Spudgun - Photo: Eoin Mulligan Photography
Spudgun - Crayons
Info: Last week we had our inaugural new feature The VidList with international acts Alt-J, Gordi, Blond Ambition and Jenn Grant. Now, it's time for the Full Irish, and we have four visually wonderful creations from the last couple of weeks courtesy of Dublin's Spudgun, London / Belfast act Pat Dam Smyth, Wexford pair Frankenstein Bolts, and Dublin pop supremo Tim Chadwick.
Woweezowee we start of with one of my favourite Irish music videos and tracks of the year from Spudgun with their new single 'Crayons'. With a sound self-describe as 'space goo', it's a tricky one to pin down, part math-rock, contemporary psych, dark matter, it doesn't really matter I suppose. There's so much going on, and it's a true cosmic delight, from grinding guitars, hypnotic percussion, buzzing synths and B-Movie violin snippets. What happens at the three-minute mark is what takes the track to the next level, everything grinds together sonically, melting in your head, before lifting off again into beautiful instrumental spaces. The video recalls Blur's 'There's No Other Way', except with a lot more insanity and unnerving facial expressions than Albarn and James could pull off, quality stuff.
Next up is 'Juliette' by Pat Dam Smyth, another dark opening beckons, musically we have Link Wray tremelo-led guitar riffs, a crossover of late 60's psychedelic-rock and modern sounds á la Father John Misty meets Spiritualized, it's a very interesting concoction. Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez colliding once again is the vibe I got from the video itself, which was directed by Keiran Perry and David James Watson and features some fine acting by it's central character on the run.
I was instantly endeared towards Frankenstein Bolts' new video for their single 'Anatomic Major', the first from forthcoming album Aglow & Spark. Both visually and musically it had a classic late 80's early 90's feel, an era when stop-motion videos were first coming to the fore. Soft musical textures whirl around the vocals with the dreampop duo infusing their sound with a hazy Californian summer vibe.
We wrap up with the latest single from Dublin pop act Tim Chadwick and his latest single 'Never Wanted You' which was released last month. Little strands of Bon Iver's sophomore album filter through in the percussion and vox in the opening minute and chorus. 'Never Wanted You' certainly feels like Chadwick's arrival to where he wants to be when put beside previous singles ,the production is pretty lush and it has that anthemic pop call-to-action energy.
