Hurray For The Riff Raff - Hurray For The Riff Raff

Sometimes the term ‘Americana’ doesn’t seem like a genre that we’d be terribly familiar with and its name alone almost suggests that it wouldn’t be a genre that would stand up in our country. But with its origins in folk and blues, we are in fact very much familiar with ‘Americana’ as a genre, and Hurray for the Riff Raff is indeed a perfect slice of everything you would consider the genre to be. Right down to the biography of the band. It reads;

Hurray For The Riff Raff began when a teenage Alyndra Lee Segarra started hopping freight trains across the USA to satisfy a yearning to explore its mythical small towns and backwaters…She hooked up with The Dead Man Street Orchestra, a home-made family of young, itinerant music makers living on the edge of the American dream.

That says it all really. The heart of this music is placed in the romantic dreams of turn of the century America with its wide, open plains barren save for the railroads and it’s sparsely populated towns.

It’s easy to be cynical about the foundation myth of the band, after all, I come from a very cynical country. However, once I put my cynical tendencies aside, what’s left behind is a beautiful body of music, spanning two albums, and five years of chasing the American dream. Well, in name at least.


The album opens with ‘Meet Me In The Morning’, a instrumental that sounds like it should accompany a love scene from a turn of the century silent film, and it leads into the album’s strongest song, ‘Is That You?’. Frontwoman, Alyndra, croons over banjo strums and the drones of an accordion, “I saw your ghost at the grocery” being the lead sentiment of the song. Toms and snare bang in and out, taking the track up and down as the accordion grows ever more frenzied.

In one of the dips of the song, Alyndra lifts a verse from the great, troubled singer Daniel Johnston and his song, ‘Some Things Last A Long Time’. She sings, “Your picture, is still, on my wall. The colours, are bright, as ever”. As a fan of Daniel Johnston, I’m happy to see his music influencing more musicians, and references to him seem to be a rite of passage, (see Kurt Kobain, Conor Oberst).

‘Is That You?’ is a beautiful start to an album, but sadly, the rest of the record stays in the same vein. Songs like Daniella, Little Things, and Take Me are quite lovely, and add to the atmosphere, but the album refuses to go anywhere new. Don’t get me wrong, Hurray For The Riff Raff is a marvelous album, beautifully crafted, and doesn’t possess a single disappointing song. But I feel that it’s more of a coffee table album, an album for the background that doesn’t require a lot of attention.

I will listen to this album again, as a fan of the Americana genre, and I will enjoy it. But not because Hurray For The Riff Raff have opened my mind up to something new, but because I’ve heard it all before.

Drop-D Rating: 8/10

Published on Drop-D.ie on April 20th 2011

Sound It Out!: Grand Final, at the Pavillion

The Pavilion last night saw the conclusion of the Sound It Out Competition that had been running about Cork for the better part of the two months. The lucky groups that were going to slug it out on the night were Sian Brown, Meadhbh Boyd & The Mutual Appreciation Society, and Hush Warcry. The groups had triumphed over the thirty-three other hopefuls and were in with a chance at taking the title. It promised to be one entertaining night.


First up was folk act, Sian Brown. Backed by a five-piece band comprised of an electric guitarist, bassist, drummer, pianist and cellist, Sian launched into semi-soulful renditions of her extensive body of work. The band embellished Sian’s songs perfectly, the beautiful arrangements and tight play style made her stand above the other bands in terms of musicianship. She knew what her genre demanded and she delivered it. A personal favourite track of mine would be the guttural, ‘Rainbow’, a track whose heart is grounded in the mid-90s and gives off an almost Radiohead-esque vibe. I must say however, you can only push the folk-rock genre so far and Ms. Brown wasn’t delivering anything mind-blowing at the show. Her set wasn’t going to set the world alight, but indeed it was very pleasant, and probably the most complete of all the performances on the night.



