round-up
SEU JORGE: Vicar Street, Dublin, Wednesday, €40 It’s been a year and a half since David Bowie died, so thankfully the mawkish tributes and overblown covers are drying up, to return once a year on his anniversary. […]
No harm in a bit of pompous Europop: Voyage Voyage by Desireless (1986)
Voyage Voyage by Desireless is a pompous slice of French Europop fromage, but for me it’s a memory jolt back to the days of Top of the Pops with Paul Hardcastle’s opening credits, Pet Shop […]
Bob Dylan doesn’t owe us anything
Bob Dylan is one of the last original rock icons, and he’s still the biggest enigma. In an era of oversharing – when even Mick Jagger last week tweeted a video of himself hanging off […]
Irish gigs round-up
CHERRY GLAZERR, Whelan’s, Dublin, Tuesday, €15. Death Grips fans may know Clementine Creevy from her psyched-out chant of “giving bad people good ideas” in the song of the same name, battered by gabba beats and industrial frazzle. […]
It’s oh so quiet: Interview with Pine ¶he Pilcrow
In a time when bands are squealing out to be heard above the din, Pine ¶he Pilcrow grab your attention with the gentlest of whispers. Dublin-based trio Kevin Murray, Hannah Ryan and Rob Campbell create delicate […]
Irish gigs round-up
THOR & FRIENDS: St Peter’s Church of Ireland, Drogheda, tonight. There isn’t a more aptly-named musician in the world than the godlike Thor Harris – one of the most revered percussionists around and the backbone […]
Here’s 15 European festivals to take your mind off Electric Picnic
Easter has just gone, so it’s time for the daily blitz of festival updates and line-ups in the next few months — a head wreck if you’re not part of the Electric Picnic brigade after it […]
Irish gigs round-up
THERAPY? Whelan’s, Dublin, Tuesday; Empire, Belfast, Wednesday; Spirit Store, Dundalk, Thursday. This Therapy? Tour is dubbed ‘Wood & Wire’, an acoustic project that sees the trio bring the noise without their amps turned up to 10 and all the levels in […]
Sound of the Simmer: Interskalactic interview
If you were walking past Tower Records last Friday you would’ve seen a bigger obstruction on the path than the Luas works, as dozens of people crowded outside the storefront to see Interskalactic launch their […]
Irish gigs round-up
KATIE KIM & CRASH ENSEMBLE, Grand Social, Dublin, tomorrow. Katie Kim’s 2016 album Salt was one of last year’s highlights, earning a Choice Prize nomination for its haunting ambient folk, full of raw emotion and droning […]
Pharmakon’s Contact is pure electronic body-horror music
Well here’s one album you can judge by its cover. As Pharmakon, New York noise artist Margaret Chardiet makes a sort of electronic body-horror music as oppressive and invasive as the oily fingers pulling at […]
Still Dicking Around: Sparks at BBC 6 Music Festival
Sparks have always been the daft uncles in my record collection, prancing with an arched eyebrow over everything they do. Ron & Russell Mael are one of the most singular double acts in pop history, […]
Irish gigs round-up
BEAK>, Limelight 2, Belfast, tonight, Friday 31st (£18.50). With Geoff Barrow’s other band Portishead missing an album since 2008 and with no immediate plans to tour, he’s once again on the road with BEAK>, for some sleek krautrock analogue […]
Irish gigs of the week
RUN THE JEWELS, The Limelight, Belfast, Wednesday, SOLD OUT & Olympia, Dublin, Thursday, SOLD OUT The last time Run the Jewels played an indoor gig in Dublin I was so late I had to watch the gig through a […]
Moo Kid 