Single: Hot Cops - Passive Passive

Hot Cops - 'Passive / Passive'

Info: Back in April last year I had to sit on Hot Cops' double A-side 'Decay / Six' for three weeks that felt like an eternity so eager was I to share it. Eight months have passed since then and thankfully the Belfast three-piece have come back on form with new single 'Passive Passive' which officially releases on the 8th of February, with a launch gig in Sweeney's in Dublin on the 3rd followed by a show in their home city.

'Passive Passive' opens with an electrifying guitar intro leading to deep toned and moody vocal solos and harmonies. The band's affection for Californian lo-fi indie geniuses Pavement comes through with the vibe straddling somewhere between Wowee Zowee and Brighten the Corners. Before all that happens though I was hearing some Placebo sounds on bass and in the vocals, think a less hysterical 'Nancy Boy'.

This is not an exercise in comparisons however, and Hot Cops have maintained the traits which caused much excitement following their previous releases, powerful and heavy bass-lines, interloping moments of sparsity and crashing guitars and drums all coupled with an ability to write songs that genuinely have us badly craving more and more. Easily one of the hottest tickets in Ireland at the moment and when the time is right, an album will provide something we can feed our fixes with.

'Passive Passive' is available for pre-order and limited vinyl at Hot Cops' Bandcamp page here http://hot-cops.bandcamp.com/ and tickets to their show in Sweeney's off Dame Street are available here http://papertrailrecords.eventbrite.ie/

Look / Like / Listen & Follow: 

Website: http://hot-cops.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HotCopsNI

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/hot-cops

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HotCopsNI

Single: Perhapsy - All My Soul Swallowed

Perhapsy - 'All My Soul Swallowed'

Info: There's something in the water in Oakland, California, something very creative as I seem to be receiving an endless stream of amazing music from the city the past 12 months. The latest comes from Bells Atlas and Astronauts, etc. guitarist Derek Barber who goes by the name Perhapsy. 'All My Soul Swallowed' is the first single from his upcoming sophomore solo album, Me Tie Dough-ty Walker which is due March 3rd.

Perhaps unbeknown to Perhapsy (!) the opening of 'All My Soul Swallowed' was like a 90's trans-Atlantic indie cocktail of bands like The Strokes and Sterephonics in terms of the guitar. As his vocals make their way into the song it takes on a more shoe-gaze hue, the first one that struck me was one of his admitted influences of Sonic Youth, but also Oxford band Ride with a bit more oomph. It's a lot different to the music made with his aforementioned bands, more upbeat and residing in a very separate mix of genres. As the various music lines come together in a subtle crescendo towards the track's end you feel a certain joy, at times straight-forward, 'All My Soul Swallowed' is incredibly gratifying during it's just-shy-of 4 minutes duration. Bring on the album.

Like / Listen & Follow:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/perhapsymusic

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/perhapsy

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PERHAPSYMUSIC

Video: Trick Mist - Gap Series No.4, 'Another's Tale'

Trick Mist - Another's Tale

Info: The fourth video from Trick Mist's Gap Series from his Jars in Rows E.P. has been relesed, with this latest installment coming courtesy of animator Freddie Leyden. The video, with its whopping 14GB file size, is an incredibly detailed affair and is equally frantic, trippy and unnerving. 

The excellent Jars in Rows E.P. which featured in my Top 10 Irish E.P.'s for 2015 comes courtesy of Dundalk native residing in Manchester, Gavin Murray who provides the background to the latest track to feature in the series; ''Another's Tale' is about acceptance. It was written after my old dog died! Acceptance is something that is very much drawn from the real world. The song draws from the mystical and the other worldly in order to explore this very real thing. As a story it hopes to be highly visual and emotive much like a fairytale would captivate a child.'

https://www.facebook.com/trickmist

You can download or stream the Jars in Rows E.P. on Trick Mist's Bandcamp page here https://trickmist.bandcamp.com/releases or on Spotify and iTunes at the following links;

https://play.spotify.com/album/4YAp19V7VBpCKP9RctWXNi

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/jars-in-rows-ep/id1051585432