Irish indie band modernlove. have released their new single ‘Until My Heart Stops Beating’ along with announcing their UK and US Spring 2023 tours. When modernlove. were formed in 2016, they reacted to the lack of opportunities for live music in their hometown of Drogheda by effectively creating their own scene. By organising packed DIY pub gigs and encouraging other local bands to step out, they provided a creative outlet for themselves as well as a vibrant community for young music obsessives in their area. That ethos of making something from nothing still serves them well to the current day. And now their music is being embraced on a much bigger platform – including support from Jack Saunders at Radio 1 for their recent single ‘Take Me Far Away’.
Saturated in earworm melodies modernlove. present an impressive alternative pop track that is simply a joy to listen to. ‘Until My Heart Stops Beating’ is a fine addition to the young band’s musical repertoire. The tune is an exquisite example of their enviable musical prowess. Sonically the song is a musical gem as with all of the band’s tracks to date. Expressive guitar elements immersed in a soundscape of shimmering synths, dynamic rhythms and edgy riffs create an 80’s post-punk-hued soundscape that reveals much to the listener with each subsequent listen. The soundscape is quite poetic and cinematic at times and is complemented by earnest lyrics that hit hard through a smooth nonchalant vocal delivery. These combined musical aspects are a delight to the senses and easily beckon repeat plays from the listener. Once again modernlove. knock it out of the park with ‘Until My Heart Stops Beating’.
About the track modernlove. commented, “until my heart stops beating’ is a song about losing feelings. It chronicles the moments of tension leading up to a breakup. The lyrical narrative of the song explores arrhythmia and cardiac arrest as metaphors for the end of a relationship and invokes that sudden wrenching feeling when something goes terribly wrong. The song is stark, realistic and unromantic. It’s clear that the relationship is beyond hope and beyond saving. The lyricism and sonic composition of the tune are extremely minimalist, almost as if there’s nothing left to say. “
Following their acclaimed debut single, ‘Them’, Irish post-punk/electronic 3-piece Chalk have released their new single, ‘Velodrome’.Recorded with producer Chris W Ryan (Just Mustard, Enola Gay, NewDad), Velodrome is the second track from their upcoming EP. Their debut single, ‘Them,’ won Steve Lamacq’s 6 Music Roundtable Record of the Week in April this year. Already selected as part of the First Fifty for The Great Escape Festival 2023, Chalk has become one to watch within the Irl/UK music scene.
Gushing with angst and the thrilling musicianship of Chalk, ‘Velodrome’ is a mammoth-sounding blast to the ears. The tune spirals in an intoxicating soundscape of shrilling guitars pummeling drums and acid-baked fury. The expressive soundscape mangled within the anthemic blasts and frenzied techno elements makes for a wholly consuming listening experience. Shredding guitars gnash over mighty drum strikes and groove-infested basslines while Ross Cullen’s primal gritty vocals howl throughout as the band take hypnotic lyrics and wrap them in a manic whirlwind of instrumentation to create a relentless onslaught that is harrowingly frantic yet euphoric at the same time. ‘Velodrome’ is an impressive song that roars with the incomparable talent of Chalk.
STRICKLAND makes his debut with his first album ‘Superficial Chaos’. The album will help a good cause, as the artist plans to donate 20% of any royalties to Macmillan Cancer Support and the Teenage Cancer Trust.
‘Superficial Chaos’ is a diverse album that oozes indie and classic rock tones with some retro flirtations and pop melodies glimmering throughout. The songs are filled with easy-on-the-ears melodies with driving guitars and steady beats that create a nostalgic 90’s vibe within tracks ‘Time of Your Life’ and ‘Brothers Sisters’ while the bluesy ‘The Rolling Stone’ and ’70s filtered ‘Tonight’ add a dash of sass and edge into the albums aesthetic. Throughout ‘Superficial Chaos’ STRICKLAND displays his knack for melody and witty lyrics. The artist’s tunes are an enjoyable listen from start to finish.
Irish electronic producer Gavin MacDermott, better known as Dashoda, returns with his new single, ‘Looking For You’. The track was written and produced by Dashoda with London-based Ross Fortune (A.K.A. Benny Smiles), who has worked with Jonas Blue, Clean Bandit, Hotline Miami Soundtrack, on additional production. I caught up with MacDermott to chat about his upcoming stripped-back video, his exciting plans for new releases and how this infectious retro-hued bop was created.
