Tales Of Silversleeve is pop music that it’s OK for indie fans to revel in, taking the listener on a musical journey that’s as inventive and idiosyncratic as it is infectious.
While there are air-guitar riffs aplenty – and their rhythm section is one of the more interesting in the country at the moment – there’s just too much bluster and not enough soul.
West crosses genres with wilful and speedy abandon, taking the listener on an epic quest where the journey is just as enjoyable and unpredictable as the destination.
81,394 punters, the majority decked in the blue and navy of Dublin, made the pilgrimage to the GAA Mecca of Croke Park for the Leinster Senior Football Final. Lifelong Blues supporter John Walshe was one of them.
This melting pot of sound is like Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes fronting a band made up of members of Arcade Fire and Elbow, with Radiohead’s Thom Yorke handling production duties.
Few acts can do feelgood, anthemic blue collar rock ‘n’ roll with the aplomb of Bon Jovi. You can slag them off all you like but it’s impossible to truly dislike their catchy, inoffensive pop-rock.
On the eve of the release of Tour De Flock, BellX1’s live album and DVD from Dublin’s Point Theatre, Paul Noonan, Brian Crosby and Dominic Phillips answer the weird and wonderful questions of hotpress readers, from the swimming habits of monkeys to ripping the gusset of your pants on stage.
30th Anniversary Retrospective: On the eve of the release of their fifth album, Ash talk longevity, writing songs in Bono’s summer house and why Twilight Of The Innocents is not a pipe-and-slippers album.
Sometimes stately, often insistent and never short of majestic, The National’s fourth opus is a towering achievement and this Boxer is surely already a heavyweight contender for album of the year.
The Boy With No Name has a handful of absolute crackers, proving that Travis are still capable of penning a tune that wraps its tendrils around your ears and won’t let go until at least four minutes have passed.
Unquestionably one of the finest lyricists of his generation, Britain’s Tom McRae has so far failed to reach anything near the level of commercial success his talent deserves.
Award-winning director and actor Ed Burns talks about enjoying success on your own terms, his lifelong music obsession and the fact that he’s about to make his first big-budget Hollywood movie.
In Love With Detail is the sound of a band realising their potential. It’s the first truly great Irish album of 2007 and the finest debut from a homegrown act in years.
This listener always got the impression that Kíla frontman Rónán Ó Snodaigh could have been born at any time in the last 1000 years or so and he’d still be doing exactly what he does today.
The creators of the new Eyebrowy DVD expound on the inspiration behind their hilarious cartoons, their decision to leave their Irish characters behind, and how the real-life counterparts of their ‘toon army view their small-screen siblings.
There really is no substitute for the first time you see The Flaming Lips live: it’s easy to spot Lips virgins at 20 paces: slack jaw, mouth agape, eyes swollen with something akin to childhood glee.
The Cake Sale does for Irish musicians what The Reindeer Section did for Scotland’s: i.e. it makes a group of disparate songwriters and performers sound like the most talented and cohesive band in the world ever.
The Ruby Tailights’ main-man Martin Kelly will be familiar to any stalwarts of the mid-90s Irish music scene as the frontman with the brilliant Sunbear, whose distortion-fuelled epics were years ahead of their time. This time around, Kelly has eschewed the effects pedals, however, for some relatively straightforward guitar pop.
The question has often been asked, ‘Does the world need another singer-songwriter?’. Certainly, many acoustic guitar-wielding troubadours would be better off saving their grievances for their diaries instead of inflicting them on the wider world. However, every now and then a new voice comes along that’s worthy of attention. Tessa Perry is such a voice.
NEOSUPERVITAL has taken the music of the 80s as his blueprint, added in a large dollop of tongue-in-cheek humour, mixed in some observations on modern Ireland and garnished it all with a sprinkling of wry irony. And he’s bloody brilliant at it.
More eclectic than even an above-average radio show, the Dublin quartet have a veritable orchestra's worth of talent at their disposal, which goes some way towards explaining their versatility.
This listener had to really work at the paradoxical nature of The Eraser's harrowing lyrics and impersonal, computerised and often discordant rhythms and melodies before they started to make sense, but ultimately it proves worth the effort.
Like their incendiary live performances, the pace is nothing short of relentless over the course of the 43 minutes or so it takes Humanzi to slash and scorch their way through this 11-track debut.
Duke Special has the tunes, the talent and the charisma to carry it all off. He’s also possessed of one of the most gorgeous voices in Ireland, and he’s not afraid to use it to its full potential.
Despite the driving rhythm and upbeat melody of lead single, ‘Is It Any Wonder?’, Keane’s second album is, for the most part, comprised of the same winsome pop that helped their debut shift over five million copies worldwide.
While other bands may have the right connections, the right influences or the right haircuts, Berkeley have been secreted away in the North West, quietly creating some of the finest rock ‘n’ roll on this island.
Running a marathon, writing the folk-pop equivalent of Dante’s Divine Comedy, buying a house, releasing the finest record of his career. All in a year’s work for Josh Ritter. John Walshe travelled to Boston to meet the young songwriter.
Sno Angel Like You manages to retain the scuzzy, down-home, come-into-the-parlour-and-take-a-microscope-to-my-heart feel of Howe Gelb’s previous work, while delivering some of the most uplifting, enthralling, soaringly beautiful and gloriously soulful music you’re likely to hear this year.
I’ve always felt that remix albums were a bit of a scam, expecting fans who already bought the album proper to shell out again for a collection of reheats. However, when the album in question is the latest slice of funk, rock and whatever you’re having yourself from musical chameleon Beck and your remixers include the likes of Air, Ad-Rock and Dizzee Rascal, perhaps it’s time to sit up and take notice.
Ryan Adams’ third album in the space of a year is a meditation on his 20s, with each of the nine songs representing a year of his life from 21 to his current age of 29 – apparently he didn’t think 20 counted as he still felt like he was 19.
Dublin-based Somadrone may share their name with a US rock band, but there the similarity ends. While the Massachusetts rock quartet trade in fiery metal, Neil O’Connor (whose other musical credits include The Redneck Manifesto and Connect Four Orchestra) specialises in instrumental elecronica so unobtrusive it’s almost transparent.
Rumours of Depeche Mode’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, as Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher explain on the eve of the release of their 11th studio album, Playing The Angel.
Following the success of her Mercury-prize nominated debut album, Gemma Hayes was struck down suddenly with writer's block. Her artistic recovery was a long, painful process, taking her from a sleepy Kerry village to downtown L.A.
Twelve months ago, Declan O'Rourke was almost unheard of. Since then, his record has acheived platinum status. On the eve of his biggest tour ever, O'Rourke talks about a year in the maelstrom.
Jollity, Pugwash’s third album, is easily Walsh’s most accomplished to date, his compositions fleshed out by some sterling strings and boisterous brass, the latter courtesy of the hugely talented Eric Matthews.
The Virtually Invisible Landscape Of Sound is a rich musical melting pot of styles, grooves and beats that traverses genres like other bands change hairstyles. Think Enigma jamming with Manu Chao and you’re still only partways there.
No difficult second album for Ken McHugh’s Autamata. Short Stories builds on the blueprint of the debut LP, My Sanctuary, and takes this loose collective into new and interesting territory.
No longer the angry young man who heralded A Century Ends, nor the underdog troubadour we took to our hearts and our homes with White Ladder, the David Gray of 2005 is something like a phenomenon.
Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme on the firing of bandmate Nick Oliveri, the London bombings and his plan to disappear once their current tour is over
Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge are widely credited for making dance music that indie kids can groove to. Their last album Melody AM, and especially the hit singles ‘Poor Leno’ and ‘Eple’, saw the Norwegian duo heralded as the future of ‘intelligent’ dance.
