Derry Good, Boys

Young Derry outfit Organized Confusion has come out top in an Ireland-wide search for the best school-age bands and won a slot at Oxegen. The School of Rock competition was organised by RTE 2FM and after regional heats, the band beat four others in a daunting live final on the station.

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Story of the Video - UNKLE

Amateur filmmaker James Ward saw a competition to make the new UNKLE video, knocked up a pitch in one night, sent it off and – hey presto! – won the damn thing. His warped animation for the Josh Homme-featuring ‘Restless’ is now the track’s official vid and James is understandably chuffed.

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flu.ID - iots

Call it mathcore, call it technical metal, it really doesn’t matter as the torrent of coruscating guitar grunts and wails whizz around your dome at lightspeed. Any critical faculties left clinging to the cliff’s edge will have their fingers stamped upon within seconds of the opening track ‘Ordinary Different’. The non-stop attack can be trying though, even for the most ardent noise fan, so when flu.ID turn it down and get weird(er), mixing crying baby samples with electronic pulses (‘Enthymen’) it feels oddly soothing. But their natural fit is mischievous battery and that’s when they’re at their best. Collecting the band’s rare, 10” singles, ‘iots’ is hard going when swallowed whole, but in small doses this is ultra-fierce. David McLaughlin

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DOWNLOAD: ‘ORDINARY DIFFERENT’, ‘STRATEGY FIRST’.
FOR FANS OF: THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, TODD, APHEX TWIN.

Hadouken! - Declaration of War

Despite the title, here Hadouken! stray ever further from their confrontational disposition as south London godheads, towards the more touchy-feely side of their notorious ‘grindie’ handle. The grime in the grindie is James Smith’s MC flow and delivery, Nintendo breakdowns, cascading Casio keys and deep, speaker-blowing bass, all three elements criminally Xeroxed from their breakout tune. The indie in the grindie is Smith‘s gurny singing in a chorus that contains a genuine charge of synthy emotion, and the reason the tune will be enjoyed in the bedroom as well as on the dancefloor. Curious music then, provided by the one band considered this decade’s arch-villains of trash and disposability. John Calvert

Crayonsmith

Dublin’s Crayonsmith have just released their second album, ‘White Wonder’. It’s a midget gem of a record, fuzzy and warm like children’s mittens, where Sebadoh bear hugs Grandaddy and Sonic Youth and they all get along. Since their formation in 2004, the band has attracted attention from all the right people, garnering high-profile support slots with Quasi, The Decemberists and Sparklehorse. Now, slap-bang in the middle of their own Irish tour, frontman Ciaran Smith spills the beans on putting ‘White Wonder’ together.

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Future Of The Left - Manchasm

Andy Falkous opens Future Of The Left’s new single ‘Manchasm’ with a clipped keyboard intro as controversial as it is engaging. Small minded fans have voiced preference for the brasher guitars of other album tracks (from last year’s ‘Curses’), but accompanied by Kelson Mathias’ now signature dirty bass sound the band keep their caustic rock ticking away with a trenchant menace. Restraining themselves early on they cannot but help to break out into their familiar stop-start heaviness before reigning it back in for a vibrantly calculated woven vocal outro.

The provoking nature of the band and the use of the unsubtle double entendre “a very pretty pussycat” shows them sadistically toying with the listener, while providing them with a playful rumble they could happily spill their beers to. Addressing anyone who listens with “audience, please” you get the impression that they expect this song to stimulate a response, but you wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t care what it was. The bonus track ‘Suddenly It’s A Folk Song’, although a bonus track for a reason, similarly has fun with both the keys and the audience to make a nice companion to a standout album track. Matt Nesbitt

Reverend And The Makers

There has been quite a fuss made of Reverend And The Makers recently and on the back of their top 5 debut ‘The State Of Things’ they’ve managed to sell out the Spring & Airbrake. Tonight, however, those already converted to John McClure’s brand of urban grit far outnumber those who are simply here to see what all the fuss is about.

