Review: The Stone Roses - Phoenix Park Dublin

Worth waiting for....

Video: Swords - Chasm

Chasm is the first video release by Swords to accompany their new EP 'Black Baloon'. The video twisted carnival imagery matches the carnival feel of the songs synth lines perfectly.

Check out http://swordsband.com/ for more info and live dates.

Review: Kate Nash - Whelans

You’ve got to respect Kate Nash for her unwillingness to simply make ‘Made Of Bricks’ Part Deux and follow the sugar-pop keystrokes all the way to the bank. Instead she has chosen to put the keyboard in storage indefinitely and focus on playing the guitar and bass in a major change of direction which has been described as “career suicide” by NME.

Of course this metamorphosis into punk mistress is by no means an overnight gestation. The warning signs were present on Nash’s interesting second album ‘My Best Friend Is You’, that she was in a state of creative flux, experimenting in different genres and dipping her toes into punk rock. The results were not as compelling as ‘Made Of Bricks’, but still contained enough pop to support her fan-base’s enthusiasm. But with the release of single Under-Estimate The Girl, it would seem that she has abandoned her pop sensibilities altogether, and may very well struggle to carry her fan-base along for the punk joyride.

Kate Nash strides on to the stage at Whelans with her all girl band in tow. She’s wearing a wedding dress because she informs us she’s “jealous” of her sister who is getting married in Ireland later this year.  She tells the crowd that she now has “an Irish passport” and that tonight she would be playing “new songs”. And here is where the problems begin. The ratio of new to old songs was heavily lopsided in favour of new material to the point of overkill. It’s too much to expect fans to absorb an entire albums worth of new material and covers of Cub’s My Chinchilla and Fidlar’s I Wanna Be Your Cocaine, for good measure.

Unsurprisingly her breakthrough hit Foundations was the best received song of the night, but the band’s performance of this fan favourite was lack luster, to say the least. The 3 piece “girl gang” as Nash refers to them, are nothing special musicianship wise and it seems strange that, for all of Nash’s girl power rhetoric, she has failed to assemble a killer all-girl band, to back up her equality manifesto. Indeed Nash resembles a girl having a My Sweet 16 tantrum at times, wildly ranting and screaming shrilly, rather than singing throughout much of her new material. The covers she plays are noticeably superior to her unknown material, while the opinion splitting Under-Estimate The Girl is (by some distance) the best of her own compositions. Far too often the new material is origami Clash, rudimentary and weak, compared to the material of the bands she is seeking to be categorised with and stand tall beside.

The most endearing moments of the night came between songs, when she rallied against Heat magazine, and encouraged her fans “to do whatever they want to do” in life. She encourages them to send their music to her via her blog  and is visibly taken aback, when a fan instantly handed her their demo CD. The crowd also threw bras at the stage which she hung over the tuning forks of her bass.  It’s a shame the music didn’t live up to the banter and the girl power manifesto, because Kate Nash is capable of producing far better material. Let’s hope her third album’s material is more listenable on record than it is live.

Photo courtesy of  abetarrush.wordpress.com

Video: Sacred Animals V's Steffaloo - On Fire

Darragh Nolan of Sacred Animals fame is fast becoming one of the most sought after remix artists in Ireland and it's easy to see why as his re-imagining of Steffaloo's On Fire renders the original recording completely unrecognisable. Sacred Animals are hard at work on their debut album at present, but Nolan somehow finds the time to deliver wonderful remixes with the deftest of touches.

Review: Last Days of 1984 - Wake Up The Waves

Dublin dance duo Last Days of 1984 have created a Neapolitan mix of hands in the air Electronica and gentle blissed up Indie comedowns, on their 7 track debut album 'Wake Up The Waves'. Brian Rice and Darren Moloney create lush joyous soundscapes which echo Brian Eno and Can whilst simultaneously embracing the instantaneousness of '90s dance and '80s guitar synth pop bands. The influence of world cinema also peppers the album throughout.

Opening track Francois Truffaut- Event Sociologique's title refers to actor, director, and French new wave cinema forefather Francois Truffaut. Director of Fahrenheit 451, best know as an actor for his role in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. It's hardly standard fare for inspiring electro hooks, but Last Days Of 1984 do it with ease. In a seven minute plus opus of heady electro groves and afro-beat drums blended with calypso guitar lines. River's Edge was an obvious single choice it's less intense than the albums opener, but just as potent. Driven by a 1-2-3 bass line-it's a rhythm figure which the band deploy with great skill throughout the album-its light and airy verses build through a memorable chorus and instrumental sections. Delivering a nice slice of radio friendly electro.

Low-Fi reverb drenched guitar ballad Safari takes things done a notch offering light relief from the electro beats Safari has a blissed out '60s feel and proves without a doubt that Last Days of 1984's vocal prowess is equal to their musicianship. Kismat, meaning destiny or faith in Hindi puts the band in more familiar territory on this instrumental electro track. Season has the feel of a Doves song being remixed by a major dance act like Underworld. An excellent fusion of Last days of 1984's two principle styles as blissed out indie guitars and vocals merge with uplifting synth thrills and afro drums. This unique fusion of styles continues on the remaining tracks of the album. Standout track and probable single Wave Life displays hints of Talk Talk and the flippy floppy guitar lines of Talking Heads combined with more uplifting world music percussion and throaty synth motifs which make for one of the albums most memorable tracks.

Woods finishes the album on a foot stomping high with an impressive mix of jaunty synth pop mixed with some powerful Gary Numan-esque synth stabs. Add to this a singalong chorus and it all combines to create one of the best indie electro tracks ever produced in Ireland. With a debut of this quality Last Days of 1984 have secured a place at the top table of Irish Indie-Electro and laid down a marker for the other bands to follow.

Video: Fred And Bob - Eagle

The first single from the new EP 'Anti-Gravity Love' from Fred and Bob.

Review: Sleep Thieves - Islands EP

Dublin trio Sleep Thieves 'Islands' EP is a collection of high quality throaty electro goodness. Lead singer Sorcha Brennan's angelic preternatural voice deploys an eerie spectre across soundscapes of throbbing keys, bass, and beautiful bleeps. At times Brennan's voice is reminiscent of Natasha Khan and Ladyhawke while the music has a suitably dark yet uplifting quality to it.  

Out Of The Darkness plays like a baroque cello interlude transferred to a Moog while Oceans strange morphing beauty and the beast vocal exchanges create an enjoyable mid paced Sci-Fi lullaby. Title track Islands has a more organic rock feel thanks to the throbbing electric bass line which propels the song from start to finish

The gritty swaggering fuzz bass of Spirit Animal takes Sleep Thieves successfully into more hardcore territory, think Belgian dance maestros Goose. No doubt this track will set alight dance floors thanks to it's epic outro. This EP sees Sleep Thieves move beyond potential to the ranks of quality assured.