Following the release of their debut track ‘Drugs’, Dublin grunge band Forty Foot are back with their second track, ‘Zeros’. The band formed in 2019 following a friend and previous collaborator’s sudden death, with much of their initial work written and inspired by the bands’ loss. ‘Zeros’ expresses feelings of sadness, empathy, vulnerability and how people come together at a time of loss.
Smothered in an intoxicating 90’s grunge soundscape, ‘Zeros’ surges with Forty Foot’s raw and passionate musicianship. The track is driven by a relentless drum rumble and rooted bass that boils and bubbles beneath a rasped eerie vocal line while a moody melody drifts upon a heavy backdrop of crashing guitars and mammoth rhythms. The contrasting elements within the song is a powerful stimulant to the senses as the band balances tender emotion with torrential instrumentation to create an intense tune for the listener to indulge in. The sombre lyrics display the band’s deft songwriting ability and is greatly enhanced by the tracks shredding wall of sound, ” Today, bury our coat of arms to, Hold on to it. She stands wasted, under armed to, Hold on to it”. ‘Zeros’ is a mosh ready grunge rock anthem that boasts Forty Foot’s talent and musical prowess. Keep an eye on these guys.
Thom Southern, a Belfast based singer, songwriter and producer, has released his debut single ‘Shivers’. Recorded in Southern’s Belfast based home studio, ‘Shivers’ has been co-produced by iconic producer and 2 time Grammy Award winner Adrian Bushby (Muse, Foo Fighters, Feeder). Thom Southern started his musical career busking in Belfast aged 16. After winning a national competition he was awarded a trip to Nashville and some recording time in a studio. The resulting material saw him awarded ‘Songwriter of the Year’ by Belfast City Council. He teamed up with his sister Lucy to form the band Southern. In 2012 they signed to Marathon Artists.Within 18 months they had toured with the likes of Jake Bugg, Bastille, Hudson Taylor, Catfish & The Bottlemen and The Kooks, saw their work used in international campaigns by ESPN, Netflix and Channel 4 and performed events around the world for brands such as for Yves Saint Laurent and Burberry. In 2016 the duo took some time off to launch another project – a self recorded psych-rock project called MMODE – before Thom made the decision to move back towards recording his own work.
Encased in a 90’s haze of sun kissed alternative grunge and the beautiful songwriting of Thom Southern, ‘Shivers’ is a captivating debut. With dizzying distortion on guitars swirling around ethereal sonic flourishes the track maintains a buzz of heightened emotion. Southern’s velvety vocals coo with reverb whispers over the dreamy melody while the steady drums and psychedelic embellishments create a colourful prismatic wall of sound. The song rushes with intensity as the blazing backdrop and impenetrable guitar onslaught provides a raw, alternative grunge edge to this gem. The pulsing bass gently protrudes though the hazy melody as Southern displays his flair for melodious, breezy, memorable compositions. ‘Shivers’ is a solid debut from Thom Southern.
About the track Thom Southern said : “Shivers is the concept of love feeling like a drug, a sensation of being outside one’s own body, floating and observing oneself from a different perspective. I wanted to embody this meaning within a dense sounding track, to mainly focus on one swollen guitar sound which never stops throughout and accompany that with repetitive beatnotic drums”
Garage rock collective Burning Pools have released their new single ‘Bang Bang’. Burning Pools is the new band led by former Smashing Pumpkins bassist Ginger Pooley. The band’s members share a long list of studio and touring credits and collectively have worked with rock legends like Tom Morello, Siouxsie Sioux, Slash, Morrissey, Liz Phair, Scott Weiland, Tegan and Sara, and bands like Jane’s Addiction and Weezer
‘Bang Bang’ is noise pop perfection as Burning Pools take a smooth melody and douse it in attitude, fuzz and alternative rock. With dark gritty riffs fizzing through punchy drums and 90’s grunge elements the track kicks into motion with swagger, sass and power. A drum beat struts with mighty confidence as Burning Pools create a crashing wall of sound that is just too good to fight. Ginger Pooley’s soft vocal coos glide over the melody with ease creating a sublime contrast to the raw backdrop of squealing guitars and resounding bass rumbles. With a moody dark atmosphere haunting beneath the power pop explosions and alternative backbone, ‘Bang Bang’ is intoxicating and luring new single from Burning Pools.
