Son Of The Hound - I.O.U

It's been a wee while since we last heard from Omagh musician Michael McCullagh, who currently plies his trade under the name Son Of The Hound. His first release under the moniker, "Pilgrim", first caught our attention last year with its interesting mix of spaghetti Western soundtracks and Hozier-y vibes. He followed it up a few months later with the rather different sounding "Galway Rain", a song that was very much steeped in the tradition of classic Irish folk music.

Now, he has released a brand new song, "I.O.U", a song that once again sees McCullough shifting into a completely different musical territory. The song is an upbeat tale of money woes, and shows off an underlying sense of humour that hasn't really come across in SOTH releases to date (although it's something that those who follow him on Twitter will be fully accustomed to). It's also the most upbeat of the trio of songs he's put out, with a melody that reminds us of "Two Fingers" by Jake Bugg, and an upbeat rhythm that has the swagger of a smoky backroom pub to it. One can almost imagine it being set to a video of a massive barroom brawl breaking out.

"I.O.U" will be available through all the usual channels on 15th October.

Northern Ireland Tunes - Round-Up #28

When Northern Ireland isn't busy making horrifically shocking road safety adverts (soundtracked by a horrific cover of "Sweet Child O' Mine"), we're busy making some pretty great music for your aural pleasure. Here's a few songs from the north of the rockier persuasion that might float your Metaphorical Boat this month - 
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FLAWS - Feels Like Home

Belfast trio FLAWS may be a brand new entity, but it's fair to say that they already have an impressive pedigree behind them. Two of the members were previously part of In Case of Fire, who won a Kerrang! Award for best newcomer in 2009 and were playlisted on Radio 1. (I'd offer a comment on how good their album "Align The Planets" is, but unfortunately I lent my copy of the album to a friend the day I bought it, and I still haven't got it back. But I imagine it's pretty groovy).

Their first release as FLAWS is the E.P "Harsh Words Through Tangled Wires", from which the single "Feels Like Home" is taken from it. It's a pretty fine example of noughties alt-rock, which should hopefully send the band to the same glory they previously enjoyed, and hopefully beyond as well.

WARNING - VIDEO CONTAINS FLASHING IMAGES

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R51 - Skelf

Last month, the Oh Yeah! Centre announced the names of the local artists that they would be offering support to in 2014 through their Scratch My Progress scheme, a scheme which has helped artists such as Katharine Philippa and Go Wolf in previous years. The five artists selected this year includes artists we've featured on this site before (Hurdles, Hot Cops), artists we haven't featured (Serotonin, Matthew Duly), and one artist who we are now featuring - Belfast quintet R51.

Although the band are more drawn to the alternative-rock spectrum, the one track that really grabbed my attention was "Skelf" the b-side to their recent single "Slowhound", which is a more introverted, acoustic track which is as beautiful as it is dreamy. I don't think it's a style they will be as drawn to in the future given the rest of their output, but I do hope they've still got a few tracks like this hidden out there.


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Aquatramp - Gut Rock Blues

Taken from their E.P "Westworld: Talebearers of the Occident", "Gut Rock Blues" showcases the Belfast band's love of classic Southern rock and roll. It's a track that is devoid of any fat - it just gets straight to the point with its good old-fashioned fun.


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Part Time Pilots - Tally Ho Amigo

And to conclude things this month, we've got Omagh-based punk rockers Part Time Pilots. They have just released their album "Tally Ho Amigo", and for your listening pleasure here's the title track. As far as opening lyrics go, you can't beat "Well the music today, it all sounds the same, we're no different but we had a go" for sheer self-awareness.