Reasons to be cheerful…the often-fickle world of indie appears to be facing an about turn; hey, things are even undergoing a facelift round Merseyside way. Liverpool’s newest young things The Zutons are striking out on their own, easily evading notions of scouse copyism with a collision of taut, wild-eyed rock and oddly belligerent soul.
They've rocked us a few times this year, and now Liverpool's favourite 21st century pop rockers The Zutons are back to play Vicar Street this December.
“If you build it, they will come” – a familiar quote from a Hollywood baseball movie – became the mantra for Dolan’s Warehouse’s 10th birthday celebrations.
A the Zutons prepare another visit to these shores, saxophonist Abi Harding talks to Ed Power about their hugely successful debut album, the not very difficult follow up and how she can spot a creep at a distance.
Pop-rock prize fighters The Zutons have moved up a weight division for their second album. The dense layering and hefty riffs and rhythms mean that this Stephen Street-produced record packs considerably more punch than its predecessor, 2004’s Who Killed The Zutons?
Sheffield band Reverend and the Makers will accompany The Zutons, The Flaming Lips and The Go! Team on the line-up for the Belsonic festival in August.
No, this is not a cover of the incessantly catchy festival anthem by The Automatic. Rather ‘Monster’ is the slick and punchy debut from Dublin-based The Spikes. Propelled by a sparse rhythm, singer Tom Dunne (no, not him) delivers a vocal performance that puts one in mind of a stripped-down The Zutons, with more than a hint of Joy Division.
From the check shirts to the bolo ties to the facial hair, Dublin blues quintet HOT SPROCKETS are a band committed to their genre. Granite-voiced lead singer Wayne Soper lets Celina Murphy in on the secret of getting fans to scale your speakers and writing skanky lyrics about hoochies.
This excellent outfit (who’ve toured recently with The Zutons) blend a full-on rock assault a la The Faces, Black Crowes, Zeppelin etc., with Rolling Stones’ (Exile-era) country rock - all deftly performed by what sounds like a bunch of seasoned bar-band musicians.
When we first awarded The Basement the SOTF accolade three years back, they seemed destined to become the Derry wing of the psychedelic Scouse movement alongside The Zutons and labelmates The Coral. Biding their time has worked wonders though, for just as that whole thing has petered out, The Basement come back sounding truly out on their own. 'I Just Caught A Face' still buzzes with the ramshackle charm of their early singles, threatening to fall apart at any moment, but somehow keeping it all together to remind you of Dylan at his freewheelin’ best.
Take one seaside town and a handful of bands which haven’t already played Ireland’s increasingly crowded festival circuit and voila! – you’ve got Cois Fharraige With Sony Ericsson.
The line-up for August's Belsonic festival in Belfast is hotting up with some new additions to the bill, including Mystery Jets, Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip and Delorentos.
Having started out busking on the rainy streets of Dublin, 747s have lately struck up a friendship with Arctic Monkeys and nearly triggered an international terrorist scare.
The Coral, Simon and Oscar of Ocean Colour Scene, Brandi Carlile and The Broken Family Band have all been added to the Sony Ericsson Cois Fharraige bill.
Seasick Steve is a former hobo who once called Kurt Cobain a neighbour and, in his 60s, now finds himself acclaimed as one of folk's hottest 'new' acts.
The lineup for the Belfast festival at Queens has just been announced. Running from 22 Oct - 7 Nov, the event will cover lots of activities including film, comedy, dance, theatre and more.
They’ve been heralded as the biggest thing in Irish rock since U2 – a prediction that proved prescient when The Script romped to the top of the charts with their debut album.
Not content with bringing a slew of top musical acts to County Clare, Cois Fharraige with Sony Ericsson has just revealed details of its curtain-raising Cold Water Clash.
With two members of The Kooks having just turned seventeen, it’s no surprise to learn that it was The Strokes ‘Reptilia’ that first inspired them to form a band.
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova and The Pogues have been officially confirmed for Oxegen, along with the full day-by-day schedule for the July festival.
The organisers of Oxegen '08 have revealed that the three day festival is now completely sold out. Plus, they've announced the day by day line-up so far...
Recorded in a day across various locations by a cast of 22, Help! A Day In The Life is the second WarChild album, the objective being to raise funds for child victims of global conflict.
