BEST OF 2016: Jamie Martin of Cry Monster Cry gives us his picks of 2016

Favourite single of the year?
For a single, I’m gonna go with an Irish band, and it’s Heathers, their single “Call Home.” I’ve always liked what they do, and they started off with their first song that they released only when they were like 15, it was a real folky number. And that one was picked up by Discover Ireland for an ad campaign, and that’s what really launched their career. So with the new single, it’s so completely different, they’ve done something really modern with it, and they’ve reinvented themselves. They keep progressing as musicians, they didn’t just do the folk thing forever, they keep changing it and updating the sound. It’s a really great track, it sounds kind of like HAIM, it’s got that vibe to it.

Heathers, "Call Home"

Favourite album?
Album, I’ve gotta pick an Irish one again. Mick Flannery’s new album, I Own You. I’m a huge Mick Flannery fan, and when I heard the first single, it’s really dark and kind of in-your-face, it’s pretty full-on and aggressive. And I was like, what is this? And then I listened to it again, and I was like, wait, that’s kind of cool, listened to it again, and I was like, okay, that’s a really good track. It took me a few listens to really see what was going on with it. The whole album’s like that, there’s hooks that really speak to you, but it takes a couple listens to actually appreciate the album as a whole. Those albums are sometimes the best ones, I think. There’s lots going on there.

Mick Flannery, "I Own You"

Favourite gig you went to? One that you played?
Best gig I’ve been to this year was Paul Simon at the 3Arena. It was incredible, he played for nearly three hours, everything from Simon and Garfunkel to Graceland to the new stuff. He did like five encores, it was incredible. The gig was so long that he didn’t even have an opener, he just came out and did his thing for like three hours.
Best gig we’ve played, I would say was Other Voices. Just because it’s something we’ve always wanted to do, and the crowd was incredible, they were so into it. We’ve done it two years in a row now, and this year we were on the Other Room, so that’s a big step up for us, that we’re gonna be on the show. It was a lot busier, though, cause last year was so magical, arriving in Dingle for the first time, taking it all in. But this year there was so much more to do, so we were rushing all over the place. But once we were up onstage, it was all worth it. I really enjoyed it.

Favourite tv show?
Tv shows, Stranger Things, definitely my choice. The atmosphere of the series and the story itself is something that you can get lost in. It's full of nostalgia for people my age in terms of the characters and the way it's made.

Stranger Things, season 1 trailer

Favourite movie?
Movies, Sing Street, it captures the the Irish sense of humour, love of music and culture so well!

Sing Street trailer

Favourite book?
You know what’s a good one for my favourite book, cause I was reading it recently and it’s very timely, was Leonard Cohen’s book of lyrics, Book of Longing. Someone gave me that book years and years ago, for Christmas actually, and I’ve only recently gone back to reading it and just appreciating what he could do with lyrics.

Any big plans for 2017?
So our single is due to be released in January, and that’s called “Things We Can’t Take Back,” it’s being mixed and mastered as we speak. And we have the Whelans gigs in March, the first one sold out, so we’ve got two of them now. We’re gonna announce other dates around the country, we’re looking into doing a little Ireland tour. So there are definitely good things ahead for 2017.