https://www.cluas.com/indie-music RSS feeds for CLUAS Irish Indie Music 60 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3757/A-Lazarus-Soul-With-A-Penthouse-View#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3757 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3757&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3757/A-Lazarus-Soul-With-A-Penthouse-View Allow me to introduce you to A Lazarus Soul if you’re unfamiliar with them. They’re perhaps one of the best bands in Ireland right now, and their music channels the likes of Joy Division and The Smiths but with a Dublin twist. Their excellent second album Graveyard Of Burnt Out Cars makes frequent references to the rougher sides of the capital, bringing realism to the forefront but still having heart, albeit among some strong lyrics. For their single ‘The Day I Disappeared’ an image of infamous criminal Martin Cahill was used as the sleeve cover, the song features the somewhat fitting lyrics “And the Liffey filled with tears/Of relief the day I disappeared.” On one occasion I was walking through Dublin City in the evening and one of their songs came on my mp3, and it just seems an incredibly apt representation of the city. If I’m out of the country and one of their songs comes on I’m instantly reminded of Dublin, it’s very authentic and, joyously, very distant from the likes of U2. So why exactly am I mentioning A Lazarus Soul? Excitingly, they’re releasing a new album in October, entitled ‘Through A Window In The Sunshine Room’ and their first single ‘A Penthouse View’ is available for free download here. It certainly doesn’t sound that similar to any of their songs from 'Graveyard Of Burnt Out Cars', or their debut 'A Lazarus Soul Record', but I’m interested to see where this goes and to hear more tracks from their forthcoming album. I’ll leave you with their video for ‘Icon’, perhaps one of their most popular tracks, from their 'Graveyard Of Burnt Out Cars' album. Enjoy! More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:18:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3757 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3758/The-Closure-of-Road-Records#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3758 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3758&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3758/The-Closure-of-Road-Records Recently news flooded into my e-mail inbox about the imminent closure of Road Records, the independent music shop based in Fade Street in Dublin City. The following e-mail has been sent out to all subscribers to their mailing list:   "How do I begin a piece like this, without repeating everything I wrote nearly two years ago now. I suppose I would have to say its with great sadness to inform you we are finally closing the doors of Road Records. Its been a difficult two years since we first faced the prospects of closure and we have literally worked night and day to try and see if we could save the shop and make it a viable business again. The current economic situation in this country added to the many problems we faced in the past have finally caught up with us and we can no longer sustain this little shop. This time, I am sad to say, there is no alternative for us, we have literally tried everything in our powers to keep this place operating and nothing has worked for us. It hasn’t been an easy decision to make, if anything its even more difficult than two years ago, we have had amazing support from people but nothing we do seems to work anymore. With debts beginning to build again Julie and myself have finally decided that we cannot take any more risks personally and before things get any worse we will have to finally walk away from the shop for the last time. I have to say I still have no regrets about the last 13 years, its been a real blast and a pleasure to be here over the years. We have met some amazing people and have become friends with some truly amazing bands. The level of support we have received since last year has been truly mindblowing but so much has changed economically since then that its just not possible to sustain such a small record shop like this anymore. I am not going to give out about the music business this time around, its just one of those things and we have finally come to a stage where I think the days of the small indie store are numbered. It’s sad to have to admit that but this time I think its true, we can’t blame digital sales, illegal downloading etc, the world is a changing place and I can’t see any room in it for kooky little indie stores like ourselves. We will be starting our closing down sale this Saturday 17th of July and everything will be on sale at a 25% reduction. We will be open for just one more week after that with the final day being Saturday 24th of July. Literally everything will be going on sale so if you want to pick up a cheap stereo, cash register or stapler, then do drop in. We would both like to thank each and everyone of you for your support over the years, maybe we will catch up at some point in the future. We would also like to thank all our wonderful staff from the last 14 years, in person they are – Dylan, Jonny, Jimmy, Gib, Colm, John, Chip and Aengus. As for what we will do next, the honest answer is we really don’t know, hopefully we can pay off any debts we have and then at least we have a beautiful little baby boy to try and put a smile back on our faces. Thanks & Adios Dave and Julie" Only last year Road Records announced they’d be closing, and discussed this difficult decision with former CLUAS blogger Steven O’Rourke in this informative interview. A large portion of bands within the Irish music scene grouped together to host a benefit night at Andrew's Lane Theatre. It seemed this saved the shop, but evidently it was only temporary. Illegal downloads and internet shopping have in a way ravaged the independent music industry. There are both pros and cons to the aforementioned issues, but it’s always the man on the ground i.e. the independent music shops who suffer. Road Records have for many years been an integral part of the Dublin music scene, both supporting and stocking releases from Irish bands. Perhaps the most disheartening thing is my wondering “which shop will be next?” Road Records is my favourite music store in Dublin, a point which I made in my blog post about Record Store Day noting the enthusiasm with which Road Records embraced Record Store Day. It’s a shame to think that at next year’s Record Store Day there will be no Road Records participating, and it'll be very hard to find another independent music shop in Dublin to match Road Records. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:36:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3758 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3759/The-Edge-of-Glastonbury#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3759 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3759&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3759/The-Edge-of-Glastonbury Today is the end of the 40th Glastonbury festival, and as the tour buses trundle out of the otherwise sleepy village of Pilton in Somerset and the massive clean-up gets underway in Worthy Farm I return to my yearly Glastonbury routine which I’m sure I share with many. This routine consists of me watching Glastonbury footage and becoming increasingly green-eyed with every guitar chord emanating from the Pyramid Stage and cursing myself for not being there. So in an effort of consolation I resolve to go the next year and religiously follow the Glastonbury updates throughout the year. But then the year passes and I miss the festival yet again. This routine is repeated yearly, and I will eventually get to Glastonbury even if it means riding a tractor through Pilton and accosting Michael Eavis himself. Having previously housed such iconic acts as T. Rex, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Blur and Oasis it’s become a British musical institution. And this year while the cows were grazing in fields at a safe distance from drunken revellers and overly confident rockstars the Pyramid stage was graced by Gorillaz, Muse and Stevie Wonder respectively. As per usual the festival was very successful, and I’m sure there are Glastonbury survivors all around England nursing the mother of all hangovers to choruses of “It was worth it, completely worth it” and questioning if anything they saw throughout the weekend really happened. The general consensus is that the more outlandish and surreal the memory, the more likely it is it that it really did happen. I’m sure Damon Albarn is very pleased to have headlined Glastonbury two years in a row, albeit in different bands. So, as the beginning of summer has been marked with the always eclectic Glastonbury festival I’m going to sign up for every Glastonbury festival mailing list possible.  Because I’ll be there next year, I swear. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:43:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3759 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3760/Lennon-Naked-Only-Skin-Deep#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3760 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3760&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3760/Lennon-Naked-Only-Skin-Deep John Lennon had a tormented childhood. At the age of 5 his parents made him decide who he wanted to live with - his father Alf who was moving to New Zealand, or his mother Julia who was to remain in Liverpool. John chose Alf, but as his mother was leaving he ran after her and ultimately chose her. His Aunt Mimi then reported his mother to Social Services, so he remained with Mimi instead. Aged 17 his mother was hit by a car and died near her home. It’s often been said that the absence of his father and the death of his mother at a young age contributed to Lennon’s seeming inability to deal with confrontation and responsibility in his personal life and caused him to undergo therapy in his later years. The BBC 4 film ‘Lennon Naked’ explores this side of Lennon. It begins with Lennon in his adulthood, continuing where Sam Taylor-Wood’s ‘Nowhere Boy’ left off. Some footage of when Beatlemania began to take hold was interspersed throughout the opening scenes, black and white film of girls screaming wildly and declaring their love while the suitably pleased 20-something musicians are lapping up the attention. Before long the film delves into the world of Lennon while with his first wife Cynthia. She’s portrayed as a nagging, emotional woman who has doe-eyed look across her face every time she tries to reason with him. Meanwhile Lennon is shown to be moody towards his wife and unhappy with her boxing him in and limiting his creativity. A barrel of laughs this certainly isn’t. As the film progresses the constant carelessness of the character of Lennon grows tiresome, and the film is awash with some less-than-convincing actors. Paul McCartney, played by Andrew Scott, sounded like he had a comedy voice throughout, his deep nasally tones sounding more Little Britain than Liverpudlian. The slight appearances made by the actors playing George Harrison (Jack Morgan) and Ringo Starr (Craig Cheetham) were blighted by their comedic moustaches and, particularly in the case of Paul, drawn on eyebrows. The film is exactly as it was described, it was a drama. A drama that gives little insight or enjoyment to your average Beatles fan, the characters seem to have derived some acting advice from the cast of Eastenders. It’s a shame because the lead actor, Christopher Eccleston, who played John Lennon, gave an excellent performance, but the lack of any progression in the character of Lennon and the dreary and constantly unhappy portrayal of him offered no insight or development in his character. Ultimately all this film taught me, from the soundtrack, is that The Beatles had a song for every occasion.  