Introducing: The Saturday Morning Cartoons (The SMC)

The Saturday Morning Cartoons (The SMC) are Kildare natives Morris Faderlum & Tommy Inowan, who together brew Sparklecore Thrash with a pinch of kink.

These are real songs, with real emotion steeped in honesty and vulnerability – something that jumps out and grabs you from the get go on their debut EP ‘A Shock For Jimmy’.

‘Getting Old’ jostles between the frantic and energised, and light and dreamy, while lyrics come with a Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat energy while ‘Good As Gold’ introduces a slunken groove and acts a bridge toward ‘Livin’ In A Bin’ and ‘Got Let Go’ which up the swagger, increase the bite and dials up the hard-hitting lyrics.

The SMC have created something wonderful here – brash, feisty and jarring yet also very, very catchy at times. A welcome breath of fresh air – it is unique and honest, and importantly damn fine tunes.

Morris Faderlum & Tommy Inowan are ably assisted in the production stakes by Poggy (No Monster Club/We Are Losers) & Stephen Fahey (Super Extra Bonus Party).

‘A Shock for Jimmy’ EP is the first of four planned EPs and with its release coming on July 11, I decided to have a chat with the pair, to find out more about the music and what makes them tick.

First off, what brought this collaboration about? “Absolute sheer boredom” says Faderlum , adding “wanting to escape the inner workings of my own head, spewing forth into the world while ranting to a backing track. That’s pretty much it. I love ranting and ranting, and giving out. Any excuse for a give out” he chuckles.

Inowan discovered a desire to collaborate with Faderlum while working on another project which he felt Faderlum would be very suited to and very good at. Going back further, having witnessed Faderlum perform live and leave himself behind and immerse himself entirely in the performance played no small part.

“You don’t see that sort of bravery an awful lot. it is one thing to get up on stage and plug in, we can all do that and bash the shit out of instruments and play. I think to get up on stage and be vulnerable, even if it is under a different name or pseudonym, whatever helps project reality and honesty – that just really gets me.”

Seeing Faderlum perform was not only impressive, it was inspiring and it sowed the seeds of working together.

Faderlum “had forgotten how much fun it was to write, I had done that shit in years and it was just great to do that track with Tommy and it just got the creative juices flowing.

It seems like an easy partnership from the outside, which is a good thing but how does the dynamic work?

Simple, says Faderlum, laughing “I get an idea for a song, I pass it to Tommy, he goes away and does all the hard work. It comes back and the song is made. Tommy gets an idea for a song, goes away and does all the hard work and the song is made.”

It is more interesting than that Inowan chimes in, “what I have done more recently is ask Morris does he have an idea or can he sing me a line and he might sing me a line or three [accompanied by a short hummed tune / melody] and then that is the end of the Whatsapp message. And for me it is interesting because even getting those few seconds of melodies or ideas, it is almost permission to explore with less judgement”.

One important thing they both spoke about from the off was honesty and vulnerability. Can we be honest enough with each other if we don’t like something to not take offence, to get more out of the other person and to compromise? That is more of a relationship thing that allows the music to come through.

Faderlum totally agrees. “We’re both easy going people, we both have good ideas and we’re both grown ups so it’s okay to bounce ideas around.”

Roughly speaking it is Faderlum who is responsible for the vocals and Onowen who looks after the music. The process worked out by demos being sent back and forth before meeting up to record together and hammer things out in person.

Faderlum has a jotter where all his lyrics are written down. “An idea might be stewing in your head and when you put pen to paper, it looks crap but then you stew it a bit more and you think, ah, now that’s good.”

Inowan says from the beginning he has been conscious of trying to not be too precious about the need to wedge lyrics and vocals mechanically into the structure of the song. “While I know Morris might have songs in mind but they could just as easily read as poems, they are articulate and introspective. I would like us to explore the spoken word element and the theatrical, as well as they Sparklecore. Essentially, engaged energy.”

The plan for the near future of The SMC is 4 EPS and then an album – and gigs, well that is just a case of getting together enough material for a live show.

Listen / Buy the EP below – the super artwork is from Egi23 – it is a short, sharp breath of sparklecore.

Introducing: Fresco Future

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Fresco Future are an indie-foursome hailing from the musical wonderland that is Newbridge, Co Kildare.

The quartet specialise in a blend of classic ‘indie’ with touches of early ’80s post-punk, fastened with flourishes of jangley guitars, swift, driving rhythms and basslines and hushed vocal delivery. Recorded with Padraig McCauley (P Affection & Disconcerting P) their debut double a-side Morning Mourning / Maybe Ellie sets out their stall in ear-pleasing fashion. ‘Morning Mourning’ is pure ‘ear-candy’; this is melodic, jangley indie with a lo-fi asthetic that purrs with a lovingly applied warmth and lightly-coated in fuzz. It gets inside your head and refuses leave, such is its insatiably catchy nature. ‘Maybe Ellie’ is a bit more rocking but no-less infectious or melodious. A fine opening introduction from the latest in a long and rich line of talented musicians to emerge from Newbridge.

You can listen to Morning Mourning / Maybe Ellie below or grab it for keeps, here.

Incoming: A Quick Chat With Count Vaseline | Plays Broken Home This Saturday

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Count Vaseline is the new project from Stefan Murphy, formerly of Dublin rock ‘n roll miscreants The Mighty Stef, and The Count is bringing genre-warped garage sounds to Newbridge, for an intimate and special Broken Home show.

