Archive for the ‘ Music ’ Category
Two men have been found guilty of plotting to kidnap and murder pop singer Joss Stone.
Kevin Liverpool (35) was jailed for life with a minimum term of 10 years and eight months while his co-accused, Junior Bradshaw (32), had his sentencing adjourned until a later date. Read more
My Pyrrhic Victory continue their ascent to stardom on June 21st when they headline The Academy to launch their debut album Equinox.
Fresh from rocking The Sugar Club the three piece band are anxiously awaiting the summer gig which will see Equinox, an album that was finalised last summer, finally embrace the hearts of Irish music fans. Read more
Six-time Grammy award winner Carrie Underwood brought her Blown Away tour to Dublin’s Olympia Theatre on Thursday 14th March. The concert marked the singer’s first time on these shores and it most certainly was a night to remember.
A now well-known figure in the country music industry, Underwood started her career as the winner of American Idol in 2005, beating out thousands of singers for the coveted prize and since then her career has soared to dizzying heights. Her four studio albums have all been immensely successful, reaching the number one spot on several charts. Selling more than 15 million album copies worldwide, Underwood is the epitome of a small-town girl making good. Furthermore, she had a guest role on the prominent sitcom How I Met Your Mother and also starred in the film Soul Surfer but it is on the stage where the girl from Oklahoma comes to life. Read more
The Irish music scene has become a diversified space in recent years. We’re famous for our traditional and country music, with the odd U2, Thin Lizzy or Westlife thrown in the mix. But recently a wave of new young talent has burst onto the music scene.
We look at the top five Irish acts you must catch this year. Move aside Bono… Read more
Irish band My Pyrrhic Victory are on the brink of success as they prepare to ink their first contract with a record label and headline Dublin’s Academy.
The Dublin based trio of Carl O’Rourke (VOX & Lead Guitar), Paul Ford (Bass & Backing Vox) and Keith Hatch (Drums) were founded in 2007 and have finally risen to the top, with a contract to be penned in the forthcoming weeks.
It hasn’t always been easy for the trio who headline the Academy on June 21st but after years of hard work they are ready to make the breakthrough. Read more
Ireland has forever been a haven for unsigned musical talent but in recent years a new trend is emerging. During the nineties rap experienced a boom thanks to the emergence of world famous stars such as Dr Dre and Eminem, this boom reached Ireland and the rest of the world. Read more
There comes a time when every man aspires to reach the pinnacle of his chosen profession, breaking down everything that stands in his way and using his raw talent to get to where he wants to be.
Andrew Duff is the latest in line to stand up and breakout as the singer songwriter looks set to rise to the top in 2013. Read more
The Villagers’ second album brings fans further into the creative mind of the prolific Conor O’Brien. However, after two years of touring the last album the Villagers are no longer a solo act masquerading as a band. This offering is much more layered than its predecessor and the collaborative band effort has led to a fuller sound which will have wider reverberations in the music world. Read more
It’s two days before Christmas and chants of ‘Damo, Damo’ from the expectant crowd begin to gently soar through the stuffy Vicar Street air.
Prior to the late September release of his new album, Almighty Love, it had been five years since Damien Dempsey had released any new material. In April of last year, he posted an open letter on his Facebook page explaining that this delay had partially been caused by the fact that he had been going through a period of depression and questioning his own work.
This particular bout of melancholy seems to be well and truly behind him as he strides confidently on to the stage with the ‘Damo’ chants reaching a crescendo and launches into the opening song of the night, Sing All Our Cares Away.
The rousing outro, ‘We grow strong, or we fall’ seems apt for the times that we are living through and prompts the first mass sing-a-long of the night, setting the tone for the rest of the gig.
The reggae tinged Negative Vibes is up next, with Dempsey thrusting the microphone towards the crowd to encourage them to join in at the end of the song.
His heavily accented, booming vocals are flawless throughout and the backing band, aided through most of the gig by Sinead O’Connor on backing vocals, are solid and tight. The pounding, tribal drums on Almighty Love are a particular early highlight.
Of the new songs that receive an airing, Bustin Out of Here seems to go down especially well with the crowd but the night really kicks up a notch when an extended traditional jam segues into the achingly beautiful Apple of My Eye, sending the audience wild.
As always, Colony is another highlight. The extended spoken word outro, warning any would be imperialist forces, past or present that ‘You will never kill our will to be free’, always succeeds in whipping the crowd into a delirious frenzy.
That frenzy doesn’t let up as Damo implores the crowd to ‘blow the roof off’ during It’s All Good and they duly oblige. The chant of ‘Love Yourself, Todaaay’ ring out as Dempsey and his band leave the stage in triumph.
The only complaint about the show would be that maybe one or two of these songs should have been saved for the encore which is a slightly more sombre affair.
Factories and Hold Me are lovely songs but may have been better placed in the middle of show rather than at the point where everyone is expecting one final musical orgasmic rush after all of the foreplay.
This is just a minor quibble though, and after the inevitable Fairytale of New York duet with Sinead O’Connor, Spraypaint Backalley draws the evening to a close. At a Christmas time when many are struggling to get by, its closing refrain, borrowed from Oscar Wilde, ‘We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars’ seems like an apt message to end on.
Damien Dempsey is a unique voice in contemporary Irish music who rarely fails to produce the goods when playing live. A perfect way to start the marathon eating and drinking session that is the festive season.
Ellie Goulding’s much anticipated second studio album has taken almost two years to be released to her eager fanbase, (myself included!) in both Europe and, quite admirably, the States. Her first single ‘Lights’ introduced her first album, by the same name. The single took off in America as well. Her songs then became subject to several dubstep remixes and later, garnered interest with the dubstep king, Skrillex, who has brought us the infamous ‘Bangarang’ and ‘Summit’ featuring Ellie herself. Finally releasing her second album with ‘Anything Could happen’ following with the powerful ‘Figure 8′ and ‘Hanging on’ which emulate her cool yet powerful vibe. ‘Halycon’ is described by Goulding as a breakup album. However she avoids any of the name dropping, we’re looking at you Taylor Swift. ‘Only you’ and ‘My Blood’ experiment with a touch of fellow songstress Adele’s heart-stopping presence. Throughout the album Ellie continues to hypnotise with her ghostly warbling, hauntingly so in ‘Don’t say a word’ and ‘Dead in the Water’. She’s amazing. Nuff said. And if that hasn’t immediately convinced you, this might; Calvin Harris makes an appearance too..
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