And right now after watching the film I feel like I Should Have Known Better. If you'd like to make your own verdict on the film it will be aired again tonight on BBC4 at 10pm. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:46:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3760 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3761/Terrible-Things-The-Return-Of-Fred-Mascherino#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3761 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3761&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3761/Terrible-Things-The-Return-Of-Fred-Mascherino Ever wondered what happened to Fred Mascherino formerly of Taking Back Sunday? Well, if so, wonder no more! The last I heard of him was when he left the band and was focusing on his solo project The Colour Fred, but recently I found out about the current band he’s in called Terrible Things. While their track ‘Revolution’ sounds like it wouldn’t be out of place on Taking Back Sunday album it’s still an impressive track. ‘The Hills of Birmingham’ is an engaging track which begins acoustically but swiftly descends into electric guitars and a stronger sound. To have a listen yourself, which I highly recommend, their MySpace is here and is only a click away! Two weeks ago former Stereophonics drummer Stuart Cable passed away in his home in Wales. I’m not going to start professing to being their biggest fan, but it must be said they did release some brilliant songs. My favourite Stereophonics song, in which Stuart Cable played, is ‘Vegas Two Times’. Whatever anyone says, it can’t be denied that he was an excellent drummer, and I'm certain this this song shows it. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Sat, 19 Jun 2010 20:17:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3761 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3762/Teeth-and-Pearls#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3762 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3762&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3762/Teeth-and-Pearls Since my last blog post I’ve been acquainting myself with the music of Pearl and the Puppets. Her latest single ‘Because I Do’ is catchy but not too dissimilar to the sound of Feist. Still some quality songs to be heard on her MySpace here, and I'm in no doubt that she's definitely one to watch. And, as I’m sure you’ll be interested to know the most mundane (but in my case terrifying) eventuality of getting a tooth taken out caused me to ponder about what would be a good play list for while you’re in the dentist’s chair. Well, that and minimising my sugar intake. And, as your ever intrepid blogger, I compiled this list: Nick Drake - Sunday (A nice instrumental song to almost relax you before your teeth begin being drilled in to) Blur - Trimm Trabb (A mellow but somewhat euphoric track is always a necessity in such a situation) The Courteeners - Will It Be This Way Forever? (Nothing like listening to a song about naivety and adolescence  to distract you for a bit) Elbow - Not A Job (Depending on how loud the drilling/pliers are, can be quite effective for making your mind wander) The Cure - Forest (Vivid imagery, Robert Smith’s eerie voice - need I say more?) The Beatles - Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite (Instantly effective, sing along if you’d like to show off your vocal skills/snap a tooth) Arcade Fire - Windowsill (Can make you feel more depressed than scared, you’ll be like Tommy Tiernan when Radiohead started playing on the bus from Craggy Island. So when your teeth are being hacked at, you won’t notice a thing!)                   No, you don’t have to thank me, thank your teeth the next time they decide to start warring each other. And while we’re on the subject of tooth extractions here’s Green Day’s video for 'Geek Stink Breath'. (Best not to look at this video if you’re of a nervous disposition/are about to have a tooth taken out!)   More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Sun, 30 May 2010 18:14:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3762 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3763/Advert-Music-Fantastic-Or-Faltering#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3763 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3763&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3763/Advert-Music-Fantastic-Or-Faltering I think we’ve probably all seen the Discover Ireland ads with the catchy Tegan and Sara-esque song with the lyrics “I need to go/I need to get away from everything.” This song is of course ‘Remember When’ by Heathers. It seems that adverts are the perfect launch pad for indie artists, let’s not forget Feist’s adoration after her track ‘1234’ was used on the iPod ad. This method causes the song to beam into both peoples homes and hopefully their consciousness. When Gossip’s ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ was used as the main song for the first series of teen drama Skins it shot up into the charts. And of course The Fray and Cold War Kids owe a lot of their popularity and success to Scrubs for frequently using their songs. The Fray’s ‘How To Save A Life’ and Cold War Kids’ ‘Hospital Beds’ were used to regularly in both the show and the accompanying promo ads for the programme. Florence and the Machine’s ‘Cosmic Love’ has recently been renamed as ‘that song from the O2 ad’. A song which people who are only familiar with it from the ads only know a portion of, and we all know how dreary it is to listen to the whole song when you know five words absolutely perfectly and the rest may as well be yodelling. This does cause me to wonder if this gives some bands a restricted shelf life, if they’re destined to be ‘that band from that [insert company name here] ad’ and that all of their future work could pale in comparison. After the major success of Gossip’s ‘Standing In The Way of Control’ their following singles and album can be described as mediocre as best. But who knows, maybe had I not heard ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ so many times that my ears began to bleed I might appreciate their music more. Or, alternatively, they didn’t let their song be used on Skins and I would never have even been aware of their existence. The use of relatively unknown artists’ songs being used in the media is no new phenomenon. Now many companies are trying to appeal to a younger, more bohemian demographic. And being inhabitants of the information age means all of this is more accessible, and more predominant than ever. Is it really much of a dilemma though? Yes, using a song of yours on an advert (assuming it gets chosen) could mean that you’re only remembered for one song and the rest of your music could be ignored, or you could forever play music and write songs while getting almost no recognition and make no living from it. Who came blame a band for having ambition, and getting an enviable amount of money in the process? As long as Bonnie Tyler stops appearing on screen advertising credit cards while looking like a ghost from the netherworld then I generally find advert music to be pretty good. Certainly the less songs by Johnny Logan afflicting my ears and more by relatively unknown bands the better.   More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Wed, 19 May 2010 22:12:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3763 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3764/PJ-Harvey-Lets-England-Shake#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3764 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3764&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3764/PJ-Harvey-Lets-England-Shake In the ever impressive line-up of bands coming over to perform in Dublin the most recent additions are Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s Gorillaz who’ll be playing their first ever Irish show (finally!) in the 02 on the 22nd of September, and hotly-tipped Mancunian electro duo Hurts will be playing in Whelan’s on the 20th of May. While I’m sure they’ll get the obligatory comparisons between themselves and Joy Division, chiefly due to the fact that they are from Manchester and are musicians with a fondness for synthesisers, their music isn’t quite that easy to read which makes it all the more interesting. Lately I’ve been search through my CD collection to find some hidden treasures that I’d forgotten about in the intervening years since I bought them, and started listening to PJ Harvey’s ‘Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea’ again. Very rarely can anyone make what appears to be quite vicious and intimidating singing sound equally as endearing as it is confusing. After listening to the album and reminiscing I decided to look up what she’s doing now, and found a recent video of her performing her new song on The Andrew Marr Show. While I’m not too sure about the song, I was oddly pleased about the fact that Gordon Brown was watching from one of the monitors. I wonder what he thought? The song is called ‘Let England Shake’. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Mon, 10 May 2010 22:29:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3764 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3765/Record-Store-Day-Dublin#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3765 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3765&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3765/Record-Store-Day-Dublin Saturday the 17th of April was Record Store Day, an initiative which is now in its fourth year that encourages people to support their local independent record shop. This was of course a day marked in the calendar of indie music shop owners everywhere and it was also an ample opportunity for me to wander around Dublin City having a look in some of my favourite record shops, and discovering some new ones.  Most impressive was Road Records, a favourite of mine. The staff donned suits for the occasion and chalked the logo for Record Store Day outside the shop. And besides the great atmosphere there was another reason to get excited about Record Store Day - limited edition vinyl releases. There was interesting array of releases this year; a Factory Records compilation featuring the likes of Joy Division and Happy Mondays, The Beatles 'Paperback Writer / Rain' 7” and Blur’s first single since 2003 (and this time including Graham Coxon!) ‘Fool’s Day’ were among some of the must-haves. Luckily for those of us who couldn’t get the Blur vinyl in time the song is now available as a free download here. And last but not least are the in-stores, the one which I was most excited about was Villagers, but he was unable to be there as he was stranded in Belgium because of the unforgiving volcanic ash. I did get to see Heathers' in-store in Tower Records, it was the day after their Late Late Show performance, and their music was as striking as ever. Here's a video of their most popular song so far, which I'm sure everyone's heard on the Discover Ireland ads, 'Remember When.' More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3765 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3766/Would-You-Like-An-Album-With-That#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3766 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3766&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3766/Would-You-Like-An-Album-With-That Recently Pink Floyd were successful in their bid to sue EMI because their tracks were being sold unbundled. After they argued that their record contract with EMI “expressly prohibited” the unbundling of album tracks, and had expected there to be a lock on their songs so they could only be purchased as full albums. When it came to light that their songs were made available as single tracks, this of course was a bone of contention for them. There are two different arguments about this, one of which is if the consumer downloaded one track it may entice them to buy the whole album eventually. However, it’s equally as likely that one track will