pop
-
The Shaker Hymn: “There’s No Redoing Things”
New single ‘Dead Trees’ sees Corkonian poppers The Shaker Hymn in hollering, apocalyptic form. Mike McGrath-Bryan speaks with vocalist Caoilian Sherlock about the process behind the band’s upcoming third album. It’s one of those odd things, independent music: for a wide umbrella of music that prides itself on creative freedom and cultural autonomy in order…
-
Soulé: What Do You Know?
After a busy debut year, Dublin singer-songwriter Soulé is ready to take on the world, and it starts with a headline slot at the Jazz. Mike McGrath-Bryan finds out more. It’s been just over a year since the debut show of singer-songwriter Samantha Kay, under the nom-de-plume of Soulé and, propelled forth by a wide…
-
Shrug Life: “There’s a Small Victory in Articulating Absurdity”
Observers of the mundane, be-moaners of the grind and fond custodians of lo-fi pop propulsion, Dublin trio Shrug Life have been doing the rounds for a few years now, and with 2014 E.P. The Grand Stretch long since committed to the review pages, the long-term project of putting down a full-length has finally come to fruition. Recorded in 2015-2016,…
-
Ganglions: “We Might as Well Make a Thing of It”
Melding the smarts of math-rock with a warm but smart-aleccy pop streak, Sheffield/Cork trio Ganglions have come into their own in the past year or so, marking the release of debut EP Fetch! with their maiden Irish excursion, including an appearance at this year’s Quarter Block Party in Cork. This week sees the trio return…
-
Hermitage Green: “We’re Very Bloody Lucky to Be Doing This”
Hermitage Green vocalist Dan Murphy speaks with Mike McGrath-Bryan about Townlands Carnival, following up their debut album, life on a major label, and more. The run-up to this year’s Townlands Carnival is another in a long series of winding turns for Limerick-based folk-rock outfit Hermitage Green. Formed in the earlier part of the decade, the…
-
Brushy One-String: “I’m An All-Purpose Person When It Comes to Music”
In the lead-up to his upcoming appearance at Townlands Carnival festival in Macroom, YouTube star Brushy One-String talks to Mike McGrath-Bryan about his life, his music, and how a chance encounter brought him his fortune. The story of Brushy One-String’s ascent to musical notoriety wouldn’t go amiss in the canon of the great musical underdogs:…
-
Gavin James: No Bitter Pill
On the eve of his return to Cork after the biggest year of his career so far, Mike McGrath-Bryan talks with Marquee-bound singer-songwriter Gavin James. Gavin James cuts an excitable figure as your writer greets him at his room in the Clayton Hotel on the quays, ahead of his date at the Marquee. Part nervous…
-
Jenny Greene: Nineties Anthems with an Electric Orchestra
Ahead of her Marquee appearances with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Mike McGrath-Bryan speaks with DJ Jenny Greene about the challenges and rewards of rearranging dance classics for an orchestral stage. Jenny Greene has been a stalwart of electronic music in Ireland for nearly twenty years, DJing in clubs and festivals up and down the country…
-
Wheatus: Showing Cork a Little Respect
Wheatus’ Brendan B. Brown talks with Mike McGrath-Bryan about hit singles, backline selloffs, and sweaty Cork gigs. Much is made of the rock ‘n’ roll narrative trope that is the one-hit wonder. Made ever more salient by the firework-trajectory careers of late-stage major-label signups in the throes of corporate impatience for artist development, it’s an…
-
Ryley Walker: Walking a Golden Mile
Ryley Walker has, in recent years, become a hot property the world over for his own mathy, odd leanings on the folk oeuvre. Cork in particular seems to have taken to the American troubadour, with repeat sellouts for Leeside excursions over the years. This month’s swing through Ireland is no different, with a full-band Easter…
Mike McGrath-Bryan 