The Metaphorical Boat Podcast Episode 05 - Darren Doherty

On each episode of The Metaphorical Boat Podcast, Christopher McBride, the Captain of The Metaphorical Boat, will sit down with one of his favourite musicians, and over a cup of a lovely caffeinated beverage and a bun or tray-bake of the artist's choosing (The Captain always goes for Battenberg. Always), chat through the artist's life, musical highlights, and most importantly, how many sugars they take.

Our guest on this episode of The Metaphorical Boat Podcast is Strabane singer/songwriter and member of A Northern Light, Darren Doherty, who talks about his musical journey, his first solo album "What You Do" and its spontaneous recording process, and his new band, The Heathen Choir.

Listen or download now on Soundcloud or on iTunes:

Find out more about Darren Doherty on -
Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp

MMODE - Waiting In The Desert

This is an act that we have been waiting for new music from for a long time, although under a different name.

The Belfast band Southern are a duo that we have been writing on The Metaphorical Boat since day 1 (literally). We watched Thomas & Lucy Gaffney* increasingly build up a name for themselves, releasing great songs such as "Where The Wild Are" & "Where I Want To Be", and by 2014 we had a feeling they were going to be massive when we were unable to get in to see them at The Great Escape because there was a queue snaking around the building waiting to see them too.

Unfortunately, after that year we didn't hear anything from the band for some time, which we have now learned is due to an illness that befell Thomas. However, we were delighted to learn last month that the duo are now back making music together again, and have relaunched themselves under the name MMODE.

Their first single under their new name is "Waiting In The Desert", and is a hazy, tune that has shades of 90s indie-rock and Jagwar Ma-esque psychedelia. It's great to have Thomas & Lucy back doing what they do best - making ruddy fantastic pop tunes.

"Waiting In The Desert" is out now.


*whilst recording as Southern, Thomas & Lucy used the surname "Southern" in all their promotional material, so we assume that this was a pseudonym and "Gaffney" is in fact their real surname. 

Balako - Hora De Balako

At the start of 2017, there was one thing in particular that The Metaphorical Boat was hoping to hear in the year ahead, and that was an honest to goodness, bona fide disco banger. We've always had a soft spot for the genre, but it has been a while since we've heard a modern one that's really excited.

In the 21st century, we've had the insatiably brilliant "Murder on The Dancefloor", and of course "Get Lucky" was, and continues to be, the feel-good song of the summer. But apart from those songs, and the occasion stroke of genius like "Blind" or "Beaches & Friends", there hasn't been many other disco songs that have moved us, which is why we were so keen on 2017 doing something to remedy that.

And it looks like 2017 may have just answered our call, in the form of Brazilian duo Balako. Their debut single, "Hora De Balako", has just about everything that we want in a total disco banger - funky basslines, swooping strings, and a feelgood chant you just cannot help shouting along to, even if you a) don't know what it means, and b) are walking around listening to the song on headphones, aware that people will give you funny looks for shouting such a phrase at occasional intervals.

"Hora De Balako" is out now.