Next up was the winners of the Roundy heats, Meadhbh Boyd & The Mutual Appreciation Society. The band combine the folk/jazz elements of Meadhbh’s own style, with the heavy, off-time rhythms and bass brought in by the other members. The drumming was excellent (if a bit light at times), the bass playing was excellent, the keys were excellent and the guitar embellishments added by Robert Wedgbury were excellent. Given the individual parts, you would expect that the whole would be excellent also, and it was pretty close. I found the lyrics grating at times, in particular the “you are a sexy sexy man about town” lines, and in general the lyrics were quite lacking. Also, I found that the songs went on a bit and often bordered on the over-indulgent. That said, I found Meadhbh Boyd & The Mutual Appreciation Society to be, by far, the most interesting act of the night.



Finishing up the evening were indie-kids Hush Warcry, and once they had taken the stage, it was clear to see which band had brought the crowd. Amidst thunderous applause and whooping, Hush Warcry, clad in the indie uniform of white t-shirts, skinny jeans, and guitars up to their necks, opened their set. The band showed a good deal of expertise in their genre, with their melodic guitars, driving bass, and innovative drum beats, adding some nice synth lines to give some fullness to their material. Their two lead signers worked both individually and in tandem throughout the show and they possibly possessed the best vocal range of all the acts.



I think the singers could have harmonised a bit more often and this could have made their set more interesting as I found myself drifting off after their fourth or fifth song. Another criticism I would have is that the band inexplicably all swapped instruments for a song mid-set. The bassist played the drums, the drummer played the keys, and one of the singers played the bass. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for the band to have kept their places for the song, as once they had switched over, the quality of the music took a nosedive. But in general in quality of the music was high, and they were by far the most melodic and evocative band of the three finalists.



For all that the night promised, I couldn’t muster up a lot of interest in the bands, as much as I tried. I found something fundamentally lacking in each of the acts, aspects that I couldn’t get over, but maybe I have high standards. My money would have been on Meadhbh Boyd & The Mutual Appreciation Society to take the title and as luck would have it, they came away with the win. The band were the most interesting and innovative of the three and, lyrical content aside, they were the obvious choice to win. We here at the D look forward to hearing more from them in the future and would like congratulate them on their win.


Published on Drop-D.ie, 16th April, 2011

Toy Soldier - An Réalt Dearg, April 10th

Local electro-pop champions Toy Soldier performed in the intimate setting of Barrack Street’s An Réalt Dearg last Sunday night as a warm-up show for the myriad of appearances that await them in the coming months.

The show was divided in two, the first was a stripped back, most acoustic orientated set but it still maintained a good deal of the electronic elements that the band are known for. The set was eight songs long and encompassed all the best parts of their full on set, as well as a few new tracks to keep things fresh. Songs like Goldigger, Summertime, and new track Run stand out, the third being perhaps the most recent addition to the set and led entirely by singer Ciara. The purpose of these stripped down songs is to prepare the band for an appearance in Los Angeles’ infamous Viper Room next week as the Soldiers march off to the states for a string of shows on the West Coast. The shrewd use of programming, perfectly harmonising vocals, and incredible guitar precision show that the band are sure to impress in the highly competitive atmosphere of the City of Angels.

Once the acoustic set was concluded, the crowd were treated to the full on Toy Soldier set. We were met with the true heart of the pop aficionados, and they are truly in their element when they’re fully electronic. Nothing against the more stripped back material, but Toy Soldier were made to get you grooving with their incredibly energetic, synth-pop swagger. They have a beautifully constructed set list, with intro music that leads seamlessly into the opening track, We Are Soldiers. The band’s past releases , Battles and Climbing Trees drop in and out of the set and hold their own with new tracks like My Oh My and Heat. The flow of the set is absolutely perfect, and the lucky few who saw them are treated to an encore in the form of So Far Away, a glittering way to end the evening.

