Northern Ireland Tunes - Round-Up #26

We're into April already? Where did the time go? I'm sure there are philosophers and scientists who can answer that question with more certainly than this humble music blogger, so I'll safely leave that question in their capable hands.

One of the things I love about doing this quick round-up of tunes from Northern Ireland is that it shows the great variety of artists and music styles that 'our wee province' has to offer. You'd be hard pressed to find many similarities between the acts featured in this month's round-up, and sometimes that diversity we have here is sometimes overlooked.

But anyway, here endeth the babble, and on with the tunes that are sure to float your Metaphorical Boat this month -
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Selene - Not Enough

It's safe to say that Northern Ireland is not a place synonymous with symphonic metal. One band looking to change that is Derry band four-piece Selene. Okay, it might not be true symphonic metal, given that they use keyboards instead of live strings, but in fairness to the group, hiring an orchestra is rather expensive. Their latest single is "Not Enough", a song that fans of Lacuna Coil and Nightwish might enjoy immensely.


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Dramatic Tiger Club - Something About Beats and Breath

It's fair to say that Derry sextet Dramatic Tiger Club really do have their own unique sound, or 'folkspoke rock' as they call it. Their song "Something About Beats and Breath" is a mixture of spoken word vocals over jazzy yet subtle piano chords, complimented by a strong, emotion baiting chorus. It's hard to draw comparisons with other groups, but I imagine that if you liked Black Box Recorder, but were looking for something a little less poppy and more stripped back, you might find something to like in DTC.


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Ocean of Lights - A Deep Breath Before the Plunge

And the winner of the most pretentious song title from a Belfast music this month goes to...Daniel Thornton, aka Ocean of Lights, for his instrumental ambient post-rock song "A Deep Breath Before The Plunge". If you're a music supervisor on a nature documentary looking for something to soundtrack a montage of the animal world, then you may have just the track you need here.


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Shane McCaul - Barefoot

If you have even the slightest passing interest in Northern Irish music (and let's face it - you wouldn't be reading this blog if that wasn't the case), then you will probably have come across Derry man Shane McCaul before. Having performed backing vocals to Best Boy Grip both live and on record, he has just released his debut E.P, "Barefoot". The title track is a great introduction to his music, which is broadly acoustic rock with soulful vocals.


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The Nouvelles - Rising

And we finish up this month's round-up with The Nouvelles. Technically they're a Wigan band, but given that their lead singer is from Belfast, it felt right to include them, especially given the strength of their song "Rising". Want to know whether you should hit play? If you've ever wanted to know what "Don't Stop Believin" would sound like in the 21st century, only with male/female vocals and rave synths instead of guitars, then hit the orange button below and be won over.