I think Kings Of Leon must like the Pixies. With the headline act, rock couldn’t be any cooler, even with Kim Deal in your mum’s pink jumper and beige trousers. But for the newly-shorn KOL, the same nonchalance hasn’t worked out quite the way they planned
Hey, hey, it’s The Pixies. A little thicker around the waistline maybe, but otherwise perfectly preserved, beamed down as if from Planet 1988. And your reporter, like the other few thousand in the front pit, well, he’s having a moment. Their Phoenix Park performance reconfirms The Pixies as rock ’n’ roll’s great dimestore surrealists.
It’s the second night of The Pixies’ three-gig run in the Olympia, and like the other two shows, this date is completely sold out. It’s not hard to fathom the level of interest, as the pitch is pretty irresistible – the legendary quartet performing Doolittle, one of the greatest ever alternative albums, in its entirety.
The Pixies' sound was always special – the aural equivalent of being punched in the face by a beautiful, shrieking alien woman dressed like a prostitute – and Doolittle was probably the tightest, sharpest take on it.
And so the Pixies arrive at the 'difficult' fourth album stage. 'Difficult' because they haven't set so much as a little toe wrong to date, which naturally causes one to wonder just how much further they can travel in their pixilated state before tumbling head over arse?
They've been called the last of the great punk rock bands, and although that's an accolade which smacks of revisionism, it does give some hint of The Pixies' colossal impact. In fact, you can still feel some of those aftershocks resonating through Nirvana, Bowie, JJ72, Fight Club and selected vodka ads.
Black Francis talks to Hot Press about his friendship with U2, his relationship with the rest of the Pixies and why he's reverting back to his original stage-name.
One of the star attractions of Bud Rising, Badly Drawn Boy – AKA Damon Gough – explains his special connection with audiences in this country and his grudging regard for pop talent shows on the box words Tanya Sweeney
Now on their third album, Kings Of Leon have rubbed shoulders with Bob Dylan, U2 and the Pixies, and can count Led Zep and the Rolling Stones among their fans.
When indie godhead Frank Black hooked up with several veterans of the Nashville session scene the results were thrillingly different to his work with The Pixies
Sexual Politics and Pixies, P.J. Harvey and the Marquis de Sade, Sexism and self-loathing, Black Sabbath and Doris Day. THE BREEDERS aren't always quite what you'd expect them to be. Interview: ANDY DARLINGTON
Groove Armada will be playing Phoenix Park alongside the Chili Peppers, The Thrills and The Pixies, who for their part, played their first reunion gig this week in the US
Neil Young, the Pixies and the Beach Boys are just some of the influences that Californian quintet grandaddy include in their own particular brew. Tape: nick kelly.
They may claim that they’re not interested in world domination, but US underground infatuated Dublin rockers Angels Of Mons are nonetheless brewing up a storm on the Irish indie scene.
Another nod to trans-Atlantic guitar swinging, this time stemming from these very shores, by way of Scotland and Spain. There’s more than a hint of the Pixies in the urgent bass and drums, but also a welcome touch of alternative country in the twanging lead vocal.
Quite how this British Sea Power/Electric Soft Parade side-project became such a lauded concern is a bit of a mystery, yet Brakes have found themselves quite the name to drop of late. ‘Hold Me In The River’ is more of the same and absolutely the better for it, a twisted power pop anthem that has echoes of the Pixies at their most gloriously perverse. All in under two minutes too. Fantastic.
Fourteen years after Richey Edwards disappeared without trace, THE MANIC STREET PREACHERS have summoned the courage to fashion an album from the lyrics he left behind.
With hopes of a new Pixies record fading away (possibly a blessing in disguise), Black Francis/Frank Black returns instead with something like his 75th solo album. His own stuff has varied in quality for sure, yet ‘Captain Pasty’ is a bit more like it, a snarling punk rock record with that trademark voice still intact. Completely hatstand of course, but good to have around.
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.
‘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.
Music Review | Live
45% | 14 Oct 2003
Eamon Sweeney
I don’t necessarily think Frank should play more or less Pixies numbers, even though that’s exactly what his audience want.