The sun slicing through the Dublin evening skyline makes the after-work traffic bearable on the hike out to furthest Rathfarnham. Indeed, the gridlock is so bad that we miss the start of Interpol and have to be content to hear the masterful ‘NYC’ and the driving ‘Obstacle One’ while walking down the leafy path that leads to the venue.
The new album from Foo Fighters is an indie-rock tour de force, combining blistering anthems and delicate acoustic tracks (there’s even a cameo from dinner-party doyen Norah Jones). According to drummer Taylor Hawkins, it may just be the band’s masterpiece.
One of the ten most photographed people in Ireland, TV presenter Caroline Morahan isn’t just a pretty face. Fame, fashion, drugs, the Antisocial Behaviour Order and George Dubbya are all on the agenda all she pours scorn on John Walshe's ten-year plan and vetos Caroline – The Fragrance. Photography by Liam Sweeney.
Kinesis split up in March of this year after five years together. You Are Being Lied To is a reasonable legacy to leave behind, from the glorious cacophony of album opener, ‘A Voice To Preserve’ – full of joyously raucous guitar and quasi-gospel vocals – to the closing piano balladry of ‘The Question Has Changed’.
Either Scout Niblett doesn’t believe in making things easy for music reviewers or else the sleeve notes for her third album disappeared somewhere between HP Towers and my house, because my copy of Kidnapped By Neptune doesn’t even have song titles, let alone lyrics.
The second album from Manchester duo My Computer is a complete box of tricks, covering the ground from orchestral pop (‘The Boy I Used To Be’) to electronica (‘Dig A Hole’), country (‘Stumble’) and even balladry (‘Life’, ‘Heart’). What’s unusual is that they seem equally proficient in whatever genre they’re subverting, turning styles on their head and having fun while they’re doing it.
The Heat Can Melt Your Brain is the debut album from UK husband and wife team, Vida Voce, and it certainly bodes well for their future. Warm and fuzzy indie pop is the order of the day, with plenty of undulating rhythms, gently strummed guitars, weirdly wonderful sound effects and boy/girl harmonies, not a million miles away from The Delgados or Yo La Tengo, especially the beautiful ‘The Centre Of The Universe’ or ‘The Lucky Ones’.
Ben Folds remains one of America’s most criminally under-rated songwriters, from the days of the Ben Folds Five, whose cracking back catalogue somehow failed to strike a collective chord with the masses, to his solo work (‘Rocking The Suburbs’ was one of the funniest, catchiest tunes never to be a hit single). More recently, he has been project managing William Shatner’s mysterious musical misadventures to great effect. Unfortunately, Songs For Silverman isn’t the collection of songs to make Ben Folds a household name.
Magnola Electric Co. is the new nine-piece band from Songs: Ohia frontman Jason Molina. He has taken the countrified vision of his former outfit and expanded it onto a widescreen canvas over the course of these eight tracks. It’s less lo-fi and more upfront than his previous outings, with the end result sounding like Neil Young bumping into Bonnie Prince Billy and The Band in a rural woodshed with wonderful acoustics.
John Walshe previews the new Foo Fighters double-album, In Your Honor, which Dave Grohl describes as "by far the most ambitious project I have ever had anything to do with in my entire life."
Bobby Valentino clearly fancies himself as the world’s latest r’n’b star. Even the photographs of young Bobby on his eponymous debut betray a certain sense of self-aggrandisement, an impression which is reinforced as soon as you listen to the vocal histrionics that make up most of this mid-paced collection of soul-lite.
Leicester’s The Have Nots trade in the kind of fey, whimsical pop tunesmithery that made stars of Everything But The Girl, although these guys have listened to far more country music than Tracy Thorn & Co. Indeed, at their uptempo best, they’re reminiscent of The Revenants in their prime. It’s impossible to dislike Never Say Goodnight, from the toe-tappingly infectious ‘Flyers’ and ‘Papercuts’ to the Beautiful South-esque miserable-ism of ‘New Lace Dress’ or the achingly bittersweet ‘A Tiny Taste Of Death’.
Fran King was one of the finalists on You’re A Star, but don’t let that put you off. Beautification, the Terenure native’s debut album, is an assured collection of sun-kissed shimmery pop/rock, equal parts Crowded House and Elvis Costello, with a smattering of Elliott Smith and Brendan Benson thrown in for good measure.
Rumours that the whispery-voiced McRae was going to rock out on this, his third album, have proved totally unfounded. All Maps Welcome boasts the same acoustic, string-soaked arrangements as his near-perfect eponymous debut and so-so sophomore release, Just Like Blood. Even a move to Los Angeles, for so many the home of rock ‘n’ roll, or the inclusion of some of Beck’s backing band haven’t caused McRae to let rip. That said, the sound throughout is remarkably full, considering the lack of fuzzed-up, distortion-driven wig-outs, and plenty of the songs manage to build up quite a head of righteous steam without the need for electric agonising.
The last time The Fat Lady Sings graced a Dublin stage, people were smoking in the crowd, we were buying pints with punts and the Celtic Tiger had yet to get within an ass’s roar of Ireland. The first thing that strikes this reviewer when Nick Kelly (vocals/guitar), Tim Bradshaw (guitar) and bassist Dermot Lynch step onto the stage is that the 12 years since their last live performance have been kinder to the band than their audience.
Emmett Tinley doesn’t do ‘immediate’. His songs never, ever grab you on first listen: sometimes they even seem a bit pedestrian. But give it five or six hearings, and something mysterious happens. Some sort of magical osmosis sees Tinley’s songs transformed into the most glorious, heartfelt paeans to loves lost, loves left behind and loves that never really existed in the first place except in your wildest imaginings.
It’s a testament to both the passion and prowess of Robert Forster and Grant McLennan that Oceans Apart sounds as immediate and important as anything they’ve released during their two-decades plus as The Go-Betweens.
With any collection of this sort, some tracks don’t work as well as others. However, there are so many highlights here that it seems churlish to focus on the few that don’t work.
Sure Tadhg Cooke writes his own songs and, yes, he does sing. But for the most part, his highly assured debut album Wax & Seal sounds as far removed from the beardy brigade of po-faced strummers as Pablo AimarÍs deft touches are from the journeymen footballers of, say, West Brom. Thankfully, it's also a refreshingly cliche-free zone.
With a new album ready for release, Idlewild 's Irish bassist Gavin Fox talks about celebrity spotting in LA, touring with Pearl Jam and why Warnings/Promises is the best thing they've ever done. Interview by John Walshe
Hot Press visited BellX1 in their city-centre studio, where the group are working on the follow-up to Music In Mouth. “There’s been a lot less fuck-acting this time around,” they tell John Walshe. Photo: Liam Sweeney
Ireland and Munster out-half, Ronan O’Gara, has a pivotal say in this country’s rugby fortunes. As what is potentially the most important season in Irish rugby history moves into its most competitive phase, he takes time out to reflect on the demands of being a big time rugby star, the cult of celebrity, his taste in music, Roy Keane’s infamous Saipan walk-out – and Ireland’s chances of Six Nations glory in 2005.
The Black And Red Notebook won’t be to everyone’s tastes but even Kittser’s detractors will acknowledge that releasing an album of covers is a bloody brave move, particularly handling such well-thumbed volumes as the REM and Beatles back catalogues.
The band formerly known as The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have the same explosive line-up as on their previous six outings, including their last meisterwork, Plastic Fang.
“I was born with millennium tension/ It’s all gone now.” The first words from Katell Keinig’s mouth on High July make for the finest opening couplet on any album this listener has set ears on in some time.