Dublin’s Fangclub have released their eagerly awaited sophomore album, ‘Vulture Culture’, on Vertigo Records. The band kick off their headline UK and European tour this October, opening in Liverpool and closing in Dublin’s Button Factory. They will also play Indiependence Festival, Cork on August 4th.
‘Vulture Culture’ is an experience – each track spirals towards the next in a gush of frenzy and turmoil while Fangclub showcase their expressive, explosive and majestic musicianship. Within this album Fangclub refine their sound, lacing each track with intricate guitar, raw bass lines and dynamic drum progressions. The album lulls into motion with ‘Last Time’. This beautiful track is made up of extracts from a confessional note that vocalist Steven King wrote his girlfriend, (which he sang to her in a lamp-lit studio). The band ease us into the album encompassing tender emotion and turmoil in one sublime slow burner. This delicate gem stops time and introduces the fragile aspects of the album with glistening guitar, reverb whispered vocals and a dreamy nostalgic melody. The track builds superbly becoming more vigorous as the drums and guitars crash into motion bringing about that powerful expressive sound we have come to love from this trio. What a track to introduce the album it’s everything the album contains and more. Title track ‘Vulture Culture’ has the trying job of following and boy it doesn’t disappoint. Stomping in swagger soaked and filled with bravado ‘Vulture Culture’ struts on slinky guitars, pulverising drums and snide vocals. With its jagged gallop and creepy carnival jingle on guitar, this light fun track is a daring cocktail of sinister and dark with a cynical zesty twist to add a sting to the palate.
Epic choruses and a robust wall of sound flood through the darker ‘Nightmare’, ‘Hesitations’ and ‘Kingdumb’ concreting the mosh ready hair raising effect of the album as each track takes you further and further into this glorious festering experience. ‘Viva Violent’ adds a steamy flourish to the album with its jangly guitar infectiously weaving between the elastic beat and rooted bass groove leading to the feisty chorus eruption. The melodies in the album, as always are catchy delicious spreads of honey that roll and drift into your mind in sweet easy doses. Each track has its own slinky raw manner which adds a sublime character and lovable quality to each song. Themes of fear, paranoia, addiction, love and despair all spew, ferment and curdle through ‘Every Day’ ‘Heavy Handed’ and ‘All I Have’ while the band use their musical prowess to create an instrumental whirlwind of shrilling guitar, beefy bass lines and mammoth drums creating the most thrilling and commanding backdrop. ’Black Rainbow’ is another gem within this treasure trove. This adrenaline inducing track drives through the gritty darkly smothered verses setting the tune up for another blasting chorus however, strikingly the band break into a sweet, light, fluffy chorus with King cooing over a dreamy, euphoric backdrop. There is of course a heavy crescendo but the track winds down into repetitive soft vocals, acoustic guitar and piano end – allowing us a glimpse of a more elegant side to Fangclub as we are lulled into a whimsical state of bliss. This track is fast becoming my favourite on the album. Its opium soaked melody and rich peppy rhythm mixed meticulously between the contrasting, brain-frazzling mania is masterful. ‘Slow’ closes the album ensuring our thirst for more is unquenchable. A beefy beat, luring guitars and attitude soaked vocals end the album on a massive high. You can’t get bigger, better or more frantic (well these guys probably will ) but it’s an enticing, vaporous and anthemic number that I can imagine is utterly mind blowing live. The track is raw, endearing and filled with enormous moments from crashing slick guitar to ground shaking bass lines and first class drumming.
Fangclub have created a phenomenal album with ‘Vulture Culture’. Once you listen to the album you will never be the same again. It is brimming with passion and curdling themes of confusion, sadness and violence. The band express this through fiery intense instrumentation that surrounds you and consumes you in a world created entirely by Fangclub. The tracks reach deep into the crevices of your subconscious and lay bare your emotions and experiences – raw and exposed but contained within this powerful medium. ‘Vulture Culture’ is pretty potent musicianship.
Midlands five piece Violet have released their new single ‘Heaven Adores You’ out on ‘HolyHowl’ Records, following on from their debut singles ‘Feel’ and ‘Jaded’ which was rotated on Steve Lamacq’s 6music show.This new psych hued number floats in with marshmallow softness filled with sugary sweet pop melodies over graceful elegant instrumentation. Lush smooth vocals bounce along the creamy melody while delicate guitars twinkle throughout this ethereal gem. The track builds becoming more heavy and mind crushing as the guitars waver into a stinging weave of distortion over punchy drums and a grunge tinged soundscape that renders this tranquilizing number a little harsh. Driving on a powerful bass line with glorious sun kissed guitar entwining blissfully and playfully around the sedating melody- this track lifts you into an aerial state of euphoria before spiraling into a climatic whirl of psychedelic pop. Blending the soft pop tones and heavier 90’s grunge seamlessly this band have produced one heck of a track to calm and expand your mind.