“Originally the track started as something a little bit more Lo-Fi than the final version which I worked on with a mate called Ross Fortune he makes music actually as Benny Smiles and a lot of his music is quite synth wave. I was a fan of his years ago when I started making music. So it was really nice to get to work with him years later on this. So I’d say in terms of inspiration, I bought this keyboard a while ago off a friend called a Korg SV- 1, and it has like a Lo Fi sound, its quite analog. I was just playing some chords and they went over to a guy called Richey McCourt’s house, who is a writer. He invited me over. We just started working on and I think I was listening to a bit of Caribou at the time, kind of the older stuff and I was coming out with a little bit of that in mind. But then when I was working with Ross, on the co production, he said I’m going to try a shot in the dark here. I’m gonna try something a bit different, feel free to tell me no, don’t talk to me again if you don’t like it. But what he came back with was what you heard like the much more upbeat almost French indie thing. I just really liked it because it brought it in another direction and taught me to be more open-minded about other avenues and yeah, that’s where it came from. Yeah I gotta give a lot of credit to Ross as well for guiding the sound there.”
MacDermott is releasing a live video for ‘Looking For You’ in the coming weeks. It’s a slower and stripped-back version of the song that allows the melody and lyrics to shine throughout.
“Actually, funny you mentioned that.The keyboard part that’s played in the video by Alma Kelliher who’s a great player. That is the original part from my original demo, and I’d asked her, I thought it would be nice to show that because the song kind of worked on its own just as a keys part. There’s very little of that sound actually in the recorded track version. So yeah, it would have sounded like that and a much more obvious drum machine and the bass part I think was the same. Then there’s a bit more chorusy kind of 80s electric guitar. I actually think I might at some point bring out that version maybe further down the road if I ever get to the point where I can do you know rarities and B-sides that will be nice to show and certainly when I get to do the song live I’d like to do that version. So yeah, the one on the live video, at least the structure and the timbre of the sound is similar to the original demo”
This song comes after a 3-year hiatus and MacDermott explained how the break gave him a new perspective on how he writes and crafts his songs.
“Yeah, I definitely think differently about music and art in general now [it] has taken on a very different meaning for me, I see it as all sort of connected. I’m a musician and this is what I do and what I know but I watch a lot of film and I love film and I would love to get into it a bit more and the guy who shot that video actually is Ror Conaty, the live video and it was really great working with him because it awakened me to how everything is connected in the art world. When you talk about the stripped-back version of the song it actually required me to meditate a bit on what am I doing and why am I doing this and what’s the meaning of it and often you don’t really know the meaning or significance of things until you put a distance between you and them, you know, in terms of time. So, yeah, I’ve leaned more into the cathartic aspect of creating art. You’re trying to understand something about yourself and the world that you’re in and art is sort of a psychoanalytic Freudian thing. When you put something out in the world, you don’t know what’s going to happen with it and you have no control over that in many ways. So if you just focus on what is within your control, then it’s the pursuit of the art. I think it’s made me a lot happier about making music and art as well because I realized I could go on and do this forever, you know, until I’m dead”.
I wondered if this more artistic view on releasing music eased the nerves that come with releasing music.
“No, I’m still really nervous. I was trying a lot of self-talk and trying to frame it that way and it’s just fine, but whatever way you frame it, it’s still a huge investment of time and there are a small number of people who are close to me and care about what I do, even if I’m not necessarily feeling it so there are actually people that want to hear this because they’ve been invested in the journey I’ve been on as well. That helps me relax a bit about it and try not to be too worried. But yeah, absolutely. You worry have you done enough to give it the platform it deserves. Have you presented it in the best way possible. [I] definitely think about things like that and probably preoccupy about them. But I think most people I know that are into this sort of thing they worry as well. Actually my friend Ror who shot the video, he had an exhibition in Cork in August and up to the last minute he was thinking have I done all this correctly and right and of course it was very well received and I was very proud of him. So hopefully I get the same, who knows.”
‘Looking For You’ is a chic number that struts on a slinky bassline and swanky guitars presenting the tight and refined sound of Dashoda in all it’s glory. With a sweet melody teamed with smooth vocals and chiming keys, the track is sure to have you dancing and singing along in no time. This lush sound isn’t set to stop any time soon, MacDermott told me that he has some exciting plans for next year to delight fans with.
“I have a couple of releases in the pipeline and I worked a bit with Ror on some video accompaniment so even though I was quiet for three years I was chipping away at a lot of different stuff and eventually a pattern of songs started to emerge. So yeah, there’s gonna be a few more releases in the new year and into spring and I’m really excited about that because I’ve been sitting on this for a while and it can take so long for things to actually come together and then the actual release process is another thing. So yeah, I’m hoping that because we approached it thematically, myself and Ror and Mark O’Brien was involved in that. He performs as Royal Yellow, and some other people close to me. They helped me put together the visual stuff with the music, and come up with a central idea which I’d never done before. You know, try to think that deeply about what I’m doing. So hopefully thematically people will see something like that emerge. So there will be a few more of these. I suppose that’s the best way I could put it.”
Stream ‘Looking For You’ below
Author: Danu
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