Wexford quartet Salthouse finally deliver on the promise of their debut album with a simply gorgeous single that calls to mind the best bits of Mercury Rev, Sparklehorse and Bright Eyes.
The third single to be taken from Archer’s quite wonderful debut album, Flood The Tanks, ‘Summer Jets’ is a subtle sonic headrush of fizzy pop hooks and shimmery melodies, with the same kind of multi-layered guitars and quietly arresting riffs that turned his old muckers Snow Patrol into superstars.
‘Pain’ has a slightly harder edge than anything from Jimmy Eat World’s eponymous breakthrough album, which could be as much down to the presence of Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, Pixies) behind the production desk as to any masterplan to outgrow the teeny-rocker tag they’ve been unfairly lumbered with on this side of the Atlantic.
They have the suits. They have the haircuts. They certainly have the fuck-you attitude. And on the evidence of ‘Slow Hands’ and the album that spawned it, Antics, Interpol really do have the tunes to back up the hype.
One listen to Joss Stone is enough to make you believe in reincarnation. This 17-year-old sounds un-nervingly like the rebirth of a 70s soul or Motown diva.
The God of F**k’s voice injects just the right note of malice into Depeche Mode’s ‘Personal Jesus’, although musically it isn’t vastly different from Gahan, Gore & Co.’s prototype.
Jape is chief Redneck Richie Egan’s electronic alter-ego and this Kittser-produced single is a hypnotically addictive little bugger, despite Egan’s vocal limitations.
In a surprise change of direction, Green Day’s latest album American Idiot sees the punk three-piece coming out fighting against a certain George W. Bush.
Being assaulted by irate audience members at Donnington, working with Iggy Pop, asked to write songs for Britney – and shocking Marilyn Manson’s crowd. It’s all in a year’s work for electro-punk princess and ‘Erotic Performer Of The Year’ Peaches.
Time, it seems, has not mellowed Cure mainman Robert Smith one iota. If anything, this eponymous album, the band’s first since 1999’s Bloodflowers, is the angriest they’ve ever been.
The term one-dimensional could have been created specifically for the duo of Alex Band and Aaron Kamin, who trade in the kind of sub-Nickelback rawk beloved of our counterparts across the Atlantic and in certain parts of Germany but generally derided in all places where intelligence isn’t rated by the capacity to absorb alcohol, and mullets are frowned upon.
Riot On An Empty Street is perfect late night, post-pub or club fare, with nary a voice raised in anger throughout its 12 songs. That said, despite the fact that they don’t beat you around the head with toe-tapping melodies, there is something quietly compelling and gently addictive about this album.
I wouldn’t fancy being a mate of Rufus Wainwright’s. Not that the songwriter seems particularly unfriendly or unfeeling – quite the opposite. It’s just that you’d constantly be worried that anything you did or said to him could end up as a song.
Initially meant for a Japan-only release, Com Lag 2+2=5 has been made available over this side of the world to satisfy demand from Radiohead’s hugely loyal fanbase.
Widely credited as the pioneers of the genre which has become known the world over as alt. country, Wilco have redefined their own musical parameters in recent years, concentrating on the alternative and ditching much of the country influence that characterised the classic albums of Woody Guthrie material they made with Billy Bragg. Personally, I find the new Wilco more than a bit frustrating.
Currently flavour of the season in the UK, where they are being hailed as the new saviours of British pop music (ie this year’s Coldplay), Keane are the victims of that most despised of four-letter words, hype.
While it is often true that your inner voice is your harshest critic, it would seem that Edmund Enright is far too severe on himself. Apparently, Mundy doesn’t rate himself too highly as a songwriter but to these ears Raining Down Arrows is a winner...
Having tried to repeat the feat with Liquid Skin and the disappointing In Our Gun, the five-piece took a deserved break (with an odds-n-sods collection to keep the fans happy), and Split The Difference is the first we’ve heard from planet Gomez in 18 months..
If someone unfamiliar with the current crop of Irish musicians were to cock an ear to Other Voices 2, they could be forgiven for thinking that Ireland’s rock ‘n’ rollers were mellowing out.
They Were Wrong, So We Drowned is a perfect example of something that probably sounded fantastically exciting on paper, but the end result is the sound of a band trying far too hard to be different, with mostly disastrous results.
In one of Irish music’s worst kept secrets, The Frames played Whelan’s recently, road testing some new songs and being joined on stage by a number of special guests. John Walshe reports from ringside.
Catering For Headphones beats with an experimental heart, backed up by superb musicianship and genuinely moving songs of real artistic and musical merit. Refreshingly inventive, often magical and consistently brilliant.
Dublin quartet Stand have been making friends and influencing all the right people since their move to New York four years ago, having been championed in such influential music industry bibles as Billboard, Rolling Stone and The New York Times.
Exit Hellsville is the third album from Eamonn Dowd’s motley crew of Racketeers, and like its predecessors, it’s a damn fine example of gravel-voiced country rock.
Monolithic Baby is all about old skool rawk and while it seems like harmless fun on first listen, you soon start to remember that this kind of pre-pubescent rifforama wasn’t exactly life-changing stuff first time around.
Held in the Dutch city of Groningen, this year's Eurosonic Festival brought back some painful memories for Irish attendees, The Frames. Hot Press' John Walshe followed the band to the site where Mic Christopher lost his life.
The Frames and BellX1 stormed the palisades of Groningen recently as part of the Eurosonic Festival. John Walshe was there to see it happen and to revisit the spot where the great Mic Christopher met with his tragic accident. Plus: the latest news and reaction to the Frames’ new record deal
You know, Nick Lowe was right when he asked “What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding?” Lately, I try to avoid the news as often as not, because it seems that every day there’s another atrocity: more carnage, more blood, more tears, more misery, more grief.
Once Like A Spark is a brilliantly brief headrush, a mad dash through the realms of punk, rock and metal that is the perfect pick-me-up for anyone who’s tired of post-rock, fed up with the new wave of cooler-than-thou US supergroups and longing for a bit of old-fashioned blood, thunder, sweat and bollocks.
With Hello Starling Josh Ritter has emerged as one of the finest songwriters who's operating today. John Walshe meets the reluctant hero who's storming the Irish charts.
Opener ‘By My Side’ is a fine statement of intent: a flurry of guitars, a pounding rhythm section and a mantra that segues its way into your inner ear, coming across for all the world like Spritualized playing The Beach Boys.
Welcome To Poppy’s has its moments, but now, we’ve seen and heard all their streetwise schtick before, things are starting to seem a little stale and predictable.
Despite the litany of miseries that besets McCormack’s characters, the heart of We Drank Our Tears beats with the indomitability of the human spirit and the ever-pervading sense of hope.
Jools, Letterman, platinum discs, fan hysteria – it’s all very nice and much appreciated, you understand, but for Damien Rice the bottom line remains the song – and doing things his way.
Irish rugby captain Brian O’Driscoll waxes lyrical about his sporting heroes, Ireland’s hopes for the Rugby World Cup and admits to liking Justin Timberlake.
There are flashes of genuine inspiration when singer/guitarist Kryz Reid, his brother Carroll on drums and Belgian-born Corentin Simoniz on bass really click, but with a little more direction, it could’ve been brilliant.
Summer time, and the record stores are going to be full to bursting with some cracking albums across all genres. John Walshe examines the hottest album releases set to hit the shelves
The opener and title track sets out the stall for much of what follows: gently strummed guitars, understated vocals and melodies that creep up and seduce with whispers instead of battering you over the head with a kick-drum
The best thing about The Dandy Warhols is that despite how instantly hummable their melodies are, they still manage to get better with each subsequent listen.