The band open with new track ‘Everybody Hates Ryan’, a mid-paced psychedelic grower which gives a nod to ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’. Album tracks ‘Bandits’ and ‘What The Milkman Saw’ follow, but R&TM really get into their groove with the album’s title track, a song they turn into an extended hands in the air anthem, its funky bass and atmospheric synth providing an early highlight. Clearly not lacking in confidence they’re happy to lay down their hit single mid-set. ‘Heavyweight Champion Of The World’ goes down a storm of course, The Reverend in full show-man mode, throwing everything at that Brando inspired chorus ‘I could have been a contender, I could have been a someone’.

Tracks like ‘18-30’ and ‘Open Your Window’ bounce along nicely and during the chilled out reggae of ‘Sundown On The Empire’ McClure ad-lib’s a few lines from Massive Attack’s ‘Karmacoma’. It’s only a temporary lull though and the band step up the pace again for ‘He said he loved me’, a rousing duet between the Rev and cavorting keyboard player Laura. As the track reaches its crescendo, McClure stands arms folded, soaking up the rapturous response, satisfied that his word has been spread.

Some of the audience look bemused as the Rev then invites us “out the door”, but we follow our Pied Piper through the fire exit and across the road to the steps of the Ormeau Baths for an al-fresco encore. He strums his way through ‘Miss Brown’ and covers of ‘Jammin’’ and ‘Whatever’. And though McClure is barely audible, the ensuing mass sing along adds a memorable climax to this fine mid-week party. Gerard McCann

Sarabeth Tucek - Sarabeth Tucek

There is something intrinsically appealing about Sarabeth Tucek’s self-titled debut. Maybe it’s the fact that this record is as unadorned as it is unforgettable. There are no stylistic tassels, no primping, instead all is stately simplicity. Much-acclaimed debut single ‘Something For You’ ushers us into her world, emotional rain clouds breaking over a sun-dappled melody. For this song alone, Tucek could consider hers a life well spent.

Throughout, the voice is velvety, consoling; the perfect counterpoint to the bruised sentimentality of the lyrics, songs like ‘Stillborn’ and ‘Hot Tears’ hinting at eons of hurt. Although Tucek’s default setting is chaste and contemplative, ‘Holy Smoke’ has her playing angel with a dirty face over gnashing guitars. Meanwhile, the string-laden final track carries us ‘Home’ on a wave of tears. Francis Jones

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DOWNLOAD: ‘Something For You’, ‘Holy Smoke’, ‘Home’.
FOR FANS OF: Holly Throsby, Cat Power, The Carpenters.

Santogold Gets Busy

AU 45 star Santogold has announced details of her debut album, a new single and a tour, which will feature her first visit to Ireland. The New York-based solo artist mashes up hip-hop, electro, dub and punk, her musical stew winning favourable comparisons to M.I.A. and a support slot with Björk.

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Lowgold - Promise Lands

Back in 2001, Lowgold’s debut ‘Just Backwards Of Square’ hinted at a promising future. Seven years on, things clearly haven’t been plain sailing. Follow up album ‘Welcome To Winners’ disappeared faster than Lord Lucan and record company rifts, financial woes and in-band fighting pretty much finished them off.

No doubt they hope ‘Promise Lands’ will see them emerge Phoenix-like from the flames. Songs like ‘Clear’ and ‘Burning Embers’ hint at some of the understated beauty they managed to capture on their debut. However, much of the material struggles to shine and is buried under production that’s muddier than Michael Eavis’s boots. All in all, ‘Promise Lands’ feels more like a swansong for the band than a bright new start. Stewart McCullough

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DOWNLOAD: ‘CLEAR’, ‘BURNING EMBERS’.
FOR FANS OF: COLDPLAY, ELBOW, ELLIOTT SMITH.

Blood Red Shoes - Say Something, Say Anything

It’s difficult to believe that Blood Red Shoes is a duo when listening to ‘Say Something, Say Anything’. There’s a beefiness to the single which is lacking in bands with twice the personnel, and the musical complexities make for a strong effort from the Brighton twosome. The heartfelt vocals are matched by a jagged guitar riff, shot through with the modernity that Blood Red Shoes bring to all their records, and the ingenuity which is setting them apart from the crowd at the moment. The band is fresh off a sellout UK tour and, if ‘Say Something, Say Anything’ is anything to go by, it won’t be long before they’re selling out bigger venues. Kirstie McCrum