A&R Department: The Fae, Naked Lungs, Cherym, The Mary Wallopers and more

Dublin trio The Fae are gaining great traction with ‘Do You Mind If I Miss You’, the second single from their debut Bloodrush EP which follows in September.

Among those falling for its close shoegaze-y harmonies and indie guitar jangle are Radio Nova, 2fm’s Dan Hegarty, Dublin City 103.2’s John Barker, Live 95’s Alan Jacques, Record Of The Day, Radio X’s John Kennedy and, naturally, all the residents of HP Towers where it’s been on ‘repeat’.

Hear it live on September 15 when Chloe Corcoran Hanlon, Jordan Crawford and Emma Hempton pay a suitably hot and sweaty visit to The Workman’s Basement, Dublin.

Naked Lungs open their long-playing account on August 18 with Doomscroll, an aptly-titled ten-tracker redolent of Nine Inch Nails and Therapy? at their most industrial.

Jack Saunders and Steve Lamacq are among the BBC types who’ve already gone into bat for the Dublin four-piece who recorded their distorted guitar epic in Sonic Studios with Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox.

A big hit at the recent Night And Day and Otherside festivals and playing in October as part of Ireland Music Week, they look set to follow the likes of IDLES and The Murder Capital up the mainstream charts.

Naked Lungs. Credit: Nicholas O’Donnell

The Mary Wallopers whet appetites for their upcoming Irish Rock N Roll album with ‘Wexford’, a trad ballad penned by Traveller musician Pecker Dunne who also supplied many a tune for The Dubliners.

Out on October 6, the long-player will be accompanied by the Dundalk collective’s biggest UK tour to date. Before that, there’s an Electric Picnic appearance to look forward to with the chaps and chap-ess hoping to pop in to the Hot Press Chatroom at Stradbally. See our social media channels for details.

Cherym conjure up the pop-punk anthem of the year (so far) in the hyperactive form of ‘Taking Up Sports’, which is out now on the fabulous Alcopops! Records label.

The accompanying video finds the trio, plus guest vocalist Sianna Lafferty from Tramp, taking on Derry City players Jordan McEneff, Sadou Dillo and Cameron McJannet in The Brandywell.

A&R Dept. favourite Sweetlemondae has been helping to soundtrack RTÉ’s FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage with her new single, ‘Turn The World’, which is dedicated to the Girls In Green.

One of 2fm’s 2023 Rising picks, the Galway hip hopper has been justifiably compared to the likes of Coi Leray, Little Simz, 070 Shake and IAMDDB but also has her own thing going on.

If it’s laidback summer grooves you’re after, look no further than ‘Open Your Eyes’, single #2 from Dublin-raised, London-based producer MOIO.

A veritable warm breeze of a song with jazzy guitar licks and smooth falsetto vocals, it hints at all sorts of future sonic adventures and is available from junodownload.com.

Meanwhile, those of a big beat persuasion will love ‘A Glitch In The System’, the latest banger from Kildare producer Porridge who’s becoming increasingly admired in techno circles.

The album it trails, You Don’t Belong Here, album follows later in the year.

Pugwash man Thomas Walsh has confirmed the autumn release of The Rest Is History, his debut solo album which includes Joe Elliott, Matt Barry, Michael Penn and his old Duckworth Lewis Method co-conspirator Neil Hannon among its guests.

Indeed, it’s a Walsh/Hannon composition, ‘A Good Day For Me’, which takes care of flagship single duties on August 23.

We’ve been treated to an upfront listen and can confirm that it and the parent long-player are pure power pop perfection.

Kojaque returns to the hip hop fray with ‘BAMBI’, a slow(ish) groover that namechecks Guinness and Stevie Wonder, features a guest turn from Leeds trio Gotts Street Park and sounds a bit like Massive Attack if they’d hung around Cabra rather than Bristol.

It’s different level stuff for The Artist Also Known as Kevin Smith who was sampled recently by Loyle Carner on his hugo album.

If he’s got more like this in his locker, the Soft Boy Recording artiste will soon be in the same superstar bracket.

Sarah Crean previews her upcoming Death By Laundry EP with ‘Wasted Youth’,

We weren’t sure if she could top previous gem ‘02.00AM’ but she has.

Things are building nicely for the Dublin-based singer who supported BLACKPINK in London’s Hyde Park and is now running all over the place with Bombay Bicycle Club.

Read the full A&R Department – including On Our Radar Q&As with Coolgirl and Alfi – in the current issue of Hot Press: