Suede vocalist and lyricist Brett Anderson is set to feature on Death Songbook, an elegiac record performed in collaboration with Paraorchestra. Charles Hazlewood, Nadine Shah, Gwenno, Seb Rochford and Adrian Utley are all set to appear on the album. The album features a selection of songs that have been reimagined to fit an orchestra. Songs on the album include tracks by Echo & The Bunnymen, Mercury Rev, Japan, Black, Depeche Mode, among others.  Anderson, who explored the death of love on the sprawling Dog Man Star album in 1994, was captivated by the concept. “The Death Songbook wa ..read more

5 Before you read on, a word of warning. There are some fans who would prefer to see Liam Gallagher submerge himself in a completely different genre a la reggae; composing something that might appease stoner rock fans and music journos. Then there are others, much larger in their numbers, that wish to see the erstwhile Oasis frontman tackle the genre he popularised in 1994: alternative rock. John Squire’s masterful guitar playing and hyper-kinetic approach to songcraft was a clear influence on Gallagher during his Oasis heyday, which is why Gallagher’s decision to partner up with him for an a ..read more

More than forty years since ‘Cool Cat’s release on Hot Space, the song is being re-released this time as a limited edition 7″ pink vinyl. It will be made available to the public on Record Store Day, April 20th; complete with a never before heard instrumental B-side. The popularity of the song likely stems from an Amazon Prime advert, directed by Olivia Wilde, which has gathered more than 25 million views on YouTube.  Written by John Deacon and Freddie Mercury,the song is one of Queen’s funkier works, and features the two writers alone on the track. Hot Space is also notable for ‘Back Chat ..read more

A week night trip to The Windmill has helped rejuvenate my love of the uncovered and unknown many times in the past, but a recent trip has perhaps had more of an effect on me than any other. Having turned up to watch headliner Morgan Noise (of Fat Dog), an impressive up-and-comer in their own right, I was no less than floored by the support, Rabbitfoot. The eclectic five piece cover as many bases sonically as they do aesthetically, dancing from post-punk to baroque pop and everything in-between. At one point in their set, a call to “praise the gods of latin music” was even gladly met by the ca ..read more

4 The opening track is something of a beast: A pulsating keyboard enters, employing the same rave energy heard on many of the dance tracks from the 1990s. Considering the decade it is released in, Th/s /s Sh/t’s ‘Y Point One’ drives along with a thunderous pace that stems as much from the faders as it does from the electronic drums. Of the two mixes heard on this release (an E.P., a throwback of sorts to the packagings of old), ‘Y Point One extended’ follows the nineties influence that bit closer, but the opening track has an infectious energy that feels like it’s entirely of its own making.&n ..read more

3.5 3.5 IDLES have had a strange journey over the last few years. Reaching such a dizzying creative peak in 2018 off the back of their debut Brutalism and perfected sophomore Joy as an Act of Resistance left me wandering where exactly they could take their sound, the answer wasn’t very far. At least, there hasn’t been much of an ascension since 2018. Their late 2020 release Ultra Mono was a conformation that their sound and blunt messaging had run its course, with Sleaford Mods leading a general cultural shift in the perception of the band, moving from a refreshing angry take on political p ..read more

The voyage into the ethereal psychedelia of The Telescopes is always a trip worth taking, and their sixteenth studio album, Growing Eyes Becoming String, is no exception. Upon listening, it doesn’t take long to hear how The Telescopes challenge us to listen more intently (and almost more intuitively) to what is being conveyed than ever before, with musical structures that are ambitiously ambiguous and abstract, leaving the listener space to create their own meaning for what they encounter – and I absolutely love the subjectivity of this.  The musical textures of this album are a huge sel ..read more

Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett has just unveiled ‘Circo Inferno’, the third video and single from  The Circus And The Nightwhale. Set for a release on February 16th, The Circus And The Nightwhale is Hackett’s twenty-sixth solo release, and features Nad Sylvan as one of its vocalists. Sylvan has toured with Hackett since 2013, and regularly fills in as the in-house vocalist for the Genesis covers.  In an interview with Pennyblackmusic, Hackett likened Sylvan to Genesis vocalists Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins: “You could say that Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins both had that br ..read more

New Sounds writer Eoghan Lyng went backstage at a Wild Child gig, and met up with guitarist Alexander Beggins. The interview occurred on January 17th, 2024. “I play ukulele, and guitar, and I sing,” Alexander Beggins explains. “I’m one of the founding songwriters with Kelsey. We founded the band back in 2010.” Beggins and I are sitting in the “Green Room”, and although he’s tired – the band only arrived in Dublin a couple of days earlier – he’s clearly excited for the tour he’s about to embark on. “I think this is our third time here,” he giggles. “I want to say we’ve played this venue before ..read more

After ten years, most American bands replicate their signature hits, or rely on the strength of nostalgia, as they sail across the Atlantic seas for rain, reverie and afternoon tea. For Wild Child, the desire to experiment with their image and sound – it’s just songwriters Alexander Beggins & Kelsey Wilson and guitarist John Calvin Abney up there – means that the band offers something Dublin regulars haven’t heard before, and the trio, especially Wilson, thrives on spontaneity. By the time the trio are nearing the end of their set, they attempt a giddily ram-shackled rendition of ‘Silly Th ..read more