Dublin-based new wave rock band Hook have released their new single, ‘I Want To See You Tonight’. The band formed in early 2019 consists of Eoin O’Donnell (vocals, guitar), Morgan O’Brien (drums) and Danny Spelman (bass, vocals). The tight-knit three-piece released their critically acclaimed debut EP back in March 2020 and received much-deserved airplay from around the world.
‘I Want To See You Tonight’ sees Hook take their irresistible sound and saturate it with emotion to create one glorious listening experience. Bright guitar glimmers between a pop-punk backdrop to create an uplifting and dynamic soundscape for listeners to indulge in. The track is brimming with gusto with rasped vocals exuding emotion and urgency as O’Donnell exclaims “ I want to see you tonight” between kinetic instrumental builds. Hook have become known for their richly layered, catchy tunes and ‘I Want To See You Tonight’ is a perfect example of this. The track is a magnificent new single that is sure to have you singing along in no time.
Drogheda pop-punk band Rowdy Outsider have released their new single, ‘I Know You Don’t Wanna Talk to Me’. The band consists of vocalist Matthew Doyle, guitarist and bassist Conor Whearty and drummer Sean Murtagh.
‘I Know You Don’t Wanna Talk to Me’ surges with youthful vigour as Rowdy Outsider pour shredding indie rock into a pop-punk backdrop. Drizzling sweet melodies into crashing guitars and shimmering synths the band create an exhilarating tune that slips into the ears with ease. Boasting intricate guitar lines that ricochet off a punchy drum foundation and irresistible groove-filled bass, ‘I Know You Don’t Wanna Talk to Me’ marks Rowdy Outsider a band to keep an eye on. Enjoy.
About the track the band say: “I Know You Don’t Wanna Talk to Me is about dealing with a traumatic series of events in your life and being able to look back, laugh and not take life too seriously”
Self-produced, the band say it’s the least precious they’ve ever been about the recording process. “We wrote and recorded everything really quickly for this song and didn’t worry about perfection in performance or production. We wanted to reflect the tongue in cheeklyrics in the music and production”
Irish indie-rock outfit modernlove. have released their new single ‘Follow You’ through Akira Records (Phoria, Henry Green, Mt. Wolf, Rosie Carney, Shura). Produced and mixed by Tom Leach (Col3trane, Lewis Capaldi, The Streets) and mastered by Kevin Tuffy (Alfie Templeman, Matt Maltese) the new single is a rousing ode to the anthemic indie bangers of the early 00’s that the boys grew up on. Their debut EP ‘monochrome blue’, released in September 2021, saw modernlove. combine their earliest work into a statement debut offering. Featuring the singles ‘Liquorice’, ‘2 Missed Calls’ and ‘lmk (if you wanna see me)’, they received strong playlist support, landing on New Music Friday UK, Fresh Finds, Alt-Pop and The Pop List amongst others on Spotify, as well as New Music Daily, New in Alternative and Breaking Alternative on Apple Music. They have also received strong radio support with 2FM, BBC R1, BBC R6, BBC Ulster, XS Manchester, Across the Line, and Radio X.
Filled with sharp guitars and a brisk rhythmic foundation, ‘Follow You’ is an instant shot of adrenaline. In true modernlove. manner the track hurries behind clever, well-crafted lyrics while warm main vocals and lush backing vocals exude a sweet and irresistible charm. The band flesh out their sound with vibrant drums, hook-filled melodies and jaunty guitars that inject a dash of zest throughout. modernlove. are becoming known for their rich tunes and utterly lush production and ‘Follow You’ is a perfect example of this. With a dynamic clap along feature and swirling instrumentation ‘Follow You’ is a catchy banger that evokes images of live crowds bellowing back the lyrics at the top of their lungs. Press play, turn the volume up and enjoy.
