The first thing you notice when you listen to Val Normal’s new album ‘Fly the White Flag of War’ is the bare all personal nature of the lyrics, they seem very biographical and they don’t hold back. This is a welcome attribute that’s missing from a lot of prog music nowadays. The opening track ‘Inked on Eye’ is solid, with a melodic harmony driven bridge that kicks straight in to a time shattering delay breakdown.
The title track opens with an almost Muse-esque riff and it starts to become clear that the band have really found their sound through relentless touring and hard graft (They’ve played a LOT of shows in the last 2 years.) Their brilliant début ‘Plans? What Plans?‘ showed flashes of the talent on display here but they’ve really defined it on this release.
Next up is ‘Clown the Spade’. This song is obviously very inspired by ASIWYFA but it holds its own, showing great maturity it’s arrangement and making good use of dynamics, a solid structure and a great vocal line. ‘Wall’ continues with the melody of ‘Clown the Spade’, so consider the two songs a pair. Musically, it acts as a welcome resolve to the tension built up in the last song. This respite is short lived though as it soon builds up in to a thundering coda which is sure to be a crowd favourite with its resounding sing along chorus line(BA DA DA DA DA). ‘As I stood questioning the bee’, the first instrumental track on the album, features a piercing repetitive riff and punching rhythms from the bass and drums. The second single, ‘Chewy Hair’, is an interesting commentary on our modern drug culture, told from the perspective of a begrudging party host. It covers its causes, effects, and the individuals role as participant and observer.
‘As they stood questioning the bee(Part 2)’ is another instrumental interlude with catchy riffs throughout. ‘Blue’ is the track most obviously influenced by Biffy Clyro, shifting seamlessly between harsh grizzly and soft melodic vocals like so much of their early work. ‘I cant believe its not Sargent M’ seems to draw a little influence from Dublin’s own BATS in parts, a sign of the healthy collaborative music scene we have here. I reviewed lead single ‘Pugman’ back in August, its a lesson in loop peddle use, featuring thickly layered guitar work. It also sees the band expanding their instrumentation to include some interesting violin work written and performed by Pixie Delamere. Next up is ‘,’ another lush instrumental break. The last track ‘Pennysqueezer’ is an exercise in self observation and evaluation, a glimpse into the reality that many of us who grew up in Ireland’s economic crisis feel part of. Fast forward to the end of the track for a nice surprise =].
Last night I went to Whelans to see Adebisi Shank perform their second last show in Ireland. The math-rock trio have decided to call it a day and true to their form they’ve decided to go out with a BANG. An Album Launch/ last ever show, albeit a strange combination, results in one hell of a party. The venue was packed to capacity and I was shot back in time to their second album launch in this very same room 4 years ago. A lot has changed in 4 years but one thing remains the same, Adebisi Shank are a force to behold. They are epilepsy for the ears, a joyous apocalypse. People rejoiced, soldiers fell in the frenzied pit and were pulled to their feet by the comrades who surrounded them. Shouts of “Take of the mask” went unanswered. Will we ever know what Vinny looks like? Probably. Chants of “one more tune!” morphed into “ten more tunes!” and soon “ten more years!”. They pumped out song after song of vocoder infused tunage that I once heard best described as ‘the sound of spaceships battling’.
As much as we all wanted to deny it, all good things must come to an end. As they announced that the next song would be their last, people got prepared. Battle lines were drawn, pairs of glasses were pocketed and the audience held it’s collective breath. The last hurrah was a blur of bodies and swinging heads, when the band hit the breakdown I vaulted from the stage and was lifted above the crowd. The feeling was hard to describe, a mixture of pure elation mixed with the utter dread of knowing it would all be over soon. As the last note rang out the crowd erupted, screaming for more. But that was it, the end of an era. Adebisi Shank departed, leaving us to bask in the glory of having witnessed a true phenomenon. That was the end of a band called Adebisi Shank.
Too often Irish bands sputter out, fading into obscurity without telling anyone. Adebisi Shank did it right. Luckily though it’s onwards and upwards for all the members it seems. Lar is making music in the recently renamed All Tvvins (with Conor Adams of The Cast of Cheers fame), Vinny is producing/mixing, working on video games and other cool stuff as VMC Sound, and is also one half of Speed of Snakes (along with Rupert from the mighty Bats). Mick, according to the band, will continue to train for his UFC career! He also heads the Europe wing of Sargent House, the record label which is home to And So I Watch You From Afar, No Spill Blood, Mylets and lots of other amazing acts.
