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.”
Corner Boy have released their highly anticipated self-titled debut album. I spoke to Mick D’Arcy about the album, the band’s upcoming shows and how the tracks on this album span 10 years of the band’s creativity.
“We’ve been together as a band for 10 years. So I think the best thing about this process was that a lot of the songs we were able to revisit. We would have written some of the songs as far back as maybe 2013 and 2014. So there is a lot of newer material on the album but this was a great opportunity to revisit songs and take the songs as they were presented from us from a younger age, and with all of the years of experience, of being on the road, playing live shows and, other recent releases take all of that knowledge and breathe new life into these older songs as well. So it’s been an incredibly interesting and exciting process for us.”
“A lot of them would have been early demos that we would have released and kind of bootleg CDs that we would have taken on various tours with us but a lot of the songs haven’t been released formally. Many people who come to our shows and friends would say to us regarding a couple of the songs “Why haven’t you released that? you know, as a studio album version. That’s my favourite song. You should really release that”. So I guess with the album, we did take that into account with a few of those songs and we’re delighted to properly present it to the world now”
The band have found the perfect blend of folk, rock, traditional, bluegrass and alternative within this album to create a unique and rich sound that showcases each member’s individual musical prowess.
“I guess the sound of the band has evolved over the years. We’ve dabbled in heavier, more loud, harsher sounds, the quieter singer-songwriter side, bluegrass, traditional Irish music, so I guess this album in essence is the exploration of all of that and it’s us arriving at this point where we are comfortable and have clearly defined our sound. So that’s the concept, our journey through the years to arrive at this signature sound that we’ve been trying to establish for such a long time and we really feel we’ve gotten this with this collection of 10 songs, they really represent the band, what we were and what we’ve become along the way.”
Throughout the album, the songs are bright, hopeful and a joy to listeners’ ears. ‘Morning Morning’ is a glorious example. It’s uplifting with each instrument adding a bright twinkle throughout while lush vocal harmonies and banjo elements add a hearty sing-along aspect. This wholesome soundscape cushions the listeners from the melancholic lyrical content.
“That song I guess we were going through a period of writing sombre down tempo songs. The song itself, it’s a really energetic and positive-sounding song. But lyrically it’s really about a person who’s struggling to get out of bed in the morning. They’re struggling to see a lot of positivity in the world. So we decided to take this concept, a sad theme and write it with the backing of really hopeful and entertaining music. So we’re constantly challenging ourselves and giving ourselves these little projects, there’s another song in the album called ‘The Sea’ and that was another example of us just giving ourselves something ambitious to look for. We wanted to create the loudest most impactful song that we’ve ever written and we felt we achieved that with that as well. Sometimes a lot of the songs and particularly with ‘Morning Morning’, it really starts from this simple idea of taking a subject matter or context and then playing with it and hopefully finding some positive results in the writing process.”
‘The Sea’ follows the darker lyrical theme of ‘Morning Morning’ however with this song the band allow the music to reflect the sombre songwriting. With a thumping beat, thudding guitars and jangly banjo the band manage to create a sense of turmoil through expressive instrumentation. D’Arcy sings “I know That pain, Seen it before, it’s taking my heart, taking it whole” over evocative instrumentation that highlights the band’s ability for creating cinematic soundscapes.
“I guess, ‘Morning Morning’ is interesting because that song is more of an affirmation for somebody who may be in a position of struggling in certain aspects of their life. I guess that’s one way of approaching the songs. With regards to ‘The Sea’, that was more trying to incorporate the notion of painting in a landscape and characters and feelings into the song that reflects those landscapes. So unfortunately, there’s a very high rate of suicide in Wexford town and at the time when we were writing the song it almost felt like every weekend that we woke up, we found out a friend of ours or somebody that we know, had passed away, we wanted to write a response to that. At the time we wanted to explore the notion of there are ups and downs, life is choppy waters at times and we wanted to write something that was a response to what was going on around us. So, again a different way of looking at a challenge and writing songs but something that we felt we were able to reflect that energy, that particularly stormy time in Wexford town where we’re all from, it wasn’t great, but we felt like we needed to respond and we needed to create something as a response to that. “
The album ends with ‘I Dream Of Boston Town’ a tender ballad delicately presented through soft instrumentation and Celtic tones. It’s a beautiful and heartbreaking way to end the whirlwind journey of this album.