Anyone disappointed by the Second Coming of the Pixies or Weezer’s work of late will have their faith in humanity reignited by this taster from Bluefinger. With as much attitude as a snotty teenager who’s just been grounded, it features constant chugga-chugga guitars while all kinds of insanity from the dark recesses of Frank Black’s brain mill around on top. Even more delicious is the fact that it sounds like it was recorded in a garage back when he went under the moniker Black Francis. Oh wait…
I could never figure out why so many scribes creamed themselves over the Pixies. To me they were mediocrity incarnate, musically limited and hardly bursting at the seams with lyrical wisdom.
From the beautiful opening drone of ‘Caribou’ to the hypnotic, looped madness of their 15-minute take on ‘Planet of Sound’, Frank Black and collaborators Two Pale Boys have managed to capture the off-kilter magic of old Pixies classics while pulling them into their own gorgeously surreal soundworld.
At their best, dEUS are capable of combining a wild eye for experimentation with a sweet ear for melody, in a way not seen around these parts since the Pixies.
Khorea, Ozzmium, and Saving J will be among the the 19 acts playing this year’s APA Future Sounds Festival, a drug and drink-free bash taking place this July
The debut single release form The Mighty Roars is a rollicking statement of intent. It comes at you on the back of a breakneck riff, all thunderous hand-clap rhythms and pounding drums. Swedish singer Lara Granqvist exploits the middle ground between Karen O and PJ Harvey: the result is an abrasive yet instantly catchy, shout-along single. There are sure to be lots of Yeah Yeah Yehas comparisons but in truth The Mighty Roars tread a different territory, one previously occupied by the likes of the B52s and The Pixies. Their Take A Bite Of Peach EP caused quite a stir when it was released last year. If this song is any reflection of their album, it won't be long before The Mighty Roars are heard everywhere. The B-side, 'Whipped Ma Bitch' is also well worth checking out.
Nirvana - Ten years after. Peter Murphy talks to producer Butch Vig, musician Mark Lanegan and critic Greil Marcus, and gets the inside story of the making of Nevermind, the classic album that changed the face of music, unveiled the anthem 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and brought the world face to face with a screaming soul called Kurt Cobain.
For indie boys of a certain age, Tanya Donelly’s absence has been a cause to mourn. The Pixies may have written the A-Z yet in the early ‘90s nobody exemplified the bubble-gum indie aesthetic quite so hauntingly and thrillingly as Donelly’s band, Belly.
This is the age of the comeback girls and boys. Everybody from the Pixies and the La’s to the Spice Girls and the Stone Roses is dying to live in the past, yet still the notion of the reappearance of two hit wonders PUSA is an odd one.
Coldplay do big spaces extremely well, and considering that the only acts that genuinely wowed me in this horrible dockside barn are Primal Scream, the Pixies and Metallica, that is a telling indication of their calibre in 2002
It’s not as nebulous as their last album – and it doesn’t deliver the melodic thrills of Last Splash – but Mountain Battles has personality, spirit, warmth and tenderness in abundance.
Few bands in history have attracted an avalanche of slippery rockspeak semantics quite like Pere Ubu, and frontman David Thomas’ seminal musical mobius trip has variously (and aptly I guess) been proclaimed as the statelier emanations of jazz-punk, post-punk (via either Detroit or New York scenes), Dadaist art-rock, demi-no wave, pre-Pixies rumbling, avant-garde and just about any hip, broad church you care to mention.
The all-girl punk trio Fair Verona flaunt their influences like chunks of gaudy jewelry. There are flashes of The Pixies, a glint of The Breeders, and a saucy wink in the direction of The Donnas. The formula has an overly familiar ring. However, Fair Verona, who are from Tipperary but dress like escapees from a Seattle charity shop circa 1989, work it with chutzpah.
WELCOME TO the car smash. The Birthday Party were, like all the great bands, a good five years ahead of the pack: it would take that span of time before another remarkable 4AD act, The Pixies, would smash through the vapidity of the ’80s, eating rock ‘n’ roll’s carcass alive and spewing chunks of it back up into grotesque new configurations.
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.
Evan Dando may have very mixed memories of his days with the Lemonheads and hanging out with Kurt and Courtney but with the dark stuff consigned to the past, he’s much happier where he is today.
Nada Surf frontman Matthew Caws is not your archetypal rock star. Instead of pouring his pennies into a shiny red cock-on-wheels with a black leather interior, this sensibly-minded young buck claims the best way to travel is, in fact, the humble bicycle.