I’ll leave you with some great advice from Adebisi Shanks breakup announcement.
“To any kids starting bands we offer one piece of advice – play music you love, with people you love, for the people you love.
We saw a million faces
Vin, Lar + Mick (-_-) xxx”
So long Adebisi Shank, and Shanks for the Memories….
This Saturday the Grand Social will be staging a tour de force of new Irish music. The venue will host multicultural heroes Mutefish (the band who might have the best logo ever), instrumental lunatics Punch Face Champions and newcomer prog rock trio Phazam Haze. Tickets are €5 and doors are at 8. See you there!
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TMFTML favourites Val Normal have just released a new track from their forthcoming second album ‘Fly The White Flag of War’. The song titled ‘PUGMAN’ is a lesson in loop peddle use, featuring thickly layered guitar work. It also sees the band expanding their instrumentation to include some interesting violin work written and performed by Pixie Delamere. The three piece have been busy this summer playing a multitude of festivals and gigging relentlessly in between. If this track is representative of the record as a whole, I cant wait to hear the rest!
Tomorrow marks the start of the inaugural year of a newcomer to the Irish festival scene, Light Colour Sound. It seems the people behind the new venture in Shankill Castle are not ones to start things of slow because they’ve put together a phenomenal lineup of up and coming (and well established) Irish acts.
So without further adieu, and in no particular order, here are my top 20 bands to make sure you see over the weekend! The Eskies
I’ve found the best way to describe the Eskies music is ‘Gentleman Pirate Folk’. Silly genre names aside, these lads always put on a hell of a show. Check out this live video from Knockanstockan for a taste of what to expect.
Halves are a Dublin based ambient electronic rock band known for their eclectic live performances. Their latest album, Boa Howl, is a pleasure to listen to. Expect Flugelhorn, you wont be disappointed!
Raglans
Raglans have been quietly making waves in the Irish scene for a couple of years, releasing fantastic singles like ‘Natives’ and ‘Digging Holes’. Having just released their self titled debut album, those waves are set to get a lot bigger!
The Cold Draw Formally The Thomas Donoghue Band, the name isn’t the only change that’s happened to this band. After releasing an impressive EP last year, they’ve expanded their instrumentation and arrangements. Live, they produce a pretty epic sound. With their debut album about to drop, get ready to start hearing a lot more about these guys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-2F1aNiPdo Overhead, The Albatross OTA are quite simply one of the best live bands in the country. It’s a bit like if Mogwai and Pink Floyd headbutted each other really hard. They’ve been teasing us with EP’s and Charity singles for way too long, but having retreated to a forest in the Czech Republic to write and record their debut long player, we shouldn’t have to wait much longer. In the meantime, go see them and get excited!
Wood Burning Savages
Wood Burning Savages are an alternative rock band from Derry. Fresh from their set at the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury they’re sure to play a blinder at LCS. Don’t expect to see them in such an intimate setting for long!
Val Normal Val Normal are a bit like Biffy Clyro if they just kept getting heavier! Last year they released their debut album Plans? What Plans? to critical acclaim and they’ve been gigging absolutely everywhere since. They have their live show down to a T, expect odd time signature changes, and to get confused if you try to dance!
Race The Flux RTF are synth-infused cocktail of hard rock and Battles-esque rhythm sorcery. They dropped their debut mini-album Dutch Buffalo last year and have since gone on to support superstars Tame Impala in the Olympia Theatre. Bring lasers.
Radioactive Grandma This Cavan three piece know how to pack a punch armed only with an Acoustic Guitar, Cajon and Bass. There might not be much electricity going into the performance, but there’s a hell of a lot coming out!
All The Luck In The World
ATLITW are a band from Wicklow who have seen a very fast and possibly unexpected rise in popularity after posting some of their work to YouTube. One of the home recorded songs, Never, reached an impressive 70,000 hits without any promotion before being featured on a Trivago advertisement. It’s now sitting pretty on nearly 1.5 million views! But views aren’t that important, so have a listen below and hear for yourself!
Ka tet Ka tet are a Galway based alternative rock band. Having released their debut album ARCADIA last year the band have been extensively gigging the length and breadth of the country as well as the UK. They put on a pretty fantastic live show, expect to wake up with a bangover!
Dott
Dott are a garage pop band from Galway. Their surf rock infused, harmony driven sound is a delight to experience live. Having just released their debut album Swoon, the band have been touring the US, complete with slots at this years SXSW festival in Texas. Expect to leave smiling widely. Bagels
From what I’ve heard, the average age of Bagels is around 15. I wish I was making music this good now, these guys are awesome. Have a listen!
