Supergroups 1.9
Another independant femme fatale with a sound currently bowling over the nations is Dublins Ann Scott. Both her debut album 'Poor Horse' and second album 'We're Smiling' (the latter released February 09) have justly found their way on to successive Meteor Award nominations and countless 'top 100' poles with plenty of penetrating, emotive and haunting tracks that quickly captivate heart and mind . February also saw Anne invade England to turn plenty of heads with her 'one woman female Frames' stature and sound . It seems that Englands music fans have now suddenly started to realise just what they've all been missing in their musical diet for so long. After setting a new UK trend in orange eyelashes she disappeared for what was intended to be a short tour in Chicago before the planned May return to Ireland to record album number 3...though it seems that a sudden extra month of dates and rave reviews in New York just may have delayed those plans a little. If you've been lucky enough to see any of her live shows or even her video for 'Imelda' (added below left
in case you missed it on the front page) then it won't be too hard to understand why the Americans just don't want to give her back. To get get utterly hooked on Ann's dreamy yet surgicaly sharp diamond edge of sound click here...
Now the Frames influence on many new bands worldwide is truly undoubtable and we often get requests by new bands to check their demos - many of whom even describe themselves as 'the new Frames'. Unfortunately, after a few seconds of badly tuned guitars and violins that claim to be a track 'like Turbit' or 'Fitzcarraldo' which instead go on to malisciously murder any simulance of discernable sound, it quickly becomes clear that they're not.
So when I first listened to the track '16.1' by our next band I had a horrible feeling that I was in for another Turbit massacre as the gentle tinkling of piano's and strings meandered through my mind. "Well at least it's in tune," I thought, as, after a day of dodgy Hansard impersonations the 'Next!' button seemed to beckon to my weary mind , but before I could reach the button, my ears were overcome and enraptured by a bass riff that shook the entire room and emptied half the heavy contents of twelve shelves on to my head....But the experiance was worth every thud, thump, bump and blister as my ears screamed in delight and joyously cried "Louder! Louder!" .
Subplots have unleashed a top end, front of the pack sound that could perhaps be more accurately be described as having captured the purest musical peaks of Radiohead and Coldplay along with just the slightest snow covering and dusting of the The Frames.
Subplotters Phil Boughton, Mick Orange and Daryl Chaney certainly have a sound that can easily compete with the big boys and debut album 'Nightcycles' looks set for a number of awards over the next year with 'Baby Steps' being one of many tracks that 'hit the mark' in every area. If Chris Martin ever loses his voice then at least Coldplay should now know that there's an even better set of vocal chords ready to take center stage in Subplots..there's also a better bassist, drummer and guitarist too! Subplots debut album is released through cableattack and if your speakers can handle the bass then your own ears can also joyously scream "Louder! louder!" while your house collapses all around your head too
Get in on the Subplots at....
Another joyfull noise to please volume hungry ears is found eminating from the amps and speakers Panda Kopanda. They are also yet another classic example of why we'll probably end up having to write up a whole new site for just the Belfast bands alone! Their debut album entitled 'This Hope Will Kill Us' was released through Belfast indie label Furious Tradesman in January 09- an album and label seemingly worth their weight in plutonium too with hard core fans of the band recently springing up as far apart as Brazil and Spain. But before you follow the links to their brilliant sounds just make sure that you've screwed down everything that fell off your shelves from listening to Subplots, because if you look up when the room starts shaking you'll probably end up looking just like a Panda once the remaining pieces get shaken from the shelf to poke you in the eye. Panda Kopanda can be heard and purchased at full volume via the following links...( ...or, if you want your volume hungry ears both satisfied in one foul swoop then both Panda Kopanda and Subplots can be heard side by side on the same stage in the Belfast Pavillion on May 24th 09 - so wear a hard hat and expect the entire roof to cave in at that gig! ) ...
... Meanwhile back in Dublin there's yet another band name soon to be on everyones lips called Identity Parade..and, while still loosely following along the thread of words such as 'lips' ... did you know that many moons ago, before Horslips borrowed that Rolling Stones Mobile studio to record one of the fastest selling indie albums of all time...and sent the studio home covered in cow dung and straw and made Mick Jagger green with envy by getting what was possibly the best liscencing deal on the planet...that Ireland and in particular Galway's 'Bermingham House' was once a favourite inspirational haunt of Mick Jagger and Marriane Faithfull ?... Especialy when they were avoiding their own media and police Identity Parades in the late sixties.
This same historic house was to also become the studio setting for Dublins own Identity Parade where new tracks were carefully hewn out on location for their upcoming debut album . Chocolate bars aside, there is definately a touch of the early Stones energy to be found among these debut tracks and strong elements of eighties music are also to be found -and nicely updated- in their own New Wave of Dublin Pop Punk, especialy in the vocal style of lead vocalist and guitarist Kevin Homan.There's even an echo of The Stranglers in the manic organ on 'Where You Go'. There's plenty of outstanding musical candidates to pick out on the new album with plenty of evidence also being submitted to the lineout at the following link too, with 'Ooh Ooh' standing first in line as the single release from the album available now...