Anointed by the blogosphere, Tapes ‘N Tapes are just about the hottest thing in indie rock right now. Despite his rather fraught stage persona, frontman Josh Grier turns out to be a picture of charm. And no, he can’t explain the slightly silly name either.
SEBADOH, for so long the epitome of the slacker rock band,
seem poised to finally make the breakthrough.
NICK KELLY met them in Dublin only to be asked for cocaine,
and told that Kurt Cobain was so lame he killed himself .
Blogger faves and YouTube stars OkGo stepped into the A-league recently when they attended the Grammys. Biggest thrill of the night? Shooting the breeze with Mastodon.
An estimated 100,000 people showed up in the Phoenix Park for the O2 sponsored gig that featured Samantha Mumba, Ronan Keating, Mundy, Six, David Kitt and Kells' rock outfit Turn. Would one of the local scenes hottest contenders shine brightly enough to win the hearts of the nation’s pop kids?
Having established their cult credentials with Turn On The Bright Lights, Interpol are back with a new album that looks like earning them a place at rock’s top table. New York City fop Sam Fogarino tells Colm O’Hare how they’re sharp-dressed for success.
The pressure’s on for Roisin Murphy. She’s no longer shielded from public scrutiny as a member of Moloko and Electric Picnic is her first outing as a solo star in her native Ireland.
Tapping the spirit of the shoegaze era Giant Drag have released one of the year’s most beguiling debuts. And in frontman Annie Hardy they have a rock icon in the making.
Martin Corrigan, who once read The Trial backwards on-stage, has given birth to an eponymous band and debut album. And, as you might expect, it’s a little bit different.
On the eve of the release of their highly anticipated debut album, Dublin quartet Delorentos take five from their latest video shoot to discuss playing with Gang of Four, hanging with Steve Albini and playing football in Texas.
Tanya Donelly has returned with a new album, Beautysleep, which features the cream of Boston's musical talent. But Peter Murphy discovers that the ex-Belly vocalist's pregnancy at the time of recording forced her to re-evaluate her singing technique
Forget Liam and Nicole and Pete and Kate, the hottest rock 'n' roll couple in town at the moment are The Subways' Charlotte Cooper and Billy Lunn. The female half of the duo tells Ed Power about the highs and lows of making beautiful music together.
How Eric Eckhart quit his swish job, sold his house and cars, split with his girlfriend and burned his picket fence in order to pursue his creative vision.
Producer, DJ and now a part of acclaimed dance/rock tie-in, Alloy Mental, Belfast-based Phil Kieran talks about his favourite mixing equipment and explains why we should mourn the passing of vinyl.
Fresh from a starring role in the Readers Poll, Josh Ritter has even more reasons to be cheerful – like touring with Joan Baez and getting to know Damien Rice.
Peter Murphy considers Nirvana’s legacy and wonders will we ever hear their like again. Producer Butch Vig and Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age help him with his enquiries
This fortnight s postbag brings another serious dilemma from an unsigned Irish band. Last year they recorded a demo and it aroused some record company interest.
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.
Having made the headlines recently with their attention-grabbing impromptu gig at the You’re A Star auditions in Portlaoise, Longford rockers The Rubens are now out to put the life and soul back into Irish pop.
Weezer have confirmed on their website that they’re playing their first Dublin gig on June 7 in a venue that’s yet to be confirmed, but likely or not will be Vicar St, Olympia or The Ambassador.
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.
A full 17 years after their acclaimed eponymous debut exploded onto the American alt-rock landscape, Milwaukee malcontents The Violent Femmes are back with a new album (Freak MAgnet) and the same old typically off-kilter worldview. Interview: PETER MURPHY.
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.
Jeremy Hickey, aka Rarely Seen Above Ground, has become one of the most acclaimed artists in the Irish indie scene. He talks about the intriguing origins of his unique musical style.
Having just done her leaving certificate exam, summer came as a great relief to hotpress reader Breda Bourke. and then everyone started to complain! here, she looks back at the season that seems to have pissed everyone off – and takes a somewhat different view.
An office in downtown Dublin. A band. A journalist. And a tape recorder. Yes, it s another extraordinary Hot Press interview. Starring: The Frames. Directed by: Mick O Hara. With: A cast of 200,000 readers.
An office in downtown Dublin. A band. A journalist. And a tape recorder. Yes, it s another extraordinary Hot Press interview. Starring: The Frames. Directed by: Mick O Hara. With: A cast of 200,000 readers.