I also picked up a copy of the band’s current single, Sunset Girl, which is a brilliantly infectious track. Edgy synth lines run throughout the song as Cian and Ciara’s vocals intertwine expertly, adding a nice depth to the light-hearted gem that the song is. The band released the track last month and it came in conjunction with a beautiful music video. It was shot by local director Shaun O’ Connor, whose previous work includes videos from Exit: Pursued By A Bear, Ladydoll, and local rap hero, Grandmaster Cash. The quality of the video is incredibly high, and the slow movements of the camera make a nice contrast to the upbeat track. The video is linked below, and you can find more of his work at www.shaunoconnor.com.

Well, in summary, Toy Soldier are perhaps one of the most enjoyable live acts I have seen locally in a long time. They are experts at their craft, and the quality of their material, both live and on record, is something to be marvelled at. Definitely a band to check out. Links below.

http://www.myspace.com/toysoldier

http://www.facebook.com/toysoldierband

Published on Drop-D.ie, April 12th, 2011

Script Debate: Drop-D.ie

SUPPORTING THE MOTION: James Hunter, pseudonym

It’s my unfortunate fate to have to argue in support of The Script, a stance that, especially amongst the vast majority of Ireland’s music scene, is a very unpopular stance to take. Given alternative music’s prerogative to be against anything ‘popular’, this doesn’t come as a surprise and with The Script’s Danny O’ Donoghue making comments as to the validity of Jarvis Cocker’s existence in pop music, being anti-Script is the thing to do in the Irish music media nowadays. However, it is my charge to try and address the balance in the discussion in this all too brief article.

In a discussion like this, you can’t argue about musical tastes. An argument like that, an argument so personal, is an argument that can never be decided using reason, so we can’t discuss whether the music The Script make is good, and I for one, am not a fan. But what this discussion has to be about, is how The Script have carved themselves a position at the top of the charts through their musical abilities, a feat that no ex-boyband can lay claim to. Not even JT.

Let’s look at their history. Many of us have seen the infamous, My Town, video (circa 1996) featuring the band’s Danny O’ Donoghue and Mark Sheehan. Their success as a boy-band was overshadowed by other, more popular acts and the band weren’t destined to stay in that mould for long. They achieved enough recognition however to be able to work with some of Pop’s most influential producers, Dallas Austin (Michael Jackson, Madonna), Montell Jordan, and Teddy Riley amongst others . After years of working with prominent producers in Canada and Los Angeles, Danny, Mark, and drummer Glen Power formed The Script in 2005, and released their debut album in 2008. The rest is history.

A total of 12 years passed between My Town and the first Script release, which you must note, is a very long time. The evolution of music is so fast, especially in pop music, that the relevance of My Town has been quite rightly forgotten and is barely relevant to the band’s current state. That said, they likelihood is that The Man Who Can’t Be Moved will not be quite so relevant in another 12 years, but it can’t be denied that The Script have suffered in the mire of terrible pop music in their time. Now however, through their own skill and talents, they have finally carved themselves out a position of credibility in the pop world and that’s something to be respected.

OPPOSING THE MOTION: Caroline O’Donoghue, bloggist

I am a woman. Furthermore, I am an Irish woman. This means that I have two divinely ordained cultural responsibilities. One: I must have lots of babies. Two: I must fancy Danny O’Donoghue of The Script. On both these counts, I have failed miserably.

I don’t know which came first, my hatred of The Script or my somewhat confusing hatred of Danny O’Donoghue, but both hatreds are equal in their vitality. My working theory is that everything about The Script is so wrapped up in O’Donoghue that it is virtually impossible to accept them as being anything more than a somewhat less musically interesting Take That.

For one thing, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Script song or seen a shred of Script publicity that didn’t focus entirely on the innate fanciability of Danny O’Donoghue. The band’s official website is an invariably tragic reflection on this, featuring the most mortifying description of any human being, ever: “Raven haired, handsome, sensitive keyboard player with the vocal flexibility and technical range of an American soul legend”. (It goes on for a bit like this, just failing to mention “glitters in sunlight”.)