We Town Criers WTC are a Galway based band who’s riffs are stadium worthy. Their debut album Swing Beast is a lesson in rock music. This is the third band in the list to feature drummer Ronan Connaghton(He drums in Ka tet and Race the Flux too), it’s gonna be a busy weekend for him! New Secret Weapon NSW(not to be confused with NSFW) have been on the scene for a long time, but until very recently had no recordings to back up their reputation. That has since been remedied with the masterpiece that is their self titled debut album. It’s been met with praise from fans and critics alike, have a listen, it’s easy to hear why!
Enemies
Enemies are a melodic instrumental rock band. Their new album Embark, Embrace is a wholly satisfying listen, with hooks that will dig into your earholes. They’ve just recruited a new drummer, Micheál Quinn (Meltybrains?, Slow Skies). He’s got some big shoes to fill, but having seen him drum in so many different styles so impressively I can’t wait to hear it!
The Hot Sprockets The Hot Sprockets shouldn’t really need an introduction here. Their a bit like if The Grateful Dead got cryogenically frozen in the 60’s, but still got to listen to music from then till now, then thawed out ready to take over the world. Expect well timed Rock and Roll choreography and probably Buckfast.
John Blek and The Rats I saw this band for the first time last year and really felt like I had been missing something. They’re a Cork based Folk/Country act whose songcraft really shines through. Grab a beer, relax and just have a nice sway.
O Emperor Waterford band O Emperor have been going from strength to strength. Their hard work so far has culminated in their fantastic new album Vitreous. The record is a real album and should be listened to in full. It clocks in at just over 30 minutes of bliss. Check it out! And So I Watch You FromAfar
I said at the start of this post that these bands were in no particular order, but in the case of ASIWYFA that was a bit of a lie. I am so excited to see these guys again, it’s been over a year. But its not because they don’t play shows, quite the opposite. ASIWYFA have been touring everywhere, from Asia , Africa and Europe to the US, Canada and South America. It’s a bit of a treat when they get home for some gigs and Saturday will be no exception. Bring dry clothes, this ones gonna be sweaty!
There are still tickets available for the festival, but probably not for long, so get your arse in gear if you want to see these and so many other fantastic acts. Tickets are available here!
Body and Soul has always held a special place in my heart, maybe it’s the beautiful setting(Which includes walled gardens, lakes, ponds and their very own forest!), maybe it’s the consistently brilliant line ups, or maybe it’s the fact that I always leave with a sense of immense satisfaction and some great new friends.
Whatever it is, it keeps me coming back each and every year. 2014 was no different. We arrived pretty late on Friday, so after completing the task of setting up a 6 man tent in the dark, we got right down to exploring. There is a lot to explore, the festival boasted 10 stages with well over 100 acts. Areas this year included the Mainstage, The Midnight Circus(Complete with circus tent, cocktail bar and carnival rides), Port Royal(Similar to EP’s Trenchtown), Wonderlust in the Gardens, and the Forest, which included favourites such as Reckless in Love and My House(Think of your granny’s house with a DJ booth in the kitchen and a backstage door in the fridge!)
The weekend was so sunny that this blogger spent a lot of time lounging in the sun when he should have been checking out bands, but all the same I saw some cracking sets.
Jape hit the mainstage on Saturday with one of the best sets I’ve ever seen Richie Egan play. They have expanded their live band and have totally reworked their old songs to suit the new set up.
They were joined on stage by Conor O’Brien of Villagers fame for a live rendition of their recent collaboration ‘Ribbon Ribbon Ribbon’
John Grant took to the stage next, and it’s very easy to see why people speak so highly of his performances. The 6ft 2in frontman is a commanding force on stage and within minutes had the whole crowd fawning over him. The standout track for me was ‘Glacier’, where he was joined by Conor O’Brien, who was proving to be the surprise guest of the weekend.
Gary Numan took to the stage in all the late 80’s bravado that made him a star and he doesn’t seem to have lost any of it. He played a synth-heavy set full of hits and ‘Cars’ seemed to become the campsite anthem for the rest of the weekend.
Next I popped over to the Wonderlust stage to catch Come On Live Long, who played a great set of songs from their fantastic debut ‘Everything Fall‘.
Mount Kimbie were next, they brought their unique brand of band-driven electronic music to the Midnight Circus stage. At this point the tent was really starting to fill up and I started to wonder if it would hold the amount of festival goers who would want to see Jon Hopkins. Turns out I wasn’t the only reveller who thought this and tried to get a spot early.