The industry may not have always liked them but their fans couldn’t be more passionate. Ten members, four studio albums, three managers and two major labels later, The Frames still managed to add up to more than the sum of their parts. Peter Murphy, with help from Glen Hansard and other key players brings the story of the band up to date in this, the final part of our two-part special [Photo Mick Quinn]
Politician, law & criminology professor, activist, abortion information campaigner and labour party candidate in the forthcoming european elections… all this and Ivana Bacik once served a pint of vodka to Perry Farrell, shortly before he fell over on stage at Glastonbury.
The days of pop dominance are over. The worm has turned, and a whole new slew of blood and guts rock and roll bands are coming through with records that carry more than a hint of greatness. The darkling posse is headed by the Kings Of Leon – but there are outfits from all over the world who will be vying for poll position over the coming 12 months.
placebo have probably garnered more column inches in the British press for frontman
brian molko s effeminate appearance than for their music.
colm o hare meets the men who want to be a band that parents hate .
Occasionally, music from Derry effects the wider scheme of things with spectacular results. This year, the fun centred on the use of D:Ream?s ?Things Can Only Get Better? as a Labour Party anthem. The touchy-feely, get-off-your-arse-and-participate message of the song was just what Tony Blair wanted for his born-again campaign theme.
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?
While 2004 has not been an especially spectacular year to date, there is good reason to believe that rocks big guns are likely to deliver the kind of records that will revive spirits in the industry. Chris Donovan previews some of the albums that are likely to top the sales – and the critical – charts before 2004 is out...
What does Peter Buck have in his bathroom? What does Justine Frischmann do all day? stephen j. malkmus and spiral stairs of the decidedly non-lo-fi and non-slacker indie rock gods pavement spill the beans to nick kelly.
What better way for an indie musician to spend an evening than checking out the wares in one of Europe’s biggest and best stoked music stores? Welcome to XMusic, guys!
Tanya Donelly star of the upwardly flying Belly, wouldn't sleep with Robert Redford for a million dollars and she wouldn't throw her knickers at Tom Jones. But she is engaged, believes in the concept of marriage - and is on her way to Sunstroke. Interview: Andrew Darlington
You cook them, we serve them up in the Q&A cantina. At the table to answer the questions posed, in our second serving this fortnight, by members of hotpress.com: Ash
While 2004 has not been an especially spectacular year to date, there is good reason to believe that rocks big guns are likely to deliver the kind of records that will revive spirits in the industry. Chris Donovan previews some of the albums that are likely to top the sales – and the critical – charts before 2004 is out...
Never mind figgy puddings and partridges in pear trees, there’s some serious seasonal business to be done as the annual HP-7 summit gathers in the crucible of cultural discourse that is The Central Hotel’s Library Bar.
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.
On the eve of the release of the group’s new album Winning Days, The Vines’ bassist Patrick Mathews gives hannah Hamilton the inside story on the tensions that threatened to split the band, hanging with Steve-o and the Jackass crew, and the group’s heretofore undeclared love of the Clancy Brothers.
You might think that the Crash Test Dummies are a strange bunch now but you should have seen them four years ago! Dan Roberts and Mitch Dorge tell Stuart Clark how a big-haired Winnipeg bar band with a penchant for the Clancy Brothers have managed to hit the big time. Pix: Cathal Dawson
Dublin is a shithole basically! that's the opinion of Kevin Shields, one of the two Irish members of My Bloody Valentine, who quit the fair city six years ago because of what they saw as the stifling atmosphere of the place. Since then they've lived and gigged all over Europe and their 1988 album Isn't Anything has put them on top of the critical approval lists and independent charts. Here, taking a break from their US tour, the band reflect on their art, their careers and what they see as the general awfulness of the Irish music scene. Interview: Helena Mulkearns
IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN WHEN THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE TAKE THAT OFTEN DAUNTING LEAP FROM SCHOOL TO COLLEGE. HERE, THE HOT PRESS STUDENT SPECIAL OFFERS ITS OWN INIMITABLE SAFETY NET.
EVERY YEAR, AND FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, HUNDREDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE FROM THE SOUTH DECIDE TO GO ON TO THIRD LEVEL EDUCATION IN NORTHERN IRELAND. EMMA FLYNN REPORTS ON THE REALITIES OF ACADEMIC LIFE OVER THE BORDER.
