Red Empire
Info: In our latest bumper Irish issue of The VidList here at REMY we cover five new singles and videos from Dublin acts Red Empire, The Crayon Set & Ivy Nations as well as Cork's Pale Rivers and Belfast's May Rosa.
Red Empire - Land of Ire
Starting with 'Land of Ire', the first single by Red Empire since their debut album Inhale was released last year, the band reflect and confront both the carnage wrought on Irish society during the last century by the Catholic Church, and also the ripples and pain that are still felt today. Director Daragh Murphy has done a great job of incorporating all of the most pertinent moments of our recent past and further beyond in his editing. The timing of the release is significant also as we await another visit from Rome, this time in a drastically altered socio-political landscape. Musically Red Empire capture the anger and frustration without overstating it, whilst lyrically capturing the disillusionment and disbelief of the current generation.
"The song incorporates the voice of survivor Michael O'Brien," explains Red Empire's lead singer Craig Cahill, "We were particularly inspired by his words and decided to use his voice in the song to share his experience. We visited Michael in his home and played the song for him. It was a very humbling experience and we are very honoured that he has agreed to collaborate with us in this way."
Pale Rivers - West Point
Whilst it can feel at times that indie-pop bands are two-a-penny (not a bad thing, more choice for us), five-piece Pale Rivers released their third single 'West Point' this week, and it definitely stands out from the crowd. So what have they done to achieve that? Firstly their sound is mature, and not one of a band who are relatively new, and secondly, which I particularly enjoyed about the track, was the added angst, throw it on the fire and see what happens attitude. It's difficult to not see the Cork act growing their following very quickly if they maintain the standard they've set for themselves across their first three releases.
May Rosa - Dancing In The Debris
Currently London-based, Belfast alt-pop singer May Rosa released her debut single 'Dancing In The Debris' just over 2 weeks ago. As first salvos go this is more than pretty impressive. There's that haunted, 80's, dark art-pop á la Kate Bush vibe running right throughout, bit this is no homage, as Rosa fires some unexpected but well judged rn'b moments across the bow. One of those moments where you wish it was her third or fourth single so you could go back and listen to the early ones, we'll just have to wait I suppose!
The Crayon Set - I Can't Say No
Long-time favourites here at REMY, The Crayon Set, released their latest single 'I Can't Say No' last week, which will feature on their sophomore album, Lost Languages which is out on the 10th of October. The six-piece are as polished as ever here, sounding more and more like an Irish Belle & Sebastian, with their warm and jovial sound reverberating right across the track. The wonderful animated video also picks at the auld heart-strings in a happy-sad kind of way with a nice balance struck between hope and contemplation.
Ivy Nations - Live By Design
A band who have had a knack of knocking catchy hooks and addictive indie-pop numbers out of the park over the last few years are Ivy Nations. After a busy summer hitting the festival trail with appearances at The Sea Sessions, Indiependence and a main stage slot at Castlepalooza, the Dublin act made their live bow in London for their first ever headliner outside of Ireland recently.
Their track 'Live By Design' (and video) which featured in Issue #005 of our regular Irish Playlist incorporates all of the elements which have made Ivy Nations garner well-earned early success, anthemic chorus, thick bass-lines and suave swagger all rolled into one.
To browse our last Irish VidList head over here https://thebestofmusicandfilm.blogspot.ie/2017/08/the-vidlist-irish-rews-otherkin.html