“That’s a song that we had on the back burner for a long time. We weren’t even sure that we were going to include it because it’s seven or eight minutes long, but then we just said we really do need to include it. When we play it live, we typically have the room singing back to us that chorus chant at the end. We felt that was a song that felt like a short story but it needed to tell the story of the heartbreak, the connection or disconnection between two people, the breaking down of something, the original building of something and then watching it subsequently break down. So it is a long song, but it’s different from any kind of single that you might release to radio. This song was really a short story and we felt that it just offered something very different from your standard three to four minutes single. So yeah, we just thought it showed a different dynamic to the band, or a different ability within us to write a different kind of song.“
‘River Born’ is perhaps my favourite song on the album. The vivid storytelling mixed with warm instrumentation creates this almost anthemic and comforting sound that is irresistible. With a sweet string refrain woven between driving rhythms and bright guitars, it’s a glorious tune full of emotion. D’Arcy explained to me which songs on the album he is most proud of.
“That’s a really good question. I think the most recent song we finished before doing pre-production for the album was a song called ‘Blackstairs Winter Snow’, which is the first track on the album. So I guess there’s probably an element of recency bias there but that was a moment where we felt as a band we really arrived at a collective sound that for us felt so distinctive, it felt so unique and different. So it felt that we had gotten to this point where all of that learning over the years, trying to understand how we would use guitar sounds effectively within our songwriting, how we would use our exploration of synthetic music as well. It felt like we found a real safe comfort zone to be able to amalgamate all of those things and yeah, for me, it would probably be a song like ‘Blackstairs Winter Snow’. We have six members of the band, each one would probably tell you that they have a favourite different song and hopefully that’s a testament to the strength of the collection of the 10 songs on the album that they all have different dynamics, different stories, different viewpoints. So hopefully, when people are listening to it, it’s a case that each individual person might see something that’s reflective of them, they might have their own individual favourite in that way.”
Fans can catch Corner Boy live on Friday 2nd December in Whelans and Saturday 10th December in National Opera House, Wexford. These songs are going to be epic live. D’Arcy explained to me what fans can expect from the shows.
“Yeah, that’s the plan. We’ve spent the last six weeks building our live show, rehearsing every week for it. So just trying to make it better and better and refine it as much as we can. So we’re really really excited. Our hometown album launch show in the National Opera House is sold out and we have limited tickets left for Whelan’s now on December 2, so we’re really really itching to get up on stage. We played the Ruby Sessions in Dublin and that went incredibly well. So that’s gotten us match fit as well. So itching to get going. We’re building and can’t wait to play the shows. Hopefully, we’ll be getting out on the road to tour them as well next year. So really, really exciting times for us after a long time waiting”
Showcasing poetic lyrics and dynamic instrumentation Corner Boy’s self-titled album is a fine display of the band’s poignant musicianship. Each track leaves you craving to hear more. The album is a truly special and immersive listening experience.
Xcean has released his new single, ‘Final Lullaby’.Xcean brings his own stylish blend of emo, pop-punk, metal-core and post-hardcore music to the forefront, this sound can be heard on tracks like ‘Late October’, which has amassed over 3 thousand streams on Spotify. The origins of this artist actually began in a wrestling ring, where he worked as a professional ‘death-match’ wrestler named ‘Alex Ocean’. An obviously impactful era of his life, aspects of this scene have even transferred into his music career, with fellow wrestler ‘Top Dollar’ featuring as Fran¢ on his most recent track, titled ‘Daddy Issues’.
Melding alternative rock with metal elements while tender emotion pours from every note ‘Final Lullaby’ is a compelling new tune from Xcean. Icy keys chill between steady beats, dark soundscapes and driving guitars as Xcean creates a dynamic wall of sound while painful lyrics provide substance and deep meaning; “You do not know the tears I’ve cried, I can accept that it’s my time and now it’s time to say goodbye, this is my final lullaby”. Filled with emotive vocals and harrowing growl backing vocals ‘Final Lullaby’ balances dark sinister tones with raw emotion and refined musicianship to create a satisfying listening experience.
Cuban/Irish singer-songwriter Qbanaa has released her debut single ‘Truth and Desire’. Based in Dublin, Qbanaa grew up travelling back and forth from Cuba where music and salsa dancing were integral parts of her childhood. A dancer for 10 years, she also sang in school choirs and with her grandmother in Spanish Mass, where she grew up in North Frederick Street Flats, D1.
