Album of the Month: Columbia Mills - A Safe Distance To Watch

Info: Following on from a trio of critically acclaimed singles this year, 'Head Start', 'This City Doesn’t Feel Like Home To Me', and the radio hit 'Battles', Bray indietronica quintet Columbia Mills finally released their debut album, 'A Safe Distance To Watch', on Friday November 10th.

The overarching theme of the album is putting space between yourself and someone else or certain situations to avoid being influenced negatively or to avoid influencing someone else with your own negativity. Finding or providing peace by putting a distance between yourself and someone else despite the short term or long term pain it creates.

With a slow-drifting intro, Columbia Mills open their debut LP A Safe Distance To Watch via 'A Break In The Clouds, Head Start', the soft synth sounds winding their way towards the sun peeking through at the 1:30 mark. From here they kick into gear on their previous single 'Head Start', a rousing and rhythmic piece of electronic indie that nods to Interpol or White Lies. 

Another hit single follows quickly in the form of 'Battles', snapping drum pads and quick key progressions set the tone, the tribal and intent-filled beat appropriately matching the song-title. It is easy to see why this was a standout single release, the drops and rise between chorus and verse are quite invigorating and there's an inescapable anthemic quality to the track.

'This City Doesn't Feel Like Home To Me' adopts a more post-punk and new wave sound and it's quite gripping lyrically. From a personal perspective, when the single was released in July and I merely read the title, before even listening to the track, it had already begun to conjure themes in my head. A reflection of how the place you grew up in has become unrecognisable, not physically or aesthetically with the passage of time, but more to do with the ravages inflicted on the weakest, and in some ways all of us on a certain level, over the past decade. This sense is captured in the lines; "And every street 'round here has a story to tell / The poets painted on the wall look down on us in disgust". 

Columbia Mills slow the pace and mood on the watery shimmering buzz of 'Alone', singer Fiachra Treacy giving us the old school crooner treatment accompanied by stark and bare guitar progressions. Following the dark electronic harbinger of 'Coldest Shoulder' we come to 'Same Shame'. It's a beautifully delivered ballad to a wrenching break-up that just won't dissipate, it's nice to have a common yet time-honoured theme have an original lyrical accompaniment attached to it, opening with the lines; "Underneath the debris / Of this silent sounding city / There’s a place where I left you / A place I dug a grave for my own heart".

One of the tracks that particularly caught my attention in the albums latter half was the graceful 'Octopus'. Again emotion abounds and the build from sombre to elation is executed very well, the electric guitar effects sound at their best right here, filling every single gap in the sound with the percussion lapping softly in the background.

A Safe Distance To Watch closes with 'We Decide', the fourth single to be taken from the album, retro-80's synths to the forefront, Columbia Mills grab all of the elements of the album thus far and pour them into one last push over the line. Searing and ice-cold guitar riffs vibrate in a frenzied manner and by the time we reach the final third of the track all 5 musicians are melding into one column of sound. 

Some elements of A Safe Distance To Watch will pop out at you straight away, others will require a few more listens, and therein lies the reward and evidence of a well-thought out collection of songs which click neatly together and musically flow from start to finish, something which seems to be a bit of a rarity nowadays on contemporary albums. As far as Columbia Mills are concerned, they can sit back with great satisfaction that patient building has produced such a highly enjoyable album for music lovers.

Columbia Mills play The Button Factory this Friday, 17th of November with support from Pursued By Dogs. Tickets are available via Eventbrite here.

A Safe Distance To Watch is also currently available on physical vinyl and CD formats at Tower Records Dublin and all good record stores.