I suppose none of this is really surprising, considering that O’Donoghue and fellow bandmate Mark Sheehan first found relative (cough) success as nineties boy band Mytown, whose first video, the soulfully titled Party All Night can still be found on Youtube. (If you’re not bothered looking it up, let me surmise: spiked hair, cheerleaders, and the theme tune to California Dreams) Considering his humble boy band beginnings, it’s inevitable that poor old Danny has been exploited for his looks and not his… well, whatever it is he’s got going on.

I’m ranting a bit now, and I’m all too aware that if I continue picking on the irritating cult of fancying Danny O’Donoghue, I’m in danger of being left open to accusations of being either a) a lesbian or b) an embittered cow who has become resentful of the lack of Danny O’Donoghue’s in her area code. Thankfully, I don’t have to rely solely on this argument because the music of The Script has the good grace of being quite genuinely awful.

Musically, The Script have one pace, and two themes.

Theme Number One: “There’s this girl. She’s gone and left me. I know, right? Me. I am miffed about this. Rather than tell you why this girl warrants being miffed about, I am instead going to bang on for three minutes about the very notion that someone could leave me. Me. Danny O’Donoghue. I mean, seriously.” (See “Break Even”, “If You Ever Come Back”, “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” and well… everything, really.)

Theme Number Two: “Life is a bit crap sometimes, isn’t it? Some people don’t reach their full potential, and that sucks for them. Also, I’ve been reading the news lately and I hear there’s some stuff going on.” (See “We Cry” and “For the First Time”)

For the First Time itself is enough to give you an aneurism for being the single most patronising song since The Coronas conception of the skin-crawling San Diego Song. While The Coronas utilized what it was to be a smug University student ferociously chasing the dream of sleeping all day and drinking all night, The Script did something a little different.

The Script decided that as the spearheads of Irish pop music, it was their responsibility to write the first pop song about the economic recession. They decided it should sound something like a Bruce Springsteen song, preferably something like “The River”, only with more bounce. And that’s how For the First Time happened: how thousands of job losses, the collapse of the housing market and perpetual national anxiety was deftly surmised by “Man, these times are hard” and rhyming “I’ve got a new job now, in the unemployment line” with “cheap bottles of wine”.

Maybe I’m the only person who’s pissed off by this, and perhaps my venom toward The Script is emblematic of a wider resentment toward the reductive songwriting emerging from the Irish music scene. The last time Ireland was hit by a blow this hard, we were also struck by a wave of punk, ska, and the new romantics. Now, we have The Script smouldering their way into teenage fantasies and, for some reason, musical legitimacy.

Published on Drop-D.ie, 12th April, 2011

Bibio - Mind Bokeh

Mind Bokeh (pronounced ‘bouquet’) is the new album from the British music producer Bibio, aka Steve Wilkinson. An electronic artist, Bibio his draws influence from Boards of Canada, and other Warp artists, where he releases his music. Given his peers and his history as a producer, a lot was expected from his most recent effort, and he doesn’t disappoint.

Mind Bokeh opens with the track Excuses. Chimes ping in the distance, and synths drip and patter as the song kicks off. As the edgy bassline and percussion begin to build up, Wilkinson enters with a low, effected, and almost hushed vocal, “How was I, supposed to know”. Excuses is a dark track that doesn’t exactly peak, but is content staying in the groove until the end. The real kick comes with the Reprise at the end of the track after a moments silence giving a more energetic feel that harks back to the sounds that came before it. Pretentious is the track that follows and it’s a much more funky number, with a staggered, off-time beat. There are signs of some Latin, Caribbean and Motown musical influences in the synths, percussion and percussion respectively. Funk and groove are big features of the earlier tracks, and Anything New is guilty of this too. You can hear similar influences that can be heard in early Jay-Z and Kanye West material in this song, but Wilkinson’s vocal keeps us grounded in the present. Wake Up! combines the sentiments of the earlier tracks with an Arabic/Eastern vibe, but Light Sleep brings us right back to the groove again. Light Sleep is the climax of the earlier portion of the album in terms of style. The percussion of the track never really breaks out fully, Wah-Wah guitars, lead basslines, and jazzy synth parts make it somewhat of jazz/funk odyssey.

