Dea Matrona follow their kickass Hot Press Lockdown Sessions Y&E Series appearance with the premiere of their ‘Make You My Star’ video, which in keeping with their classic dirty rock sound was recorded in a garage.

Comprising of 16 and 20-year-old siblings Mamie and Mollie McGinn and their lifelong friend Orlaith Forsythe, the Belfast trio have previously impressed with their ‘Siren Song’, ‘Nobody’s Child’ and ‘Hard On Yourself’ releases, which demonstrate their shared love for The Beatles, Led Zep and Fleetwood Mac.

They’re also among the new generation of Van fans paying tribute to The Man on the Hot Press YouTube channel with a rousing version of - what else? – ‘Gloria’.

Another Belfast artist starting to make serious waves is dream popper Aislinn Logan whose debut EP, Look I’m Flyin’, is reckoned by our man Tadhg Larabee to “sound like 2020 and 1980 at the same time.” He’s spot on with Phil Collins and Michael Jackson as major an influence on her as Burial and Jamie xx.

The four-tracker includes an inspired cover of ‘Teenage Kicks’, which Logan has boldly added an extra verse to reflecting her support for LGBTQ+ rights.

“As a queer woman, I felt like the song took on like a different meaning for me,” she reflects.

The man who signed the likes of Oasis, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream and Teenage Fanclub, Alan McGee, has snapped up Galway four-piece The Clockworks for his revived Creation 23 label.

The first fruits of the liaison are ‘Can I Speak To A Manager?’, a top class piece of social commentary which is equal parts Mike Skinner, The Idles, Ray Davies, Shame and John Cooper Clarke.

Yep, it that’s good!

Also packing a powerful lyrical punch is Kynsy, AKA Ciara Lindsey, whose ‘Cold Blue Light’ single makes sense of all the St. Vincent and Julian Casablancas comparison. There’s something 100% original, though, about the way she knits her influences together on a song, which takes aim at life’s bullies. It’s made it onto Spotify’s Alt. Rocked playlist alongside Inhaler’s ‘Falling in’, Fontaines D.C.’s ‘Televised Mind’ and, in a similar cathode-ray vein, ‘TV Screens’, the standout from the new Somebody’s Child EP, 20-Something.

“It’s based on an encounter I had at a New Year’s Eve party where there was a guy spouting racist remarks at people and it was quite upsetting and stuck with me,” the 23-year-old Dubliner who attended BIMM recalls. “The result was a rowdy pop song truck full of sticky anger and synth pop goo.”

Exiled Tramore man Moncrieff looks to add to his five million-plus streams with the release of ‘PLAYLOUD’.

His third single, it “stands as an act of defiance and social disobedience by the youth to not allow the failings of those in power to stand in the way of their pursuit of happiness and self-expression.”

Since relocating to London, he’s bagged himself a backing vocalist gig with Adele and had Elton John fawning over him on his Apple Music show.

Drogheda drill prodigy Offica’s new ‘Where’s The Motive’ single finds him joined by Blanco from iconic London group Harlem Spartans, and rising Irish star Reggie.

His five releases have amassed a whopping 15 million streams, and suggest that an international breakthrough could be on the cards…

Tia Burke fair takes the breath away with ‘Spinning Circles’, her debut single which underlines why Kodaline chose to work with her in Camden Studios prior to lockdown.

A big hit last year when she graced the Hot Press Chatroom @ Electric Picnic, the 18-year-old Dubliner has an incredible vocal range and ability to tug at the heartstrings.

Dublin alt. folker Blake’s Fortune, whose honest to god real name is John Lennon, is joined by Ailbhe Reddy and Basicville’s Cillian and Lorcan Byrne on his excellent second album, Searcher Dreamer. The first two singles to be lifted from it, ‘Searcher’ and ‘Redwood Heart’, have both received extensive 2fm and local radio airplay and have put him towards the top of the lists of the artists we want to see once gigging resumes…

Wexford rockers Foot Squeaker – brilliant name! – have done the maths and worked out that one sale of their new ‘Wayside’ single on Bandcamp is equivalent to 25,000 Spotify plays. If you’re looking for something frantic and Foo Fighters-ish you know where to go.

With those stats in mind, we’re delighted to report the October 2, November 6 and December 4 return of Bandcamp Friday when 100% of what you spend on the platform goes direct to the artist. So what if your credit card is maxed to fuck by midnight, you’ll be helping Irish musicians during these troubled times.