Info: REMY's latest Irish independent playlist is here featuring some of the best tracks to be released over the last few weeks, and there have been many, all wonderful. Some are hot off the press just out in the last 48 hours including Bitch Falcon, Montauk Hotel, Sive, Pursued By Dogs and Columbia Mills. 11 tracks in total above so without further ado...
1) Bitch Falcon - Prime Number
Bruising, brutal, bruxing. If we lived in more conservative times, Bitch Falcon would probably be the band your parents would forbid you from listening to or seeing live. Unleashing an animalistic power yet again on new single 'Prime Number', the trio are continuously cementing their position as the best hard rock band in the country with each single.
2) Montauk Hotel - Stains
No one does jangle-pop better than Montauk Hotel, new single 'Stains' goes up to the next level though, such merriment alongside moody sparkle. I can't shake the image of a small pool of mercury rolling across a pane of glass, it's always easy to say when something is shiny and new, but I'm having pretty strong feelings that this is my favourite single of theirs to date, with the lead vocal and harmonies simply perfect. The four-piece play The Workman's Club on the 26th of October and are not to be missed.
Montauk Hotel - Photo: Declan Kelly
3) Pursued by Dogs - 'Swap Dimensions'
From our Album of the Month for April (and an Irish album of the year I might add), comes the latest single from Pursued by Dogs, 'Swap Dimensions'. From our review of the self-titled LP; "A well-timed change of pace arrives on 'Swap Dimensions', it's really nice to hear the minimalist vocal interplay at the beginnig between frontman Andrew Brennan and Suzanne Purcell which in turn leads to a harmonic embrace. I'm a sucker for phat, thick n' gritty synth buzzes and behold they arrive at 2:42, yaws."
4) Sive - 'Quietly'
Seemingly out of nowhere, Kildare alt-folk act Sive dropped new single 'Quietly' into the online ether yesterday. Following on from her critically acclaimed 2017 sophomore album The Roaring Girl, she returns with an all-embracing and lush delicacy. A powerful yet tender vocal, orchestral strings and a grandiose panorama of atmospheric vivacity, Sive has returned in the most arresting manner.
5) Columbia Mills - 'Close to You'
Another band who released a right doozy of an album in A Safe Distance to Watch last year are Bray indietronica quintet Columbia Mills, who also shared new single 'Close to You' yesterday. Banging straight out of the blocks with crisp percussion and wobbling synths, all of the sound is drawn into a brightly glowing column that reaches up to the sky beyond our view. They sound as good as ever here.
Alice Kiernan - Photo: Aaron Corr Photography
6) Alice Kiernan - 'Running Now'
No stranger to the live music scene in Dublin, Alice Kiernan has swapped her acoustic-based background for a vibrant pop sound on debut single 'Running Now'. Taking inspiration from the big vocal delivery associated with Lorde or Florence Welch, Kiernan provides herself with a broad canvass for future releases based on the feisty pre-chorus and bubbling tempo which trundle all across 'Running Now'.
7) Nobodys Face feat. Enda Gallery - 'That's Right'
One half of KILNAMANA, Kildare's Enda Gallery, has teamed up with Berlin grime and trap artists Nobodys Face to release the funky house bopper that is 'That's Right'. Whipping up a mixture of hip-hop beats, dance bass-lines and pop vocal strains the single is a wild and heady affair with plenty of colourful feel-good flourishes.
8) Party Fears - 'Dog Star'
Irish / Australian and Berlin-based pop-punk duo Party Fears released their latest single 'Dog Star' this week. Big sound, funky jams and classic 80's pop power vocals make for an enamouring and extremely likeable cocktail. The break heading into the final third has a really nice balmy synth moment before Party Fears rattle away full throttle towards a swinging finale.
Party Fears - Photo: Nina Agnes
9) Moylan - 'Naive'
A hugely impressive debut single, 'Naive', comes via Waterford singer-songwriter Moylan who is now Dublin-based. You often come across comparisons to Joni Mitchell with singer-songwriters, too often in fact, so it's one that I avoid like the plague. With Moylan it's not necessarily her vocal at all, but more the sound of the music and the mood, producing a deep sadness that recalls the intensity of 'Little Green'. It's an admirably honest song with a lot of depth, and I love the key change in the vocal at 4:12. An artist you'll probably see everywhere in 2019.
10) The Winter Flood - 'Fire It Up'
Another solid debut single comes from dark pop, Monaghan-based act, The Winter Flood and his track 'Fire It Up'. A contemplative piano intro leads to soft vocal, quickly joined by an enjoyably lethargic electronic beat. The sparseness of the track suits the mood well and within a mere few listens its immersive qualities really sink in.
11) TabloidTV - 'Always Hold On'
Dublin indie-rock five-piece TabloidTV release the latest track from their Mixed Messages EP, 'Always Hold On'. There's a real skiffle vibe to this lively affair, not a million miles away from the feeling you'd get from a Clash or Dexy's Midnight Runners number. When they hit the indie-rock gas, in particular after the two-minute mark I'm also reminded of Californian alt-rockers Cake, specifically 'The Distance'. Entertaining stuff.
To listen to our last Irish independent playlist, go here! https://thebestofmusicandfilm.blogspot.com/2018/10/irish-playlist-participant-paul-noonan-happyalone-aislinn-logan-tanjier-jamie-adam.html