Super Furry Animals are yet another Welsh band poised for huge success on the back of their new album. They talk to STUART CLARK about their rejection of Brit Pop, strange Japanese fans and the glory days of The Free Wales Army. Pics of Super Furry Animals with super furry animals: Mick Quinn.
The last 18 months have been a hell of a ride for The Thrills, catapulted from the relative obscurity of the south dublin suburbs to the top of the uk charts, rubbing shoulders with Van Dyke Parks and Peter Buck along the way. But are the band suffering from diver’s bends? is that laid-back california-in-my-mind facade starting to crumble? We put on our therapist’s hats and endeavour to find out, if something’s gotta give, what gives?
They love Ireland and Ireland loves them. As the Arcade Fire ramp up for world domination, the band talk about love, death, war and making music in churches.
Having dominated the charts here for the past ten years, Ash are gearing up for a full-scale invasion of America. Stuart Clark dons his hard hat as Tim, Mark, Rick and Charlotte tell him about their new record of mass destruction Meltdown, and the A-list celebrity company they’ve been keeping in the city of angels.
They were the coolest band on the planet – until the backlash started. Now The Strokes have released their most ambitious album yet. Can they leave their past behind?
As the Bush-Gore election night morphed into pure strung-out political farce, a footloose hotpress writer found himself hunkered down in Amherst, Massachusetts, the place Emily Dickinson and Dinosaur Jnr have both called home. With smalltown American as his window on the world, this is the view that Peter Murphy got
PIGEON-HOLE THEM AS BELFAST HARDCORE MERCHANTS AT YOUR PERIL - IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS THERAPY? HAVE RELEASED TWO CLASSIC PUNK-POP EP'S THAT SHOOK THE BRITISH CHARTS, AND EVEN GOT THEM INTO THE PAGES OF TEEN-BIBLE SMASH HITS. AS THEY BEGIN RECORDING THEIR NEW LP, THEY TAKE TIME OUT TO GET NERVOUS ABOUT FEILE, GET ANGRY ABOUT THE BEATLES, AND EXPLAIN WHY THE DAYS OF THE NINE-MINUTE INSTRUMENTAL EPIC ARE OVER. INTERVIEW: LORRAINE FREENEY
Frank Black is something of the Paul McCartney of the alternative set - one quarter of a hugely influential band but struggling to recapture that muse throughout a patchy solo career.
Pigeon-hole them as Belfast hardcore merchants at your peril in the past few months Therapy? have released two classic punk-pop EPs that shook the British charts, and even got them into the pages of teen-bible Smash Hits. As they begin recording their new LP, they take time out to get nervous about Fiile, get angry about the Beatles, and explain why the days of the nine-minute instrumental epic are over. Interview: Lorraine Freeney.
An overnight success story that was years in the making, The Strokes have been dismissed as flagrant hype and lauded as the saviours of rock 'n' roll. Eamon Sweeney, a journalist who has spent more time in their company than most, gets the fullest account yet of the rise and rise of New York's band of brothers. "Whatever happens, we'll be there together," they tell him. "we won’t let each other fall."
The album Nevermind would knock Michael Jackson off his chart pedestal and give the boys of Nirvana unforgettable praise in the music world, even after the loss of the gifted Kurt Cobain.
In an exclusive interview, Once stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova talk about the love affair that sneaked up on them, recall their Oscar-winning adventures, give us the inside track on the movie's remarkable success and explain what it's like to hang out with the Coen brothers for an evening.
Following the huge commercial success of Set List and ‘Fake’, The Frames look poised to ascend to rock’s premier league with the upcoming worldwide release of the Burn The Maps album. Kim Porcelli joins the band on the day of their triumphant show at Marlay Park to discuss the pros and cons of pop-stardom, the departure of dave odlum, the abiding influence of mic christopher, and the challenge of creating their most eagerly anticipated record yet.
In the second and final part of an extended interview with Limerick's very own Fab Four, STUART CLARK travels back in time to their humble beginnings and charts their extraordinary transformation into one of the supergroups of the 90s. From shiny pink tracksuits to shiny platinum discos, here's the whole unexpurgated story.