Look / Like / Listen & Follow:

Website: http://www.columbiamillsmusic.com/

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

Bandcamp: https://columbiamills.bandcamp.com/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/03eJ5Pqar7taN8EomeFAMm

Twitter: https://twitter.com/COLUMBIAMILLS

Remy's Top 10 Irish: Anna Mitchell, Not Monsters, St. Bishop, LNT, Able Archer & more

Info:  In our latest round-up of the best Irish tracks to be released over the last fortnight, we cheat a little once again and (kind of) go to 11 as we include the bi-lingual version of Sligo's ambient dream-pop act Nocturnes' gorgeous new single 'Humans' / 'Duine de Chruach'. As usual we will be throwing in a few great videos which have accompanied some of the singles on the playlist including Anna Mitchell's 'All These Things', Able Archer's 'Driving With The Lights Out' and the mesmeric visualisations of LNT's 'In Circles' directed by the hugely talented Olga Kuzmenko.

'All These Things' is the second single to be taken from Anna Mitchell's forthcoming self titled second album which is set for its Irish release in January 2018. Mitchell's vocal is immediately striking as it towers over the bluesy musical backdrop, delivering the fraught emotion of its theme of paralysing self-doubt with aplomb. It's an exciting glimpse into the depth we can expect from her sophomore LP with accompanying video being directed by the artist herself alongside videographer Robert Guiton.

Anna Mitchell - All These Things

Monaghan and currently Dublin-based alternative Rn'B solo act St.Bishop released his debut single 'Porcelain' just two weeks ago, it is taken from his forthcoming EP which is expected in early 2018. A first appearance at Electric Picnic and two headline Dublin shows have set the scene for his first Irish Tour to accompany the extended play release. As far as debuts go, St.Bishop has nailed it, it's a highly impressive introduction to Irish music fans (and should be for those further afield). Addressing the fragility of feeling following finally coming out to those close to him, the sense of both relief and empowerment are palpable and he injects this directly into his music most naturally.

"Cleo's got her shoulder, nestled in the small of my back, she's giggling and giddy for the snap, graceful in the moment right before the final collapse, her nailprints crescent in my wrist, she swears i'm overreacting", a wonderfully descriptive opening to the latest single 'Cleo' by Dublin's Not Monsters. Capturing the dual bemusement and fear of an over-zealous muse, Not Monsters' penchant for character exploration and turning our every day behaviour into something darkly sinister wins out again. "We pray for The Liffey to swallow the city" is belted out with hard-rocking anguish from those soft opening lines, turning 'Cleo' into our favourite single of theirs to date.

LNT - In Circles

Indie-rock five-piece LNT have just released their first single 'In Circles' which will be taken from their debut album due for release early next year. An almost operatic opening, recalling Amnesiac-era Radiohead the track builds and builds dramatically before reaching a crunching distorted middle and closing finale. The blend of indie and dark nu-metal mood-swings you'd associate with Korn or Linkin Park captured beautifully in the accompanying video to the track.

There are many things we are loving about the new single from Pearse McGloughlin, aka Nocturnes, starting with the gorgeous soundscapes on new single 'Humans', his high vocal pitch conducting lush wisps of electronic synths and beats through the air like a multi-coloured potion of neon cloud that fills up all of the space around our ears. Releasing the track simultaneously as Gaeilge, we have included the Irish version here too, 'Duine de Chruach', which translates directly to human of steel. As a lapsed Irish-speaker myself I can fully appreciate the difficulty in retaining the lyrical flow and rhythm from English to Irish, the result of the sheer difference between both tongues, kudos to Nocturnes to making it sound easy, it's not!

Able Archer - Driving With The Lights Out

After an almost 12 month hiatus, Dublin alternative rock band Able Archer return with what struck me straight away as a most welcome new string to their bow on latest single 'Driving With The Lights Out' (above video). It spreads its musical and vocal spectrum as far back as Suede and Pulp, all the way up to The National, but has a discerning Irish rock characteristic. It's a dynamic and impassioned comeback and were looking forward to hearing what other surprises they've been working on over the past year. They play The Underground on Saturday the 18th of November which will be a good opportunity to get said sneak peek.

Dublin alt-pop singer-songwriter Beany released her debut single 'Weathervane' only yesterday. Real name Caitriona Fingleton, she traverses many genres on the new track, from popular folk, to soul and a jazz-influenced vocal. 'Weathervane' is a dreamy and delightful first glimpse at Beany's music, from smooth vocal tones to an old school jazz-hall affection, you feel like she could go anywhere and everywhere with future releases.

Long-term blog favourites Oh Joy released their latest single, 'So Swell' on the 1st of November with a headline show in Whelan's. After a pensive and atmospherically withdrawn beginning, the three-piece thrash down almost bang on the one-minute mark, melting distortion and high-pitched vox are like an uncontrolled explosion, before reverting back to the initial calm. It's great to have Oh Joy back in the saddle with new material and more to come soon.

Belfast singer-songwriter Owen Denvir's new single 'Jackhammer' was released last weekend alongside bonus track 'Green Light'. There's a discerning honesty to the delivery of his latest track, standing above your standard singer-songwriter ballad by shifting from the stripped-down bare verses to subtle orchestral movements on the chorus. Add to this a mixed feeling of genuine emotion and fetching hooks and it is easy to see why Denvir's music has been quickly gaining popularity.

We finish off with the newest single from Dublin indie-pop troupe Penrose and their track 'Better Man', swooping from late-60's Beatles to Brit-pop era indie sounds, the track is an introspective from lead-singer Darragh McGrane on the new phase that fatherhood brings to the fore. As always, Penrose meld catchy pop choruses with rhythmically pleasing rock verses both of which have seen them garner a loyal fan-base on the Dublin scene over the past two years.

For our previous independent Irish playlist, head along here to listen to Issue #14 here https://thebestofmusicandfilm.blogspot.ie/2017/10/playlist-remy-leila-jane-good-strangers-robert-john-ardiff-peppy-wyvern-lingo.html

EP: Young Earth - Frequency Illusion

Photo: Chris Basford Photography

Info: Last night Dubin-based indie-rock four-piece Young Earth launched their debut EP, Frequency Illusion, with their biggest headline show to date at The Academy 2. 

The band have earned critical acclaim from blogs and music tastemakers both internationally and in Ireland, leading to a busy summer of festivals, a co-headline tour and regular local and national radio play, including being included on RTE 2fm’s Rising Playlist. 

Frequency Illusion fully introduces the band’s broad Indie Rock sound, fluctuating between Summer pop anthems to heavier, fuzzier sounds - all the while maintaining a desire to create short, sharp relentless ear-worms with a harder coating.

The EP's self-titled opener merges the two qualities that have seen previous single 'Got A Secret' amass over 100k plays on Spotify, the soft day-glo indie-pop with an undercurrent of that instinctive rock edge which is imparted from the rolling guitar riffs and thick heavy bass wobble.

Second track 'Worth It' chops up the pop-rock songbook and puts it back together again with a trademark Young Earth stamp, drawing on the innocence of 50's rock chart-toppers and 90's indie á la Lemonheads, the song is a straight-up care-free pop ballad.

The aforementioned 'Got A Secret' is next up, the groups most popular and well-known track sees them retain those catchy elements but start to fully turn the screw on that contemporary rock twist. As soon as frontman Mark O'Keeffe utters the line; "You are the ghost of everything that I used to know....", you are sucked straight into the song. The shuffling grind of guitars and hard bass-lines coupled with the manic stop-start percussion sweep everything into a frenzy, with the chorus accentuated very nicely in its later parts by a distant backing vocal.

'Undercover' shows a different side to Young Earth's song-writing, gone is the overt joviality of the previous tracks, here they appear to be concentrating on honing into a more modern indie mood. The nonchalance of the music and cast-off vocal delivery are certainly a welcome addition to the YE arsenal. Closing with most recent single 'Let Go', again the band show movement in this new direction, yes there is a retention of the indie-pop DNA of earlier songs, but there's also a sound which will appeal very much to fans of current indie-rock.

With Frequency Illusion Young Earth give fans of indie-pop music the best of both worlds, the unadulterated and hook-sinking joy of 'Got A Secret' and the EP's title-track, and a more mood-driven vibe courtesy of the EP's final two songs. The mix of both styles are what will ensure longevity amongst fans and allow the four-piece to straddle many variants of the genre in which they reside.

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