be downloaded, and even if it’s considered to be a fantastic track, that will be the end of that. What’s the point of buying the album when you already have the one song you definitely like and want? One musician strongly in support of songs being locked so they’re only available as album purchases is Elbow’s Guy Garvey who believes the album is a dying art form, stating that, “You spend a large chunk of your life making [an album] and you think about every note, squeak and crackle. When you put your heart and soul into something you want people to hear it as it was intended.” It would be very easy to accuse the musicians of being greedy, and that this is just some veiled attempt at trying to get as much money from the consumer as possible, but in truth I’m inclined to agree with Guy Garvey. I tend to look at albums as being like books, a series of chapters containing different scenes and insights. Purchasing a track, that isn’t at the time being released as a single, I see as being like buying one chapter of a book because you know it’s the one chapter you’ll definitely like. But what about the rest? Albums are meant to be played as a whole piece, and I think in some instances people will be missing out. What if the majority of people had only bought ‘She Bangs The Drums’ from The Stone Roses’ debut album, or ‘Grounds For Divorce’ from Elbow’s ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’? Those albums, full of cohesive and defining tracks, could easily have disappeared into oblivion if this was the case. Naturally this is all subjective, but I personally am in support of locking some bands back catalogues so their music can only be purchased as full albums. Otherwise, bands may see albums as being a waste of effort and time and will only release singles. Could this be the future of music? More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:35:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3766 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3767/Taking-Back-Glasvegas#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3767 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3767&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3767/Taking-Back-Glasvegas This week, it seems, is a week for a change in band line-ups. First there was the frankly surprising news that Caroline McKay, the drummer for Glasvegas, has decided to leave James Allen & Co. This was followed by the announcement of Matt Rubano and Matthew Fazzi’s departure from Taking Back Sunday. And I was just getting over seeing Taking Back Sunday without Fred Mascherino! Meanwhile, while temporarily taking a break from mourning the demise of Copeland (they had so much left to give!) I went out and bought Laura Marling’s latest album ‘I Speak Because I Can.’ Simply put, it’s one of the best music purchases I’ve ever made. Here’s a brilliant video of her perfroming the first single from the album, ‘Devil’s Spoke.’   More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:32:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3767 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/264/Laura-Marling-I-Speak-Because-I-Can#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=264 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=264&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/264/Laura-Marling-I-Speak-Because-I-Can A review of the album 'I Speak Because I Can' by Laura Marling Review Snapshot: The second album from folksy songstress Laura Marling highlights why I fell in love with her music in the first place and why you should too. With a staggering lyrical and vocal ability and it’s near impossible to fault this album. The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10 Full Review: The first thing that strikes me about ‘I Speak Because I Can’ in comparison to Laura Marling’s debut ‘Alas I Cannot Swim’ is that her voice seems to have gained a new strength and confidence. While ‘Alas I Cannot Swim’ is nothing short of excellent, a lot of her vocals were quieter and much more timid. Now, it appears that 20-year-old Marling is more aware of her awe-inspiring talent, and has no qualms about using it to her full ability. The opening track on the album, and first single ‘Devil’s Spoke’ displays Marling’s incredible talent - it goes from an angsty and powerful chorus  to a sweet quiet verse, proclaiming that “But I am your keeper/And I hold your face away from light”, without it sounding displaced or overly-formulaic. ‘Blackberry Stone’ was originally released on the ‘Cross Your Fingers’ EP, but has wisely been added to this release as well. While sounding like Joni Mitchell the song is accompanied by the most sublime of violins. There’s a subtle reference which appears to have been made to Charlie Fink from Noah & the Whale with the lyric “I’ll be sad that I never held your hand as you were lowered.” I’m torn between choosing the most engaging and favourite song of mine on this album. This indecision is between the two last tracks ‘Darkness Descends’ and ‘I Speak Because I Can.’ The former clearly shows how double tracking should be done, features a short guest vocal from Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons and shows noticeably more progression with a much more diverse vocal versatility. However ‘I Speak Because I Can’ features quite endearing lyrics, beginning with “My husband left me last night” and “I cooked the meals the meals/And he got the life”. If ever there was a song needed to adequately accompany a Brontë novel, I’m certain this would be it. Overall, ‘I Speak Because I Can’ shows a rarely found and astonishing talent. At times Marling’s vocals can be quiet, almost like Lisa Hannigan's, but then her voice soars to an affecting and emotive level. The instrumentation creates an atmospheric and enthralling sound. Talent in such abundance is hard to find, and while there are several bands around now who are being hailed as the ‘Next Big Thing’ chances are they’ll be forgotten in a year or two (looking at you, La Roux), but Laura Marling isn’t one of them. She’ll be around for a good while longer, and the world will be all the better for it. Aideen O'Flaherty More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Wed, 31 Mar 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:264 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3768/The-Greatest-Hits#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3768 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3768&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3768/The-Greatest-Hits The ‘Greatest Hits’ album. We’re all familiar with it in some capacity, usually the ploy of the record label. It used to be that greatest hits albums signalled the end of a band, as though they were saying, “Right, this is as good as we’ll ever get.” Now, they seem to occur intermittently. Remember the odd Biffy Clyro singles release a few months ago? I’m just cautiously waiting for there to be a ‘Best Of’ album for Elbow. There are very few ‘Best Of’ or ‘Greatest Hits’ albums that I like, and I’m certain this is the same for almost every other music fan.  I thought The Cure’s Greatest Hits was pretty good. While naturally it was filled with their most commercially successful songs you could tell the songs weren’t just thrown together, that some thought was put into the track listing and it worked out perfectly. I mean, of course I’ll bemoan them for not including ‘Fascination Street’, ‘Catch’ or ‘Prayers for Rain’, but whatever song selection is picked for these albums I always have some sort of issue with the tracks that either are, or aren’t, on it. While in some instances the Greatest Hits album is merely an introduction to the band for some people, sometimes a band has so much excellent material that it’s incredibly hard to narrow it down into one album. The Smiths’ Very Best Of is a prime example of this, with no less than 23 songs on the album. And prior to that album release there were two volumes of ‘The Best Of The Smiths’. Some bands, it seems, should just remain untouched. If you were to go out and pick up any one of The Smiths’ albums it would be filled with consistently enthralling material. There was never really any need for a ‘Very Best Of’. On several occasions some bands are unaware that their label is compiling a ‘Best Of’ album, let alone going to release one. Free from any consultation from the band, it proves an irritating and sometimes embarrassing addition to their discography.  This happened to AFI in 2004, when they left their then-label Nitro, the label released a collection of songs from their previous albums that they saw as being the best. It’s still something the band rarely talk about, but when they do the disdain is always evident. So, are greatest hits album really so heinous? The Best of R.E.M captures the band at various different stages in their career, and no doubt provides an excellent introduction to the band. Similarly, the Best of Depeche Mode is a stunning collection of their songs. Maybe without those albums, very few bands would be appreciated as much as they are now. In some instances, it can shine a light on a band that had previously been only vaguely known by people. Here’s hoping that Doves’ Best Of garners them all of the attention they’ve so long deserved. The verdict? The Greatest Hits album: a necessary evil. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:24:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3768 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3769/Sparking-the-Shadows#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3769 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3769&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3769/Sparking-the-Shadows Congratulations are in order after Adrian Crowley won the Choice Music Prize with the brilliant ‘Season of the Sparks’ album. He had some tough competition in the form of Valerie Francis’ ‘Slow Dynamo’ and Bell X1‘s  ‘Blue Lights on the Runway’ among many others. A CLUAS interview with him can be read here. I recently got Fionn Regan’s ‘Shadow of an Empire’, which has a lot more electric instrumentation than his debut ‘The End of History.’ While it doesn’t entirely veer away from the folk style he’s known for it does display his immense musical talent, sometimes experimenting with some more traditional sounds. He has the lyrical sensibilities of Bob Dylan with the sometimes melodious and engaging vocal style of Johnny Cash. Judging by this album, Regan can only ever get more interesting and creative with his music. The album covers a lot of different ground, starting from the raucous and hooky ‘Protection Racket’ to the personal and intimate in ‘Lines Written in Winter’. Throughout the album it seems as though not a word was wasted in the lyrics, everything has some sort of significance. Here’s an interesting snippet of the song ‘Protection Racket’, the first single from ‘The Shadow of an Empire’. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:35:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3769 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/270/Marina-the-Diamonds-The-Family-Jewels#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=270 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=270&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/270/Marina-the-Diamonds-The-Family-Jewels A review of the album The Family Jewels by Marina & the Diamonds Review Snapshot: Put a striking Greek girl in Wales who grows up to have a London accent and you get Marina Diamandis, better known as Marina & the Diamonds. Her long awaited debut ‘The Family Jewels’ is a shameless pop album, mixed with a hint of indie and sprinkled with some eccentricity. This, it turns out, is a winning combination. The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10 Full Review: Having recently been put on almost every ‘One to Watch for 2010’ list Marina & the Diamonds had a lot to live up to with ‘The Family Jewels’. Detailing the world around her and the apparent perils of being a woman in the 21st Century (“Girls are not meant to fight dirty/Never look a day past thirty”) makes for an interesting listen. The second track on the album, ‘Shampain’, has an 80s glam feel and slight similarities to Ladyhawke’s sound. She proclaims that “sleep is not my friend” with swirling vocals and an array of synthesisers. The song is extremely catchy and seems to document a hedonistic existence, but ends quietly on a high note, sounding innocent in contrast to the exploits described and the up-beat tempo in the rest of the song. ‘Girls’ sounds Disney-esque at the beginning, due to the fantasy style instrumentation and the looming sound of the drum beat. In a case of things that shouldn’t work, but somehow do, an accordion is thrown into the mix temporarily, and all of a sudden it seems like you’ve been transported into the back streets of a tiny town in Rome. She expresses dissatisfaction and boredom in being around girls, singing that “I fall asleep when they speak of all the calories they eat”. All of the lyrics in this song are amusing but also an observation of modern life, and in some instances, similar to Alex Turner’s lyrical abilities. Impressive? Very much so. The humorously titled ‘Hermit the Frog’ begins with strings, and sounds like it wouldn’t be out of place on a James Bond soundtrack. Then it launches into the first chorus and displays the quirky and eccentric style expected of Marina. Though at times the track can get irritating, most notably just before the third verse where there’s a piercing “oh oh oh” line. Otherwise, it adequately shows the aforementioned song writing skills and the slight insanity which seems to enhance this album. ‘Guilty’ is a  strong closing track with a pulsing drum beat and an altogether atmospheric sound. It shows her excellent vocal ability, and is glossed with the escapism featured throughout the album. It’s a perfect ending to ‘The Family Jewels’, displaying vulnerability which isn’t as apparent throughout the rest of the album, with lyrics such as “I was just a kid/And all I wanted was my father.” Overall, this album is fun and a bit odd, which only adds to the mystique of Marina Diamandis. She’s a revelation, with an at times astonishing vocal ability and unabashedly cutting lyrics. Aideen O'Flaherty More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:270 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3770/Falcon-and-the-NME-Awards#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3770 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3770&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3770/Falcon-and-the-NME-Awards The Courteeners have stormed back into the consciousness of indie fans with their impeccable second album ‘Falcon’. They’ve created a distance between the Oasis style lad-rock that was so prevalent on their debut ‘St. Jude’, which has the potential to get them a much larger audience. Like almost every indie band in the land they’ve got strings on this album, but only as a subtle addition to the foot-stomping and energetic guitars and drums which blaze throughout. If you thought ‘St. Jude’ was good, then you’ll be blown away by ‘Falcon’. Besides the fascinating photography the CD booklet is adorned with, there’s an album of consistently interesting and attention-grabbing tracks. The aptly titled opening track ‘The Opener’ details front man Liam Fray’s love for his hometown of Manchester, while their latest single ‘You Over Did It Doll’ makes a cross over into a previously unseen side of The Courteeners, primarily due to the dance style of the song. It’s something which could easily be considered quite bizarre, but they’ve got it right on point. The whole album is collection of thoughtful and heartfelt tracks, but mainly with an upbeat tempo. ‘Falcon’ easily has the potential to be one of the best albums of 2010. In other news the NME Awards took place in London’s Brixton Academy last week hosted by the ever affable Jarvis Cocker. As per usual there was a shortage of Irish acts getting a look-in. However, Villagers’ recent signing to the legendary Domino label may just change that. Paul Weller was awarded the ‘Godlike Genius’ award and people with mullets everywhere rejoiced at the possibility that he just might make them fashionable again. On the live performances front there was a staggering collaboration between Biffy Clyro and Marina & the Diamonds on ‘Many of Horror’.  Have a look at the surprisingly suited collaboration below:   More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:10:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3770 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3771/Gaggle-Valerie-Francis-and-Lightspeed-Champion#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3771 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3771&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3771/Gaggle-Valerie-Francis-and-Lightspeed-Champion So, first on the agenda is the sassy, strong and stunning all female choir Gaggle. I interviewed the front woman of Gaggle a few months ago and since then Gaggle have signed to the Transgressive label (home to a certain Graham Coxon) and are releasing a single entitled ‘I Hear Flies’, the mesmerising video for which can be found here. They’ve received glowing reviews for their live performances, their live show has yet to hit Irish shores but considering how much their profile is raising it’s probably only a matter of time. Meanwhile Dev Hynes, AKA Lightspeed Champion, has recently released his second solo album ‘Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You.’, and it’s available to stream for a limited time here. It’s a strange yet appealing concoction of various different genres - he jumps from dance to soulful in the space of a few minutes. It all is, of course, well worth a listen. And it certainly doesn’t hurt when it’s being streamed for free. Back on Irish shores Valerie Francis' astounding debut ‘Slow Dynamo’ has been nominated for the Choice Music Awards, and she was nominated in the Best Irish Female category at the Meteor’s this year, and deservedly so. To get a taster of what perfectly crafted and beautifully expressive acoustic music should sound like then mosey on over to her MySpace here. Lastly, Welsh songstress Marina Diamandis, better known as the front woman of Marina and the Diamonds, has recently released her debut album ‘The Family Jewels’ and it’s already been certified Silver in the UK. Packed full of catchy tunes, including her most recent single off the album, ‘Hollywood’, and the infectious ‘I Am Not A Robot’ it’s a must for any shameless pop fan. In order to introduce you to the world of Marina and the Diamonds, for the uninitiated here’s the video for ‘I Am Not A Robot.’   More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:08:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3771 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3772/Second-Album-Syndrome#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3772 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3772&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3772/Second-Album-Syndrome It’s no secret that a lot of bands find making their second album more nerve-wracking than their first, for a multitude of reasons. After the initial high of actually releasing their debut, and depending on how successful it was, there’s the fear that it will never match the acclaim of their debut. Arctic Monkeys are a prime example of this, ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ was the UK’s fastest selling debut album, reached number 1 in both Ireland and the UK and cemented their place in music history. Their second album ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ was never going to be able to live up to its predecessor. But the Arctic Monkeys still released it almost a year after their hugely successful debut instead of mulling over it for too long. Other bands, namely Klaxons, seem intent on delaying their second album for as long as is humanly possible. Why? Probably because they know it’s unlikely they’ll release another ‘Golden Skans.’ Or, alternatively, some bands could be hoping their second album will launch them into the mainstream, like My Chemical Romance’s ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge’ or Paolo Nutini’s ‘Sunny Side Up.’ Also to be considered is the fear that your band will be dropped from their label if your second album isn’t up to par. So, who has to worry? Well, do you remember Kate Nash? She’ll be finally releasing her follow-up to ‘Made of Bricks’ this year. It’s very likely that she’s expecting for it to be scrutinised and compared to her debut (I think everyone knows it will be). And there’s no doubt that Florence and the Machine will have a hard time matching the success of their debut ‘Lungs’, same goes for White Lies. The correct formula for a second album, if any, is hard to grasp. Most bands want to change their sound, be more “grown up” but also don’t want to alienate their original fans. It’s a hard game to play. Jack Penate made a brave move after his unremarkable first album ‘Matinee’. While his debut did garner him some fans, myself included, it was only ever okay. He re-evaluated his sound and in 2009 returned with ’Everything is New’, consisting of more genre flirting as opposed to his previous “indie kid with a guitar” style. And, of course, his second album definitely gained much more positive attention than his debut. And lastly are the musicians who couldn’t care less about second album syndrome. Dev Hynes, formerly of Test Icicles, seems to eat, breathe and sleep songs. Better known as Lightspeed Champion, he’s currently gearing up to release his second LP ‘Life is Sweet, Nice to Meet You’ and has also written songs for various other musicians. Interestingly, in the past he’s hinted that he released other material under a pseudonym. Perhaps a perfect example of someone who appears to have music flowing through his veins, the release of his second album doesn’t seem to phase him at all. Possibly my favourite second album of the noughties is Elbow’s ‘Cast of Thousands.’ It’s a tricky thing, making a second album. The first album is  for you to prove yourself as a musician, by the third one you’ll probably have been pigeonholed. It used to be all about the debuts, maybe this will be the decade of album numéro deux? More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:19:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3772 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/53/Caruso#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=53 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=53&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/53/Caruso Dubliners Caruso are preparing to embark on a European tour and recently signed a European publishing deal. Since the release of their debut album, 2007's The Watcher and The Comet, they’ve been going from strength to strength with their affecting acoustic melodies. Front man Shane O’ Fearghail answered the following questions for me.. Many musicians find recording an album, particularly their debut, a challenging and draining experience. Did this prove to be true to you during the recording of The Watcher and the Comet? Recording The Watcher And The Comet was an amazing experience. It was challenging and it did take a lot out of me but it also brought an energy that was all its own. That creative spark that you get when you are in a studio. In the flow... a flow that drives you and keeps you going... so much so that food and sleep go out the window! The album was recorded in three one week sessions over three months and three full moons. It captured everthing that it was supposed to and a lot more besides! Some of your songs appear to be about specific people, are these people aware you've written songs about them or do you prefer not to let them know? Yes and no. It is not something