On record, it is sometimes easy for the quality of Beck’s singing to be lost amid the bells and whistles of post-production. Here, a combination of pristine sound quality and the pared-back nature of the performance allows the richness and emotion of his voice to take centre stage
They’re a classic three-piece, with perhaps a nod in the direction of Dinosaur Jnr and a hint of Sugar, but possessed of a ballsy, in-your-face attitude that’s all their own.
Set List is the sound of a band at the peak of their powers, from Colm’s stunning fiddle-work to Joe Doyle’s perfect backing vocals, with the boy Hansard as magical Master of Ceremonies, effortlessly guiding musicians and audience through their paces.
Perhaps Gore’s finest achievement with Counterfeit is that all 11 songs gel seamlessly and flow as smoothly as if this was a collection of originals from the same mean and moody pen.
A part-American, part-Irish quartet, Saucy Monky have earned their spurs playing the college scene around LA and it shows on Celebrity Trash, an assured debut album by any standards.
Obviously, it’s the album of the TV show, which is for the most part absolutely brilliant, where the crème de la crème of the Irish music community, along with a few adopted extras, decamped to St James’ Church, Dingle, for a week of gigs.
After making their name with the glacial atmospherics of Felt Mountain, Goldfrapp work up a sweat on their new album Black Cherry. John Walshe hear how they “defrosted” their sound
Paper Monsters is pretty much what you’d expect from Gahan, who doesn’t deviate too much from the blueprint that has served both himself and the Mode well, although most listeners could have been forgiven for expecting more in the way of pomp and ceremony.
Unashamedly sunny, musically, while the lyrics often tread far darker and more complex water, OK Go! is inventive, interesting and intelligent pop music from a band unafraid to take risks.
Credit to Las Vegas Basement, then, that they don’t collapse under the weight of these luminous spirits, but still manage to create an album of heavily layered, well-crafted songs with the kind of glorious ‘la-la-la’ harmonies not heard since the Fab Four were at their peak.
Apparently the quartet used to rely a lot more on synths than guitars, but the recruitment of the wonderfully named Dante DeCaro on six-string evens up the balance somewhat, with keyboardist Steve Bays taking up the mic for these short, sharp stabs of infectious and off-kilter post-punk pop, with barely time to draw breath.
Perhaps Gore’s finest achievement with Counterfeit is that all 11 songs gel seamlessly and flow as smoothly as if this was a collection of originals from the same mean and moody pen.
this rollicking hotchpotch of old obscure r’n’b standards and screeching rock guitars could and should catapult Rachel Nagy & Co. into the same league as their other Motor City compatriots, The White Stripes and Brendan Benson.
Black Box Recorder sometimes come across like the musical equivalent of Chris Morris’ Brass Eye, such is the level of sarcastic satire projected at the listener.
On the surface, their off-kilter melodies and swirling arrangements verge on something approaching pop, but delve beneath the surface and you can almost glimpse the yellow teeth and black nails of something dark, grinning and nightmarish clawing to get out.
Chances are in three decades time, nobody will realise that Hawley’s beautifully crafted songs don’t date from the 1950s. Hawley is a contemporary master of the sort of moody, majestic torch songs that flourished during that era.
The pace rarely raises itself beyond stately, there are enough strings for an entire evening of chamber music, and the emotion is laid on as thick as the butter in a Kerrygold advert.
The brainchild of the wonderfully named Tim DeLaughter, The Polyphonic Spree are a loose collective of 24 white-robed Texans who serve up a main course of supremely soulful sonic pyrotechnics, along with a side of slightly psychedelic sing-alongs.
The power of his songwriting often plays second fiddle to his extremely inoffensive voice and the fact that he has a maddening tendency to couch stunning songs in arrangements that can only be described as bland
More chameleon than amphibian, our gravel-tongued hero takes to the shimmering, silver stage amid a blaze of brass not heard since the Mainliners were in their prime
Serrated guitars, clipped beats, angular riffs, pummelled basslines and snarled vocals form the backbone; throw in some scratchy beats, blistering samples and crank the volume up to full.
The Walls are about to embark on their most extensive Irish tour yet, including their biggest Dublin gig to date at the ambassador and may be about to finally break the bank
The Walls are about to embark on their most extensive Irish tour yet, including their biggest Dublin gig to date at the Ambassador and may be about to finally break the bank
Welcome to the weird and wonderfully wicked world of the Black Romantics, last heard playing second fiddle (and cello) to Jack Lukeman on his debut Wax album
Together with a superb record collection and a host of guest vocalists, Dine serves up another aural treat for fans of Northern Soul, old-fashioned swing and supremely danceable psychedelia
It’s all about broken down tour buses, Alan Partridge, high speed collisions, Moby, broken ribs, Mina Suvari, MTV stars and David Bowie as Ash launch a sonic assault on America. So riddle me this: can Ireland’s hardest-working rock’n’roll outfit crack the big one?
Adamson plays the part of a modern-day Adonis to a tee, his honeyed tones and deep grooves guaranteed to make female knees resemble the Chivers quality control area
Their three-minute cartoon punk pop may be perfect bubblegum listening, but one the novelty wears off, you're left with comic music: all painted-on grins and jokes that have worn a bit thin
Despite the sometimes feral nature of the music, there are enough dollops of melody sprinkled around the crunching bar-chords to make the whole thing palatable
Ahead of their Slane appearance, Adam Duritz of The Counting Crows spills the beans on everything from the inspiration behind his songwriting to Gemma Hayes
The first collection of Lightbody cast-offs, last year's Y'All Get Scared Now Ya Hear!, may have hinted at the magic within, but that was a mere monochrome sketch compared to the glorious three dimensional technicolour of its new sibling
The guitar sound is refreshingly raw and potent, without ever straying into metal territory, while they keep a firm enough grip on the melody to maintain interest
Like its predecessors, this double CD features some of the finest Irish and international artists in a pared-down, mostly unplugged setting, letting the songs do the talking
There is nothing particularly new, different or innovative about the way they grind their axe, but they do it with such old-fashioned gusto and consistency that it's easy to get caught up in the sheer exuberance of it all
And you will know him by the trail of defenders... almost as elusive off the pitch as he is on it, the 23-year-old from Ballyboden is being tipped by many to be one of the sensations of the forthcoming World Cup. But away from the pitch, you're unlikely to find 'the duffer' turning up in the pages of Hello. Though you may bump into him at a u2 gig...
John Walshe had a ringside seat for all the music, speeches, laughs and tears that made the 2002 hotpress Irish Music Awards in Belfast a night to remember.
Thankfully for them, the Manchester three-piece deliver on the promise of their debut, as their sophomore effort is brimming with the kind of timeless guitar tunesmithery that marked their earlier work
The cartoon characters have been busy touring the globe (they're currently in North America) and so G Sides is not a brand new album, but rather a compilation of remixes, b-sides, unreleased tracks and rarities (as well as two of their groundbreaking videos) to keep their millions of fans sated until the next album proper arrives
Having crammed more into their first four years than some acts do in a decade, Gomez took a much-needed break. But now they’re back with a new album in our gun. "We just got pissed, played a few tunes and started recording," they tell John Walshe
For the most part, the guitars jingle and jangle, the percussion is non-intrusive and Yorn's voice is that of a troubled troubador who has seen enough of life's underbelly to rejoice in its happier moments
The good news is that Holes In The Wall doesn't sound like the product of teen angst, instead coming on like it has been well-drilled in classic British rock, from The Beatles through to Oasis
Half way through the second track, ‘Boss Of Me’ and we’re back in familiar territory – toe-tapping guitar pop with a chorus as infectious as a regurgitated bacteria sandwich.