When Jon Hopkins hit the stage at 1am, the tent was so wedged you literally couldn’t move in any direction. This ended up being a bit of a downer for me, as I was really looking forward to seeing him but the atmosphere kind of killed it. Still, ‘Open Eye Signal’ was a serious highlight.
After spending around 10 minutes wiggling our way out of the tent we headed over to the Mainstage to see Buraka Som Sistema, and boy were we glad we did. The Portuguese group played a stomper of a set and had the whole crowd dancing to their blend of African beats.
The rest of Saturday night was spent bouncing around all the little nooks and crannies with masquerade masks on and featured gratuitous amounts of bad dancing.
Weary from a nights travels I got up at the crack of noon on Sunday. First up were the fantastic MynameisjOhn and God Knows on the Mainstage. The pair have just dropped one of the best Irish hip hop records EVER in the form of Rusangano/Family.
Their live show proved to be unbelievably energetic and entertaining. It was exactly what the doctor ordered to get me in the mood for the festivities to come.
Deaf Joe’s set was interesting if a little stripped down. He displayed his great vocal range and sang over backing tracks from the album. He took a few moments out of the set to urge people to vote yes on the upcoming Marriage Equality vote in 2015 and was met by rapturous applause from the audience. The simplified version was “You wont lose anything by passing this bill, and I might just gain a something”. He finished his set with a powerful acapella version of the old gospel song ‘Grinnin in Your face’.
Later on we caught half of Caribou‘s set on the Mainstage, which was great! The bass pulsing from the P.A literally shook the earth under our feet. The whole area was packed to capacity throughout, confirming them as firm favourites at Ballinlough Castle. Standout track for me had to be ‘Odessa’
Afterwards we high tailed it over to the Good Time Lounge in the gardens to catch Attention Bébé, the phenomenal 16 piece band who rip up all the best tracks from the 90’s and rebuild/rearrange them into more than they ever were.
Complete with Brass and String sections, Attention Bébé are the ultimate party band and accordingly they had the whole place hopping from start to finish! When the time came and the P.A was shut off amid screams of ‘ONE MORE TUNE!’, the brass section led a musical conga line through the tent and finished it off in style. Go see this band live. Now.
Things started to wind down and the last live band to play the festival were the fantastic twin sisters Julie and Branwen Kavanagh, otherwise known as Twin Headed Wolf.
They closed the Padoga stage with the a crazy parade of ghouls and fairies, bones, strange instruments, stilt walkers using people as puppets and much more that they’re calling ‘Shrines and Ceremonies’. It was a real work of art. The pair switched back and forth to playing songs from their forthcoming album on stage with the other musicians, to joining the madness that was continuously unfolding around them and acting out little musical plays. Body and Soul obviously aren’t the only ones who appreciate the care and effort put in to such a performance, they’re also playing Glastonbury this year. Definitely ones to watch!
They started clearing the crowds out of the arena shortly after, so we all floated back to our homes away from home to raise a glass (or more likely a can!) to the little festival that kept on giving. The crew and crowd managed to pull it off again, 5th year running. Bring on 2015!
The always brilliant Wyvern Lingo have teamed up with John Barker of 98FM’s Totally Irish to produce a live video for their new song ‘Fountains’. The track is full of lovely harmonies and some interesting melodies and guitar lines.
You can keep up to date with all things Wyvern Lingo on:
Dublin based Alt Rock band Only Rivals released their debut EP ‘Details’ last month and I just got around to listening to it. If the 5 tracks on this offering are anything to go by you can expect big things from these guys in the future. Full of huge choruses and a great use of dynamics. The band have just completed a UK and Irish tour supporting All Time Low. Check the EP out for yourself below, for fans of Brand New, Blink 182, Saves the Day and The Get up Kids.
Forbidden Fruit have revealed the first round of acts playing in the grounds of The Royal Hospital Kilmainham on Saturday 31st of May. So far the lineup includes:
Early Bird tickets are on sale now at €49.50 for Day tickets and €99 for Weekend tickets.
Keep up to date with Forbidden Fruit on: Facebook//Twitter//Web
If (like me) you weren’t lucky enough to get tickets to John Grant’s sold out show in the Olympia last Monday, then you likely missed this brilliant rendition of his song Glacier, which is made even better by guest vocal harmonies from none other then Sinead O’Conner and Conor O’Brien(Villagers). Luckily, thanks to the wonder of modern technology, a fairly good quality bootleg has appeared on YouTube. Check it out above.
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