Once the album hits the sixth track, there’s a serious shift in style. The funk play style is out the window, and the heavier, power chord guitars enter, along with the dance beats. It’s almost like a different group. Take Off Your Shirt is a track worthy of dance floors everywhere, sounding like a rockier version of tracks by DJs such as David Guetta and his ilk. The next song, Artist’s Valley, is one of the more artistic tracks one the album. A semi-punk-pop guitar line gives an introduction, and it leads the way for staggering, stumbling electronic drums and effected, harmonising vocals. K Is For Kelson allows the sunnier elements from earlier in the album to seep back in briefly, but the elegant and moody synths return with the title track, Mind Bokeh. The album’s namesake doesn’t stay long, and seems to serve as an intro for More Excuses, the more mature, older brother of the LP opener. Driven by acoustic guitar picking, a hopping bass, and light percussion, the lyrics of the track seem to be its centrepiece. The ‘excuses’ that are sung about seem to be the only topic of any depth in the album, although this depth is only alluded to as Wilkinson seems perfectly content in the instrumentation and groove that wins out in the LP rather than introspection. And as if Bibio read my mind, the track that follows, Feminine Eye, is the perhaps the most laidback of the album.

Clearly the confidence of Bibio lies in the lighter, funkier material and there’s nothing wrong with that. On a personal level, after a number of listens to the album, I began to find some of the earlier tracks tedious and identified more with the more subtle material.

But those criticisms aside, Mind Bokeh is an incredibly enjoyable album and the stand-out tracks have to be Take Off Your Shirt, Artist’s Valley, and the duo of Excuses and More Excuses. Bibio’s album ranges expertly from introversion to extraversion in a very natural way and it spans a lot of genres. Without a doubt there’s something is this album for everyone.

Drop-d Rating: 8/10

Published on Drop-D.ie, April 8th, 2011

Thirteen Senses - Crystal Sounds

Thirteen Senses are an Indie/Melodic band from Cornwall and have just released their third album, Crystal Sounds on their own, B-Sirius, label. It follows up what they have described as “a difficult second album” and features finished tracks of demos they had released the middle of last year. I had heard of the band before, first through their popular track Into The Fire which featured on episodes of The 4400 amongst others. That, combined with a brief look in on them at a festival a while back, I was very interested to see how they would follow up, “the difficult second album”.

The album opens with the title track Crystal Sounds. On their Facebook page, the band themselves say the opener “Like riding a wave of pure diamonds, it’s one to sweep you up and take you away”. It’s a euphoric track that puts one in mind of the Danish band Mew what with the opening reverberating handclaps and vocal harmonies. It shows the development of a more mature sound for the band, and vocalist Will South seems to know it as he opens with the lyric “A little wiser now”. The drums kick in and the song enters its top gear but still retains its choral tendencies as strings and pianos join in to give the track an almost epic quality. A brilliant start to the album, and definitely one of its best. The next track, and first single from the album, The Loneliest Star, carries on in the same manner with big vocals although it’s a bit more to the point than the opener. Up-tempo kick and snare hits bring you in combined with an ethereal pad and South’s introspective love lyrics, “At the end of time, I will hold you in my arms again”, keep the band still somewhat within the Indie mentality, while the instrumentation pushes them forward towards something with a lot more depth.

Next follows the second single from the album, Home. It’s a slightly more bland track that the previous ones. Don’t get me wrong, it still carries the same elements as the two openers, choirs, keys and large sounding guitars, but the execution here is a bit lacking. I wondered if the more standard indie stylings were creeping into the album and sure enough, the album starts to lose it and starts to stagnate a bit. Imagine Life and Suddenly follow suit and seem to follow tracks that have worked for them in the past such as their biggest track, Into The Fire, from their previous album. Again, it’s not that there’s anything wrong with that style, it’s just that the album started out with such potential and I was a bit disappointed not to see them keep things interesting.