Speaking about the new offering, the band said, “‘Follow You’ is a love song about the early stages of infatuation in a relationship. It’s about finding yourself in a relationship so intimate that spending each waking moment together still isn’t enough, hence the lyrics “when you fall asleep I’ll follow you. Musically, we wanted to write a song that resonated with the nostalgia of those same naive infatuations and took us back to when we first started the band as teenagers finding ourselves as people as well as artists. A simple four chord structure that echoed the likes of bloc party, the cure and new order. A song that we could fully jam on together and jump around to.”
Whelan’s plummeted headfirst into an energetic maelstrom last night as Dublin indie rock band Emily 7 took to the stage for their eagerly anticipated headline show. The crowd and band were hungrier than ever for this performance as the show was two years in waiting due to covid.
Against a backdrop of helium balloons spelling Emily 7, the two support acts KLDD and Curtisy tackled the task of warming up the crowd. Sleek sounding, tight and exuding an impressive nonchalant stage presence, four-piece KLDD had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands. Comprised of Kilian Callegari on bass, Liam Bennati on drums, David Bradford on lead and Davy O’Toole on vocals and rhythm the band blend moody indie rock with grunge hues and glimmers of punk-pop to create a dynamic sound filled with vigour. The crowd bopped, cheered and some even fangirled over this budding band’s sound. With driving basslines, a fantastic rapid drum assault and some pretty slick guitar work there was plenty of talent on stage – an impressive performance from the four-piece.
Filled with some pretty sleek hip hop backing tracks, Curtisy‘ssetfollowed. Curtisy’s loose performance style, fun attitude on stage and wandering wordplay made for an intriguing listening experience. With raps drifting between topics of girls, drinking and social insights; the artist’s swaggered rhymes and repetitive “yeah, yeah” phrase lingered in many of the crowd’s heads for the rest of the night. Curtisy is fleshing out his style and refining his sound, it will be interesting to see what the hip hop artist does next.
‘Put ’em Under Pressure’ triumphantly introduced Emily 7. The crowd bellowed “Olé Olé Olé Olé, Olé Olé” while clapping and cheering as the band took to the stage. It was a whirlwind of antics, frantic post-punk and sweaty moshing from the get-go. Whelan’s shaked beneath our feet as the cheeky resounding sound of ‘Stephanie’ caused a dance frenzy from the crowd. Filled with thrilling rhythms, soaring wails on guitar and roaring bass grooves the band’s sound is impressive and the four-piece wasted no time in delighting the crowd’s ears with a constant glorious onslaught of instrumentally riveting tunes.
Kyle Bellew and Daniel Clarke are charismatic frontmen who share lead vocals. They exuded a charming persona throughout the set while subtly fighting off the entangled helium balloons behind them. Scott Bellew’s charismatic drumming was a joy to witness and perfectly complemented Brandon Carrig’s superb laid back bass. It was fun chaos all around that was rapturously well-received by the audience. This was particularly evident when the band played ‘Oh Me, Oh My’; the crowd bellowed back the catchy lyrics with such vigour and enthusiasm that made it a memorable moment on the night.
Like all good shows, a broken instrument or two is the norm and a kick drum malfunction,- “we f*cked the kick drum” saw the band styling out the brisk repair with a sleek instrumental jam. The four-piece were comfortable on stage and a broken instrument hiccup was nothing to these guys, within seconds they were back, filling the venue with more blazing tunes.
Emily 7 are a must see live act. They delivered a fantastic live show with an intense conviction that few bands can muster. There are exciting things to come from this band, and I for one am looking forward to it.
Ryan Egan has released his new single, ‘Soft Power’.The song is the third single and title track off Ryan Egan’s debut LP ‘Soft Power’ out April 8th, 2022. The song was produced by Ryan Egan and Kevin Basko (Foxygen,The Lemon Twigs). The track follows up the album’s debut singles ‘Weeknights’ and ‘Alone For the Last Time’, which generated immense buzz, with features including Spotify’s New Music Friday, Kings of A&R and more.
