Venturing across the pond for his first London headline show since his days with A House Dave Couse was delighted, and not a little surprised, to play to a packed house. Might his stop-start solo career finally be gathering momentum?
It is a solo album a world away from the tortured musings of some of his contemporaries, favouring instead a bold, brash, band-led experience that suits the material well.
For many the greatest Irish band never to have made an international breakthrough, A House boasted an ace card in the quirky, uncompromising songwriting brilliance of Dave Couse.
The World Should Know has been around long enough by now for a consensus to have built up around it: that it shows a return to form after what’s now being seen — even, if I’ve read correctly, by Dave Couse — as the depressing damp squib of Genes. Well... that couldn’t be more wrong.
Dave Couse has been reinvigorated. Back with a new band, ‘Batman and Robin’ is an old style slice of caustic pop from the former A-House frontman. Where his solo debut was stagnant and without shine, ‘Batman and Robin’ bounces from the speakers with vigour and energy, Couse's vocal returning to the sarcasm and spite of past glories. His finest solo moment thus far.
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
A House are really good! That s just one of the shocking claims Graham Linehan makes in this award winning article based loosely on an interview he did with the band.
Determined to establish a firm identity for their second album, A House forsook exotic locations and took themselves off to Inishbofin to record I Want Too Much, musically and emotionally their starkest statement to date. Bill Graham met up with them to discuss their new-found assertiveness and discovered a band with a single-minded approach to the music industry and its numerous pitfalls
Former Prayer Boat frontman Emmet Tinley on the break-up of his old band, the challenges of forging his own solo career and the joys of artistic independence.
The man tipped to knock James Blunt of his throne according to industry sources, David Ford, is showcasing his talents with a number of support dates in Ireland.
Pale frontman Matthew Devereux’s Kilmainham pad betrays an '80s fetish, but he once served an Irish stew to Johnny Cash in Bad Bob's, so we’ll forgive him.
the frank and walters are back addressing the nation. Our man on the inside, Peter Murphy, shares a day in the life of the Cork threesome as they record a radio session for RTE.
Endless art, indeed: old A House single 'Here Come The Good Times' gets brought back to life this summer when it becomes the official Irish World Cup anthem
Irish labels, bands and artists often face an uphill struggle to garner recognition, even on their home turf. Which is why hotpress and HMV have undertaken their own combined initiative, to coincide with the announcement of the shortlist for the first Choice Irish music prize. As a product of this initiative, all ten albums will be specially stocked and displayed in HMV stores all over Ireland on the run-in to the announcement of the winning album later this month. Here, we take a look at the list – and reflect on those that have been omitted.
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the dissection of the rock ‘n’ roll year that is the Hot Press Summit. Gathering round the table are the good and great of Irish music, but who let Podge & Rodge in?
From A to Z, Paul Nolan and Ronan Fitzgerald introduce all the runners and riders for Punchestown – throwing in a baker’s dozen of acts who are not to be missed * along the way
Wide Eyed and Ignorant is a pop album; taking into account the fact
that A House are advocates of the distictively off-kilter, shambolic,
hopelessly romantic school of pop founded by The Go Betweens way
back when
After being a magnet for A&R men during the 80s, Dublin has recently developed into something of an underachiever. The city may have the second biggest growth-rate in Europe but there are a hell of a lot of gigs and records that simply aren t selling. peter murphy casts a critical ear over the capital s music scene and decides that what s required is a full-scale artistic enema.
Other Voices, the RTE series featuring acclaimed bands playing in an intimate venue in Dingle, Kerry, will kick off its fourth year with a series of recordings in December.
There's a wise old saying (actually it's the title of a Bruce Willis album but that doesn't have quite the same authoritative ring) that goes *What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger*.
A House have been the recipients of the kind of underwhelming apathy that would lead most bands to go back to their day jobs and while away their evening swilling pints in The Norseman, mulling over what might have been.
Yes, the incessant downpour ensured that Punchestown Racecourse often looked more like the set of a World War 1 epic than a music festival, but the rain couldn't dampen the 80,000-strong Oxegen crowd's spirits, not to mention the fiery performances delivered by Arctic Monkeys, Franz, The Who, the Chili Peppers and a cast of, well, hundreds.
As revealed on hotpress.com, The Divine Comedy and Duke Special do piano battle on October 14 in Vicar St, with Dave Couse playing his first Dublin show in two years supporting.
RTE2 have plenty of live music action to keep us placated for the next few weeks - here's the line up of bands and when to catch them. For more about the Other Voices series, click on the link at the very bottom.