Over the course of a whole album their inherent idiosyncrasies can wear a bit thin.
Ireland beating the mighty Dutch on an enchanted evening at Lansdowne Road. The Frames at Vicar St. Liverpool lifting three trophies in one season. BellX1 at the Music Centre
After more than 15 years in the business, Aslan are still able to command massive, devoted audiences in music venue and record shop alike. John Walshe joins the Lions' club on the road
This is unlikely to trouble the Britneys and Celines of this world too much in terms of chart positioning, but in terms of quality, kd is always pushing for the top spot.
John Walshe talks to Jamiroquai mainman, Jay Kay, about the funk soul brother’s latest album, A Funk Odyssey, his testy relationship with British tabloids and why President George W. Bush is a “bad fucker”
Sumptious strings herald the opening of Catatonia’s latest aural adventure, and you’re starting to think that maybe you’re being taken in a new direction, a pop towards high art. But then Cerys Matthews’ familiar tones enter the fray and you realise that no matter what Catatonia do music-wise, they are still going to sound like Catatonia.
Backstage at Creamfields, JOHN WALSHE talks to FATBOY SLIM about the joys of fatherhood, being one half of the posh and becks of the chemical generation; sharing a hot-tub with Baz Luhrman and how he got Christopher Walken to tap-dance
It’s not particularly deep or complicated but, if it catches you in the right mood (preferably pissed off) and at the right volume (very loud), Land Of The Free is an inspiring piece of punk work.
‘January’, the third single taken from the wonderful Eskimo Beach Boy album, is every bit as catchy as the pair that went before. If anything, it’s easier to be sucked headfirst into its western-tinged charms.
So Stereophonics aren’t the hippest three-piece in the world. Considering they are selling albums by the bucketload and filling venues all over Europe, I doubt they’re particularly bothered by the cool factor.
Ultra-cool, jazzy noodling and doodling from St. Germain, ‘Sure Thing’ is not as in-yer-trousers as some of his other compositions, notably ‘Rose Rouge’, a kicking remix of which is included here.
The latest cut from the excellent Stankonia to be culled as a single, ‘So Fresh, So Clean’ doesn’t have the toe-tapping, singalongability of ‘Miss Jackson’ but it is a wonderfully funked-up, soulful slice of modern hip-hop that avoids the genre’s more tiresome clichés.
Louis Walsh’s latest pop hopefuls, Bellefire are Tara, Ciara, Kelly and Cathy, and their debut single is guaranteed to be a huge hit all over the world. After all, they look great, they can sing, and ‘Perfect Bliss’ was penned by the Scandinavian hit factory of Jorgen Elofsson and Phil Thornalley. It’s just a little bit clinical for my tastes.
As lush as a James Bond theme tune, as sweeping as an orchestra in a brush factory, as rich as Hugh Hefner’s lawyers and as comfortable as an old shoe, the latest release from Zero 7 is a big, bruised masterpiece.
Vanessa Mae is one of the finest violin players in the world, unfortunately Subject To Change is a hotch-potch of styles thrown together with no thought given to cohesiveness
JOHN WALSHE talks to JIM WHITE about his amazing life – from dropping acid and modelling for Vogue to surfing for Jesus – and his amazing album No Such Place
Quite a few people could be surprised by Rónán Ó Snodaigh’s debut solo album. While there are large elements of folk present, the arrangements often have more in common with classical rather than traditional music.
From sweeping the steps of lauren hill’s manager’s house to teetering on the brink of a massive hit – native american Jason Downs tells his story to John Walshe
Mark Mulcahy’s second solo album is surely going to win him more friends and admirers than even his glowingly-received debut, Fathering. And justifiably so, because SmileSunseT is a big, broad, warm-hearted, gentle and extremely lovable album.
Richard Hawley’s pedigree as a guitarist was never in doubt. A cursory glance at his CV reveals that Richard has ground his axe for the likes of Robbie Williams, Finlay Quaye and Perry Farrell. What is surprising, perhaps, is the richness of Hawley’s voice, pitched somewhere between Neil Hannon and Sean Miller.
John Walshe travels to Berlin to see Ash in superlative live form on Paddy's night. And no wonder: the band reckon their new album, free all angels could put them in the Michael Jackson league! plus: why they're so down on Louis Walsh, Westlife and Ronan Keating and so up for Bono, John Hume, David Trimble and - wait for it - Darius of Popstars. Flash photography: Mella Travers
He may have a touch of the singer-songwriters about him, but there's no whining, no introverted self-absorbtion, and no miserable-ism surrounding New Yorker David Mead.
'Girl From The Hills' opens Dot Creek's debut with a quietly twanging guitar, before a plaintive male voice urges someone to fetch water from the spring, and you think, 'OK, I'm in the middle of Nowheresville, Alabama.
Cousteau's debut LP finally gets an Irish release, and about bloody time too, Guv'nor. The London-based collective have been clocking up superlatives across the pond like they were going out of fashion, drawing comparisons with everyone from Scott Walker to Tindersticks.
Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel Homem Christo exploded onto the scene a few years ago with the mesmerising Homework LP. That album shifted over two million units worldwide thanks to its brilliant fusion of disco, house and funk as well as the fact that the band created some of the most memorable music videos seen in years.
This Galway collective have been happily beavering away on the not-so-difficult second LP, Garden Tiger Moth, for a couple of years now while the initiated few held their breath.
This Galway collective have been happily beavering away on the not-so-difficult second LP, Garden Tiger Moth, for a couple of years now while the initiated few held their breath.
According to Eric Clapton's sleeve notes, 'Reptile' is a term of endearment "used much in the same way as 'toe rag'". Lucky then that the title track is instrumental, I suppose: otherwise we might have had a love sonnet dedicated to a scumbag, snot-rag or fag-hag.
Bless me reader for I have sinned. It has been 26 years and eight months since my last confession. I have something shameful to admit, something so heinous I fear ‘twill take more than a brace of Hail Mary’s and a muttered Glory Be… to cleanse.
Utah Saints could hardly be described as the world’s most prolific musical collective. After all, the aptly named Two is only the sophomore effort from Jez Willis and DJ Tim Garbett and the follow-up to their 1993 eponymous debut.
No Angel, the debut album from British singer Dido (a sister of Faithless’ Rollo Armstrong), was actually released Stateside over a year ago, but it has taken until now to make an impact commercially.
Diving For Pearls is the debut album from Scottish singer/songwriter Allie Fox and it’s as warm and intimate a collection of songs as you are likely to hear this year.
The grim brothers on two CDs, recorded live over two nights earlier this year in Wembley Stadium might not exactly be the blueprint for a perfect night in.
John Walshe catches up with Teenage Fanclub s Norman Blake and hears about avoiding musical fashions, the realisation that they are growing older and how they are ambitious, despite what Alan McGee says
Fancy taking a trip down to Dr John’s bayou, with Andy Weatherall’s decks appeal, Nick Cave’s religious fervour, and Johnny Cash’s outlaws as your inlaws?
Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline is an odds ‘n’ sods collection of unreleased songs, radio sessions and remixes from the Mercury Prize winning revivalists.
Antisocial has been a long time making its way from the studio to the record shop but the good news is that, like the famous scene in Ice Cold In Alex, the result was certainly worth waiting for.
Hey pop pickers, get a load of this. 37 classic performances from the thin white duke, recorded at the then fledgling BBC Radio 1 studios between 1968 and '72, as the whole world went Hunky Dory.