‘Soft Power’ is a lush, R&B-hued laid back listening experience. Soft beats bounce off a psychedelic soundscape of hazy guitars and loose keys while a smoky bass smoulders in the backdrop. The song exudes an irresistible melody with Egan’s warm vocals at the forefront expressing the tracks clever lyrical content, “Who took your money? Who put you to the test? One sip of gin for while your head’s a mess and spinnin’ like a carousel”. ‘Soft Power’ is an expertly crafted tune and a fine display of musicianship from Ryan Egan.
Luke Clerkin has released his new single, ‘Fall in Line’. The track was recorded remotely between Dublin and Berlin with producer jaako. It will be their 4th release together since the pair began collaborating in late 2020. Previous releases have gained critical and radio success getting support from Spin, RTE and BBC amongst others. Luke has also announced a headline show at The Cobblestone on February 24th.
‘Fall in Line’ exudes tense soundscapes, crisp production and the catchy songwriting of Luke Clerkin. The artist’s eloquent lyrics set the scene, taking the listener down an emotional rollercoaster through well coined lyrical content, “condensation fogs up the window, write your name and mine in hearts” while suspenseful pulsing beats simmer beneath soft chiming keys and warm guitar refrains before giving way to a sweet, infectious chorus. With electronic fluctuations and an adrenaline-driven crescendo, the track has a compelling cinematic sound that is sure to charm its way on repeat.
Talking about the release of ‘Fall in Line’, Luke said ‘This song explores the contemplation of doing something you shouldn’t and imagining the consequences of that action. More specifically, it’s about someone who is contemplating getting involved with a person who is already in a relationship. They imagine the heartbreak that it would cause for the other person in the relationship, and the feeling of guilt and shame that would surround the cheating couple.’
Delivering anthemic stadium-filling rock, ‘Like a River’ is the latest release from iconic 90s Rock band Sundogs Wilder Seasons. After making their long-anticipated comeback, Sundogs Wilder Seasons teamed up with former Led Zeppelin producer Leif Mases who guided them through this record. ‘Like a River’ started as a three-chord progression from Scott Bush, with the rest of the band joining in simultaneously and the song organically taking shape. Inspired by unending love, ‘Like a River’ was written to convey feelings of true passion. Formed in Florida in 1994, Sundogs Wilder Seasons have made a big name for themselves, having had three singles in the Top 100 Powercuts and several other charts without major label backing.
Drenched in anthemic might ‘Like a River’ is a passionate tune from Sundogs Wilder Seasons. The band build the track superbly, the song broods atop steamy guitar lines, groove infested bass and punchy drums creating a powerful wall of sound while the rasped vocals and shredding guitar solo drive the track to epic heights. Smooth on the ears with a classic rock edge ‘Like a River’ is a compelling new single from Sundogs Wilder Seasons.
Limerick City five-piece, Dylan Flynn and The Dead Poets are set to released their sophomore EP, ‘crazy how we live like this’ tomorrow February 10th . The Indie Rock outfit released singles from this collection throughout 2021, with the latest being ‘i wasn’t ready’, which dropped last week. All the songs on this EP were recorded and produced by the band themselves in their studio space in Limerick City. The EP consists of 8 tracks, including 2 bonus tracks, which are stripped back live versions. 2021 was a big year for the band seeing them gain over 40k streams on Spotify and support acts such as NewDad and True Tides on dates of their Irish tours. They received airtime across major Irish stations such as Today FM, RTE 2XM and Spin SW, and also sold out their own headline show in Dolan’s, Limerick.
Wrapped in warm heartfelt melodies, twinkling indie soundscapes and meaningful songwriting ‘crazy how we live like this’ is a lush listening experience from Dylan Flynn and The Dead Poets. From the uplifting ‘days’ and indie rock energy of ‘everything will be ok’ to the utterly moving indie-folk ‘you’; the band showcase their growing talent. ‘i wasn’t ready’ and ‘everything will be ok’ are exciting glimpses into the band’s deft melodic prowess; with supple synths and warm saxophone flirtations fleshing out the ethereal soundscapes of the former and fuzz laced guitar, driving bass and punchy rhythm adorning the latter, the tracks are a joy to listen to again and again.
