All photos by Remy Connolly
Info: In a buzzing and jam-packed Bello Bar last Saturday night, Dublin instrumental and ambient act Alex Smyth officially launched his The Utopian Dream EP. Support on the night came from three really great acts that played out of their skin, from relative new comers VLLNS who got us off to a rocking start, to the always energising and highly enjoyable Kevyn, and finally another solo act I'd listened to for the first time on the bus on the way into the gig, Cinema. Cinema was the perfect lead in to Alex Smyth, both residing in familiar territory genre-wise, he impressed the socks off me, I knew he must be up to something good given the sheer volume of streams he has on SoundCloud with most of his tracks clocking up well over the 4-figures mark, an impressive feat for a relative unknown.
Smyth himself did what all music fans hope will happen when you go to see someone in a live setting after listening to their recorded music, he matched the sound and then surpassed it, his live performance being every bit as great as his release sounds. The audience loved it, familiarity with the studio version of his EP, easily translating into a live setting, we all knew when the peaks were coming and reacted accordingly. Smyth is a joy to watch live, and I would highly recommend catching one of his next live shows based on last Saturdays performance.