Where the Spice Girls were a call to accessorize for pre-teen girls, enquiring what we really, really wanted, All Saints quickly proved that they were no angels, taking the initiative from 'Lady Marmalade's French letters. Melanie, Shaznay, Nicole and Natalie seemed to have the right amount of savoir faire and sex appeal for boys and girls: one sex wanted to be them, the other wanted to 'do' them.
With a career history that includes playing support to the likes of Steps, Boyzone and B*Witched, it is reasonable to expect that Madasun’s debut LP is not going to be a feast of white noise. Instead, it’s a slickly polished collection of r’n’b, soul and pop.
Dismissed in some quarters as a poor man’s Pet Shop Boys, one-keyboard-trick ponies or Brit-crap also-rans, Dubstar are much more than any of the above.
Tom McRae has been turning heads around England just by virtue of the fact that he is a singer-songwriter with much more than simply one guitar and the truth.
Kells three-piece Turn are on the crest of a wave, and are about to unleash their rather spiffing debut LP, Antisocial, on an unsuspecting world. John Walshe reports. Suit shoot: Myles Claffey
John Walshe talks to World Party mainman Karl Wallinger about his quest for independence, his growing profile as a songwriter and his plans for a new online news channel
Wow! Former Guns ‘N’ Roses guitarist, Slash, has turned his back on his hard rockin’ roots and reinvented himself as a Tricky-esque creator of original sound and beatscapes par excellence.
Like one of his heroes, Bob Dylan, Karl Wallinger may not be the finest singer the world has ever heard, but he certainly is one of the planet’s finest pop music composers.
Wallinger’s songs are confounding buggers, though.
The Discovery Of A World Inside The Moone is not nearly as pretentious as the title would suggest. It is simply the third album of glorious guitar pop from US eccentrics, The Apples In Stereo, whose frontman, Rob Schneider’s CV includes production duties for The Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel, as well as guesting on Cornelius’ well-received Fantasma.
Amanda Ghost is not your average singer-songwriter: not by a long shot. Ghost Stories is about as far away from your winsome, folky balladeers as it's possible to get and yet Amanda is, strictly speaking, a singer-songwriter.
John Walshe talks to Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz about love, fame, journalism, nervous breakdowns, dating the cast of Friends and the band s special relationship with their Irish fans. Birdwatcher: Declan English
Blur axeman, Graham Coxon, releases his second solo LP and, like his 1998 debut, The Sky's Too High, The Golden D is a trip into the speed/trash/hardcore underbelly of America.
You probably know the story by now. Ol' Bill was asked to supply the music to a series of Woody Guthrie lyrics a couple of years back; he promptly recruited Wilco into the project;
Pound For Pound is the sound of American rock'n'roll from the 1950s, dragged through a Florida swamp, kicked through cities from Seattle to Dallas, emerging bloodied but unbowed at the far side.
John Walshe talks to Irish rugby captain and Munster stalwart Keith Wood ahead of the most important game in Munster s history, and hears his views on the media, sex before a game and his love for bellybuttons and pregnant women.
Pictures: DECLAN ENGLISH
John Walshe talks to Doves Andy Williams about their past life as Sub Sub, their debut album Lost Souls, and what it s like being heralded as the saviours of British rock music.
The self-styled "heaviest band on the planet" aren't about to relinquish that mantle just yet, on the evidence of Reinventing The Steel, and they waste no time in letting us know. Titles like 'Death Rattle', 'Revolution Is My Name' and 'Hellbound' ...
The third LP from The Delgados is their finest yet as their beautiful vision of sweeping strings, chiming guitars, melancholic melodies and glorious harmonies becomes fully realised.
Idlewild's follow-up to Hope Is Important shows no signs of any difficult second album syndrome. It is a vast improvement on their debut, as Roddy Woomble and friends seem to have discovered a more melodic nature, without sacrificing anything of their spiky, almost punk edge.
Damon Albarn is certainly keeping busy. Not content with helping Michael Nyman score the movie Ravenous, the Blur frontman embarks on his first solo work for Thaddeus O'Sullivan's Martin Cahill biopic:
By this stage, you're no doubt aware that Bono co-wrote this movie and provides no less than six songs on the soundtrack, some with his old muckers in U2 and others with The Million Dollar Hotel Band, which prises the likes of Lanois and Eno away from the desk and into more standard musical roles.
Gemma Hayes tells John Walshe about playing the International Bar, singing with Guy Clarke, recording with Julian Lennon and how she doesn't just write love songs.
I haven't seen the movie which spawned this soundtrack, but the music certainly stands up on its own and should prove another winner for Madonna's Maverick label.
Damien Dempsey is a soul singer in the truest sense of the word. OK so he's no Al Green, but the 23-year-old from Donaghmede is incapable of being anything other than honest and giving anything less than 100% every time he opens his mouth to sing.
Former Wonderstuff motormouth Miles Hunt is coming to a town near you, acoustic guitar in hand. But as John Walshe finds out, that s no reason to expect a folk extravaganza.
John Walshe talks to The Wannadies Pdr Wiksten and Christina Bergmark about their new album, Yeah, tribute bands, Swedish soft rock stars and the Abba legacy.
Pat Metheny is a guitarist's guitarist. That's not to say that the rest of us can't appreciate his deft fretwork but unless you play yourself, his consummate skill tends to get a little lost.
Is Gordon Gano destined to remain forever the geek of the class? Judging by the songs on Freak Magnet (some of which date back as far as 1985) it would appear so.
OK, here's the deal. William Orbit, the man credited with discovering Beth Orton and reinventing Madonna circa Ray Of Light, has released his first album proper and it's a strange beast.
Three cheers for Peter Fleming. The former Scheer bassist is the man responsible for the band's second album finally seeing the light of day, four years after their debut, Infliction, and a year and a half since they split up. . .
The old fashioned virtues of talent and charisma, combined with the latest innovations in media technology, look set to make JACK L Ireland's first superstar of the new millennium. JOHN WALSHE has the inside story on a man who is about to get to The Point.
The old fashioned virtues of talent and charisma, combined with the latest innovations in media technology, look set to make JACK L Ireland s first superstar of the new millennium. JOHN WALSHE has the inside story on a man who is about to get to The Point.
John Walshe gets the lowdown on the release of
. . . And Finally, the second album from Derry guitarniks Scheer, released 15 months after they split up.
Tim Booth does. The James frontman chats candidly to John Walshe about fame, riches, sexuality, being called a 'faggot' on the Lollapalooza tour, and the band's
brilliant 10th album, Millionaires.
The Sounds Of Science is a beautifully packaged, comprehensive anthology of the work of Adam 'Ad-Rock' Horowitz, Michael 'Mike-D' Diamond, Adam 'MCA' Yauch and, latterly, Money Mark Nichita, from their early hardore days, through the Bratpop of Licenced To Ill right up to Hello Nasty. Since the start of the '80s, when the Boys first inflicted their cacophonic buzzsaw guitarfest on New York, they have experimented with genres from hip-hop through to country, from punk to bossanova, sampling everyone from Run DMC to Rachmaninoff into the bargain.
OK, so we know that Lara Croft is the star of the Tomb Raider computer games and that she’s not actually a real person, but she is impersonated here by model Rhona Mitra, with the aid of Eurythmic Dave Stewart.
Counting Crows, as usual, rented a big house in the Hollywood Hills to record This Desert Life – but unlike their previous albums, they went in without having the songs written.The end result is their freshest and most natural collection yet.
Supernaut is the latest vehicle for former Blue In Heaven/Blue Angels frontman Shane O’Neill and Into Paradise mainman Dave Long. In many ways, their debut album is like a homage to the almighty guitar, which shapechanges throughout from a shimmer to a swagger, a sparkle to a snarl.