Dylan Flynn’s warm velvety vocals remain expressive and passionate throughout as he delivers moving lyrical content that deals with a range of relatable topics from love, separation and the housing crisis all with a soothing tenderness that is to be admired. While each song exudes passion, emotive vocals and exquisite arrangements, a special moment within the EP is the indie anthem ‘shine’. Boasting majestic guitars, driving rhythms and a mighty sing-along chorus this is the heart and soul of the EP and is a fine example of Dylan Flynn and The Dead Poets’ beautifully poetic musicianship.
‘crazy how we live like this’ is a glorious collection of songs to listen to. The earnest songwriting teamed with bright hazy guitar refrains and delicate but precise production makes this a compelling EP for listeners to immerse themselves in. Enjoy.
About the EP Flynn said: “Each track on this EP encapsulates a different moment or feeling I experienced over the last few years. It’s sort of like a little time capsule of memories and mistakes, that I hope other people can connect with too.”
‘crazy how we live like this’ is set for release tomorrow the 10th of February. For more follow Dylan Flynn and The Dead Poets on Instagram herehttps://www.instagram.com/dylanflynndeadpoets/
Retro Video Club have released their new single, ‘Faking’. It arrives whilst the band are on a three-date tour for Independent Venue Week. Retro Video Club burst onto the scene in 2018 with a series of high-octane single releases and a sell-out hometown show at Edinburgh’s 650 capacity Liquid Rooms. In 2019, they were selling out 1,000 capacity venues (Edinburgh Assembly Rooms), and sharing stages with The Libertines among others.The Edinburgh-based band are kicking off 2022 in commanding fashion. Having seen out 2021 with their first tour of the UK, which included a sold-out date at Glasgow’s 1300 capacity SGW3, Retro Video Club are now set to play to their biggest audiences to date, as they support The Kooks for two nights at Glasgow’s 2500 capacity O2 Academy
Bursting from the seams with kinetic energy and clever lyrical content, ‘Faking’ is a glorious gem from Retro Video Club. The band batter resounding basslines and sharp guitars off a pounding drum foundation to create a song that is sure to ignite a live audience. ‘Faking’ is a superb display of the band’s talent for creating mighty hooks and irresistible melodies. The bellow back chorus, sharp lyrics and elevated backdrop make the track an infectious firecracker that beckons repeat plays. Evoking images of joyous arena sing-alongs and mosh pit jumping ‘Faking’ marks Retro Video Club as a very talented and promising band. Looking forward to hearing more from Retro Video Club.
About the track, the band said: “Faking is about being bitter, and trying to leave one last dig at your ex before moving on with your life. It’s the age-old tale of a lover scorned, and how in the 21st century, people get their licks in.”
Emma Hynes has released her second single,’ Sometimes’. The song was written by Hynes, and produced and arranged by Martin Quinn at JAM Studios, Kells, Co. Meath. Hynes released her first single, ‘Don’t Forget’, in May 2021. The song enjoyed airplay on RTÉ 2XM and Radio Nova in addition to a number of local stations across Ireland. It also made The Nova Guestlist’s Top 100 Irish Songs of 2021. Hynes gathered momentum in 2019 with opening slots for Brew in The Workman’s Club, and folk rock two-piece Native Harrow at The Underground Venue. In January 2020, she was the sole support to HAIL THE GHOST on the Whelan’s main stage. In August 2021, she returned to live performance at SIN É as one of sixteen featured artists at the Dublin Quays Festival. This was followed by a support slot for Dublin power pop band, StereoType at The Grand Social in September.
’Sometimes’ is a delicate and moving single from Emma Hynes. She spreads emotive lyrics over a lush sweeping backdrop of warm strings supple percussion and acoustic guitar to create a truly compelling listening experience. Her voice exudes a soothing lamentful tone as she croons “with you I feel I have won something, I’d like to hold on to‘’ while lush harmonies coo in the backdrop. It’s a well-crafted song brimming with rich musicianship and poignant songwriting. ’Sometimes’ is a magnificent new single from Hynes.
Stream ’Sometimes’ below
Author: Danu
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
