BarryGruff’s March 2015 Playlist

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A regular monthly feature to the blog; a nice, neat and handy playlist of tracks featured during the month.

It was a pretty big month for the blog to be fair. We celebrated 5 years of BarryGruff with GruffWuff; a 19 track compilation of new, previously unreleased and exclusive recordings from some of my very favourite acts over the past 5 years of blogging. If somehow you missed all the hoo-ha about ‘GruffWuff’, there’s more info here & you can download / stream it here: Bandcamp / Soundcloud.

Aside from this rather significant milestone, there was the return of Tame Impala, Applescal, Crocodiles and Cian Ciaran with new tracks ahead of their respective albums, and new singles from Teleman, Telegram, Girls Names, Tandem Felix, The Dead Heavys, CaStLeS and Spies. Also featuring on the playlist are: Django Django, Ulrika Spacek, By The Sea, Hippies Vs Ghosts and O Emperor.

Listen to BarryGruff`s March 2015 playlist below. The track listing is after the jump:

 

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O Emperor – ‘Switchblade’

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Wateford band, O Emperor have released a new Lizard EP, continuing with the high standards of their last LP, Vitreous.

Lead track ‘Switchblade’ displays all the nuances of what you would expect from a band on the top of their game. A tenacious piece of indie-rock, it is delivered with plenty of swing and swagger. A mix of shimmer guitars combine with garage riffs, infectious rhythm and soulful blues-tinged vocals that make O Emperor so instantly recognisable. Yet another affirmation of their brilliance as a band, fast becoming one of Ireland’s finest.

You can check out ‘Switchblade’ below & buy Lizard from Bandcamp.

Best of 2013 w/ Keith from The Dead Heavys

It’s that time of year when every music website, publication and blog (including this one) are busy compiling lists, lists and more lists. Last year I asked bands and artists who’d played ‘BarryGruff Presents’ shows to put their own list making skills to the test in picking their ‘favourite album of 2013′, ‘favourite song of 2013′ & ‘favourite Irish song of the year’. After another successful year of shows, why break with tradition?

Right, that is enough from me, over to Keith from of The Dead Heavys and his picks from the year that was 2013.

Favourite album of 2013: Of Montreal – ‘Lousy With Sylvianbriar’

This album’s only been out since October but has already clocked up more listens than any other new release this year. Its quite a simple record (especially for Of Montreal) with a small band cutting it live to tape  but the songwriting is just fantastic. Great melodies paired with some seriously dark lyrics (a- la ‘Forever Changes’), makes for a great listen.

Favourite song of 2013: Unknown Mortal Orchestra – ‘Faded In The Morning’

Great tune from a great record. It somehow manages to be lo-fi, funky, psychedelic & rocking at the same time. Also has a great hook running through it.

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Favourite Remix of 2013: Jagwar Ma – ‘Come Save Me’ (Andrew Weatherall Remix)

Love the original track which has got a Phil Spector meets acid house vibe on it. The Weatherall mix drops the spector type beat and turns up the acid!

Favourite Irish song of 2013: O Emperor – ‘Contact’

Amazing band who really let loose on their new album. Great attitude & vibe to this track with so many different riffs going on throughout but never a not wasted.