It was a dark day for Irish music back in May, when time was called on The Might Stef. Always a prolific tunesmith, it wasn’t long before Murphy introduced his new guise Count Vaseline. Falling somewhere between raw garage rock and crooning fuzz-pop – sonically a different being – the new project remains draped in his unique and intuitive storytelling ability. There’s already a debut LP, Yo No Soy Marinero – a genre-warped record that fizzes with energy, invention and brimming with weird and wondrous ideas, and full of heart – with album number two, Cascade to follow in December.

In support of his new endeavour, Count Vaseline has been playing shows across the US and Ireland, and this Saturday, December 3, he rolls into Newbridge town, for an intimate and special Broken Home show, with support from the Tallaght folk machine We Went Down.

Ahead of the weekend’s show I caught up with Count Vaseline, to chat about the new project, touring and all things music. Check the album below too!

You can find further details on The Broken Home Series here, more info on the show here and you can purchase your ticket from Eventbright.

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Introducing: Our Hero From Horse Country

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Our Hero From Horse Country is the new project from Knoxville Morning / Band On An Island rabble-rouser, Ciaran Dwyer.

Under this new moniker, Dwyer will release a trilogy of solo, acoustic albums. The first of which of is ‘A Horse Walks Into A Bar’, a carefully curated a selection of 11 acoustic jams that celebrate his favourite Newbridge pub, Con Cummins. Each song has a relevance to his favourite local boozer, either written there, sang there or have some sort of sentimental attachment to the place. Recorded in a single day in the heart of Horse Country itself – The Curragh of Kildare – with Karl O’Neill (who also mixed it with Rubber Keogh). There are some old tunes, some new ones and some cover versions, including one of his all-time favourites ‘Blue Murder’ by Brian Brannigan. Introducing his new project, Dwyer has shared a first single ‘Buster Blue Eyes’ – a personal favourite I must hasten to add. Ponderous and reflective, ‘Buster Blue Eyes’ shifts seamlessly through the gears, from a gentle acoustic strum to a stirring, rousing and triumphant crescendo. A side-project created with love, care and attention and as far as intros go, ‘Buster Blue Eyes’ is perfect.

You can listen to ‘Buster Blue Eyes’ below. And if you’re down with that, the whole A Horse Walks Into A Bar album is here.

MMOTHS Announces Debut Album ‘Luneworks’, and Shares ‘Deu’

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Three years in the works, Irish producer MMOTHS has announced details of his long-awaited debut album, Luneworks.

With two EPs already under his belt – the self-titled debut EP (2012) and Diaries (2013) – MMOTHS , aka Jack Colleran, admirably took his time with his debut LP. Luneworks is pencilled in for release in March next year and accompanying news of its release is the album’s lead single, ‘Deu’. An incredibly lush, bewitching and utterly beautiful slice of electronica, ‘Deu’ pulses, shimmers and grows, immersing you in a world of thoughtful contemplation. Falling somewhere between ambient and downtempo, and while retaining both the warmth and ambient tag of his earlier work, this is a different animal to what introduced us to his talent some four years ago. Rather than negate him, the time Colleran has taken to craft his debut appears to be paying off, this is magnificent and evocative to say the least; needless to say things are looking well for his debut LP.

Luneworks is out on March 11th 2016 through OYAE/Because. For now, you can check out ‘Deu’ below, along with the Hassan Rahim & Scott J. Ross directed video.

 

BarryGruff 4th Birthday Bash (Friday March 21st & Saturday 22nd)

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BarryGruff is four years in the music blogging racket this month, hence the sleek face-lift and new dot com home (what do you think by the way?). It’s been an enjoyable four year no doubt about it, and to celebrate the occasion we’ve a weekend of music lined up in Flanagan’s, Newbridge. We’ve live bands on Friday March 21st & DJ sets on Saturday 22nd – all free & all under one roof. All the details and links are below – I really hope to loads of you can make it over the weekend, it should be an absolute cracker.

:: BarryGruff Presents #18 :: Fri March 21st in Flanagan’s, Newbridge :: [9pm/Free In]

The Statics:

The Statics have been longstanding favourites here at BarryGruff HQ, so it’s fantastic to have them on-board. Echoing the likes of The La’s, John Power & The Coral, the Dublin four piece’s melodious indie pop jangle is utterly brilliant. Their debut single ‘Holiday’ and EP, ‘Hidden Pigeon’ set their stall out for an ability to craft as close to perfect pop songs as you’re likely to hear. In essence this is  what makes The Statics so irrefutably lovable. And live, they are simply top class and not to be missed.

Knoxville Morning:

Another longstanding favourite around these parts, and one that never fail to deliver live is Knoxville Morning. The project was inspired by a trip around the USA by chief troublemaker Ciaran Dwyer, which resulted in an album of sweet folk, country and Americana. Surely I’m not alone in still getting plenty of mileage out of the record close to 18 months on from it’s release? It’s pretty fitting that Dwyer & Co. are on-board for this one, as long before I, they along with others, kept all things musical ticking over in Newbridge.

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Vagabonds & Thieves:

Vagabonds & Thieves are local (Newbridge) musical stalwarts of Andy Harper, Jack McKenna, Peter Lane & Steve Lunch. Early days for this new incarnation but these guys know what they’re at and their early demos suggest as much. It’s only fair to give the ‘young lads’ a run out right?

:: Discord#2 :: Sat March 22nd in Flanagan’s, Newbridge [9pm/Free In]

Saturday night we’ll have DJ sets from the talented Rob Smyth & Cormac Brady, & myself. We’ll spinning tunes from 9 till close – everything from hip-hop to electronica, from dancehall to indie and everything else in between.