It’s been a long, strange trip for David Grohl, from Nirvana drummer to Foo Fighters frontman, via Queens Of The Stone Age and Tenacious D. Now he’s back with a new Foo album, he’s buried the hatchet with Courtney Love and he’s still as rock’n’roll as ever
From “Outspan” to Glen Hansard, from Grafton Street to Hollywood – and onwards to Lisdoonvarna 2003. A portrait of The Frames as a most unusual band. Part one of a two-part special feature by Peter Murphy. [Main Photos: Mick Quinn]
Since their debut single ‘Wired To The Moon’ went gold here The Revs have established themselves as Ireland’s hungriest and most energetic rock combo, with an appetite for gigging and an eye for publicity that has seen them embroiled in a number of amusing controversies. But behind the brash exterior is the fascinating story of three dedicated young musicians who have overcome their status as outsiders to build one of the biggest and most loyal grass roots following of any local act. Now with the release of their debut studio album, Suck, they are ready to go international.
Masturbating for charity – it was a new one on us. So whose idea was it? What was the purpose? Who would turn up? And what would happen in real life, when the doors to the Wank-a-thon were finally declared open? There was only one way to get the real SP on what promised to be one of the most bizarre events ever mounted in London. Send for our man Tyaransen: he wouldn’t make his excuses and leave! Or would he?
It's been a long strange trip and no mistake, one that describes a discernible line from
Harry Smith's Anthology Of American Folk Music through to the Handsome Family.
But there's even more going on beneath the surface. GREIL MARCUS, the music critic's music critic,
is PETER MURPHY's guide on a mystery train whose other passengers include Elvis Presley, Robert Johnson, Mark Twain, Nick Cave, The Blair Witch, Bill Clinton, The Band, Siniad O'Connor, Beck, William Burroughs, William Faulkner and Bob Dylan. And that's just the first class carriage. All aboard
June 6 sees Radiohead's Colin Greenwood and Ed O'Brien spinning old faves, previewing newies and generally making with the conversation on BBC Radio Ulster's Across The Line
You can’t but hark back to the days when Ash made good punky pop music. But thank goodness for the fantastic Nine Black Alps. The Manchester boys possess the same youthful energy which Tim Wheeler and company used to churn out at the drop of a hat.
With bands like New Order, Nine Inch Nails, Bauhaus and Snow Parol announced for the bill, this year's Coachella looks set to blast the Californian desert
As exclusively predicted by hotpress.com as early as November of 2003, David Bowie and The Darkness have been confirmed as headliners for this year's Witnness-style festival.
Ireland’s biggest music promoter has enjoyed a range of successful summer gigs, and now it’s gearing up for the winter gig scene with new events planned for Dublin’s Phoenix Park.
Wireless 3 are a Wexford-based three-piece heavy rock outfit that wear their influences, Therapy?, Undertones and Fugazi among others, unashamedly on their rolled-up sleeves.
Fleadh Cowboy Pete Cummins lends his weight to the Irish anti-war movement with the release of ‘Flowers In Baghdad’, a reference to the Iraqi blogger Salam Pax who wrote about the lack of colour in the capital since the American invasion.
The fans took For The Birds to their collective bosom, and it went multi-platinum, establishing Hansard and co as the pioneers of Ireland’s burgeoning independent scene.
This is a bunch of half baked ideas thrown together, the majority of which may have seemed funny at the time but come up woefully short in the cold light of day
Every so often an album comes along that just leaves you with a big, gob-dawed smile on your face. Keep It Like A Secret is one such record. The third opus to seep out of the heart and mind of Boise, Idaho's Doug Martsch, this is a joy to behold.
"Every hero bores us at last" - Ralph Waldo Emerson. If it's journalistic objectivity you want, you've come to the wrong place.
You see, I've idolised Kim Deal since before my first encounter with a potty,
As an admirer of Hayes' new album, I’d been hoping for a more mellow and subdued performance, but she was playing with a full band. And it didn’t really work.
There's a nice little guitar strum courtesy of Kurt Cobain, then David Grohl hits home with the sticks. Chris Novoselic's bass grinds in and before you know it you're powerless against the euphoria of one of the year's truly excellent songs, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'.
Another appeal to the armies of alienated youth, We Have Come For Your Parents is a 14-track manifesto of unAmerican, anti-establishment, bible-burning rants.
Setting its cap firmly in the camp of mid-’80s widescreen indie it has a self-assurance, and gentle surety of tone that, really, should only appear a few more records down the line.
