DATE ARCHIVES : November 2010

Download: Shit Robot – Take ‘Em Up

LCD Soundsystem take over Dublin’s Tripod for three nights this weekend and yours truly is lucky enough be going to Sunday nights show. The line-up has been made all the more special with the addition of fellow DFA label mate Shit Robot (Aka Dubliner Marcus Lambkin) in the support slot. This has the potential to be one of the best gigs of 2010.

I’m not gonna waste any more of your time, AU Magazine have all you need to know about the man, myth and eh….music, here. Also RCRD LBL are giving away his latest single ‘Take ‘Em Up (Feat Nancy Whang)’ as a free download.

Stream it below or grab it here.

Shit Robot – Take ‘Em Up via H Records

Free Download: Gang of Four EP

Legendary Leeds post punk band Gang of Four will release Content, their first album of new material in 16 years. As a taste of what’s to come, The Guardian have a free three-track EP to download (if you don’t mind parting with an email address).

The EP features a reworked version of the classic ‘Glass’, the brand new ‘Sleeper’ and a remix of forthcoming album track ‘I Party All the Time’. I could probably talk forever about my excitement, remember this is the band which spawned Entertainment, one of the greatest albums of all time.

Pop over to the Guardian Music Blog to stream or download the EP as well as hear the bands take the EP and new album.

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Pay By Tweet: ASIWYFA + Squarehead

Two or Ireland’s finest emerging talents ASIWYFA and Squarehead are giving away two remarkable tracks for the price of a single post on your twitter or facebook, simple as that.

‘Pay By Tweet’ to grab ‘Baseball Ghosts’ taken from Squarehead’s forthcoming debut album, out in early 2011 from here. ‘Straight Through The Sun’ is the latest offering from Northern 4-piece ASIWYFA. This one-off single will be the last new material before ASIWYFA release their second album in spring 2011. Grab it here.

Catch ASIWYFA live as part of the FMC Tour which hits The Dew Drop (Kill) and Whelan’s (Dublin) this weekend.

Squarehead – Baseball Ghost via Richter Collective

And So I Watch You From Afar – Straight Through The Sun via Soundsgoodtometoo

Video: Klaxons – Twin Flames

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Klaxons have just dropped the video to their latest single ‘Twin Flames. It’s a slightly weird depiction of a conjoined orgy, whatever your into I guess?

‘Twin Flames’ is taken from Surfing The Void and Klaxons play Dublin’s Tripod on November 23rd.

The Mighty Stef – TMS and The Baptists

TMS and The Baptists is album number three from Dublin troubadour The Mighty Stef and for the occasion he’s enlisted the help of ‘Gothic-folk-rock congregation’ The Baptists, a veritable super-group of folk from Humanzi, The Last Tycoons and Howlin’ Dowlin’.

If death was a lingering theme throughout his last album this one’s a howling roller-coaster ride of revenge, sin and redemption. He continues delving into the darker-side of life with the murky ‘John The Baptist (Part 2)’ and ‘Blood & Whiskey’ and as with all great troubadours his songs reflect the world which surrounds him.

A tectonic shift of societal conditions sees his style and songwriting follow suit, and how. ‘We Want Blood’ is a polemic shot across the bow for working people against the continued exploitation by banks, governmental and religious elite, similarly ‘Hollywood’ could be viewed as a fervent attack on the cosmetic and fake side of modern materialistic society. Aside from the superlative slick songwriting we’re treated to lashings of blues and folk with punkrock attitude, from the dark and thunderous ‘Social Science’ to the inspiring and uplifting ‘Georgia Girl’ or ‘John The Baptist (Part 1)’ which could quite easily be Primal Scream or The Rolling Stones in their pomp.

While the nods in the direction of Nick Cave and Johnny Cash remain he seems more comfortable and at ease, he’s found ‘his’ voice and ‘his’ sound, freed from the shackles of his somewhat overbearing influences. ‘The Baptist Record’ is The Mighty Stef’s most ambitious projects yet, the one fans knew he was capable of and he’s passed with flying colours. His best work yet.

The Mighty Stef launches TMS and The Baptists in The Workman’s Club, Dublin on Thursday, December 2. Tickets €10.

 The Mighty Stef – John The Baptist (Part 1)

The Mighty Stef – We Want Blood via State

Kid Karate – ‘HEART’ EP

A heroic show at this years HWCH confirmed Kid Karate status as ‘ones to watch’. The Dublin duos live shows certainly are something to contend with but the question on everyone’s lips is ‘can they replicate this energy and ingenuity on record?’.