About the track Luke Brickett Haycock said “This song is one we all hold a little closer to our hearts and we spent so long drifting in and out of the studio to make it sound perfectly like it did in our heads. The song is a kind of retrospective view of an entity that you admire that isn’t on this big floating ball we call earth anymore, how they perceived themselves whilst affecting the world around them, and for us that was a message to Elliott Smith.”
Manchester Rock/Grunge/Alternative band Manalishi have released their new EP ‘Why Do They Talk To Me’. Manalishi are a guttural plethora of raw energy and attitude. Consisting of lead vocalist/guitarist Dom Strett, bassist Josh Urpi, and drummer Charlie Gough; they concentrate on their music leaving your ears ringing, and a persistent scratchy feeling in the back of your throat.
The self titled EP is a bloodthirsty collection of grunge soaked alternative rock designed to pummel your brain and get those mosh pits in a frenzy. The band accumulate a refined blend of noisy fuzz and groovy sounds to create a wholly immersing fierce wall of sound. With an onslaught of battering drums and gritty, scuzzy guitars crashing and shattering against one another it’s an intense collection of tracks. ‘Why Do They Talk To Me?’ and ‘Brain In A Jar’ display this perfectly as the squealing guitars and raw, splintering backdrop revolt over raspy vocals and a catchy attitude driven melody. The tracks travel at neck breaking speeds that evoke images of hair flailing headbanging while Manalishi chill the frenzy with a moody melody. ‘Punge’ lightens the heaviness of the EP with jagged light guitar jangles between punchy drum whacks. There is a Nirvana vibe about the track as the expressive vocals expel and hiss over the fiery backdrop while wallowing in the sweetened sulky melody. These guys showcase their ballsy sound with an edgy refinement and closing track ‘Not Here…Not There…’ is a fine example of this. Slowly building the track, Manalishi mope and brood over the glum murky verses before bursting into an all out fragmenting heavy chorus. Mighty drum thuds and grumbly destructive guitars make the hair-raising foundation for this explosive track. The doleful verses contrast magnificently with the bruising chorus and make for an exhilarating listen.
This debut EP is a dynamic mix of sizzling power chords, manic energy and sonic restraint. Manalishi erect sturdy melodic structures and sing-along hard rock over a grunge foundation. They then attack their structure with frenzied screaming and guitar havoc. When Strett revs into high punk gear, shifting his versatile voice from quiet caress to raw-throated fury, the decisive control of the guitars and drums is all that keeps the songs from tipping over that thin line to utter chaos. Pretty impressive.
Following their well-received debut single ‘Universal Female’, North Dublin rockers LIERS continue their 90s-influenced post-grunge crusade with their second single ‘Host’, the second single off their upcoming EP due for release later in 2018. LIERS consists of vocalist and guitar player Liz Seaver, lead guitarist Ed Scanlan, bassist Stephen Farrell and Ronan O’Hanlon on drums.Their unique edgy style and sound have attracted the likes of 2FM’s Dan Hegarty and former Kerbdog and Wilt frontman Cormac Battle as well as Radio Nova’s musical maestro Gavin Glass.The band have also been announced as one of the winners of RTE 2FM’s ‘Play The Picnic’ Competition and will take to the stage at Electric Picnic on the weekend of August 31 to September 2.
‘Host’ is another exhilarating rambunctious track from the four piece that swarms in instrumentally strong and rowdy with a slinky melody glossing the frenzied backdrop with glazed glorious sweetness. These guys have a tight sound with magnificent bass rumbles which fluidly roll through punchy drum whacks and glorious soaring guitar lines. Once again Seaver’s dynamic and passionate vocals are mesmerising and add that final power punch that makes this track a force to be reckoned with. There are plenty of superb moments in this song from a rooted feisty instrumental bridge with perfect guitar whines over a fluctuant foundation to elastic bass grooves and nimble guitar flickers weaving tight zesty binds behind the crashing backdrop.It’s an edgy anthemic number with a mature vigorous sound that will have a live audience hopping off the walls.
