May A&R Department: featuring Burglar, Aifric, Bleech 9:3, and more

Hot Press Hot For 2026 picks Burglar impress with new track ‘Star-Crossed’, which has been released by the Tulle Collective which also includes M(h)aol.

A deliciously scuzzy 4mins 11secs of indie rock, it should help to open even more doors for the Dublin outfit who are managed by the same team as Black Country, New Road and have BBC 6 Music support…

By the time you read, this Burglar will have showcased at the Great Escape in Brighton which also hosted Aifric, a Galway singer who “began writing poetry and plays while living between caravans, boats and many months spent in solitude in the countryside.”

The likes of ‘Telephone’ and ‘Yesterday’ feature big fat twangy guitar, folk and Afrobeat elements and one of the most distinctive voices we’ve heard in a long time.

She’s signed to Promised Land, the same London label and publishing house which has the likes of Original Koffee, Oppidan, Ruger and Hew on its roster…

Also Great Escape-ing to Brighton were Bleech 9:3 whose founder members Baz Quinlan and Sam Duffy met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

“The vulnerability of those meetings helped us be a lot more comfortable with each other from the get go,” Baz notes.

Joined by James Quinlan and Luke O’Neill, their self-titled debut EP is out on May 15 and makes sense of the Therapy?, Nirvana and Pearl Jam comparisons that have been coming their way.

The London-based combo’s summer stop offs include Malahide Castle, Dublin where they’re opening for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (June 10) and Custom House Square, Belfast where they’re warming the crowd up for Wunderhorse (August 25)…

Dublin hopefuls Basht. have a new track, ‘Perfume’, out on Manchester’s LAB Records.

Produced by Dry Cleaning man Ali Chant, it “considers the weight of Ireland’s history under the influence of the Catholic Church”, and not surprisingly has a dark, malevolent feel.

It’s followed by the release of their debut Poor Advice album and a November 7 show in the Dublin Button Factory...

Limerick hotshots Theatre trail the June 12 release of their as-yet-untitled debut EP with ‘The Fall’, which Steve Lamacq premiered on BBC 6 Music and underlines why they’ve been snapped up by Rough Trade management.

Operating at the poppier end of the shoegaze spectrum – older HP readers may be reminded of All About Eve – the band have the same live agent as Fontaines D.C., ROAM’s Alex Bruford, who’s bagged them recent gigs with English Teacher, Shame and Westside Cowboy…

Also from Limerick comes ‘The Tribe’, the latest folk hop belter from Willzee who reflects on his Traveller roots.

Once it’s lodged in your frontal lobe there’ll be no shifting it…

Belfast noise merchants Makeshift Art Bar have signed to Heist Or Hit, the same English indie label who’ve released music by the aforementioned Westside Cowboy.

About to go out on tour with Chalk – they share the same management – they’ve just released ‘Chocolate’, the lead single from their Marionette EP which is with us on June 26 and will rattle the fillings in your teeth.

Taking care of production duties is Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox who’s also been the go-to studio man for Sprints, MELTS and Psychotic Monks…

Kaeyan and Forg.ie team up on ‘Take Us In’, an absolute banger brought to you by the folks at Dublin’s WTGU Records.

Often compared to Dave, the former is a real, rawl voice from the Northside who recently brought us the anthemic ‘Troy Parrott’, while his partner in rhyme speaks considerable truth to power on his solo ‘Whitewater’ single…

Originally a songwriter project between John Harney and Dillon Doyle and subsequently growing into a six-piece band, Bulbs are generating huge amounts of Irish and UK industry interest with their psychedelically-inclined rock – ‘Lose My Breath’ is an absolute gem.

There have been regular trips to London for gigs in all the right venues and a couple of Madra Salach supports, which have further boosted their profile…

“Ain’t nobody than can rap like me!” Salamay boasts in ‘Yah’, a new track that does indeed feature some extremely dextrous wordplay.

The Nigerian-born, Cork-raised artist has been doing his hip/soul/R&B/Afrobeat thing since 2021 and recently featured as part of Other Voices Cardigan…

Wunderhorse meets The Stone Roses on ‘Fall Apart’, the debut single from Dublin four-piece Mantle who also cite Radiohead, Jeff Buckley and Pearl Jam as influences.

Friends since school, their none-too-secret weapon is singer Sean Newman who has one of those great lived-in rock ‘n’ roll voices…

Dublin Afro/R&B singer Naomi Jeremiah evokes the likes of Lauryn Hill, Ayra Starr, Burna Boy and loads more good stuff on ‘Trauma’, her new single which is described by the Hot Press New Irish Songs crew as “a hard-hitting piece blending magnificent melodic flair, silky-smooth vocals and insanely catchy beats.”

And who are we to argue?