I Want It All will undoubtedly prove hugely popular in Warren Griffin’s homeland of the USA, where its mixture of hip hop and r’n’b is proving all the rage. He will find it harder, however, to find a large slice of the market outside the States.
Around the time of their Throwing Copper album, Live were being heralded as the next REM. In fact, along with the aforementioned foursome from Athens, Georgia, Neil Young and Nirvana, this band recorded one of the best MTV Unplugged shows I have ever seen.
Tin whistles, swirling melodies and soothing rhythms are the order of the day as Dagda prove themselves to be Ireland’s answer to Deep Forest, mixing quasi-Celtic mumbo jumbo with contemporary beats. This is an album that’s great to fall asleep to after a tough day in the office but I’m not so sure about anything else, really.
John Walshe talks to Wilt frontman Cormac Battle about the band s new single, their forthcoming Dublin show, and why the music industry is like a virus.
I’m never quite sure about posthumous releases. On one hand, they are often eagerly anticipated by fans of the deceased and can be worthy additions to an artist’s repertoire, like Jeff Buckley’s (Sketches For) My Sweetheart The Drunk. However, they can also be corporate cash cows for a record company eager to make the most out of a star’s legacy – the biennial release of another Jimi Hendrix compilation, for example.
John Walshe talks to Eamon Dowd, frontman with The Racketeers about a possible Christmas EP, what it s like to be big in Scandinavia and how their drummer got stabbed and arrested on tour.
Apollo 440 are one of those bands for whom there is no middle ground. You either love them for their unique brand of electronic sampladelica or despise them with a passion usually only reserved for the Man Utd money machine.
They got rhythm; they got soul; they got a newfound pop sensibility. Yes indeed, folks, Tindersticks are back and they're better than ever. It seems that Stuart Staples & Co. have finally had enough of life in the lonely bedsit and have decided to come out and face the world.
No, the purple one hasn't renounced his symbol or his completely independent stance with regard to recording. Instead this is a collection of previously unreleased material, which is being billed as the last Prince release on Warner Brothers.
Crashing guitars and nice melody lines abound here, as Lit become the latest American power poppers to pound their way across the Atlantic and into the charts.
I think Gomez frighten a lot of people. How can five English born and bred early 20-somethings sound more like the demented offsprings of the American bayou?
Luscious Jackson have created possibly the album of the summer in Electric Honey, a wonderful mixture of experimentalism, bubblegum pop, hip-hop, folk and rock, all served up with a dollop of sunshine and a smile.
Where they got the name from I don't know, but Emily Ryder are a bouncy, chirpy four-piece from up North armed with acoustic guitars, hooks aplenty and a nice line in tunesmithery to boot.
John Walshe chats to verbose Auteurs mainman, Luke Haines, and discovers why it s been three years since their last release, why all pop stars are scum and how he wants to become a famous TV presenter.
The Rentals are fronted by former Weezer member Matt Sharp and buddies, and the sound is not a million miles away from the geeky American college kids style of Matt's previous band.
All too often movie soundtracks are bland affairs, with the now traditional love ballad leading the charge towards chart success. Thankfully, this one takes a couple of risks.
The first time I saw Ron Sexsmith live, I was immediately struck by the gentle, almost unobtrusive way in which his songs meandered into my head. I was so impressed that the next day I rushed out and purchased Other Songs, a quite beautiful album in its own, unique, low-key way.
In an age when hype springs eternal, DAVID GRAY is that rare phenomenon a success story scripted by the fans rather than the industry. And a distinctly Irish success story at that. A certifiable platinum-selling box-office blockbuster in this country, the Welsh singer-songwriter still awaits a similar eruption of Gray fever in Britain, Europe and America. But his latest album, White Ladder, could be the record which tells the world what Ireland already knows. Now as he prepares to wow the faithful at Galway s Big Beat festival, JOHN WALSHE presents the inside story of the best kept secret in the west.
Pics Mick Quinn
Cork act Kooky, aka Tony O Sullivan, has just released his debut album, The Good Old Days, but it s been a long time a comin , as John Walshe found out.
The soundtrack to this, the latest vehicle for Hugh Grant to bumble his way into our affections, is just what you'd expect. The movie, from the Four Weddings . . . team, may well be funny but the soundtrack is anything but.
Whatever is said about them, no one can level the accusation that Super Furry Animals are one-trick ponies. These Welsh rare bits are capable of following the most glorious pop moments with a large dollop of techno, drum 'n' bass and whatever you're having yourself, bosco.
The Man From God Knows Where is a folk opera. American country legend Tom Russell and friends each play a role, as Russell attempts to chronicle his Irish/Norwegian family's history in America, from the 1820s to the present day, through a mix of country, blues and traditional Irish and Norwegian folk music.
He may have been overtaken in the trendy stakes by the likes of Fatboy Slim and David Holmes - mainly due to a disastrous second album where he attempted to become a "serious" musician, man - but with Play, Moby is back to his best. In fact, it's as good as anything in the genre I've heard all year, including You've Come A Long Way Baby.
Moby's third album is part original compositions and part reworkings of old forgotten soul, swing, blues and gospel classics.
Unencumbered by the fickleness of fashion, Jack Lukeman (or Jack L, as he is better known) has carved out his own niche in the melting pot that is music in the '90s. He has left the shade of Brel behind and has followed his own vision, which still has its roots in the romantic balladry of Scott Walker, Nick Cave and Frank Sinatra.
John Walshe meets Paul and Ashley from The Frank & Walters and hears all about their latest album, Beauty Becomes More Than Life, why they don t want to go to posh parties and how major labels take all the fun out of being in a band.
Toy, the debut album from Dubliner, Greg, is a curious, eccentric affair; a mixture of electronica and whispered vocals, surreal lyrics and experimental arrangements. It's music Jim, but not as we know it.
Bloodied but unbowed, The Prayer Boat return to the fray with Polichinelle, their second album. It's been eight years since Oceanic Feeling hit the shelves and the four-piece have been through more than their fair share of trials and tribulations since. However, they have grown all the stronger for it, as evidenced by this superb collection of songs to fall in love with and to.
HYPER is the title of a new quarterly magazine which deals honestly and accurately with the drugs issue. Why? Because it's written and produced by ex-users. John Walshe reports.
Only The Strongest Will Survive (Creation)
With a line-up that includes former Ride guitarslinger Andy Bell, it's a fairly safe assumption that the second album from Hurricane #1 is going to have loads of crashing guitars, soaring guitars, scorching guitars, grinding guitars and then some more guitars thrown in for good measure.
Ever since last year's wonderful 'Laura Loves' single, I have been eagerly awaiting the debut album from Derry quartet Asterix, and now that I've got it, I can't help feeling a little disappointed. Not that it's a bad album. In fact, it's very good, but there is nothing present which can compare with the pristine pop that was their debut single, or indeed its follow-up, 'She's So Young'.
They may be named after the cute and cuddly creature from Gremlins, but the noisefest Mogwai inflict on the eardrums is more like the after effects of nuclear fallout. John Walshe met them.
With former Engine Alley skinthumper Emmaline Duffy-Fallon out, and a full-time violinist (Sheila Sullivan) and backing vocalist (Veronika Megyeri) in, it's a new (and improved?) Racketeers on this, their second album.
Suicaine Gratification treats us to the sound of an older and maybe even wiser Paul Westerberg. Coming across somewhere between the two Toms, Petty and Waits, it's one of his finest collections of songs to date.
Stuart David, bassist from Belle ... Sebastian, gets his chance to shine with Looper, his latest project, and belies the oft- held notion that bass players are also rans in the creative department: just given the notes and told what to do. Up A Tree sees David displaying enough invention and imagination for a Brazilian football coach, without the attendant histrionics.