Our Worth A Listen Track This Week Comes From LIERS
Dublin’s alternative female fronted four piece LIERS have released their new single ‘Universal Female’. LIERS started life when lead singer Liz Seaver was looking for the right talent to compliment her self-penned music titles. An established singer/songwriter in her own right with two independent albums to her name, Liz has been performing with the line-up of Lead guitarist Ed Scanlan, Bassist Stephen Farrell and Drummer Ronan O’Hanlon for some time at festivals such as Castlepalooza and venues such as the Sugar Club. These four talented musicians are not new to the Irish scene. Liz has previously toured with the inimitable Jack Lukeman and shared the stage with other Irish greats such as Mundy, Damien Dempsey and Paddy Casey. While playing alongside Liz over the years Ed, Stephen and Ronan also formed three-piece ‘Long Tail’ who released the EP “Your Time” and have toured nationwide with Fangclub. The energetic and experienced LIERS are now being repped by Polite Society (Fangclub, Long Tail, Vulpynes).
‘Universal Female’ is a smooth, melodic adrenaline shot of alternative rock. It’s chilled and cool with a whirring buzz fuelled wall of sound. These guys blend a sultry infectious melody with rowdy crashing instrumentation seamlessly to create a wholly satisfying listen. Strident sharp guitars pierce and shred through an elastic rumbly bass and punchy drums while Liz’s dynamic luring vocals slap a hefty dose of sass and power on top. This track is a catchy hook-filled force of nature that steam rolls in and invades your brain leaving you jumping around the room thinking you’re a bad ass. It’s brimming with kinetic energy and blazing spirit with a sing along ready chorus, its sure to be epic live. These guys are ones to watch for sure. ‘Universal Female’ is compact, rhythmically rich and vibrantly explosive in all the right places. It’s definitely worth a listen.
LIERS will also be supporting Fangclub tonight in Whelan’s along with Sub Motion make sure to check them out.
Our Worth A Listen Track This Week Comes From Honey Lung
Honey Lung are an alternative band from London. They have released their debut EP ‘Kind Of Alone’. Which has already captured the interest of the likes of Radio X and BBC Introducing. We have chosen their single ‘End Of Time’ from the EP as our worth a listen track this week. ‘End Of Time’ instantly blasts you with fierce 90’s grunge. Shredding guitars rip through the track with raw razor sharp grit and relentless aggression while the drums pound and pummel giving rough and tumble grainy textures that is absolutely thrilling. Soaked in an infectious pop melody that contrasts the dark moody tone, its a sulky sweet juicy track to sink your teeth into. Monotonic, droning brooding vocals fester and wallow in the downcast tone giving a nostalgic nod to the moody bands of 90’s youth. This track bursts with energy and vibrancy in-between the gloom. The zesty riff slaps you in the face and throws you head first into their ebullient sound, leaving you craving more and more for this sun soaked vitalising unique moping sound. The track summarises youth- hood’s conflicting feelings and emotions perfectly, pouty gloomy yet epic. Watch out for these guys.
Stream ‘End Of Time’ below
Our Worth A Listen Track This Week Comes From Fangclub
Fangclub are a Garage rock band from Dublin. Band members Steven King, Kevin Keane and Dara Coleman released their EP ‘Bullet Head’ this year and we have chosen the title track as our worth a listen track. ‘Bullet Head’ is an energetic, gritty, grunge rock track that is reminiscent of the 90’s style organic rock. The track begins with an infectious guitar riff intro that builds into a fantastic mosh with pounding drums and vigorous guitars. The verse stalls the mosh and is delivered in a shadowy, cool yet intense manner. With light instrumentation while the vocals are smooth and clear with a slight rasp giving a gritty texture to the track that is enticing. It then explodes into the chorus with dynamic and animated vocals, shredding guitar and thunderous strong rhythm. The chorus is lyrically simple and infectious and difficult not to sing along to. With its punk attitude for the chorus and intense dark verse which has a luring and captivating effect this track shows how diverse Fangclub are.
A Fantastic track which I can imagine is insane when performed live!
You can catch them live at
Jul 24 Knockanstockan Festival,Wicklow
Jul 29 Indiependence Festival Mitchelstown
4 Aug , Whelans Upstairs, Dublin
Watch ‘Bullet Head’ below
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
Photo credit : Annie Feng