There is enough merit in the energetic power-chord rock of these ‘Nordic rock crusaders’ (their description) to make you refrain from putting them down as just another piece of spam in the already crowded inbox of retro-rock clichés.
The deadline is approaching for entries to the 2008 International Songwriting Competition, with the full list of judges just announced, including Tom Waits and Black Francis.
Hearts And Unicorns opens as it means to continue, with a dreamy blast of feedback and blizzard drifts of melody. There are cooed vocals and weird dissonant surges – think ‘90s college rock pin-up Tanya Donnelley warbling over a My Bloody Valentine fade-out.
Credit to Black for producing an engaging and sprightly record which skips between alt-country and acoustic pop and reminds us of his capricious talents.
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.
The fact that almost the entire American population of Dublin was up the front shaking their stars and stripes notwithstanding, at The Shelter, Yorn and his band had a pretty blank canvas on which to paint their honest and catchy rock and roll
Dundalk upstarts Walter kick off proceedings with their upbeat piano-based tunes akin to that of current 'it' bands Keane and Hal - an impressive performance which hints that this band are bound for higher plains...
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.
Heathen may not be the spectacular return to form that some people are claiming, but it’s certainly a far more cohesive affair than its predecessors, Earthling and …hours, which both buckled under the weight of their experimentation.
The annual Eurosonic Festival kicked off on Thursday, January 8th, in Groningen, Holland. The Northern European university city came alive as acts from all over the continent took to the stages of the city for what has become the finest showcase for new music in Europe, as part of the European Talent Exchange Programme. Think the Eurovision, except with top quality music and without the voting.
This December 31st/January 1st when some drunk at whatever New Year’s party you happen to be gatecrashing starts mumbling sweet nothins in your ear about how bloody awful the last twelve months were for music, do me a big favour and clout him.
The damaged licks and feedback-fattened melodies of LA’s Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have always suggested a karaoke riff on your favourite avant-pop outsiders.
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.
The Frames were the envy of the class of 1990, jammy dodgers who had a deal before they were a band, forced to evolve in public at an unmerciful rate. By the time most acts get ready to demo their first batch of songs, Glen Hansard and co. were on their second album and record deal.
This is not a bad album, and if it was released three years ago it would have come across better, but now there is a lot of music like this around and it takes really good songs, and something very original, to make a band shine.
WHAT NEVER happened to dEUS? Four years ago the Belgian band had the respect of their peers, the adoration of the indie cognoscenti, and the ears of the inkies.
Funeral is a diverse collection of absorbing songs, each rich in both its thematic and sonic content. Colours of death, love, life, youth and family are splashed across a lush soundscape that seamlessly blends searing violin and subdued cello with indie riffs and disco beats.
Right from the first reel, this is one of the most thrillingly self-assured Irish debuts since, well, The Thrills’. Despite being fellow Dubs, though, Director are coming from a very different place.
The Frames were the envy of the class of 1990, jammy dodgers who had a deal before they were a band, forced to evolve in public at an unmerciful rate. By the time most acts get ready to demo their first batch of songs, Glen Hansard and co. were on their second album and record deal.
If The Royal Society artefact were composed of paint rather than sound, it’d be an acid-dipped Joe Coleman print. Yes, there are elements of psychedelia, but The Disaster seem far more interested in comedown psychosis than the trip itself.
I’d hate to be a Massive Attack roadie. Not only do they have four vocalists, six banks of synths, live guitars, drums and percussion to worry about, but there’s a huge ticker-taping video screen to put up and take down every bleedin’ night.
End of term reviewers are a bit like film censors. As they reel in the year, there is a tendency to cut and paste according to their own prejudices and passions.
Their special talent is the ability to Frankenstein together body parts too diseased for other bands to use, sew ’em together and cover over the cracks with heaped trowels of whiteface and panstick.
In a sense, ATP is an anti-festival. Each year's 'curator' - the band who decide what other acts to invite - is willfully chosen on the grounds of their rejection or open denunciation of the mainstream music system
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.
He was the man whose evidence put a huge hole in the stern of Pirate Bay, in a landmark judgement in Sweden earlier this year. Now the CEO and Chairman of the International Federation of Phonographic Industries, John Kennedy, is set to speak at The Music Show, which takes place on October 3 and 4, at the RDS in Dublin. He will speak on the issue of illegal downloading and the threat it represents to the Music Industry, which is currently undergoing massive changes as a result of the impact of the internet. The Music Show is run by Hot Press magazine.