The answer is an emphatic YES. Their debut EP HEART, captures all that makes them such a formidable live act. With no time to catch your breath you are bowled over by a storming blend of Rapture-esque disco-punk meets the gruffness of Arctic Monkeys and The White Stripes. Much like the later it’s hard to believe two people can make such a racket, from ‘Black + Beige’ to ‘Vicious’ this is scuzzy, guitar riff-heavy rock n roll at its very finest.

The strength of this EP hinges on the marriage between earth shattering wailing vocals of Kevin Breen, pummeling drum beats of Steven Gannon, distortion-laden instruments and synths, resulting in a riotous and rumbustious aural assault. Punk’s certainly in capable hands.

HEART confirms Kid Karate as one of Ireland’s most exciting emerging prospects, frighteningly you get the feeling there is still a lot more to come.

Kid Karate – Black + Beige

Kid Karate – HEART

Kid Karate launch HEART in Crawdaddy, Thursday November 25th. Tickets €8.

Download New Girl Talk Album for Free

For the past 24 hours I’ve been sinking my teeth into the Girl Talk’s latest album All Day, hence the delay.

Girl Talk (Aka Gregg Gillis) announced yesterday via Twitter that his new album and follow up to 2008 mash-up master class Feed The Animals, had been released for free.

Guess what? It features absolutely tones of mashed-up samples as you’d expect, it’s excellent so I’d strongly advise you to get it now! All Day is available to download for free right here courtesy of his label, Illegal Art.

Fancy streaming if before you download? You can do it after the jump.

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Jay-Z ’99 Problems’ :: The Prodigy Remix

Jay-Z‘s ’99 Problems’ is one of the most reworked/remixed tunes on the planet. How difficult would it be to rework this into a better tune? Very, only a select few have ever come close to making the grade. Dangermouse is one and now another heavyweight artist, The Prodigy have taken up the challenge.

The Prodigy or Liam Howlett to be precise has dropped a thumping remix of the classic track that’s smothered in all that thumping bass and wobble The Prodigy are renowned for. It does well to pay enough homage to the original but has its own identity, no profanity here.

Nicely nicely.

Jay-Z – 99 Problems :: The Prodigy Remix

Galapaghost – ‘Runnin’

Galapaghost is the moniker of Austin-based NY musician Casey Chandler. He already has a couple of well received EP’s under his belt but it’s the title song from his latest Runnin’ EP which has captured my attention. It’s a quiet, subdued and honest folk song, not to mention the wonderfully catchy acoustic guitar playing and sincere lyrics. It’s quite reminiscent of Willie Mason on top of his game.

I’ve been meaning to share this song for a long time but just never got around to it, not too sure what to make of the EP as a whole but he’s kindly made it available for free via soundcloud so you can make up your own mind.

Galapaghost – Runnin’

FMC Tour: Limerick

Who could turn down the chance of catching three of the hottest acts in Ireland on one bill?

Following shows in Galway and Cork Jape, And So I Watch You From Afar & Fionn Regan rolled into Limerick on Saturday night. An eclectic mix such as this can raise many challenges but the running order on the night was probably the most suitable.

Their was a really big crowd in Dolan’s as Jape took to the stage. He was his usual energetic and animated self, running through crowd pleasing favorites like ‘Graveyard’ and ‘Strike Me Down’ and some solid new material but it was ‘Floating’ and ‘I Was A Man’ which sent punters into vocal overdrive. An excellent performance which seemed to be over as quick as it began, time flies and all that, looking forward to the next album.

Having seen Fionn Regan nail it at Castlepalooza I was very excited to catch him again but it became obvious my optimism wasn’t going to be met. Regan was without his backing band, swapping the rockier edge for what should have been a warm, intimate acoustic affair. It was not to be. Sections of the crowd were chattering throughout the gig even when the rest made their feelings known. Regan to his credit battled on, understandably disgruntled (as was I), with ample room in the bar and smoking area there’s plenty of places for people to have a ‘chat’. The show was aptly brought to a close with ‘Be Good Or Be Gone’, just hope he gets shown more courtesy elsewhere, this was a real missed opportunity

From the sombre to the raucous, And So I Watch You From Afar must surely be the loudest band in Christendom. Their live show is a something to behold, its explosive and incendiary stuff as the crowd senses are relentlessly battered by a mixture of unbridled energy, volume and riffage of  their massive post-rock sound. They’re probably not going to suit everyone’s pallet but you’d be hard pushed to find bands to rival their live show.

On the whole it was a great night, pity about the ‘chattering classes’ and at €15 it’s certainly value for money. There’s three more nights to go in Dundalk, Kildare & Dublin this week so try not and miss out.

Vids after the jump.

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