Meandering Melodies: Interview with Camille O’Sullivan
Born in London to a French mother and Irish father, Camille O’Sullivan moved to Cork when she was just a child. Prior to running away with the circus The Famous
Musicians Without Borders
Like any traditional music that gets welded with the seam of modern beat, Balkan Beat Box (BBB) was born out of a Diaspora melting pot. The sort of pressure cooker
Nice & Nasty’s Desy Balmer
There are many unsung heroes in the Irish dance scene, and Desy Balmer is right up there with the best of them. A dj for nearly two decades and record
The Bronx – The Bronx III
“I wanna be original/I wanna be surrounded by art” Matt Caughthran’s throaty yelp opens his band’s third self-titled album. The Bronx seem a band more assured of their own individuality
Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy
17 years since their last release of new material, an alleged €13million in the making, using 17 musicians, various producers, studios and writers, one of the most delayed albums of
Dido – Safe Trip Home
Dido is one of those artists who, despite receiving her big break through Eminem’s Stan, has always had a reputation as being a nice girl who writes lovely songs which
Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
Kevin Barnes, Of Montreal’s eccentric-to-say-the-least singer is probably more famous for getting his willy out on stage last year than for his utterly compelling pop music, over-literate but heartrending lyrics
I’m From Barcelona
I’m quite jealous of Emanuel Lundgren, lead singer, chief songwriter and ringmaster of Swedish 30-piece music/party collective I’m From Barcelona. His command of English is somehow far better than mine,
Cap Pas Cap – We Are Men
Well it’s about time! Cap Pas Cap have starved us of releases in 2008, but thankfully they’ve managed to squeeze one in before the end of the year. So, was
Sunken Foal
Dunk Murphy is one half of Ambulance, and one whole of Sunken Foal. His new album under the latter moniker, Fallen Arches, is a work of glorious, breathtaking brilliance. Recalling
MIA/Blaqstaar – Way Down In The Hole (Cover Version)
5-0! We know pregnancy can arouse some very obscure cravings in women, but MIA’s sudden urge to add her own version of the Tom Waits-penned theme tune of The Wire
Kings of Leon – Use Somebody
Ironically Kings Of Leon’s Caleb Followill was this week announced by the NME as the 9th coolest person in the world of rock at the minute. We hadn’t realized turning
Sugarhill Gang
Block parties, mobile discos and basement DJs. Before any hip-hop record label was ever formed, people were out rapping on the streets, plugging equipment into any socket they could find
Kanye West – Robocop
Fresh from his “Would you judge a grandmother’s love?” reaction to the criticism of his auto-tuned drop from his forthcoming album ‘808s and Heartbreak’, Kanye’s going to have to polish
Get Well Soon – Listen! Those Lost At Sea…
Around these parts, there is much love for Get Well Soon. Ever since we heard a rough demo last year, and most notably since the release of his album on
Los Campesinos! – We are Beautiful, We are Doomed!
“It’s fair to say that I chose hopelessness/And inflicted it on the rest of us/But at least I’ve come to terms with my own mortality.” If you feel a slight
Snow Patrol – A Hundred Million Suns
Recorded in Westmeath and Berlin, the 5th album by this million-selling Northern Irish/Scottish band is one of those difficult albums to review. After the huge sales of the previous two
Tilly and the Wall – O
Optimists are often a group of people as maligned as child-murdering pathologoists. Tilly and the Wall are just the type of people to be treated with such suspicion. Upbeat major