There are glimmers of hope later in the album however. Animals is a beautiful track. The pattering of a distant arpeggiator, echoing guitars, and a graceful lead bassline are the core of the first half of the song. The first half fades, and the band add layers and layers of instruments on top of an elegant piano line and it builds to a euphoric climax worthy of Coldplay and Sigur Ros. This is the essence of the depth that was hinted at earlier in the album. I Saw Stars Disappear hints at this too, as does the album closer, Out There. This track is by far the biggest sounding on the album, and is a natural closer with is grandiose string arrangements and its monumental aura.

The album also features 3 bonus tracks and the first of these, Send Myself To Sleep, is a largely acoustic number. However, the orchestral pieces feature again and the track benefits greatly from it making it incredibly sweet. The third of the extra tracks, In The Crowding, is another track that stands out and strikes a good balance between the Indie and Melodic elements of the music. For me, that’s the main point to make about the album. It hovers between the ever-dating, average, alternative side, and the larger sounding, progressive tones. At times, one side favours, then the other side favours, but the band really shine when they hit the balance in tracks like Crystal Sounds, The Loneliest Star, and In The Crowding. Thirteen Senses are really pushing the boat out with this album, in terms of depth, lyricism and instrumentation. Definitely one to check out.

Drop-d Rating: 7/10

Published on Drop-D.ie, April 4th, 2011

Vita - Oh The Beautiful Bovine

Vita are an incredibly interesting band and they’ve just released their debut LP, Oh The Beautiful Bovine.. Fronted by ex-Ilya K guitarist Niall Cuddihy, their music still carries a good deal of their charm. I must say, I was a big Ilya-K fan back when they were together. Went to many a gig, and devoured their LP, Anaesthesia ad Infinitum, when it came out so I was interested to see where Niall would take their sound. As it turns out, he’s taken it in a pretty natural direction. The album still has the stompy guitars and crashing drums of DeKay’s sound, but the classical, folk and electronic elements that were seeping into Ilya K’s later material have found their home on this record.

The album opens with the heavy ManFaith. The pattering arpeggiator that begins the track hides the battering that follows. A brooding, quasi-blues riff heads up the verses here, with lead singer Niall almost groaning his lyrics over the instrumentation, “I bruise like a fallen angel”. The vocals, mixed with the guitars reminds me of Mark Lanegan era Queens of the Stone Age. Next up is the introspective My Father’s Mean, which takes the emotional tone of the album right down to the ground from the heady opener. Indeed the album in general mixes the pounding of Niall’s Ilya K work with the more tender and emotional work the features throughout the LP.

The third track, Runner Beans, keeps the atmosphere edgy and ethereal. Samples spin off behind a whirling organ and it segways into the brilliant Ray Davies Sais. For me, this is the stand out track on the album. The “Na Na Na Na Na Naaa” chorus and pumping verses drive the track along in a really strong way, with guitars that stab in here and there to give it more edge. The beautiful Hazeldark soon follows. It sits at only a minute and a half, but it’s grace and elegance stay long after. I found myself going back to this simple track again and again. Niall sings“Dream afresh now your past has died, simply goes when theres love inside” and this just goes to further the introspective side of the album that contrasts the brash tracks that balance it.

Stand out tracks for me have to be ManFaith, Ray Davies Sais and Hazeldark although there are moments in album that are a bit lacking for me. I found myself humming a vocal line in the song Dirty Silhouette and a vocal never came. Not that that’s a big problem, but I felt there were not enough full on songs in the album and a few too many instrumentals for my liking. That said, having been a fan of Niall’s previous work, I was quite impressed with the album, and as an album in itself, it works beautifully. Definitely one to check out. You can download the album from their Soundcloud page.

