The Cold 100 - New Stories

Scuzzy blues-rock is the order of the day for Dublin based quartet The Cold 100. Their song "New Stories", which is available as a free download, sees whisky-soaked guitars mixed with shades of Britpop influences (Simon Delaney's vocals delivery is quite similar to Richard Ashcroft, particularly in the verses). They have an interesting style to them, so it'll be interesting to see where they go from here.



(NOTE: The Cold 100 should not be confused with the similarly named Manchester band Cold One Hundred who were featured on the blog last August)

Allo Darlin' - Capricornia

Indie-poppers Allo Darlin' are gearing up to release their sophomore album "Europe" this spring, ahead of a UK tour (with the fabulous This Many Boyfriends supporting on a few of the dates). The first single to be taken from is "Capricornia", which is a charming re-introduction to the world of Elizabeth Morris & co.

"Capricornia" will be released on February 13th on Sub Pop.

The Jepettos - Goldrush

In an episode of The Simpsons from the mid 00s, Homer wears a bracelet with the initials "WWJD" on it, which he claims is his philosophy of life. When Lisa says that it's profound that Homer would wear a bracelet inspiring him to think "What would Jesus do," he is immediately annoyed. "Jesus? I thought it was Geppetto." I have no idea whether this exchange was the inspiration for Derry 5 piece The Jeppetos' name, but I'd like to think that it was.

The band, which centres around the vocals of husband and wife team of Mike & Ruth Aicken, utilizes interesting instruments in the sound to create dynamic soundscapes , with clarinets, the glockenspiel and even a keyboard-flute featuring in their sound. This is most evident on the title track of their most recent E.P "Goldrush." Featuring local legend Duke Special on the piano, the track, which is available as a free download, is a whimsical, quirky folk track that won't let go until you get a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

"Goldrush" is taken from The Jepettos' debut E.P "Start a New People", which is out now

Best Boy Grip - Barbara

"This ain't gonna be a love song," proclaims Eoin O'Callaghan at the beginning of "Barbara" by Derry based band Best Boy Grip. The group produce what could best be described as piano-pop with a dark heart. The sharp contrast between the jaunty, polished Beatles-esque melody and the bleak, bordering-on-nihilistic lyrics is stark - it's as if The Feeling have recorded an album inside a black hole.

"Barbara" is title track from their debut E.P, which mixes the dark with the light throughout.

David C. Clements - Hurricane

As a new year dawns, it is usually a great time to ring in the changes, attempt a reinvention or do something a little bit different. Perhaps it's fitting that the first day of 2012 sees the release of the first new material from Belfast based David C. Clements, who up until yesterday went under the moniker of Captain Cameron.

The first tunes to emerge from David C. Clements is a two track E.P entitled "The Longest Day In History." (Note to youngsters: prior to 2004, us old timers used to call a 2 track E.P a 'single'). The lead track, "Hurricane", is a slow burning 6 1/2 minute alternative folk epic that mixes entranced romanticism with multi-tracked harmonies and expansive production values.

Unlike many songs of its length, it does not waste a single nanosecond of its running time, avoiding the pitfalls of being either overly strung out nor overlong. This of course means attempting to cut it down to a radio edit would prove to be a difficult task, which probably means that the other track on the E.P, the jaunty "Not Sleeping", will pick up the lion's share of airplay.

Welcome to 2012, David C. Clements. Hopefully the year will be a good 'un.

"The Longest Day In History" is available as a free download from David C. Clements' Bandcamp page.