that I would have ever thought about. The songs are written from a personal standpoint and have no agenda bar understanding how I feel about me, about life or things that keep my attention. They would be my observations... If you had to pick one song off "The Watcher and the Comet" and urge everyone to listen to it, what would it be and why? There are several in fact. "All Your Features", "Disappear" and "Satellite" would always spring to mind. "All Your Features" because it deals with the true face we hide a lot of the time and how as people we can never truly say what we mean or how we feel. "Satellite" because it is a song for personality. To express yourself. To stand up and counted! What are your plans for your next album? Have you begun writing any new songs for it? The next album is well and truly underway. We have demo'd most of the tracks and are almost at the cut stage - as to what tracks will make the album sessions. It's an exciting time and very different to The Watcher sessions. A lot of the songs are being written in the studio. Some of the songs have been written between the two albums whilst others written in preparation for the new sessions! I am writing constantly. Who is your biggest musical influence? Irish writers and those who write strong songs. People who are not afraid to write about the subjects that people shy away from. Good melodies. There is no 'one' influence. It would have to be the 'song' itself! What's been your best experience in Caruso in 2009? Our European Tour 2009. And what are Caruso's plans for 2010? More European tours, festivals and the new album. Pushing Caruso in new European territories notably Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Hopefully get to New Zealand for an acoustic tour. Aideen O'Flaherty More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:53 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3773/White-Rabbits-Blue-Roses#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3773 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3773&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3773/White-Rabbits-Blue-Roses Firstly New Yorkers White Rabbits combine strong vocals and catchy hooks seamlessly. Switching flawlessly from piano to jagged guitars and acoustic tracks throughout their second album ‘It’s Frightening’ shows that it’s probably time to believe the hype. The soulful vocals of Blue Roses, aka Laura Groves, show similarities to The Joy Formidable’s Ritzy and a nod to 60s girl group The Shangri-La’s.  She’s self described as “writing songs for instruments I can't play yet and making choirs out of my voice” with songs adorned with tambourines and memorable lyrics. ‘Anyone Who Knows What Love Is’ wouldn’t sound out of place in the backroom of The Cavern in the 60s. A rare glimpse of an artist whose songs may be new, but appears to hold nostalgia for the past without sounding like a distempered tribute act. Preparing to tour with White Lies and Enter Shikari are Scottish hopefuls Twin Atlantic. At times drawing comparisons to You Me At Six and Biffy Clyro as a result of their heavy rock sound intertwined with pop rock a la You Me At Six. ‘What Is Light? Where Is Laughter?’ is a highlight, and your ears will thank you for listening to it. Though all three currently don't have plans to tour in Ireland as of yet there's always hope! Closer to home, Irish indie favourite Fionn Regan will be touring Ireland in March and will be playing in Vicar Street on the 13th of March. The dates are as follows:              5th March      Electric Avenue        Waterford        6th March      Dolan's                    Limerick 7th March     School of Music      Cork  10th March   Nerve Centre           Derry      11th March   The Empire              Belfast   12th March   Roisin Dubh           Galway            Overall, this year is looking good for Irish live music. Additionally, Happy February! More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:40:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3773 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3774/Deceptive-Albums#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3774 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3774&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3774/Deceptive-Albums Yes, I still live in the dark ages, emerging from my cave to run to the nearest music shop to buy the latest indie CD as opposed to downloading mp3’s. I just have to get the CD, with the booklet and plastic casing. I probably won’t ever get used to this modern music technology (temporarily ignore the fact I actually write for a music website) because mp3s just don’t seem real to me. An issue I have with CDs is how deceptive they can be. You wander in to your nearest music shop, and you see the CD in the shop looking so endearing. You sample 1 or 2 songs - it’s amazing! But then you bring it home and all hell breaks loose when you realise it’s not what you thought it was, much like a drunken night in Bangkok, I’d imagine. This is something I’m sure has happened to everyone at some stage (the decpetive albums, not Bangkok), not that it makes it any less irritating. Here are some prime examples: Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown ‘21 Guns’ was just about bearable before radio stations began playing it for every second of every day.  Admittedly I thought for the most part ‘American Idiot’ was pretty good, having loved their music from the release of ‘Nimrod’. So I somewhat reluctantly bought 21st Century Breakdown to find quite possibly the most boring and predictable CD of 2009 encased within its plastic shell. I actually can’t listen to this album anymore. The Killers - Sam’s Town Still a bit baffled as to why I bought this album in the first place, I’ve never really been a fan of The Killers. Well, I liked ‘When You Were Young’ and ‘Read My Mind’, but found that they were pretty much the only tolerable tracks on the whole album. I got caught up in the hype, only to realise this album is of about as much importance to me as a sock I lost when I was a toddler. Jack Penate - Matinee I bought this on the merits of ‘Second, Minute or Hour’ and ‘Torn On The Platform’.  Not the worst debut album I’ve ever heard, not the best either. I got my hopes up about this one expecting it to be packed full of catchy quirky indie music but instead it consisted of maybe 4 good songs and the rest seemed to be added filler just to make the collection of songs an actual album. Not all is lost though, I loved his latest album ‘Everything Is New’. This is just a dip in the ocean, I could write about this for days. No really, I could. I don’t expect albums full of singles or amazing hooks, filler just irritates me in a way that can never be adequately expressed. Now, go and look at your CD collection or, for the really modern readers, iTunes library, and recall your disdain at purchasing that 30 Seconds to Mars album a few years ago. There’s a tenner you won’t see again! More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:12:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3774 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3775/Time-For-Plan-B#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3775 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3775&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3775/Time-For-Plan-B Okay, so I’m not exactly a fan of rap music. I like Eminem and Jay-Z. That’s about as far as my knowledge of rap music expands. Surprise, surprise - I’m more partial to rock and indie music. However, when searching through linking MySpace profiles in a daze a few months ago I stumbled across London rapper Plan B’s profile. The first track I heard was ‘End Credits’ which features the electro duo Chase & Status. It’s the theme track to the recently released film ‘Harry Brown’ and is so, so catchy. Not to the stage of irritancy, more appreciation of it’s brilliance.  Here’s a taste of how great the lyrics are: “When the blood dries in my veins/and my heart feels no more pain/I know I’ll be on my way to heaven’s gate.” And that’s only a snapshot, ‘End Credits’ is without a doubt one of  my favourite songs of 2009. The video is also an intriguing affair. As expected, it features footage from the film Harry Brown (which, judging by the footage in the music video, is probably pretty good), with Plan B appearing in various different situations, one being in a police interview room and another in a pub surrounded by people who’ve been killed. At one stage he even levitates (yes, I know). If you look closely, Cook from Skins also makes an appearance! As for his most recent single ‘Stay Too Long’, well, the jury’s still out on that one. Not really sure what to make of it. In the mean time feast your eyes and reward your ears by watching the video for ‘End Credits’. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:50:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3775 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3776/Hes-a-Real-Nowhere-Boy#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3776 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3776&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3776/Hes-a-Real-Nowhere-Boy  I went to see Sam Taylor-Wood’s highly anticipated directorial debut in ‘Nowhere Boy’, a film depicting the teenage years of John Lennon.. In my infinite wisdom I overestimated the time the trailers would be on, so missed the first minute of the film, much to my annoyance. Set in Liverpool in the late 50s Lennon (Aaron Johnson) is torn between two very influential women in his life - his Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas), who he lived with since childhood and his mother Julia (Anne-Marie Duff), who lived around the corner with her other children. His Aunt Mimi is a staunch, strict middle class woman with upper class aspirations. It’s noticeable that while Scouse accents are of course prevalent in the film Lennon’s Aunt Mimi never speaks with one. His mother Julia is a fun loving, creative and vivacious woman. Having already read various books about Lennon’s life from many different angles I found it hard at times to not think “that never happened!” and “that character wasn’t really like that!” In which case I found it hard to judge it on the merits of a film of its own, and to not compare it to factual accounts of certain events. But about 20 minutes into the film all of that was forgotten. At times the way Lennon’s relationship with his mother Julia was portrayed was a bit odd, it appeared to be more like a boyfriend - girlfriend relationship, exchanging admiring glances and kissing each other a lot which are usually reserved for such relationships. The scenes were mesmerising, at times it felt like I was actually in Liverpool in the 50s. I was expecting ’Ferry Cross the Mersey’ to start playing at any given moment, even though it wasn’t released til the mid 60s! The acting was flawless, never did it feel like the emotion was slipping and everything was very believable, it was a brilliant performance by everyone involved. The only issue I have is, again, the creepy way Lennon’s relationship with his mother was portrayed. The film ends just before Lennon sets off for Hamburg with the Beatles, and, well, we all know what happened after that. I’ve seen many films concerning the Beatles and John Lennon, some terrible (Chapter 27 comes to mind) and some brilliant. And Nowhere Boy is definitely at the top of the list for brilliance. In short, Nowhere Boy is a film you’ll regret not seeing, especially if you’re a John Lennon fan. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:53:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3776 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3777/5-Dublin-Bands-Worth-Singing-About#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3777 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3777&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3777/5-Dublin-Bands-Worth-Singing-About 1. OrphanCode OrphanCode closely rival A Lazarus Soul for the accolade of ‘my favourite Dublin band’. Their sound is very developed, free from beginner’s errors and undeniably catchy. If you have ears, and like music, then you’d be crazy not to like OrphanCode. If visual is more your forte, their video for “Last Dance” is very, very impressive. I’m eagerly awaiting the release of their debut LP, you should be too. Key Tracks: There Is a Light, No Armour. http://www.myspace.com/orphancode 2. Caruso Dubliners Caruso are a combination of folksy indie music, mainly acoustic and at times similar to REM (which is no mean feat) but are unmistakeable as Caruso chiefly due to the wavering vocals of front man Shane O Fearghail and an all over Irish feel to their songs. Their 2007 debut album “The Watcher & The Comet” is striking and memorable, and they’re preparing for a tour of New Zealand and Europe after recently signing to a publishing deal in Germany. Definitely ones to watch. Key Tracks: All Your Features, Monster. http://www.myspace.com/carusoie   3. I Draw Slow The recent resurgence of folk music thanks to bands such as Noah & The Whale and Mumford & Sons has made folk music ‘cool’ again. One Irish band worth your time if you’re into the latest folk/roots scene is I Draw Slow. With cleverly penned tracks and atmospheric music that is incredibly catchy you could do worse than listen to their songs. Key Tracks: Santiago, Dead In The Morning. http://www.myspace.com/idrawslow 4. Scarecrow Disco Scarecrow Disco play folksy/mellow music, and there are very few Dublin bands who can play music like this but get it exactly on point like they do. They’ll be featuring on a compilation of the best of Dublin’s unsigned acts and are preparing to release a split 7” single with the brilliant The Hot Sprockets. Key Tracks: Your Parrot’s Low On Batteries, Sign Of The Times. http://www.myspace.com/scarecrowdisco 5. Travega Travega are baffling, purely because once you hear their music you’ll wonder why you have never heard it before. Channelling the likes of Blindside and Papa Roach and having a menagerie of musical influences has worked out very well for them, they’ve shaped their own sound while not losing sight of playing the music they love - it’s apparent from their songs. Key Tracks: Bull Run, Nowhere To Run http://www.myspace.com/travega This week marked the 29th anniversary of the death of John Lennon, being the Beatles obsessive I am I couldn’t let this go unnoticed. So, here’s a video of ‘I Am The Walrus’. And why exactly did I pick this song over the others?  Because any accomplished song writer who’ll happily jump around singing “I am the egg man, they are the egg man, I AM THE WALRUS! goo goo goo joob ” is a legend in my eyes. Enjoy! More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:12:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3777 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/281/Switchfoot-Hello-Hurricane#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=281 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=281&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/281/Switchfoot-Hello-Hurricane   A review of the album 'Hello Hurricane' by Switchfoot Review Snapshot: After jumping ship from major label Sony and creating their own indie label called lower case people Switchfoot have returned with 'Hello Hurricane'. While there are tracks identical to their previous releases it's still an interesting and conflicting album. The Cluas Verdict? 7.5 out of 10 Full Review: I really like Switchfoot. They're great, but they're predictable - there's always a 'heavy' rock track, an almost ballady song and the rest are a bit samey. Not necessarily a bad thing - you know what you get when you purchase a Switchfoot album, like a fateful friend you can always trust will only change slightly in the space of a decade or two. There are no surprises here, but after every band on earth proclaiming that their most recent album is 'different' it's really refreshing that some still know what they're great at, and don't feel the need to dramatically change their sound or style to somehow prove themselves as musicians.   Jon Foreman, the lyricist and lead singer for Switchfoot, embarked on solo career after the release of 2006’s ‘Oh! Gravity.’, and returned for ‘Hello Hurricane’. It’s apparent from the first listen that this is definitely a Switchfoot album, there’s no one else who could possibly make an album like this. Which is why it’s easy to forgive the predictability, because even though they only make slight tweaks with each album their music is hard to mistake.   Their first single from ‘Hello Hurricane’, ‘Mess of Me’ is the 'heavy' rock track on this album. And it’s brilliant. The opening riff is nothing short of attention grabbing and Foreman’s voice is in top form. It contains the self-deprecation that’s essential to fit with the at times aggressive music, but there are also glimpses of positivity as is key in most of Swithfoot’s songs. If you were to listen to this track for only one reason it should be to hear Foreman’s voice almost combine with the guitar near the end, it’s not to be missed.   ‘Free’ is perhaps the most powerful track on this album. It’s dark, angry and affecting. Foreman proclaims that “inside this shell there’s a prison cell” while violins, guitars and drums decorate the rest of the song with an atmosphere of angst and hopelessness. What’s not to be loved?   Closing track ‘Red Eyes’ is the perfect ending to ‘Hello Hurricane’. It’s somewhat comforting and emotive. It’s passionately honest, admitting that “nowhere feels safe to me/nowhere feels home/even in crowds I’m alone”. I may have some issues with similarities in their songs styles throughout the years but one thing I can’t fault are Foreman’s lyrics. Every time I hear a Switchfoot song it always begs the question "how does he do it?"   ‘Hello Hurricane’ has some obvious similarities to Switchfoot’s previous albums, ‘Beautiful Letdown’’s ‘Meant to Live’ is ‘Hello Hurricane’’s ‘Mess of Me’, ‘Oh! Gravity.’’s ‘Let Your Love Be Strong’ is ‘Hello Hurricane’’s ‘Sing It Out’. But they still have yet to release a bad album. Despite my criticisms I have never listened to a Switchfoot album and not been affected by it. ‘Hello Hurricane’ may not be unique to Switchfoot’s back catalogue, but their songs always churn out the perfect measure of optimism and despair which are crucial for making an album succeed. Aideen O'Flaherty More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:281 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/284/Biffy-Clyro-Only-Revolutions#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=284 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=284&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/284/Biffy-Clyro-Only-Revolutions A review of the album 'Only Revolutions' by Biffy Clyro Review Snapshot: The Ayrshire trio Biffy Clyro return with an album filled with explosive riffs and lyrical genius, featuring Josh Homme and a surprisingly suitable string section. It has all of the incredible hallmarks of a band headed for arenas, but still maintains some of the 'underdog' traits that originally made Biffy Clyro alluring in the first place. The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10 Full Review: 'Only Revolutions' is... interesting. The album title was taken from a novel of the same name by Mark Danielewski, which requires you to flip the book upside down frequently to read two different narratives usually on the same page. Just from this detail it's easy to see why 'Only Revolutions' is a suitable title for Biffy Clyro's latest release, at times it feels as though you're cascading through a variety of unrelated songs which somehow have a consistency.     'Bubbles' features Josh Homme's legendary guitar skills, his input on this track is exceptional and in no way detracts from the rest of the song. Instead of being 'Josh Homme's moment on the album' it's a clear collaboration between him and the band, making it set for arena-filling status.     I previously mentioned that 'Only Revolutions' is a fitting title for this album, 'Born On A Horse' is proof of this. You'd be forgiven for thinking that it wasn't a Biffy Clyro song as it's free from heavy guitars and crashing drum beats. It's more relaxed and slightly, well, funky. That said, it still is a key track on the album. By no means is it an assault on your ears, it's actually unexpectedly suited to Biffy Clyro. Much to their credit, there aren't many bands that can (successfully) be that versatile. Rest assured, the last chorus sees a return to the anarchic Biffy we know and love.   'Shock Shock' begins with vocalist and guitarist Simon Neil's usually dark but engaging lyrics:   "Well you scratch and you scratch 'til your face comes away Replaced by a hole, A vortex just waiting to play"   It's reminiscent of early Biffy Clyro, and probably wouldn't go amiss on their 2002 debut 'Blackened Sky'. It has all of the chief characteristics that define Biffy Clyro (angsty, loud, affecting..) but doesn't seem far removed from the rest of 'Only Revolutions'.   The creatively titled closing track 'Whorses' leaves listeners in no doubt as to why Biffy Clyro are becoming so successful. It's Biffy at it's finest, with pertinent drum rolls and jagged guitars accompanying Neil's wavering lyrics, "I don't want to be alone again... I don't want to be born again."   Truthfully, I wasn't expecting Biffy Clyro's follow-up to their previous album 'Puzzle' to be particularly good. I suspected it would either be a rehash of 'Puzzle' or a bad shot in the dark at genre switching. Happily, I've been proven wrong. This album is just as excellent as 'Puzzle', if not even more so. Take note - this is how to successfully return after a critically acclaimed album, and prove that you deserved all of the reverence you received. Aideen O'Flaherty More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:284 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/288/The-Swell-Season-Strict-Joy#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=288 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=288&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/288/The-Swell-Season-Strict-Joy A review of the album Strict Joy by The Swell Season Review Snapshot:  At times underwhelming and familiar, 'Strict Joy' brings nothing new to the table and deals with much of the same subject matter as The Swell Season's previous albums. While people who were already fans will probably find this album enjoyable it did very little to grab the attention of this reviewer's ears. The Cluas Verdict? 5 out of 10 Full Review:  Since the success of 2007's 'Once' Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, aka The Swell Season, who both starred in the film and composed the soundtrack, have become highly regarded members of the Irish music scene. Hansard, portraying a struggling busker on Dublin's Grafton Street, and Irglová his love interest and a fellow musician in 'Once', raised their profile considerably and garnered much international attention, particularly in America. Their Oscar winning track from the 'Once' soundtrack, 'Falling Slowly', is a beautiful, memorable song which has received wide radio play. However, their follow-up 'Strict Joy' is quite a different affair altogether. While 'Strict Joy' can at times be affecting, a lot of the tracks seem more akin to pub songs, to rouse an excitable and inebriated crowd who aren't entirely coherent. While I'm sure this could be classed as a good thing by some people, I strongly doubt that this was the sound Hansard and Irglová were hoping to achieve.   'In These Arms' displays Hansard's usually lowly singing. It has the air of a song that was written instantly in a fit of emotion - and is all the better for it. With Hansard professing "Maybe I was born/To hold you in these arms" with seemingly fragile guitar playing and powerful vocals, it's both thought-provoking and emotive. It's a stand out track on the album, combining both sombre but sweet tones in a way only The Swell Season can.   