Drop-D Rating: 7/10

Published on Drop-D.ie, April 1st, 2011

The Bastard - The Bastard

About a year ago, this writer read an article by the well respected Irish Blogger and editor of State Magazine, Niall Byrne, a.k.a. Nialler9, on the subject of Irish Hip-Hop artists. It took a “light-hearted” look at the state of the genre in Ireland, and the result was none too good. It featured a number of acts ranging from the dreadful to the more dreadful including a group of awkward lads singing about debt collection in front of a Subaru jeep, another few singing about Dutch Gold and Grannies. Others dealt with the age-old battle of ‘Marijuana vs. The Gardaí’.

The comedic element also featured. Naturally, the Rubberbandits headed up the hip-hop parodies, with the Cork-based stylings of Grandmaster Cash gaining an honorable mention (not pictured Dr. Feekinstein). Given that, in late 2009, the above was the state of the Irish Hip-Hop scene, we clearly had a long way to go to gain any sort of credibility and as a genuine fan of the genre, I was disappointed at the turnout. Well, The Bastard AKA Leigh and Blake, as part of the Exxon Valdes collective, have given a much-needed injection of credibility, creativity, and talent into the Irish Hip-Hop scene with their self-titled debut LP. The future of Irish Hip-Hop is here, as The Bastard themselves put it, “The Dawn of a New Era”.

The album eases us into Leigh and Blake’s world with the track Things Are Bad. The opener consists entirely of the infamous “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more” speech from the 1976 film, Network. This track sets the scene for the album; a dark, brooding look at humanity. However, I must get my one major criticism for the album out of the way now. I think the group relies far too heavily on samples taken from film. The first, third, and closing tracks consist entirely of movie quotation, the second track, and the lead off single, The Bastard, is guilty of this too. My reasoning for calling this aspect a flaw is that it shows a lack of creativity in what otherwise is an incredibly creative record. I can see that the chosen samples help the scene setting, but if the sampling had been a little more original, this would be near perfect for me. That mentioned, lets get back to it.

The first meaty song on the album comes with the second track, entitled Keep The Change. Big beats hung on a loop from Swan Lake power this number, the MC layering the dark subject matter on top, “scared to sleep, my demons on the lookout, the one that gets too close usually the one that gets took out”. The next notable track is the fifth, Down In The Hole. To me, this track seems the most complete. I’m not usually a fan of the whole Devil/down at the crossroads style of lyricism, but it just works here. The beat ties in so well with the vocals, and the synth in the second verse just makes it so funky, that I can’t help but get on board with it. Out West follows along in a similar vein to Down In The Hole, in terms of lyric style, taking a country/blues guitar loop and a distant saxophone as its basis. The growing darkness of the LP culminates thematic centerpiece of Memoirs. The spoken word track tells a tale of a man falling from youth and grace into hatred and age, “Night has fallen and the darkness blankets my mind, and not even love can illuminate it again”. The lead off single The Bastard follows. It’s a great track and an ideal first foot forward for the band, as well as people getting into them. The video is down below, and the LP can be downloaded from their Bandcamp page.

Track seven of the album, Memoirs, tells us, “F**k hope” and the speaker is clearly lacking it. I however, am not. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, The Bastard represent the future of Irish Hip-Hop and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

Drop-D Rating: 7/10

Published on Drop-D.ie, March 28th, 2011

Longjaw - ...like a dog

Maybe it’s just me, maybe it’s inaccurate searching, or maybe its the fault of the band but I can find precious little background information for the Dublin-based Longjaw at the release of their debut electronic/shoegaze LP …like a dog. Their Bandcamp page, where the entire album can be downloaded free of charge, seems to be the only presence the band hold on the net. That, I must say, is a serious shame because …like a dog is such an evocative release that shows a lot of potential and the band need to do a bit more to get it out there.

