SONGS OF THE WEEK
Daithí - Falling For You feat. Sinead White
Does anyone blend Irish culture and dance music more fluidly than Daithí? For his new EP
Holiday Home,
he rented holiday homes along the west of Ireland, and made field recordings of the surrounding landscape. Those samples are heard on the EP's first track, a pop-swerving collaboration with Dublin singer Sinead White which was recorded on Valentina. The song also uses sea sounds from Inch beach in Cork and bell sounds from a wind chime in Achill.
Ciaran Lavery - Tell Them All
From a forthcoming live album
Live At The Mac
(out December 9th), recorded live at the Belfast venue, the Antrim singer augments his raspy acoustic folk with some plush strings on the
Let Bad In
highlight. The album will bring covers of
Love Will Tear Us Apart, Streets Of Philadelphia
and
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.
Saint Sister - Tin Man
Morgan MacIntyre and Gemma Doherty's Saint Sister music project marries folk textures with Celtic harp and a dusky shade of atmosphere. Their newest released on English label Communion gives us the gently compelling
Tin Man.
Oddsocks - What You Trying
Formerly Oddsocks Revival, the Dublin band Oddsocks have a more progressive sound than their former name suggests. With a new album
The Sound Of The City
produced by Rian Trench (Solar Bears), out November, their lead single previews a sound to come: a funk and soul-influenced indie sound with brass and multiple harmonies. They are on a tour in November and December that hits Dublin, Sligo, Kilkenny, Kerry, Cork and Bray.
NEW ARTIST OF THE WEEK
Johnny Fox
Formerly a member of the River Fane, Johnny Fox spent 18 months living in Sao Paolo with Samantha Capatti. The pair, now married living in Wexford, were inspired by the music of Brazil in the 1960s and 1970s: Caetano Veloso and Milton Nascimento. Capatti had some private poems in Portugese and Fox decided to put them to music. The result is a mellow tropicalia-influenced album of Portugese folk with an Irish guy singing his wife's words in her native language.
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Tomorrows - Another Life
Members of defunct Dublin bands Biggles Flys Again, The Chapters, Jethro Pickett and Woodheart take their inspiration from vintage rock, folk and prog, which all too easily could draw a blank or produce pastiche. Yet, over their debut album's 10 tracks there's an ease and comfort with the source materials that means pop-smudged psychedelic pop (
The Circle)
, wistful indie (
Another Life
), drifting orchestral lifts (
Free
), Super Furry Animals-esque vistas (
Depatures
) and Beatles ballads (
Retrospectives
), all fit snugly together in a bright fashion.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Slow Riot - Absent Dreams
Directed by Lukasz Pytlik
The spirit of recent Michael Shannon film
Midnight Special
feels alive and well in the new Warsaw-set video for Limerick rock band. Aliens, cars and bright lights done in style.
