Otherkin continue to rise with new single
Review by Bobby Green 2017 has certainly been Otherkin’s year, Playing with Dead Kennedys and Guns n Roses, championed by Metallica’s Lars Ulrich on his radio show but above all else being a kick ass live band who can transform that energy to the recording studio. With ‘Come on , Hello’ they give their fanbase a final teaser for their debut album OK due out in late September. OK was recorded in Ireland with David Prendergast, Jason Boland and the band at the controls. The tracks were mixed in London by Jolyon Thomas, best known for his work with Slaves and Royal Blood. To support the release of the album, Otherkin will be out on tour as both special guests of INHEAVEN in the UK and headlining their own gigs in fifteen European countries. They are also confirmed for the Leeds / Reading festival at the end of August. Their meteoric rise this year has impressed us all here at musician.ie because they have all the ingredients a band should have to succeed. A hard work attitude, great live presence a close connection with their fanbase and a killer ability to write fucking great songs. If you look around at the music scene in Ireland over the last few years there’s so much to be excited about with these young bands ‘killing’ everything that went before them, it’s how it’s meant to happen. But the respect shown to the old guard hasn’t gone unnoticed with old geezers like myself. It’s an exciting time to be a young adult who’s into music, there’s a quality out there that has been missing for a while, and I think if ‘OK’ is as great as its singles suggest then Otherkin could just be the band of the year. Tour dates: 15th December – Button Factory, Dublin,...
Bobby Green predicts big things for Limerick’s Nile St. James
Review by Bobby Green At this moment in time there’s only a handful of world class talent in Ireland that doesn’t have that ‘Irish’ sound. If you were to walk into any Irish city you’d be inundated with singers who could be considered world class, but they’d all have that sound. There’s nothing wrong with it, I love that sound and thankfully so do millions of others. But from time to time you’d get a singer whose soulful vocal could come from across the water on either side of this beautiful musical landscape of ours. And right now I honestly believe I’m listening to a brand new talent that is about to shine in that category. Nile St. James is a singer/songwriter hailing from Limerick City. With heavy influences rooted in folk and soul music, Nile has found his own authentic space within the music industry combining the two genres to create unique and exciting hybrid. His debut single ‘Fell For You’ is a joyous introduction to his vocal stylings. This sweet introduction has Nile singing with his band (The Vibes) bringing their funk / soul rhythms from their dynamic live performances to the recording studio. This is just the start for this young man, I can see his star rising into the intergalactic hemisphere. You can’t help but love this song, if he’s not a household name in a few years’ time there’s something seriously wrong… Fell For You is available for pre-order on August 11th 2017 via...
Search Party Animal reveal new single and Whelan’s date
Search Party Animal just may be the hottest ticket in town right now with the release of the release of their second single “Enemies”. This magnificent cacophony of a tune cuts right through a lot of the generic music that Ireland’s music scene is awash with right now. Playing together since the age of 14 these lads have defined their sound and are known for their energetic live performances and with a debut headline show Upstairs at Whelan’s on August 25th, and a busy festival season to follow soon, there is much more to come from this exciting young five piece whose average age is 19. This may bode well for the future of the Irish music scene, but with “Enemies” being released the here and the now sound pretty fucking awesome… “Enemies” is out now – Catch Search Party Animal live upstairs at Whelan’s on August 25th...
Bobby Green reviews the new single from Pursued By Dogs
Review by Bobby Green Iceland is the second self release from Dublin’s Pursued By Dogs and is a taster for their forthcoming debut album due for release later this year that was recorded by producer James Darkin at Temple Lane and Herbert Place Studios. This slow builder of indietronica brings you along a superb soundscape that builds but never overwhelms. There’s a touch of class about this track with its elegant delivery that’ll leave you wanting more. The band previously played under the name DOGS, making a name for themselves on Ireland’s live circuit featuring at the likes of Castlepalooza, Indiependence and earning themselves a nomination for Best New Act at the Irish Festival Awards. Pursued by Dogs are Andrew Brennan – vocals, guitar; Ronan Marr – production; Suzanne Purcell – vocals, keys; Dave Sheehan – bass....
Bobby Green is off on magical adventures thanks to the new offering from Frankenstein Bolts
Review by Bobby Green As we enter the month of August we could be mistaken in thinking that the best days of the summer have maybe passed and we are left to look forward to a few more golden days in the sun. These ethereal moments are what we treasure most as we bask in the warmth of the beautiful glory of what life can sometimes be. These dreamlike states of majestic wonder need a soundtrack, and every year an album comes along that you treasure for being your guide along these months that lead us from summer into autumn where we wrap ourselves up ready for winters cold hand to point us into the new year. Aglow and Spark will not only be your guide for these seasonal memories, but it will lift you up above the clouds where the sky is always blue and provide a golden sun for your Indian summer. Its dream like pop perfection will gently caress your soul and kiss you on that exact spot where your emotional self connects to your senses, it’s impossible not to experience pleasure and moments of pure joy when listening to the latest offering from Frankenstein Bolts. Frankenstein Bolts have the ability to take you out of your hemisphere and hold your hand as they guide you through their vision, and with Aglow and Spark they have created such a golden well for us to fall into and immerse ourselves in that when the album actually finishes you’ll have to take a moment out for yourself to connect with the outside world again. It truly is a remarkably beautiful album. As an album that was financed by a crowdfunding campaign everyone who contributed to this should feel immensely proud that they are part of making the world a little more beautiful by helping finance this stunning work of art. I’m a firm believer in pledging and crowdfunding, when done correctly it brings artist and fanbase closer and allows albums like this to be created. Aglow and Spark is out now and is waiting to take you somewhere...
Sons Of Sothern Ulster go walkabouts.
Review by Bobby Green One of the stand out albums of 2016 for me was Foundry Folk Songs by Sons of Southern Ulster, it was truly a remarkable album, timeless in its poetic delivery, perfectly crafting a world you were dragged through by the scruff of your neck and shown a side of life that may no longer exist. The true beauty of music in all its glory doesn’t just provide perfect emotional soundbites for fancy commercials, when done right it can also take you to places a lot more real than the exclusive club you’d never be invited to because you’ll look too much of a tosser using the product on display. Foundry Folk Songs was the perfect flip side to the gleam of product placement music, and was exactly what the alternative scene needed. Now in 2017 The Sons of Southern Ulster are finally getting off their arses and doing some live gigs in Ireland as part of a documentary about the debut album and the drive behind guys their age putting out new music. They have now also become a 4 piece to include Noel Larkin on drums and Paddy Glackin on bass. They are be playing 3 dates in August and the set for the gigs will include two sections – firstly David Meagher (Guitar) and Justin Kelly (Vox) doing a six song intro with just the pair of them and a beatbox, and then after a short break the 4 piece kick in for a more rockier set. The mini-tour will include three dates: (1) World Academy of Music at UL – Lunchtime Thursday 3rd August, (2) Bailieboro Arts and Culture Centre on Friday 4th August at 9PM, and (3) Washerwoman Bar in Ballina/Killaloe Co. Tipperary on Saturday 5th (followed by a late nite Punk and Indie Vinyl disco….) They are also currently working on EP “Paddy K’s Mescaline Diaries” to bridge the first and second album that should see the light of day soon (I Hope) but good things come to those who wait....