“‘Qbanaa is Cubana with a Q, it’s supposed to integrate the way Irish people would pronounceCubana, so it sort of brings my two homes together in a lighthearted way.’’ – Qbanaa.
‘Truth and Desire’ is a neo-soul tune wrapped in soft hues of jazz to create a luxurious listening experience and sublime introduction to Qbanaa’s sound. With mellow guitar encasing a velvety melody, elastic bass and vaporous soundscapes Qbanaa crafts a soothing and sultry tune that is simply irresistible. As supple jazz elements wisp the song in a chic smoky embrace, subtle punctuated beats induce an R&B radiance while the soothing soft vocals venture between English and Spanish lyrics. Balmy and richly textured ‘Truth and Desire’ is a mesmerising new tune to indulge in.
About the song, Qbanna said: “The song was inspired by 1989 and 2008 movie ‘The Little Mermaid’ – I’m sure people will think ‘oh that’s a bit weird’. But if you look into it, there’s some insane soul and beautiful ethereal sounds in there that I took inspiration from. The movie is all about the unconditional nature of pure love, and the universal power of music, which really resonated with me growing up and carries the theme of Truth and Desire, it was the first thing I thought of when I opened the track.”
The Immaculate Crows have released their new album ‘And Then There Were Two’. The Immaculate Crows were originally an Australian Brisbane-based Alternative band that played from late 1981 to early 1985. They were named and founded by Bruce Neilsen (songwriter, lead guitarist). Former member David Page was the first Australian to get a contract with Tamla Motown when he was a teenage pop star. Bruce reunited with former member Mark Hocknell in 2019. Mark co-produced 11 tracks for this album and played with Bruce on these songs. Carolyn Neilsen co-produced and fully produced ‘Bird In The Sky’.These songs have been well-received by Community Radio Stations throughout the country, such as Raw Radio, Tribe FM 91.1, Triple H 96.5 FM Horsham, 4ZZZ 102.1 FM.
‘And Then There Were Two’ uses alternative, country and indie to showcase a diverse display of The Immaculate Crows’ sound. From warm country twangs between mellow jazz-like flirtations in ‘Can’t You Hear Me Crying’ to the moody ‘New Girl’ and jaunty rock and roll swagger of ‘Love Is Perverse’, the band present a satisfying listening experience. Each song pivots around intricate and evocative guitar melodies that ooze character and emotion throughout, mirroring the lyrical themes of youth suicide, bullying, loneliness, alienation and unrequited love. With psychedelic moments weaved between pop, sweet slow bops and rock bravado ‘And Then There Were Two’ is a solid new album from The Immaculate Crows.
Columbia Mills are set to release their new album ‘Heart Of A Nation’ on the 14th of October . I spoke to Fiachra Treacy, frontman of Columbia Mills about making the album during the pandemic, the benefits of producing the album themselves and the moving inspiration behind some of the fantastic tracks.
‘Heart of A Nation’ is absolutely glorious. Columbia Mills pack so much emotion and passion into one album. The songs deal with the impact society has on our lives and gives an overview of our bleak socio-political landscape; immigration, addiction, and the eradication of self-confidence against a backdrop of lush instrumentation and crisp production.
“I think like everybody else over the pandemic, I personally had a lot of time to think about what was going on, specifically in the world. I think that’s what sparked a lot of the revolutions and the protests that came to the fore during the pandemic around the world. Because everybody’s life was put on hold, we got a lot more time to reflect on what was happening and I think that’s where it came from. I always write from a subconscious point of view. So we had all the music done, we wanted to make it a dancey album, as you pointed out, because we wanted people to have something to dance to after sitting around for so long, but in terms of the lyrics, I sit with the music and I just see what came out and that’s what came out. That was obviously what was troubling me when I was writing the songs and I think once I figure out what the song is about, then I can really run with it and start using less of the subconscious to finish the song but usually, the things that are bothering me will come to the fore.”
“For this album, because we couldn’t rehearse and we couldn’t get together in a room we decided we’d write the music first. Usually we do it the other way around and we put all the music together first, and the lads gave me the liberty to move bits of the song around. So if I wanted to put a chorus here, just put a bridge there I could do that with the vocals. But it was quite challenging. I’ve never really done it like that before, maybe the odd song on the other albums we’ve done it like that. But to do the whole album like this, it was quite challenging. I ended up writing the lyrics maybe four or five times for each song and changing them and putting them back together again, but it was great fun. It was a great challenge and I think it’s made for a really good album.”
