February A&R Department: Child of Prague, Ria Rua, Bucket and more

The A&R Dept. joined the 4,000-plus music industry heads who helped the Eurosonic showcase festival celebrate its 40th birthday last month in northern Holland.

Going down a major storm were Child Of Prague, the Dublin sextet who have a new live EP on the way courtesy of Faction Records.

“Moody rock ‘n’ rollers are great but I also like ones who have shit-eating grins on their faces, so gleeful they are to be up on stage performing,” our man Stuart Clark reports. “Falling into the latter category are

Child Of Prague, a shapeshifting Dublin six-piece who were among our Hot For 2026 picks.

“I say ‘shapeshifting’ because over the course of forty glorious minutes, they run the full gamut from folk, indie and math rock to jazz, punk and grunge.

“I have ‘Fuck me, they’re good!’ scrawled in my somewhat alcohol-fuelled notes from last night, and in the cold light of day feel no need to update my position.”

We think he liked them…

Also packing ‘em in at Eurosonic were Bucket whose new ‘Nonsense’ single is a noise rock tour de force.

Mixed and engineered by Lankum and The Scratch producer James Eager, it’s “written from the perspective of a fictional stalker, unfolding as an internal monologue that exposes their obsessive and unsettling mindset. It draws on feelings of paranoia and being watched, alongside society’s fascination with mentally unstable people who commit horrific acts.”

It was moshing room only earlier this month as the Dublin threesome hurtled round Ireland with bezzies Heavy Lungs…

Already renowned for their live performances, shoegaze-y Belfast five-piece Consolers release their debut Deep Breaths album on February 20 with a same day launch show in the Empire Music Hall.

Recorded in 1980 Something Studios with Wynona Bleach’s Jonny Woods producing, it reminds us of the mighty Lush and is already generating lots of cross-channel interest.

Sonja Sleator and the boys would be delighted if you purchase it from consolersband.bandcamp.com/album/deep-breaths so that most of the loot goes to them direct…

Our man with the golden ears, Terry McNally, has been flying the flag for RiaRua – and rightly so because she’s ace!

Marrying socially aware lyrics to some seriously pounding electro beats, the Dubliner releases her debut S C A P E G.O.A.T. album on February 26 with a show that night in Whelan’s to mark the occasion.

The Cavan artist is off then to the Róisín Dubh, Galway (28); Fred Zeppelin’s, Cork (February 5) and Banana Block, Belfast (March 28) as part of the inaugural Queerphoria festival.

It’s being headlined by TRAMP, a Donegal/Derry outfit who’ve supported the likes of TOUTS, Cherym and The Undertones and make a ferocious punk noise…

The Kate Bush, Sparks and Cocteau Twins comparisons all make sense as Dublin quartet iNNUENDO – the caps lock is working overtime this issue! – release the once-heard-never-forgotten ‘Rosemary’.

The band are signed to Blowtorch Records, the Galway indie label who have lots of goodies available from blowtorchrecords.bandcamp.com/merch...

The Sex Pistols and Sultans Of Ping F.C. both pogo to mind as the The A&R Dept. makes acquaintances with Pretty Police, a Cork band who impressed recently at Whelan’s with a live video to prove it…

The boy McNally is also all over SMO, a Dublin singer-songwriter whose ‘Celebrate You’ single got lost in the Christmas rush but is mandatory listening if you’re a James, Blue Nile or Waterboys fan.

His most listened to Spotify track, ‘Lost My Way’, also reminds us of Arctic Monkeys in their gentler moments…

Formed in late 2022 when the various members were studying at BIMM, Irish-German outfit Gag Reflex have steadily been building following with tracks like ‘Man Enough’, which is a glorious amalgam of Belly, PJ Harvey and The Cranberries…

Tipperary alt-pop artist MICAH has released her new single, ‘Seat Filler’ and confirmed that her debut album, Lessons Learned, will arrive in the spring.

The former “centres on the realisation that a former partner has not truly moved on but has replaced intimacy with distraction” and has a Gaga-esque vibe.

If you’re that ex-, I’d be worried!