You can point the finger at the following link...
With a sound that somehow ranges from the gentle optomistic harmony of an almost Paul McCartney feel (..a wild and mystifying statement I know, but there is an incredibly loose connection here somewhere ...albeit probably just in my brain) to the gut wrenching electro punk of early Talking Heads (check out the awesome 'More Songs About Buildings and Food' edge to 'Do Not Pass Go' ...a truly beautifull noise), Cowboy X have developed a very special blend of very danceable electro rock . Even though it looks and occaisionaly sounds like a very commercial pop band there are some very solid and rocked up foundational stones hidden just beneath the surface that could knock out the 'Smashie and Nicees' of the pop world with a single blow ...'Japanese Toy' and 'Break Me' being the latest two examples with 'Gabbi' and the aforementioned 'Do Not Pass Go' both having some' left hooks' and 'uppercuts'. The band formed after lifelong friends David Grealy and John Hanley rescued a beautiful young femme fatale called Karen McCartney ( ..aah so that's where the loose connection comes in!) from a herd of savage wild animals on a beach. Afterwards, in a tale that bears very little resemblance to Disney's The Little Mermaid, the boys repeated marriage proposals and suggestions of being repaid in kind just did'nt work so they finaly suggested singing instead...to which Karen thankfully replied 'Yes'. The end result was certainly worth risking life and limb for too. For more on the new heroes of electro-rock go here...
For those of you who like your electro rock to have a more acoustic or even R&B edge then Corks Toy Soldier is a laid back summer sound well worth soaking up... Who needs Timberlake when we've got it all on our doorstep anyway? Toy Soldier is the artist formerly (and still ) known as Cian on perfected vocals, synths and guitars along with Fergal McCarthy on drums and live programming . The band is currently in the middle of writing and releasing new songs before a planned summer tour so make sure you catch their unique set when they set out on tour. We've added the link to Toy Soldiers 'MySpace' as well as Cians Muzo TV channel for a crystal clear and live solo rendition of 'Flowers' performed for the Hard Working Class Festival last year.
We think Toy Soldier are a definate five star act to watch closely for a big future - so make sure you don't miss out.
Our next duo of soundmasters have been having a slight problem on the 'supply and demand' front of recent months as both editions of their debut ep Fragile Things sold out almost instantly upon release this year.While busy touring Ireland with dates being booked right into the new year, The Ambience Affair have surprised their critics by being able to turn over an audience to their side faster than our best rugby players can turn over an Italian in the Six Nations Cup. The affair's they've been able to build among the listening public certainly hold a powerfull ambience in their sway.Their sound is truly unique and like no other I know of currently touring the main musical nations of the west..and as even their refined musical influences and mentors will probably (and sadly) be unknown to most of the worlds average listening public it leaves the possibility of finding any words to truly describe their unique ambience to be quite a task, regardless of wether you might be a linguistic professor or a poet lauriette. The super cooled semi acoustic flow carries a pace like a flood and could possibly be compared to the formative sounds of the early Dublin punk, alternative and new wave movement of the mid seventies in an acoustic format..yet as names like 'The Virgin Prunes' would baffle many beyond Irish shores and probably totaly bewilder many within, it might be wiser to draw comparrisons to more recent and internationaly known artists..So think instead of the punk wave of the late eighties to early nineties, in particular Sinead O'Connors debut album 'The Lion and The Cobra' and imagine that Sinead was not a 'Sinead' but a 'Ned' and that 'his' debut was now an acoustic version tempered with just a slight taint of Phillip Glass...Now if that doesn't utterly bewilder and confuse you even more, then it should give you just a slight idea of the uniqueness of this particular 'ambient affair'.
The band consists of Jamie Clarke on vocals, guitars and loops while Marc Gallagher adds a powerfull percussive element on drums and assorted instrumentation. There's plenty of new songs on the boil to discover on the current tour yet unfortunately there wont be a third CD edition of the now 'sold out' debut ep made available to quench the growing demand.
So if you want to add your own ears to the fray and form a 'menage et trois' with The Ambience Affair then hit the button for the MySpace streamed Affair, or alternatively hit the 'Indiecater' button to check out or better still, actualy buy the ep as a download from one of the few music sites that put the full lions share of sales straight into the hands of the actual artists themselves.
Also, we've added a link to some special footage of Fragile Things as performed 'live' on the
release of the ep at Road Records (yup the very same one from our news section that Irelands indie
bands helped to save from greedy bankers earlier this very year..) just in case you miss it on our
front page....
