Unsurprisingly, we’re straight into dramatics with Ms. Goldfrapp delivering Kate Bush proportioned vocals over Connery Bond themes that never got made.
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
It was the hottest ticket in Manhattan – and no wonder. With Goldfrapp, The Strokes, Carl Cox and Kanye West on the bill, this was a gig for people of impeccable taste – all the more so since it was brought together by Hennessy cognac.
If not quite a Valentine's night massacre, the recent Dublin appearance of GOLDFRAPP should certainly have shaken the city's more innocent lovebirds. But as KIM PORCELLI discovered when she met ALISON GOLDFRAPP and WILL GREGORY, just because the music is serious, that doesn't mean everything else is.
"Those who have discerned the link between Goldfrapp’s sartorial caprice and her tendency toward seemingly arbitrary shifts in musical direction will have twigged what’s in store on Black Cherry"
Though one of the finer Irish releases this year, much of Cowboy X’s debut album Who Are These People? seemed to consist of multiple versions of the same song. ‘Shot Down’, the album’s third single, is thus almost a carbon copy of its predecessors. Once again the Dubliners have served up a glossy melange of The Breeders and Goldfrapp. The song is elevated above the mundane by Karen McCartney’s alluring vocals. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.
Cowboy X’s follow up to debut ‘Gabbi’ continues their marriage of Kim Deal vocals and Goldfrapp melodies, amid wafts of guitar-induced electronica. Peppered with hooks, ‘Between The Hit And The Miss’ references punk and radio-friendly pop before erupting into a mass of sunshine electronica. Constantly shifting styles and consistently engaging, this is pop music for the thinking man. Good stuff.
HAVING TORN THE roof off the Temple Bar Music Centre earlier in the year, Goldfrapp return to Dublin for a November 3rd headliner at the Ambassador Theatre.
The Sex Pistols are back! In what has the look of a major coup for the event, punk’s great trailblazers are among this year’s headliners at Electric Picnic 2008, which takes place in Stradbally over the final weekend in August.
While the line-up may not be as strong as it has in previous years, the fact that the schedule isn’t crammed with must-sees means we have more capacity to take in everything else on offer.
Friday at Electric Picnic saw Sigur Ros pull off a spellbinding main stage performance, Christy Moore lift the mood of all, and many comings and goings at the Hot Press Chatroom.
Tabloid fame came knocking for Audio Fiction when their drummer rescued Drew Barrymore from a New York bar brawl. Their smokey indie-dance is worth making fuss over too.
Let us now praise famous women. 2003 was the year of the female condition in all its most gorgeous and gruesome. Sure, the boys – and men – acquitted themselves admirably, but this year oestrogen overload didn’t necessarily equate with PMT (Pro-Minstrel Attention).
Along with the music, beer and scoffing, there was some serious talking done at the Electric Picnic. Shilpa Ganatra was taking notes as The Chalets, Flaming Lips, JJ72, Bob Mould, James Blunt, Tommy Tiernan, Declan O’Rourke and The Devlins were subjected to a public grilling by the Hot Press journalistic elite. And John Walshe.
A compilation, a new album in the works, more distressing rumours about Richey and the prospect of the greatest football song ever – Eamon Sweeney finds Nicky Wire of Manic Street Preachers with plenty to talk about
On top of scoring a Top 5 hit with Elbow's latest album, singer Guy Garvey recently absconded to Nashville to record with Richard Hawley and Frank Black.
Stuart Clark discusses Michael Jackson’s trial, Roxy Music, The Killers, David Bowie and the ideal soundtrack for bonking with a newly peaceful and content Moby.
Stuart Clark discusses Michael Jackson’s trial, Roxy Music, The Killers, David Bowie and the ideal soundtrack for bonking with a newly peaceful and content Moby.
Their debut album Hopes And Fears launched a host of hit singles, going on to become one of the most successful British records of the past five years. But, their indie background notwithstanding, Keane have still been dismissed by some self-styled aficionados as just too nice to be considered real rock'n'rollers. "If only people knew," says lead singer Tom Chaplin.
Fatboy Slim, Flaming Lips, Damien Dempsey, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Mercury Rev and Public Enemy are some of the heavyweight attractions at the Electric Picnic, which this year is a two-day event taking place on the Stradbally Estate, County Laois on September 3 and 4.
Tracing Scott Walker’s journey from reluctant 60s teen idol to leftfield dignitary, this award-winning doc should please both neophytes and dedicated champions alike.
Bristolian trip-hop may be somewhat far off the Zeitgeist but new Virgin signings Ilya manage to fuse the sound of their coven with both a timeless London cool and classic arthouse charm.
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.
Ten Feet High is surprisingly playful, but in a serious way. For the most part, Corr and producer Nellee Hooper have fashioned a hybrid of high street pulses, airy melodies and acoustic chamber pop.
Getting inside the head of one of modern music’s deepest enigmas was both a challenge and a privilege, says documentary maker Stephen Kijak, director of Scott Walker 30 Century Man.
For connoisseurs of indie music, the Hot Press New Band Stage will provide a weekend-long bonanza. Here, Patrick Freyne selects 10 acts who will grace the stage that are essential viewing.