The band cleverly layer and craft the songs to create a consuming listening experience. We discussed how the excess time the pandemic provided gave the band an opportunity to create an album so rich and evocative.
“Yeah, yeah we had a lot of time and I think that really helped us. The fact that we could live with each part and myself, Uisneagh [Treacy] and Ste [Ward] would send each other parts like we’d write a synth part pattern or a guitar part or a drum loop and we’d be sending them to each other all the time. There’s an awful lot of stuff that we didn’t use. The parts that we left in, we feel they really worked and we spent a lot of time thinking about them and we were able to mull over it. Then we put the vocals on and then we took a few more bits out, stuff that was clashing with the vocal. So yeah, it was a great, great way of working. We’ll probably do it again.”
‘Nevada’ is such a gem and one of my favourites on the album. The track travels at an intense pace with looped drums creating a pulsing rush of adrenaline as the song ventures between dreamy euphoric tones and intense almost sinister undertones.
“We had the baseline and the drum loop and then there was a synth line that kind of an arpeggiated synth line which actually starts the whole song. Then while I was writing the lyrics, I came up with the chorus part to go to a major chord so the song opens up and you can feel a bit of hope rather than being so dark the whole time because it starts in a minor chord. So when it goes to the major cord it gives people a bit more hope. You don’t want to be too miserable and the lyrics came from when I was in Mexico with my wife who is from Guadalajara in Mexico. That’s an area where a lot of people come through. There’s a train that goes through the centre of Mexico and it carries people from Honduras and from more southern America up through and they’re trying to get to the United States and they stop in Guadalajara and they stop and they’ll ask for money or they look for food and stuff like that. So we’d meet a lot of these people and we met a man who was travelling from Honduras and he wanted to get to Nevada that was what he kept saying. I’m going to Nevada. I don’t speak Spanish but he was talking to my wife but I kept hearing him saying Nevada. She told me that he had a son, a daughter and a wife that were left in Honduras and he was going to work in Nevada to make some money and hopefully that they could join him or he’d go back with money. So that’s what the song is about. It’s me fantasising that they do eventually get together again and that he gets to see his son again. So it’s quite emotional. That’s where this inspiration came from.”
Columbia Mills are melody wizards. There is a soothing quality to the melodies on this album that comforts the listeners from the harsh reality of the lyrics.
“Yeah, for me, the melodies have to come naturally, the vocal melodies especially and I suppose the guitars do as well. They have to come very naturally or else I find if I spend too much time working on a vocal melody or a guitar line, that they just sound, they’re not as soothing. I don’t know if there’s any techniques or anything that we use, but it’s just more of a natural occurrence. The music or the melody will come into my head a lot of the time I’d wake up and a melody would be in my head or I’d be doing something completely different. I’d be working on something else and a melody will come into my head and I think by doing that, as you said they come a bit more naturally and I think people can connect to them a bit more because they’re more human, I suppose.”
‘Momentum’ is another special moment on the album. There is so much musical goodness encased in this song. The song unfolds from pulsing bass lines, chiming keys and intricate guitar melodies into a euphoric groove-infested dance tune.
“Yeah, it came from the intro. I remember Steven sent me the intro with the drum loop and that song was totally different. I remember we had all sorts of crazy vocals on it. The structure was totally different. It was like a dance track because we do work on a lot of dancey stuff. We never release it. We just make dance tracks just for the craic. We’d finished the album and we revisited that song. It was never going to be on the album and I changed it around a little bit and created a verse and a chorus. Then we put a few guitar parts on and then I just concentrated on the vocals and when we had it finished, we’d already got the album mixed by Rob [Kirwan]. He had already finished mixing the album. So we got our engineer, producer friend Mick Heffernan and he mixed it and we really loved it. So we dropped one of the other songs and moved that one in and we’re glad we did because a lot of people say it’s their favourite. “
Sonically it’s an acid trip yet there are sweet moments on guitar between all the dizzying synths and intricate rhythms. I wondered if the band ever got carried away with all the glorious immersive layers when they were creating the song.
“We can overdo it sometimes. So we need to be very careful. There are about four synth parts in that song. Then the baseline, the guitars and the vocals and then I often tend to put a lot of effects on the vocals. I think towards the end. I’m just spouting absolute garbage and we layered it all up on top of each other. I don’t think you can make out what I’m saying. I don’t even know if I know what I’m saying. I’d love to hear them isolated again. But yeah, we can get a little bit lost but we always have to pare it back and remember that people need to listen to this stuff.”
As the album progresses, the band strip away some of the disco elements and the sound becomes more delicate. ‘Imposter Syndrome’ displays this more delicate sound perfectly. Fiachra’s echoed vocals stand out above the hypnotic key refrain and guitars creating a compelling melancholic tune for listeners to enjoy.
“With ‘Imposter Syndrome’, Ste had sent me the synth line, and I really loved it and I was determined to make a song out of it. Once he’d sent me that I started playing the acoustic guitar over it, there’s an acoustic guitar on that song. Once I had the acoustic guitar and the chords figured out, I left all the electronics to one side and just sat on my own with the acoustic guitar trying to figure out a song that I could play without any of the electronics. ‘Imposter Syndrome’ I suppose that’s what it’s about you kind of feel you’re not good enough for somebody else and if you’re not good enough to be in a certain situation. I suppose we all feel like that sometimes, well I feel like that most of the time. So I built a song about that. I can’t really remember writing the lyrics. I can remember just being happy with what had been put down. The structure of the song is quite strange as well because there’s kind of a bridge at the end. So there’s not really a chorus to the song. It just kind of plods along but I love people like Roy Orbison, he used to write songs with no choruses. He’d write songs that just went along, but it would feel like there was a chorus there because each part really mattered. So that’s kind of where I got the inspiration from.”
Lyrically the band don’t shy away from real topics and they pack some punch with their hard-hitting lyrics. Our discussion ventured down the intricacies and natural flow of lyrics and Fiachra told me his lyrics flow in a stream of consciousness sometimes. I wondered if these stream-of-consciousness writing sessions need much editing in order to create the eloquent lyrical content we hear within the album.
“Yeah, I definitely do. Yeah, you’re right. I’d go off on a mad one and I’d write everything down. I’d read everything that has come out from the stream of consciousness, but then I need to figure out where the song came from, and what I’m trying to say and then I’d have to hone back some of the stuff, but sometimes I’m left with some nice stuff that I keep and I’m quite surprised. It’s like I didn’t write it, it just came from somewhere else. So yeah, sometimes, really nice stuff that I just want to keep but yeah, I definitely need to hone it in a bit and put a bit more structure on it and make it a bit more palatable, I suppose, is the word you know, so people can understand what I’m trying to say.”
‘Heart Of A Nation’ is an album brimming with solid tunes. There are many musical gems to enjoy from the emotive guitar-driven ‘House Voice’ to the moody grunge-filled ‘Feet Don’t Fail Me Now’. But Fiachra told me which of the songs on the album he is most proud of.
“Yeah, I really love this song called ‘Here With You’ and another song called ‘Fake Life’. I’d say they’re my two favourites. Just in terms of when I listened to them, they knock me down a little bit because I love the structure of ‘Here With You’. I love where it goes, and how it builds. But in terms of lyrics and what the song is about, ‘Fake Life’ is really nice. I really liked it because I didn’t see that song coming. Ste had sent me this string section and we had that for a long time and I had been trying to write a song over it for ages and we couldn’t. So I got the string section and I put it into my computer and I put a beat over it with a groove box. Then once I had the beat it was like it unlock the key to the vocal melody. Then I had the vocal melody in my head and then the lyrics all came down within like, half an hour. It came really quickly. It was a surprise to me. So I really like listening to that one.”
Columbia Mills have a tour coming up in the UK and Ireland in October. We discussed what fans can expect from this run of live shows.
“ I think we’re gonna be a little bit more dancey this time. We’ve done a couple of shows, we’ve done festivals and obviously with festivals you have to hone it in because there’s a lot of people there that never heard of us. So we were trying to grab them as well. So we kept everything upbeat. When we’re doing our own shows, obviously, we can bring in some of the more melancholy songs which I loved the most but yeah, we’ll be doing a lot more dancey stuff. We have a new drummer, Jamie Duff, he plays the drums standing up and he’s a little bit more full on in terms of making the songs dancey but we’ve left a lot of electronic beats in as well. So it’s kind of changed our sound. We’re going to play a lot of the new album and then a select few off the other two albums and we’ll see where we go with that. Yeah, it’ll be a mixture of everything.”
With ‘Heart Of A Nation’ being the band’s third album there are a lot of songs in their arsenal to play at shows and I wondered if the band found it difficult to pick songs to play live as they would all have their own favourites as well as trying to please the fans with their favourites.
“We have arguments over it a lot which is good. It’s getting better. It’s very healthy to have three albums and to have an argument over what songs we’re going to play. There’s some songs that are a given like ‘City’, ‘Close To You’, ‘Battles’, I think we always play but the rest of the songs are open to play and we also feel when we’re rehearsing you go okay, that one’s really feeling good , and we’re getting a nice buzz off it and if we’re reacting to it, we hope that other people will react to it as well and if songs aren’t working, we just throw them to the side, we’ve plenty more to pick from.”
On their third album, Columbia Mills find new and refreshing ways to express their ever-evolving sound through dancefloor bops and thrilling lyrics that express sorrow, hope and self-knowledge. The band have raised the bar with these intricately layered tunes as they take an array of shimmering synths, punctuated beats and indie rock elements to create impeccable moments of sonic musicianship that mark Columbia Mills in a league of their own.
‘Heart Of A Nation’ is set for release tomorrow October 14th. Until then stream ‘Momentum’ below
Irish alt-pop band HamsandwicH have released their fourth studio album ‘Magnify’. HamsandwicH have been one of Ireland’s most steady indie bands over the years. Their previous album ‘Stories From the Surface’ debuted at #1 on Ireland’s official album chart (the first time an unsigned Irish act accomplished this feat) and the band have opened for heavyweight international artists such as Arcade Fire and Pixies. Having sold out Dublin’s prestigious Olympia Theatre 3 times, they have also played on the main stages at the Electric Picnic and Longitude Festival. Additionally, they have performed at the legendary Slane Castle with Bon Jovi, and were personally invited by Mumford & Sons to support them in Phoenix Park.
Filled with rich textures, sublime melodies and intriguing instrumental arrangements ‘Magnify’ is a glorious display of HamsandwicH’s musicianship. The band blend indie, dance and pop elements to create a sound that is refreshing, laidback and ecstasy to the ears.
‘Electro Wave’ begins the experience. Oozing exuberant 80’s soundscapes from the very first note ( enhanced by disco tones and slick bass grooves), the band kick-starts the album with a sound that is simply irresistible. The sprightly beats and shimmering synths give this track a bright upbeat vibe while the interplay between Niamh Farrell’s vocal lulls and Podge McNamee’s rich baritone creates a refreshing contrast throughout. ‘Julian’ continues the synth-driven vibe while ‘Run Run’ takes a darker undertone and moves towards a more indie aesthetic.
Within ‘Magnify’ the band’s musical prowess is on full display. They blend a lush concoction of musical genres throughout while keeping a tight leash on their sound, never allowing it to spin out of control. The result is expressive soundscapes that allow the listener to experience and enjoy different complementary musical elements with each listen. ‘Next Contender’ is a fine example of this. The track is impressive in its composition and execution. The song appears minimalist, jaunty, and light at first glance but on closer inspection, the listener is treated to rich textures, exciting musical undertones and deft production skills. For example within the track, classical tones on keys slip into arpeggios which lead the way through tempo shifts and transitions that occasionally intertwine with sprightly sharp guitar embellishments. The result is an intriguing display of musicianship that is a joy to listen to.
The undeniable talent of each member is on full display throughout the album. From the feet shuffling blues hues of ‘Fired Up’ to the beautiful ‘Good Friday’ ( which acts as a nod to the band’s former manager Derek Nally, who sadly passed away in 2010) there is no shortage of first-rate musicianship. The exquisite guitar riffs soar over lush melodic flows and rhythmic pulses while Farrell’s compelling vocals express tender lyrics with sweetness and power that is goosebump-inducing.
‘Magnify’ is a musical marvel from HamsandwicH. The album is a showcase of eloquent songwriting and expressive musicianship that is full of rich melodies, exciting musical twists and electronic flourishments.
Stream ‘Magnify’ below
Author: Danu
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
