Brendan Benson – My Old Familiar Friend
In his fourth solo release and his first since his dalliance with the Raconteurs, singer-songwriter Benson continues his late 70s-inspired musings to create guitar pop perfection. On tracks like the
Sebastian Barry on Tales of Ballycumber
Sebastian Barry is a writer-downer, not a writer. Echoing the sentiments of Michelangelo who said that his sculptures already existed within the stone, Barry feels his work exists already in
Colouring In: HEALTH Interviewed
Totally Dublin fans will be familiar with LA noise merchants HEALTH after we gushed out inky love all over their new polychromatic album Get Color in our last issue. With
Bibio
Don’t get the wrong idea here. There’s Bibio’s Stephen Wilkinson halfway between a glower and a look of deep disappointment at you from the top of the page. You’re already
Raymond Chandler and the Movies
“I do a great deal of research – particularly in the apartments of tall blondes.” After a big sleep (most of the titles being first released in the 1940s), the
Simian Mobile Disco – Cruel Intentions
Although it first featured on their early 2009 album Temporary Pleasures, Simian Mobile Disco have re-released Cruel Intentions as a single. While re-releases often smack of laziness and greed, the
Restrain Yourselves: The xx Inteview
Silent stars of Electric Picnic, The xx are the hotly-tipped act who actually deliver, holding audiences rapt with their whispered vocals and beautifully muted guitars. Enigmatic but utterly down-to-earth, the
500 Days of Summer
We’re told from the get-go that 500 Days of Summer is not your average romantic comedy. It isn’t. Filled with sideward glances, awkward moments and those little things you do
Interview With Manchan Magan
Bonding over those difficult to pronounce Irish names that only the most ardent gaelgoirí thrust upon their child we meet TG4’s Manchan Magan to discuss his new Fringe show Broken
Fringe Festival 2009 – Interview With Power Point Star Lisa Lambe
An experimental theatre company known for presenting its productions in a unique and alternative way, the Performance Corporation’s latest interactive experience Power Point to be debuted at the Dublin Fringe
The Seagull
Written over one hundred years ago, Chekhov’s The Seagull is a story about hopes and dreams, youth and love: all themes that are still as alive today in Dublin than
Lethal Bizzle – Going Out Tonight
Oh Bizzle, you’re the shizzle. This wild-eyed spasm of a grime track was lovingly thrown together from the finest MC-ing, samples and robotic beats, with Armand van Helden no-where in
Mika – Blue Eyes
The achy-breaky vocals and naive spanish-ish guitar at the start of this song might lead you to think Mika has downgraded the glitter and gone all Born Ruffians on us.
The Sound of Arrows – Into The Clouds
The name employed by duo Oskar Gullstradand and Stefan Storm seems to prefigure darts of criticism, but second single ‘Into the Clouds’ is an engrossing and dreamy affair. The former
Foo Fighters – Wheels
Just when Rickrolling went away, comes a soft-rock non-entity that just never gives up but consistently lets you down. It’s frankly hilarious to think of Dave Grohl and his cohorts
Nico Muhly – Fingers in Ears
It’s the journalistic requisite to list off the Talmud-length CV of Nico Muhly when introducing him to friends, readers, and innocent bystanders. Take your pick: his eclectic, venerable albums Speaks
Sunset Rubdown’s Spencer Krug on Dragonslaying
He’s not the hardest working man in indie rock. In fact, he claims not to work that hard at all. But the fact remains that as one-fifth of Wolf Parade,
Calvin Harris – Ready For The Weekend
Calvin Harris, creator of disco, getter of all the girls, lover of 80s babies, and possesor of a very special power – utter gormlessness. Whether deadpanning his way around Dumfries