Elm, a captivating Dublin five-piece, are relative newcomers to the Irish music scene. But what they lack in terms of a musical back-catalogue they more than make up for with an abundance of style and talent. They’ve just released new single ‘Amends’ with an accompanying video which I’ve included below for your viewing pleasure.
Continue reading “New Music: Elm – Amends”
Irish band Enemies have re-emerged from a two-year hiatus with a new single. Play Fire, a somewhat rejuvenated track which draws a fine line between the meticulous world of mathematically inspired rock (too far with genre specifics?) and joviality of pop music, sees the four-piece pick up from where they left off almost 24 months ago.
Bearing the signature Enemies style and layered attention to detail, Play Fire is an immediate return to form. The hook laden track is as captivating and attention grabbing as the accompanying video (which you can watch below).
For those of you unfamiliar with Enemies, you can listen to their back catalogue as well as download the new release over on Bandcamp.
If you are here expecting a review of The Chemical Brothers new album then let me be the first (and subsequently the only person) to let you down gently. Regular readers (does such a person/group exist) will be aware that music by the likes of The Chemical Brothers would be somewhat out-of-place on this blog. But they would also be accustomed to the random and somewhat diverse nature of music posted here.
The title, lo and behold, does in fact stem from the electronic duo’s latest musical offering but more so in the form of the albums’ title track. I’ve not really been a big fan of the brothers’ chemical nor have I invested too much in the world of electronic dance music/techno/big beat (I can’t even label the stuff properly) but I have been taken aback by this track.
Róisín O has just finished a 14 date US headline tour, taking in locations such as New York, Boston, Montana, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland & more. On the back of her American success, Róisín is heading to Germany in October for a 17 date tour supporting Ryan Sheridan. She has signed a record deal with JSM in Germany, and her debut album ‘The Secret Life of Blue’ will be released in Germany, Austria & Switzerland on October 4th.
And hoping to add to her recent success, the Irish songstress has also just released the video for the new single ‘Hold On’. See what Róisín O had to say about her new single below.
“Sometimes our minds take us to dark places and it gets hard to escape. A very close friend of mine was going through a tough time, as happens us all, and I found myself wanting, but unable, to help make things better for him. Sometimes all you can do for someone is to be there for them and let them know that things will get better one day. This song is for him.”
The blog felt a bit cold, almost lifeless, for the past few months and I could not figure out why (Well apart from the fact that my posts have been far less than frequent). But one of the more noticeable absences would have to be the patented, world-famous ‘A Song For The Weekend’. Whilst I am more than glad that the submission volume from unsigned and independent artists has sky-rocketed, I have found that the joy of musical discovery has been somewhat vacant from my listening habits. And so, drawing the only plausible conclusion from the above, I have decided to restart the very segment that enabled my blog to grow in the first place.
The honor of opening (re-opening) this ASFTW category falls to Cork band, Saint Yorda and their new single ‘Disco’. With its Caribbean-esque steel drum intro and upbeat indie-pop ‘vibes’ it’s hard to see this track as anything but a classic summer tune (even though it’s now technically Autumn and also raining quite heavily outside). But anyway, the band are signed to local label fifa Records (nothing to do with football as far as I know) and the single is due for release on the 23rd (which happens to be yesterday). I think that says it all. You can find out more about the band on Facebook, their official website and Bandcamp. Alternatively, you could just scroll down a couple of inches and watch the video for their new single. Either way, enjoy!!
Saint Yorda – Disco
Let me introduce you to Analogue Wave, a band (or electro super-duo in waiting) who have all but taken over my musical playlists ever since their compact disc bombardment of my letterbox commenced a couple of months ago. Okay it was 3 CD’s that fell through my door, but that single action has all but managed to keep my postman in a job, my ears occupied through an endless slog of college work and also preserve the tangibility of music. It’s amazing what a little plastic disc can achieve.
Analogue Wave are a Dublin based duo made up of members Del Chaney (vocals/songwriter) and Gint (producer/songwriter). They formed back in 2012, bringing together both a mutual love of electronic music and a combined experience of over 20 years. To date, Analogue Wave have released an impressive array of tracks through various singles and EPs.
They released their debut single Fingers back in March this year and followed up with the more recent MEZKAL. Both are available for download on their soundcloud page. A debut album is also in the works and should be released sometime during the summer months, most likely in August.
The band’s distinct style has roots in a variety of genres including Dub, Electronica, Synth and Rock. But the overriding stylistic feature present in all of AW tunes to date has to be the satisfying and most certainly nostalgic throwback to the 90’s. All in all, Analogue Wave are a formidable talent. And with a strong commitment to live shows and gigs, their stature can only increase. Most definitely ones to watch out for in the not so distant future.
Whilst I haven’t yet had the opportunity to listen to Babel, the newest musical offering form Mumford and Sons, in its entirety. I have, like the rest of you, been bombarded by the ghastly debut single ‘I Will Wait’. But rather than waiting around for a better single to be released, I fished around and found this diamond in the rough. That’s not to say that there aren’t other great tracks on the album. I just haven’t gotten round to hearing them yet. So in the meantime, I’ll leave you with ‘Lover’s Eyes. It’s been around now for over a year so most of you have probably already heard it. But for those of you who haven’t, it’s well worth a listen.
Below is a live version they performed last year for iheart radio. Enjoy!!
