Boys Noize
Alex Ridha is a busy man. He is taking a well deserved break and enjoying a stroll around a particularly blustery Berlin, as Totally Dublin catches up with him for
The Cribs – Ignore The Ignorant
Imagine for a moment the sinking Titanic of British indie, shipwrecked as it is on the iceberg of lady-helmed electropop. There’s a serious shortage of lifeboats, but thankfully Leeds’ The
Dizzee Rascal – Tongue N’ Cheek
The day had to come when Dizzee washed the grime off his high-tops and scrubbed up nice in a suit. Much has been made of this newer, starrier, self-produced incarnation
The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
There are many good reasons to record a double album. Just because it occurred to you that you should is not one of them. Having said that, I enjoyed this
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
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
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
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
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
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
Amanda Blank – I Love You
Hey Amanda. I know you’re probably pretty cut up everybody’s hating on your album. Don’t worry though. A Pitchfork 2.0 rating doesn’t condemn you to a maligned, dead-end career as
The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love
The latest buzz band to come with black leather jackets surgically attached, The Big Pink’s Converse-gazing relies heavily on distortion and nasal Britpop vocals. Only the title track touches on
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,