The Murder Capital - Photo: Neelam Khan Vela
Info: REMY's first independent Irish playlist of 2019 is here, it goes without saying that the standard is high, and we carry on where we left off in 2018, with more sumptuous singles to get into our ears.
1) The Murder Capital - 'Feeling Fades
If there's one thing I can guarantee you over the course of the next 12 months, it's that you are going to be hearing more and more and more of Dublin five-piece The Murder Capital. A rattling sound that is post post-punk and a disillusioned anger, they join ranks with fellow Dublin act Fontaines D.C. in starting a new and much needed injection of arresting song-writing and performance against a backdrop of banal meaningless rock music which has hogged the airwaves for far too long.
2) PEACHFACE - 'You Never Saw Me Dance'
Self-described as a track "where lyrical loneliness and wistful arpeggios play off lush layered harmonies and shimmering synths", that's a damn fine description, I'm sold! The debut single from Dublin synth-pop trio PEACHFACE, 'You Never Saw Me Dance', recalls the breezy care-free harmonies of Belle & Sebastian and Kings of Convenience with really well delivered minimalist synth-pop fuzz, a really impressive opener which has me eager for more.
3) Ruth Mac -'Speed'
Currently based in Berlin, Galway artist Ruth Mac produces a wonderful debut single in 'Speed', interestingly I can hear the continental indie-pop vibe permeate the entire track, from instrumentation (Oh Boland's Niall Murphy fills in on guitar here) to her highly pleasant on the ear vocal. It's perfectly chill and the antidote to a chaotic day, week, year, with Ruth Mac coming across as an established act who has been doing this for years. A debut EP and Irish tour dates are coming down the line before long.
4) Pascalwillnotsurvivethis - 'Hey Bud'
Former WASPS man Danny McClelland from Coleraine released his solo debut single 'Hey Bud' under the moniker of Pascalwillnotsurvivethis this week. This is the type of thrash lo-fi indie I adore. Stripping away everything you'd be tempted by, McClelland and band whirl their way through a cacophony of pinging peaks and troughs to produce a ball-busting piece of heaven.
SYLK w. Daragh Locke
5) SYLK feat. Daragh Locke - 'All in Ur Head'
Live SYLK are an act that will make you happily numb to reality and pull you out of your body with their hypnotic and mesmeric sound-potion. This sense is less overt in their recorded work but no less potent, 'All in Ur Head' is so chock-a-block with ominous, in your face bulky beats and quick-fire vocals that the option of not being subsumed by the overall method is removed from the listener. Daragh Locke's input is complimentary, allowing the track switch from full industrial drone to a jolt from the slumber when he enters the fray.
6) SOAK - 'Knock Me Off My Feet'
Derry's SOAK lays out a wonderful cocktail of ambient, acoustic and pop charm with new single 'Knock Me Off My Feet'. Initial listens have flicked mental switches upwards in my brain that I know will lead to being hooked on the track. A highly-charged rhythmic trundle flows without respite through its 3-plus minutes, a blunderbuss of glittery 80's retro-pop and Bridie Monds-Watson's endearing vocal push the song way beyond mere enjoyment.
7) Talos - 'The Light Upon Us'
Cork's Talos, aka Eoin French, has a reputation which precedes him via his critically acclaimed 2017 debut album Wild Alee which was shortlisted for the Choice Music Prize. With a second album, Far Out, on the near horizon, he shares latest single 'The Light Upon Us'. Orchestral, uplifting, and full of sparkling emotion, the single indicates that his creative well has not diminished whatsoever.
Talos - Photo: Niall O'Brien
8) Crome Yellow - 'Wash Basket Earpiece'
Oh god, from the first 5 seconds of Crome Yellow's latest single 'Wash Basket Earpiece' I was away with the fairies in my head, seriously, what a delightful jam, and without showing my hand, a total killer of a single for 2019 at this very early, early stage. The funk is so cool, but so strong, the music is extremely laid-back to the point the Waterford four-piece are barely playing their instruments (but they are obviously). I want to disappear in this forever, also, lil' bit Republic of Loose, yurt.
9) Rêves - 'Depths & Between'
Dublin's Rêves released new single 'Depths & Between' yesterday, the piano intro reaches inside and you instantly submit to it. I've mentioned before how difficult it is to make a song stand out lyrically about complicated / problematic love and romance, a very common theme for obvious reasons! However, Rêves give additional meaning to the theme in a unique way on this track, and they've been able to do it because the music manages to spark life again into a much traversed subject.
10) John Blek - 'The Blackwater'
Cork's John Blek has two album's under his belt, both of which I listened to before listening to 'The Blackwater', 2016's Cut the Light and 2017's Catharsis, Vol.1, the beauty of both had me bewildered as to why he wasn't in a more prominent position on the Irish music spectrum. Echoing Dylan without being Dylan, here we have a serious song-writer in our midst. It's that rare moment where you have a song-writer who is almost writing music for no one, to never be heard, but if you come across it, gosh. This is the type of lyrical and musical craftsmanship that would be gobbled up in the U.S. without question if it were one of their own, a tour there and in the U.K. would surely deprive Blek of day-job cruelty.
John Blek - 'Salt in the Water' from Catharsis Vol I
Fiach Moriarty - 'Everything Will Rhyme'
Following a three year hiatus, Dubliner Fiach Moriarty returns with a beautifully mellow and 1920's-infused slice of crooning nostalgia via 'Everything Will Rhyme'. Having worked with big hitters Damien Dempsey, Duke Special, Mundy, and band members from Bell X-1, The Walls and The Dubliners, Moriarty drifts into his own with a dollop of honey on 'Everything Will Rhyme'. Outrageously jazzy brush on snare, and a wonderfully balmy vocal breeze give exactly the right amount of warmth for those dark January blues.
To listen to our last Irish independent playlist, go here! https://thebestofmusicandfilm.blogspot.com/2018/12/irish-playlist-junior-brother-d-sharpson-party-fears-slut-club-squarehead.html