The album holds such a strong groove at the outset. The opening duo of …the world screamed and Frankie’s Song place the album firmly in the electronic/dubstep category with distorted and melodic vocal tracks, combining with tight drum sampling. From the third track however, the album then seems to taper off slightly. The vocal quality falters, as does the instrumentation, and the album eventually becomes balanced between it’s flawless and dodgy elements. The tracks New Year and fake Emo Ghost are good examples of the this duality. Similarly, the closing tracks, (trashed in) Paradise and Ghostworld, suffer from some serious tempo and vocal issues.

The production of the album is decidely lo-fi and that seems to be an intentional move by the band. The record, like the artwork that accompanies it, hovers between childish and charming, and I can’t quite decide which it is. The music is laid back and chilled, and the production mirrors that, adding to the atmosphere of the LP. The style of the art and production do give a sense of the album and this can hardly be seen as a negative aspect of the band but I feel the quality issues need to be addressed for them to progress.

That said, Longjaw show a lot of potential for their genre and …like a dog is a very good first step. I look forward to hearing where they go next.

Drop-D Rating: 5/10

Published on Drop-D.ie, 31st March, 2011

Ginola - You've Never Met Someone Like Me

Dublin-based band Ginola have just released their first double-A side single You Never Met Someone Like Me on the indie label Quarter Inch Collective. The single is Ginola’s first solo release after their inclusion on the Collective’s Quompilation LP released last December. The LP featured a stomping, punk cover of Rihanna’s Rudeboy by Ginola and You Never Met Someone Like Me follows on in a similar musical vein.

The track Dark and Handsome opens the single and it doesn’t stay long, timing in at just over a minute and a half. It’s a brash, loud, chugging but decidedly confident opener. It only fits in one chorus, that shouts out the title of the CD “You never met someone like me”. The second track Tell You A Lie opens with a profoundly punk, hopping bassline and battering drums. The verses stop and start, increasing the tension into the choruses. The chorus harks back to the legendary chanting lines of punk legends past as the band scream “When will you realize?” over thundering drums and screeching guitars. All in all, the single is the embodiement of the term ‘short and sweet’. There are timing problems here and there, especially with the kick drum, but that adds to the charm.

As a taster of the talents of Ginola the single works perfectly. It combines their influences and musicianship in an extremely natural manner. Things bode well for this hardcore outfit. Download the single for free at their Bandcamp page or via quarterinchcollective.com

Published on Drop-D.ie, March 28th, 2011

Bl_ck R_b_ts - Farewell Black Robots

It’s a testament to the nature of receiving new music these days that the first thing I did when I went to review Bl_ck R_b_ts’ album – Farewell Black Robots was to Google their name.

I was greeted with tale after tale concerning the band’s recent history, and in particular, the trouble concerning their name. To cut a long story short, Bl_ck R_b_ts dropped the ‘a’s and added the underscores to prevent confusion with the Californian-based ‘Black Robot’ and can now add their name to the long list of bands who’ve had similar issues. Their debut, Farewell Black Robots, comes at the end of this ordeal, and in my opinion they couldn’t have put it behind them in a better way. style="font-family:georgia;">

The album opens dark, with I am are Robot, a deafening track that seeps angst and anger. The following track, Times Changing, furthers the darker side of the album. Deen O Saurus sings, as the title suggests, “Times are changing…I can’t see you, the way I did before”. However, within the darkness lies light. The album moves between the two shades while remaining in the same trodden heavy guitar and drums combo. Tracks like Stand, Easier, and the album closer Different in particular, are truly uplifting. The enchanting melodies behind the brash instrumentation reminds you of My Bloody Valentine and The Deftones at times.

If the I was to criticise the album, there are a few timing issues here and there so the tracks aren’t as tight as they could be. Also, the two instrumental tracks, Dead Fox and Virgin, tend to break up the album’s flow a bit. Not that I’m against instrumentals, but the track don’t go far enough in the instrumental vein and if you include tracks like that, they have to hold your attention. That said, I really enjoyed Farewell Black Robots. Its an incredibly strong record and I’m hoping that their recent troubles can be put behind them so they can make more great music like this.

Drop-D Rating: 8/10

Published on Drop-D.ie, March 25th, 2011