For 14 years The Frames have conducted the business of their art like filmmakers who reached a détente with the studio system through operating on a one-for-us/one-for-them basis.
The margin by which The Frames have so far failed to forcibly etch both themselves and their music onto the minds of the plain people of Ireland remains a source of disappointment, great upset and mystery.
Tanya Sweeney gets up early to bring you the best of the Sunday afternoon artists, including Nina Hynes, Kings of Leon, Jerry Fish, Cane 141, The Walls and Automata.
Funeral was by no means a fluke. The Arcade Fire are unquestionably the real deal. And to prove it they’ve now thrown in another contender for ‘best record of the decade’.
COURTNEY LOVE’S dismissal of Trent Reznor as a farmboy who’d never really seen The Horror was glib but off-the-mark: any Deliverance fan will tell you there’s as much atrocity to be found in redneck terrortory as the urban sprawl, and Columbine scenarios are an epidemic endemic to the sticks, not the inner city.
A new decade kicks off Sinéad O'Connor's revolution of the heart, followed by covers with A House, Stone Roses, The Pixies, AC/DC, Paul Simon and more...
Black Francis' chaotic St. Stephen's Green appearance is quickly becoming the stuff of legend. See what he had to say to Hot Press' Roisin Dwyer and Elaine Hughes beforehand.
The Scottish/Irish rockers Idlewild have taken time out of their busy schedule - which includes playing support to the Pixies - to make an appearance at this year's Hard Working Class Heroes.
With the Pixies, Metallica and the Chili Peppers already penned into our diaries, the coming summer is shaping up to be a big one. And it just got bigger for Kornheads
A?l ?d$sive video interview with the golden boy of power-pop, FRANK BLACK, the man who in his days as frontman of The Pixies bestrode the realm of alt-rock like a giant guitar-wielding colossus. To describe our Frank as 'seminal' doesn't even come close.
After the rip-roaring success of last year's event, Music Ireland '07 has been extended to a three-day event, incorporating a dedicated student day on Friday October 5. Aimed primarily at second-level schools, the day is set to be one of the most educational and entertaining school tours in the country. For those wishing to follow a career in music, the show is a real treat.
Foo Fighters’ sixth studio album is a transitional rather than definitive piece of work, but one that sees them growing older with 'patience and grace'.
Comedienne Eleanor Tiernan invites Anne Sexton into her Georgian home, and talks to her about childhood holidays in Kerry, her love of JP Donleavy, and writing a play – well, kind of – about Damien Rice and Damien Dempsey.
The Aftermath are the first rock band from Longford ever to hit the charts. But right now, they live in Mullingar, the new happening epicentre of rock’n’roll.
The Hot Press Irish Music Awards proved to be as keenly contested as ever with U2, Ash and The Corrs emerging as big winners. But the number of awards acknowledging nascent talent prove there’s more heavy-hitters waiting in the wings
When we last left U2, at the conclusion of 1997’s Pop, they were marooned on a spaghetti Golgotha, shouting, “Wake up dead man!” at a god who had apparently reneged on his promise to live forever. Well pilgrims, here’s the resurrection shuffle.
RELISH
Another Downpatrick act with the chance to make good. Now signed to EMI Ireland, a single is due presently. Previous demos found them mixing a gleaming American rock sound with soulful vocals, not unlike Roachford or Terence Trent d Arby. A challenge to anyone s marketing department, but still preferrable to the average indie toss.
Jackie Hayden travelled to Nashville, Tennessee for a once-off invitation-only gig starring Frank Black, Guy Garvey of Elbow and Richard Hawley at the Jack Daniel’s Distillery as part of the celebration for Mr Daniel’s birthday.
You can very much hear the band gradually piecing together the constituent elements that would make Bleach such a bewitching sonic brew; the gonzo experimentation and guitar pyrotechnics of the ‘80s US underground, married to Cobain’s Beatles-like melodic sensibilities and, of course, that searing, indelible voice.
Olaf Tyaransen reports from the Birthday JD set in Lynchburg, Tennesse, which featured performances from such acts as Hugh Cornwell, Roisin Murphy and Ash's Tim Wheeler.