Reading the lyric sheet that accompanies Adventure is somewhat like peeking into a teenager's diary. Yep, you guessed it, angst, angst and more angst, with enough overwrought, deliberately oblique lyrics to keep Adrian Mole in novel material long into middle-age.
If you get your rocks off to breakneck guitars, thumping drums and shout-along choruses, then The Offspring may be just the cartoon punks you've been waiting all your life for. Their only other hit, the anthemic 'Self Esteem' seems such a long time ago now that Dexter Holland ... pals could be a completely new band.
Wired To The Moon are back and more determined than ever after a string of disappointments. They spoke to John Walshe about their new material, and recalled how it all began playing for a free burger.
John Walshe catches up with James McColl, singer with The Supernaturals, one of the most underrated bands in Britain, ahead of their forthcoming Irish gigs.
From being bottled off stage in Italy to supporting Garbage on a major European tour, to their excellent second album I Am Not A Doctor, life has certainly not been boring for Moloko. John Walshe caught up with them.
Annoyance, anger and extreme frustration, that's what it's about, and I'm not describing song themes either. This is just the way I usually feel when listening to a Sebadoh album.
It doesn't feel like 15 years since Lloyd Cole first appeared on our radios and telly screens with his catchily wistful odes to girls with *cheekbones like geometry and eyes like sin* ('Perfect Skin').
John Walshe talks to the most exciting British band of the year, the decidedly Latin-monikered Gomez about their meteoric rise to fame and how shaggy-haired studenty types are suddenly going for the boy band look.
John Walshe talks to Luka Bloom on the eve of the release of his fourth studio album, Salty Heaven, about his return to Ireland, the inspiration behind the songs, older brother Christy and the latest generations of the Moore dynasty.
Pics: Colm Henry
And why is young America going overboard about over-weight, over-30 jazzers? john walshe forgoes the pleasures of Dublin versus Kildare to pop across the Atlantic and investigate one of the most unlikely success stories of recent years.
JOHN WALSHE talks to fresh-faced Euro-pop outfit NV about their quest for pop superstardom, the new Coke ad, and the pros and cons of being a Friends lookalike!
The release of Born may confirm that hothouse flowers are back to their blooming best, but as john walshe discovers, liam, peter and fiachna have a few vinyl skeletons in the closet. Readers of a nervous disposition are advised to proceed with care.
Bloom with a view after a four year sabbatical, Hothouse Flowers are back. John Walsh talks to arch-otanists Liam, Peter and Fiachna about just
what it was that kept them out of the limelight (or should that be sunlamp) for so long.
The release of Born may confirm that Hothouse Flowers are back to their blooming best, but as John Walsh discovers, Liam, Peter and Fiachna have a few vinyl skeletons in the closet. Readers of a nervous disposition are advised to proceed with care.
headswim have left behind the "English Pearl Jam" tag that dogged them and are about to release their second album, the tortured pop of Despite Yourself, on an unsuspecting public. Interview: john walshe.
headswim have left behind the "English Pearl Jam" tag that dogged them and are about to release their second album, the tortured pop of Despite Yourself, on an unsuspecting public. Interview: john walshe.
JOHN WALSHE catches up with K S CHOICE, the Belgian guitarslingers whose third album looks set to finally bring their perfectly crafted melodies to the world s attention.
WHAT IS the connection between The X Files, massive drinking bouts, Man United fans and top ten hits? CATATONIA, that s what. The Welsh guitar popsters are currently nestling in the upper reaches of the charts with their hit Mulder And Scully , and JOHN WALSHE talks to vocalist CERYS MATTHEWS about their meteoric rise to the top.
Fire In A Dream Cage, the second album from Dublin chanteuse l, is a melting pot of vocals, loops and fx from a woman obviously at home in the studio. Interview: john walshe.
john walshe talks to Celbridge five-piece juniper about their new single, Weatherman , and what it was about them that enticed Polygram to sign them for six albums.
After a four-year sabbatical, hothouse flowers are back. john walshe talks to arch-botanists Liam, Fiachna and Peter about just what it was that kept them out of the limelight (or should that be sunlamp) for so long.
JOHN WALSHE talks to top Irish 400m hurdler Susan Smith about what it means to devote yourself completely to athletics and her need to challenge for gold at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Pix: COLM HENRY.
Why are four Birmingham lads skulking through Barna Woods in Galway, and why is there a camera crew following them around? john walshe met up with ocean colour scene on the set of their new video, Traveller s Tune . Pix: AENGUS McMAHON.
When Tommy McManus of mama s boys died of leukaemia, his brothers Pat and John hadn t the heart to keep the band going. Now, however, they re back, having found a new spiritual and musical home in celtuS.
Interview:
john walshe.
MARY STOKES reminisces on her first decade as Ireland s premier blues artist, and looks forward to expanding her horizons in the future. Interview: john walshe.
CAST mainman JOHN POWER is on top of the world, with a string of hit singles behind him, a brand new album and impending fatherhood on the way. He talks to JOHN WALSHE about life, love, the joys of smoking weed and the meaning of sheerability .
Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine have lived up to their name. When all and sundry thought they were dead and buried, the English agit-poppers have returned Lazarus-like with a brand new batch of songs. Interview: john walshe.
Talk of drug excesses, Noel Gallagher and James Joyce are all par for the course when john walshe catches up with the laconic evan dando, chief lemonhead, sometime actor and aspiring writer.
Erasure - namely Vince Clarke and Andy Bell have been creating electronic pop for over a decade. John Walshe catches up with them on a recent promotional tour.
As famous for being mates with Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher as for being pop stars in their own right, ocean colour scene take time out from a hectic touring and recording schedule to explain to john walshe just how popular they are. Pix: mick quinn.
Derry four-piece, cuckoo, have caught the proverbial worm, landing a world-wide deal with Geffen, and are finally ready to set the world on fire. Birdwatcher: john walshe.
With a growing reputation for exuberant live shows that has seen them banned from no fewer than four London venues and rumours that they ve turned down a #1 million record deal, symposium are not your orthodox wannabes, as john walshe found out.
If there s one cast-iron prediction
to be made for 1997, it s that
THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH will carry on carrying on up the charts.
JOHN WALSHE meets
Dave Hemingway and Jacqui Abbot to learn
more about life inside the mega
band with the low profile.
With a stunning debut album under their belts and an ambitious tour of Scotland coming up, Dublin quintet Picture House have made extraordinary strides for a band who, only a year ago, were labelled has-beens. Interview: John Walshe.
Tori Amos certainly believes in value for money. Boys For Peli, her fourth LP, contains no less than 18 tracks, adding up to over 70 minutes of music. What's more, she hasn't let herself down in the quality control department either, consistently reaching the high standards she sets for herself.
1998 Bloom With A View
John Walshe talks to Luka Bloom on the eve of the release of his fourth studio album, Salty Heaven, about his return to Ireland, the inspiration behind the songs, older brother Christy Moore and the latest generations of the Moore dynasty.
Luka Bloom doesn't look 43, when I walk into the room in the Berkeley Court Hotel where our interview is to take place, he's standing in front of the window, guitar strap around his neck and an acoustic six-string in his hand - he strums it and I'd swear that he's 12 years of age. Every time he plays on stage the look is the same, one of wonder and even serenity.
For so many bands, touring is a drag: months on the road away from home; living in the back of a van or a bus; surviving on large amounts of fast food and alcohol. Andy, lead singer with Therapy? enjoys it a hell of a lot and gives his advice to young bands going on the road.
