Silent Noise Parade - Fears

It's not usual for TMB to feature two bands from Limerick in the space of a week, but sometimes that's the way the metaphorical cookie crumbles. Five-piece electro band Silent Noise Parade already have one album under their belts, and as the band gear up for #2 later in the year, they have just released a brand new single, "Fears".

In the past week, "Fears" has picked up more than its fair share of love on the Irish blogosphere, which should come as no surprise, as it's a pretty great tune. The song is a dark and glacial, yet catchy electronic song characterised by a forceful yet memorable synth riff. It calls to mind a little bit of Prides in terms of its structure, but oddly enough also sounds a little bit like a more synthetically focused Linkin Park as well.

Silent Noise Parade's début album didn't really excite us when it came out last year, but if they can keep up the quality they've shown on "Fears", them number 2 is going to be rather exciting indeed.

"Fears" is available to download from reputable music download stores.

Moscow Metro - Spirit of a City (E.P)

It has been over a year since first being introduced to Limerick based 4-piece Moscow Metro* through their wonderful debut double-A side containing the tracks "Spirit of a City" and "Cosmos" for free, which sounded near perfect in spite of the band only being together for a few months at the time of recording. Now fast-forward 12 months, and as a result of the initial love for the band, they are releasing their first E.P, "Spirit of a City".

Unsurprisingly, the E.P kicks off with the title track, and as we said last year, the song is a "mid tempo anthemic rock number in the mode of The Killers or The National, tailor made for multi-seated stadiums and for closing festival proceedings", and 12 months onwards, we stick firmly by that appraisal. The second track "Future Fades" shares a similar musical DNA, and is just as enjoyable. In fact, you can pinpoint the exact moment when the audience will go mental when this one is played live - it's at 1:35 in.

"Headlights" is a more subdued, shoegaze-y track, with the guitars turned down ever so slightly and the percussion slightly more purposeful, one that fans of Jesus & Mary Chain might get excited by. "Where It All Ends", the 'official' closing track** is similarly subdued, although it erupts into something magical by its end, a little bit of joy beneath the darkness that has gone before it.

"Spirit of a City" deserves to be the release that introduces Moscow Metro to a swarm of new fans. Last year, we said that they should be your new favourite band. 12 months on, we stand by that assessment. If you like your punk a little past the post, your guitars loud, and your darkness as anthemic as possible, then "Spirit of a City" is the release you have craved all these years.

"Spirit of a City" is available to purchase as of today.



*Written as M O S C O W M E T R O, but for the sake of my thumbs and space bar (given that it's highly likely we will be featuring this band again on numerous occasions), I will refrain from typing it in this way.
**The wonderful "Cosmos" has been left as a hidden track, presumably because its sound wouldn't flow in the context of the E.P. This is a shame, as I feel it's their strongest song. Oh well, one can hope that its hidden nature means that they'll have big plans for it further on down the line.

Fox Jaw - Kerosene

It's been nearly two years since witnessing Limerick band Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters playing a blinding set at the 2012 Glasgowbury Festival to an unfortunately meager crowd. But the group haven't been without their successes, with their debut album "The Devil In Music" picking up critical praise and getting music featured in a an advert for Becks (the alcohol, not the singer, nor the footballer).

Fast forward to 2014, and the band have shortened their name to just Fox Jaw, and are gearing up to release their sophomore album "Ghost's Parade". Before that though they've got a new single out, "Kerosene". The song itself is a sinister blues-rock tune very much in the mold of Tom Waits (albeit with a less whisky-soaked singer). The music video, which has already picked up quite a few fans, lightens the tone slightly, taking the form of an affectionate pastiche to THAT scene from Reservoir Dogs.

"Kerosene" will be released on February 28th, as a download and limited edition 7" vinyl.

M O S C O W M E T R O - Spirit of a City/Cosmos

It's not often that the debut recordings from a brand new group appear to the world so fully formed that you'd think that they have been around for years, but this is exactly the case with the debut double A-side from M O S C O W  M E T R O. The band are based in Limerick, but contain members from both Ireland and San Francisco, giving their sound a real transatlantic feel.

The first track, "Spirit of a City", is a mid tempo anthemic rock number with a haunting undercurrent, very much in the mode of The Killers or The National. It is the sort of song that seems tailor made for multi-seated stadiums and for closing festival proceedings.

"Cosmos" on the other hand is a much stronger track, one which is very much indebted to post-punk. The verses of the song call to mind the material of Joy Division and "Seventeen Seconds" era songs from The Cure, before the chorus  enters into anthemic mode (the group's favourite type of mode), with a sense of angst that would not sound out of place on a Placebo track.

It is not often that this blog gives in to hyperbole, but in this case an exception will be made. Based on these two tracks, M O S C O W  M E T R O are your new favourite band. Both "Spirit of a City" and "Cosmos" represent a near-perfect debut for the Limerick guys. These are songs that deserve to be played on radios nationwide, ascend the Hype Machine, and be downloaded by thousands.

Both tracks by M O S C O W  M E T R O are available to download for free.

Bleeding Heart Pigeons - Soliloquies, Massacres

As a music fan, you know that it's the end of another year when you see the 'tip sheets' of various publications coming in thick or fast. Be it the BBC Sound of... poll, the Blog Sound Of... poll (which for the first time this year I was one of the judging panel), or even my very own lists, they act as a good indicator of what musicians are worth keeping an eye on over the next 12 months. Because isn't that smug sense of self-satisfaction you get when you hear someone talking about an artist a few months down the line and you think to yourself "I heard of them back in November!" just wonderful?

In any of these lists, you know that an artist is going to do particularly well when you find the same artists cropping up again and again. The Irish Times recently asked some trendy media people which artists that they are tipping for big things next year. Several of the people asked, including Conor O'Brien of Villagers, came up with an artist whom I hadn't heard of up until now, but one that I've really taken to - Limerick based trio Bleeding Heart Pigeons, and their three-part alternate-rock movement* "Soliloquies, Massacres".

The first part of the movement is "Visiting Myself In Hospital", a track which combines the forceful electronic-rock of These New Puritans with a vocal/guitar aesthetic borrowed from Manic Street Preachers. The second part, "Premeditation", takes on board some of the more intimate sounds of Radiohead, before climaxing with some very Warp-esque bleeps.

This is then followed by the final part, "Catharsis", which suddenly and surprisingly hurtles the music into Vampire Weekend territory for three glorious minutes, before pulling the plug entirely for the final two minutes, stripping the song down to just guitar and vocals.

For a band that are still in their teens, "Soliloquies, Massacres" is an incredibly inventive introduction to Bleeding Heart Pigeons. The band have done the impossible by taking the best bits of some of the most inventive artists of the past twenty years, yet made something both strikingly original and very much their own. Where they can possibly go from here is anybody's guess.

"Soliloquies, Massacres" is out now, with parts II & III available to download for free.



*It's posher than saying E.P.