On the sixth track on the album, 'Paper Cup', Hansard continues the age-old tradition of writers penning pieces to inanimate objects. In such an instance writers tend to offer an interesting insight into their opinion of the object, or how they'd desire to live as simple a life as the object. Instead, Hansard decides to use the word 'paper' as a kind of prefix - "paper saint", "paper plane", "paper bird" not really offering an insight into anything or being particularly engaging. Essentially, 'Paper Cup' appears to be filler without any real purpose or defining composition.   Irglová makes only two distinctively notable vocal appearances as the lead vocalist on 'Fantasy Man' and 'I Have Love You Wrong'. On 'Fantasy Man' Irglová's voice is perfectly suited to the track, she sings passionately with a soothing instrumental accompaniment. At times, 'Fantasy Man' has similarities to Vyvienne Long's style of composition and singing, but still retains a quirky uniqueness which is hard to pigeon-hole. 'I Have Loved You Wrong'  is a tranquil track with Irglová's swirling vocals adding a new scope to the song.     Though Irglová provides backing vocals on many of the tracks she tends to be overshadowed by Hansard and at times can fade into the background. Such occurrences make this album sound more like a Glen Hansard/The Frames album as opposed to a collaboration between himself and Irglová in The Swell Season.   The Swell Season have been prosperous in creating an album that people who were already fans of theirs will enjoy, but I'm not so confident that they will gain many more new fans as a result of 'Strict Joy'. I can't help but feel that if Irglová had sung more solo tracks, or if she collaborated on a song with Hansard in equal measure the album could really be something amazing and diverse. I'm not convinced by any stretch of the imagination that 'Strict Joy' is a culmination of the the best songs The Swell Season have written since the 'Once' soundtrack. This album offers nothing particularly enthralling or dynamic, and could easily meld together with 'The Swell Season's back catalogue without it being obvious that it's a separate album from their two previous releases. Aideen O'Flaherty More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:288 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/291/AFI-Crash-Love#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=291 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=291&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/291/AFI-Crash-Love A review of the album 'Crash Love' by AFI Review Snapshot: The Californian rock veterans make a triumphant return with their eight studio album, proving precisely why they've lasted so long and still have the awe-inspiring ability to always exceed expectations. The Cluas Verdict? 8.5 out of 10 Full Review: In 1991 in a high school in Ukiah, California, sat four teenagers eager to get involved in the punk rock and hardcore music scene. They decided to start a band and set about learning how to play instruments hoping to emulate their heroes such as the Misfits and The Cure. Now, several line-up changes and some genre-hopping later AFI have presented us with 'Crash Love.'   Their previous album, 'Decemberunderground', was by all accounts a success. It was well received by both critics and fans alike, their first single from the album, ‘Miss Murder’, garnered them some mainstream attention in the US (both ‘Decemberunderground’ and ‘Miss Murder’ were number 1’s on the Billboard Chart) and they won the VMA for Best Rock Video in 2006. To say ‘Crash Love’ was eagerly anticipated would be an understatement.   Opening track ‘Torch Song’ is a cacophony of electrifying riffs and passionate singing. Musically it’s reminiscent of AFI’s early punkier, harsher sound. It’s accompanied with powerful backing vocals chanting “Anything” throughout the chorus. It perfectly encapsulates all of the best elements of AFI’s music, being progressive but without losing sight of what originally made their music so enthralling.   ‘Okay, I Feel Better Now’ is a pivotal track on the album. Lyrically it's very strong,     "I cannot breath. I can't deny   that I've been faking for you,   every sign of life"   While it's not entirely different from previous songs they've written, it's a definite departure from their previous work and is incomparable. It swiftly captures a moment of emotion and effectively invites the listener in.   Another distinguished track on the album is 'I Am Trying Very Hard to be Here'. First revealed to fans a few weeks before the release of 'Crash Love' through a video of AFI in the studio with fans assisting them with backing vocals in the chorus, it was highly anticipated. Through it is lyrically weaker than the other tracks on the album, it shows guitarist Jade Puget at his best playing excellently energetic riffs.   Overall, 'Crash Love' is an admirably successful album. Though it is void of some of AFI's previous traits, most obviously no screaming from vocalist Davey Havok on any of the tracks, it is a welcome departure from 'Decemberunderground' into slightly newer territory. Aideen O'Flaherty More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:291 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/297/Tommy-Reilly-Words-On-the-Floor#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=297 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=297&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/297/Tommy-Reilly-Words-On-the-Floor A review of the album Words On The Floor by Tommy Reilly Review Snapshot: The debut album from Orange Unsigned Act Winner Tommy Reilly adequately shows his tremendous songwriting maturity, cleverly expressing his thoughts about 'never getting the girl' in a frank and honest way. The Cluas Verdict? 8.5 out of 10 Full Review: So, Tommy Reilly. Yes, he won Orange Unsigned Act after originally being told by Jo Whiley that he "wasn't experienced enough." And yes, he is a talented singer-songwriter. But what's that Robin? He's not joining the "worlds-skinniest-jeans-in-indie" competition or adopting overly emotional, almost fake tones in his music? Joyously, he isn't. Having been put through his paces on Orange Unsigned Act, most notably writing the excellent “I Don’t Like Coffee” at very short notice, Reilly has proved he can definitely deliver. In fact, this album clearly shows it. Opening track “Grab Me by the Collar” effectively conveys Reilly’s emotion, capturing the heart of adolescence with cries of “Am I supposed to be in love/Cause that’s what everyone else does.” There's almost childlike vocal ornamentation which, if anything, adds to the sense of adolescent confusion and fear apparent throughout. The song ends in a blitz of anarchic drum beats and guitars as though breaking away from the sense of fear that seems to engulf the rest of the song. Essentially, "Grab Me by the Collar" is the perfect introduction to this album. The title track "Words On The Floor" begins acoustically, with only a guitar and Reilly's lilting Glaswegian singing voice. After the first verse is the inclusion of a piano, which makes this track especially atmospheric. This coupled with the vocal tracking is both striking and powerful. Beautifully, towards the end of the track Reilly's lyrics are almost lost in a haze of emotion. A definite key track on this album is "Having No One." There is an additional backing vocal which makes the song quite emotive. Once again expressing his dissatisfaction at never getting the girl he sings about "The team designed/To strip me of my joy." It's a sombre yet memorable lyric - and let's be honest, everyone likes a dark lyric or two on an album. Towards the end Reilly appears to be crying out in desperation due to the feelings of loneliness, it's a frank and clear display of how he feels. Ultimately, "Words On the Floor" is a brilliant debut album. The emotion on this album is in abundance but definitely isn't overwhelming - everything's in perfect measure. Though on some tracks Reilly seems to sell himself a bit short, it's all par for the course. I have a feeling there's a lot more in store for Tommy Reilly.. Aideen O'Flaherty Tommy Reilly plays the Twisted Pepper in Dublin on the 6th of October. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:297 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/59/General-Fiasco#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=59 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=59&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/59/General-Fiasco General Fiasco, consisting of brothers Owen and Enda Strathern and school friend Stephen "Leaky" Leacock, have been setting the Northern Irish music scene alight for the past twelve months. Having already toured with One Night Only and Snow Patrol, and a certain Gary Lightbody singing their praises, this band is destined for big things. Lead singer and bassist Owen answered a few questions for me.. Do you have a specific method for songwriting? Is it usually lyrics first then music or vice versa? It usually happens all at once, I'll just sit with the bass or a guitar and start playing. The chords and melody come together and sometimes the lyrics too, they generally write themselves. Songs just come, when it works it's good and then at other times you cant squeeze out anything. I guess it's to do with mood or whatever, you need a little something driving the song - a stress or a worry.... or maybe something positive if you are that way inclined. What are your plans as regards an album? To make a great introduction to the band, to get across what we are about and also try and include where we are going, to stay true to what got people interested in the band in the first place and a little of where we might go with the next. We really want to stuff it with great tunes but I guess that's up to other people to decide. We've got a lot of material ready for it and we are happy but we've a little more time to make something special, so lets hope we do. Having been support to both One Night Only and Snow Patrol you're certainly no strangers to the big stage, have you ever had a particularly nerve-wracking gig? The Snow Patrol gig was insane, I can't really remember being on stage - I think I must have blacked out and went into auto-pilot! I was really nervous playing a festival back home called Glasgowbury, we were on second last and there were about 2,000 people there - a home crowd. I'm not really sure why it got to me but it did, I think it must just be the home crowd.  .... and what's been your best gig experience? There's been loads - opening the John Peel stage at Glasto this year, playing with Placebo in London, the Snow Patrol gig. But nothing really beats a headline show when it's rammed and everyone is there for you and knows the words. That's exciting, that's when it really feels like it's working. How would you best describe your live show? It's energetic, fast and aggressive but good fun. It should be lively, we should give it as much as the crowd gives - it's only fair. At present there is a burgeoning music scene in Northern Ireland, did you find it hard to 'break out' of the North? I don't really think so, you can never really do these things yourself. I know everyone wants to believe that if you just work hard and push your band out there things will happen, but it still takes someone booking you to play somewhere else. People have to want to write about you and want to play your songs on the radio for things to start to break. We were really fortunate that some people really got into the band and wanted to help it happen, so it was kinda easy but it took other people getting behind it to make it happen. Any ultimate goals? (i.e. magazine covers, playing with a specific band..) We really would love the album to be well recieved, if people can get into it and come to our shows and pick up our record I guess that's what it's all about. Sure, it would be amazing to be on the front cover of every music magazine and tour with the Foo Fighters, but we just really want to do this for a long time. And we hope you continue doing this for a long time..     * General Fiasco play the Ulster Hall in Belfast on the 31st of October. Aideen O'Flaherty More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:59 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/62/Gaggle#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=62 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=62&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/62/Gaggle Gaggle, a 22-piece London based female choir, creatively infuse powerful, fast paced evocative music with an almost intimidating air. Though Gaggle are only new on the scene, fronted by Coughlin formerly of 586, these girls definitely know what they’re doing, and it's not to be missed... Where’d the idea for Gaggle originally come from? People who know me well know that Gaggle is the only logical outcome of my interests and talents. There's more music than ever, more bands, more myspace, everyone is in a band but most of them are just boring, ineffectual, limp splutters into space. I wanted my next music project to be powerful, warrior style burst of excitement, strangeness and something to annoy people who dream of being Johnny Borrell.  I couldn't think of anything more powerful than 22 scary, smart women in evil monk-hoodies stomping and chanting about what it's like being a drunk, or being lied to, or the disappointment of being politically apathetic. You all seem to be quite a diverse bunch of people, how did you get to meeting each other? Some of us have been friends since childhood, some of us have worked for others, snogged each other, got drunk in the George Tavern - our spiritual home.  Every gaggle is unique and brilliant,  each with their own super power.  No one was auditioned for Gaggle. In fact I found out the other day that Kumari had practiced some audition pieces, she hadn't imagined she would walk into a strange theatre, be greeted by a dozen women oh oh-ing and me grabbing her arm, pulling her into the middle of them all and shouting "just do the oh-ohs".  I don't think we even said hello. It was obvious form the beginning she was a Gaggle - and that's the same with all of them.   Does it ever get difficult having such a large amount of people? We have a large number of people because it's difficult with a small number. We can do gigs if 3 people are in bed with swine flu, hardly any other act can do that! Surely there must be some tension? Yep. I would be worried if there wasn't. Coughlin, while you were in 586 you shared a stage with 4 other people. How does it compare to sharing a stage with 21 others? I conduct and direct Gaggle in live shows. I have my back to the audience most of the time. It's amazing - it's like playing the biggest, wildest, loudest instrument in the the world... one with 21 minds of its own and 21 voices. They are a force to be reckoned with. Will there ever be a 23rd member? Will Gaggle be ever-growing or is it now settled? For now we are settled, but we have an ever growing waiting list. We will do something about this. We have plans - good ones. You wear some alternative clothing, where’d the idea for that come from? Gaggle isn't about women competing on normal levels, it is the opposite of ego-manic vanity. And a place to change the way in which people can judge us. We have a uniform like any army, religion or postman -- we are Gaggle and we are different, together.   Who are your main influences? Too long to list. There's a lot of creativity and culture and learnedness in Gaggle. Other all-girl projects we love and have loved include Iceland's Wunderbrass and Weird Girls, Wunderbrass first toured as Bjork's army of brass and the latter is a brilliant visual/video arts cult lead by Kitty Von Sometime. Then there's everything from Spare Rib magazine to the Slits, to Jazz Domino's Shoreditch Sisters WI. If you want to know about the music that has influenced our sound I write lots of it with a chap called Simon Dempsey (also from 586) and we range in tastes from Micachu to Dizee Rascal to slave songs to minimal house. Gaggle love a bit of Spotify and if you were to leave us alone with it we will get through Bavarian Choirs, La Lupe, Courtney Love, Take That and Selfish Cunt in the first 20mins. What can we expect from Gaggle in the future? More. Much more. Gaggle gigs. Gaggle records. Gaggle blogs. Gaggle clothes. Gaggle books.  Gaggle schools. Gaggle dance. Gaggle ready meals. Gaggle driving schools. Gaggle cocktail.  Ronald McGaggle. Cirque de Gaggle.  War on Gaggle...  stuff like that.    If you could describe your music in three words, what’d they be? Come and listen.     * You can listen to Gaggle's music at www.myspace.com/gagglespace Aideen O'Flaherty More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:62 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/312/Graham-Coxon-The-Spinning-Top#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=312 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=312&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/312/Graham-Coxon-The-Spinning-Top A review of the album 'The Spinning Top' by Graham Coxon Review Snapshot: 15 tracks of pure eloquence, beauty and expert finger-picking from the Blur guitarist's seventh solo album. This album documents the life story of a man from birth to death, and realistically could've either gone one of two ways: it could've been disastrous or it could've been fantastic. Fortunately, it's the latter. The Cluas Verdict? 9 out of 10 Full Review: 'The Spinning Top', the seventh solo offering from Blur's Graham Coxon, documents the life story of a man from birth to death. This album could easily be brushed aside due to the hustle of bustle of Blur's reunion overshadowing it. But this is typically Coxon's style, he never vies for the limelight and seems content with being the musical genius in the background. However, it would be a crime for this album to go unnoticed. There's a 60s vibe throughout, seemingly influenced by folk musicians such as Davy Graham and Nick Drake. Though these influences are apparent Coxon also retains his own unique musicianship, using varied instrumentation most of which he played himself. From the outset the album has a loose, natural progression. It becomes obvious that this is the work of a true musician whose main concern is how the album sounds and artistic expression, as opposed to the chart position. Though the album is mainly acoustic some tracks feature more rock inspired instrumentation. 'If You Want Me' starts off softly, with Coxon singing gently and an overall relaxed tone. But as the song reaches the half-way mark it changes and an electric guitar is introduced, this makes for an unexpected temporary return to his rock roots. It's refreshing, and also fits in perfectly with the style of the song. It's fair to say that Coxon is widely recognised as a prolific guitarist. But 'Brave the Storm' displays his immense song writing abilities, 'There's a wood where we can disappear/Into our own little stratosphere.' It has a jaunty rhythm, and evokes peaceful imagery. This is definitely a musician at the top of his game. 'Humble Man' is, without a doubt, my favourite track on the album. With Coxon calling out 'Heaven help me/Help me to be a humble man' while the words are immersed in the most sublime of music it is flawless.  That, coupled with the fact the song will be stuck in your head for days, makes for joyous listening. Ultimately, 'The Spinning Top' displays Coxon's undeniable musical talent at its best. It's a new, fresh album which is dissimilar to his previous albums. Though the album may never receive the acclaim it truly deserves, and may never be a staple of many record collections, it is an album in which once it's heard will make for memorable and impressionable listening. Aideen O' Flaherty More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:312 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/317/The-View-Which-Bitch#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=317 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=317&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/317/The-View-Which-Bitch A review of the album 'Which Bitch?' by The View Review Snapshot: A failed attempt by the 'Dundonian upstarts' to recreate the magic of their debut album, 'Hats Off to the Buskers.' In the words of all of our favourite teachers, 'a good effort, but a lot more work is needed.' The Cluas Verdict? 4 out of 10 Full Review: I recall listening to an excellent album in 2007 which shaped my summer, this album was 'Hats off to the Buskers', the debut album from ambitious Scots The View. It was a personal portrayal of working-class life and the lyrics and music were immeasurably perfect. My hopes were high for their follow up 'Which Bitch?' They needn't have been. Evidently life has changed for the band since the success of their debut. In particular, the lead singer Kyle Falconer moved out of his Dundee council-estate family home into a central London apartment. Surely this would cause progression in the band's music? It's apparent from the outset of the album that The View are desperately trying to retain the 'working-class, hard life' attitude that dominated their first album. It was believable then. It's not believable now. Tracks such as 'Double Yellow Lines' and '5Rebeccas' make for dull listening, rarely showing any stand-out melodies or lyrics. It's nearly impossible to engage with these songs, they're not even vaguely memorable and are easily forgotten.  It's evident they've tried, but perhaps a bit too hard? Ballad 'Unexpected' is a poignant addition to the album. Falconer wrote it about his father, who passed away from cancer when he was a child. Violins and cellos add to the already emotive song, effectively portraying the despair Falconer must have felt at the time.  It's a heart-wrenching track, with lyrics such as  'You would lead a shortened life/cause your light was running low.' Their latest single 'Temptation Dice' is arguably the best track here with a Libertine-esque catchy riff and an overall danceable tune.  The lyrics may be indecipherable at times, but it seems to complement the music perfectly. In this song they caught the essence of their first album that was somehow lost along the way. Paolo Nutini was recording his new album in a studio in Wales near to where The View were recording 'Which Bitch?' They, wisely, roped him into collaborating with them on the track 'Covers', beautifully singing with Falconer and giving the album a lift. This track is definitely a high-point on 'Which Bitch?', it has real emotion and  is noticeably different to every other track on the album.  It is, in contrast to several other tracks, memorable and somewhat redeems the otherwise lifeless album. 'Realisation' is, without a doubt, the album's worst track. Bassist Kieron Webster takes on singing duties for most of this track, but the song just seems so long , even though it's only 3:41 in length. It seems very rushed, and it's difficult to tell what 'style' they were trying to go for. A disappointment at best.  One redeeming grace on this track is the acappella line 'Take for granted Eagers omen/Stories lost its moment.' It's all in harmony  and is sublime. I can't help but think that if they'd paid as much attention to the rest of the song as they did this line, it could be something wonderful. Overall, 'Which Bitch?' is lacking in the musical genius which was present in The View's first album. I hold out hope that this album was mainly experimental, and that any future releases will contain the excitable, emotional rollercoaster they  portrayed in the past. Aideen O'Flaherty More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:317