Single: Aislinn Logan - 'Spree'

Photo Credit: Rory James

Info: Having grown up in Belfast and moved to Dundee for university, the young Irishwoman took the step to move to London. "I always wanted to move to London growing up," says Logan. "Although it makes you work for it, things feel a lot more untethered here. I think moving to a brand-new place, where you know practically no-one, and have to stand on your own two feet is incredibly affecting." 

'Spree' is about Logan "Daring someone to let you in a bit more, trying to prize them open." It also feels like a balancing act which mirrors Logan's time in London. Being self-sufficient in a big city can feel impossible when the world surrounds you in a mass of people and endless glass buildings stretching upwards. The song hints at trying to accept there’s a way to tip the scales, a way to keep them steady...and that’s allowing someone in to share the load from time to time. Accepting that change needs to come from inside, sometimes. 

With 'Spree' Aislinn Logan achieves that lovely posit of her song meaning something certain to her, whilst it can be interpreted as something quite different to the listener. Infused with retro-synths and neon moods, the track hovers between upbeat and forlorn, the protagonist clearly sharing a painful memory but simultaneously asking us to look beyond these experiences to a brighter horizon. In some ways, every negative and every positive moment sculpts who we are, little chips gradually falling off our self until we arrive at the most self-assured existence we can hope to find. Logan captures this time-honoured journey perfectly in the lyrics of 'Spree', and the music is the chisel. 


Like / Listen & Follow:

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

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5E3rW9eE9PwsmG7eiCPiIf?si=I2j49wuKR3qTNkmeRMPikw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AislinnLogan

News: Columbia Mills @ The Button Factory, 13th April with Orchid Collective & Outsider

Info: Wicklow band Columbia Mills return to The Button Factory in Dublin, on Friday April 13th, for what promises to be their biggest show to date. 

Fresh from the release of their debut album A Safe Distance To Watch the band will explore their favourites from the album and their previous released EPs with an exclusive preview of new material due out in the summer.

This is a great opportunity to catch Columbia Mills before they embark on their UK tour and the festival circuit, a show not to be missed. 

What the experts say…

'An excellent Album' - Paul McLoone, Today FM

FOUR STARS; 'Taut Tingling Music' - The Irish Times

'From production to pedal work, absolutely astounding' - Fergal D'Arcy Today FM

'A slow burner of excellence'- Tom Dunne, Newstalk FM

'A Heroic Offering'- Hot Press Magazine

'Gets better with every listen' - State Magazine 

'Album of the week' - Dan Hegarty 2FM

'Emotive, powerful, affecting' - The Last Mixed Tape


REMY says: A Safe Distance To Watch was both our Album of the Month for November and featured in our Top 10 Irish Albums of 2017. 

Get your tickets here: https://goo.gl/n2hN4x

EP: No Tie Friday - Long Drives and Sunsets

Photo: JB Photography

Info: No Tie Friday is a four piece Indie Pop / Alternative band from Wicklow, with inspirations ranging from Bad Suns, Circa Waves, Two Door Cinema Club, The Academic and Foals. The band consists of Keith Molloy (Vocals + Rhythm Guitar), Matt Morgan (Drums), Niall McGurk (Bass) and Barra MacMahon (Lead Guitar). With only a few gigs under their belt they have already started making an impression on the Irish music scene. 

Although there were always great bands from Wicklow, lately it seems there is a burgeoning, and brand new, scene emerging from the county. You can add No Tie Friday to the growing list, the quartet just released their debut EP Long Drives and Sunsets last weekend. First off, indie pop n' rock is a genre I love, the logical next step from my teenage Britpop fanaticism, when the cluster of big indie albums from the likes of Hard Fi, Bloc Party and Kaiser Chiefs came out in 2005 it marked a new shift that is still echoing. One pitfall for many bands though has been standing out from a large crowd of peers and also simply just not bringing something edgy enough to the table.

When I listen to opening track 'Seasons' for the first time I breathe a sigh of relief, of course their are trademark and familiar sounds, but you can feel the difference and the authenticity, especially in Molloy's vocals. 'Forest' accentuates this feeling, it appeals to a reminiscence of young love whilst being totally relatable to in the present. The key though is that it ain't twee, with the tempo and understated glide of guitar shaping pictures of autumn dusk and journeys to meet a first love. 

The EP's title track continues in the same vein, it's whimsical with a tinge of morosity, but again No Tie Friday manage to put just the right amount of punch and energy into their rock-leanings to keep the ship above water. I love 'Working Title', strip it all down to the bones, a sweet and simple bass line is let hover in its own space and as the backing vocals join the lead it's quite mesmeric. It definitely has that lo-fi American indie vibe, and there's a lovely raw break with bass drum and lead guitar, a classic edge.

Should you put 5 tracks on your debut EP? Sometimes yes, many times no, in this instance the former, we're not stretched too thin here and with closing track 'Delay' the band very, very vaguely hint at the possibility and suitability of their sound to drift into electro-pop territory with ease. Aside from the music itself, the most appealing thing for me on Long Drives and Sunsets is that No Tie Friday stayed true to their own school, it's clear they weren't thinking of adjusting their own sound to suit someone else, or pull the wool over their listeners. They did what they wanted to do and they pulled it off, we benefited.

Like / Listen & Follow:

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

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6uz3WwKzyaSFK1rhYnN9Pk?si=iyMQNQzPTieDfrFWX5ub-A

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoTieFriday