It's time to have a another look at this island's 32 counties to have a look at which songs and artists are worth taking up a few of your earth minutes this month:
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Hurdles - Pictures
It's a testament to how closely-knit the Belfast music scene can be when a band who only played their first gig 2 weeks ago can be chosen to play at Radar, the weekly showcase of Northern Ireland's brightest and finest held in The Speakeasy Bar, Belfast. Yet that is the privileged position that Belfast born, Dungannon raised Hurdles find themselves in, following the release of their debut single, "Pictures." It's the sound of a group with heaps of potential who can only get better from here on in.
If you want to catch them live, they're playing in The Speakeasy, Belfast on November 22nd, along with Go Wolf and Cedric Has a Name. It is free entry.
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Croupier - Creo Beast
I got to see Dublin group Croupier on Friday evening when they played in Auntie Annies in support of local lads Before Machines. I was incredibly impressed by their high energy live presence, in spite of the technical difficulties they seemed to face. "Creo Beast", taken from their self-titled debut album, was perhaps the highlight of the evening, with its manic energy and gloopy synths marking the band out as a shoutier, thinking man's version of Everything Everything.
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Team Fresh - Boss Level
Belfast based rap/rock combo Team Fresh are the sort of group that it's comforting to have about locally, even if you're not really into rap/rock sung in the strongest Northern Irish accent this side of Duke Special. Their music and outlook could only have emerged from 'our wee province', and probably acts as a better indication of life here than many of our bigger musical exports. The Linkin Park aping sound of "Boss Level" might not be everyone's cup of tea, but they're no denying its dark charm.
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Timberwolves - The Company You Keep
And finishing off the round-up is Timberwolves, the nom de plume of David McConnell. His first release, "The Company You Keep", is a wonderful, lo-fi folk record, with delicately plucked guitar and pathos-infused strings.
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