Buí - Something Else to Talk About

The Belfast-based group Buí first came to our attention back in 2017 off the release of their album "Eugene", and particular its lead track, "People Don't Think", which was a lovely chunk of lo-fi gooeyness.

They've since signed to a label run by producer Julie McLarnon, and the first release to come from this is "Something Else To Talk About", which if you've never heard Buí before is a great introduction to them, and if you have, it's a good continuation of their already established sound. The song is very much indebted to 90s American alternative rock, with its use of analogue synthesizers and slacker-esque sensibility calling to mind the sound of Grandaddy & early Fountains of Wayne, with a little bit of Pavement thrown in for good measure. It's not often we hear bands from here embracing this kind of lo-fi sounds here, so it is quite a refreshing track.

Just as refreshing is the music video for the song, which is an 8-bit animated extravaganza, which sees the band walking past some of their favourite places around Belfast, including McHughs, the Duncairn Arts Centre, The Empire, and of course Boojum (because there is is a rule in place - if you are from Belfast and you enjoy Boojum, then it is your duty to tell everyone who is not from Belfast that when you come to Belfast, you have to visit Boojum).



"Something Else To Talk About" is out now as a 7" vinyl, backed with "People Don't Think", on Analogue Catalogue Records.

Emmét McGonigle - No One Likes The Good Guys Anymore

Well, we definitely didn't expect to be writing about more than one musician from Limavady in the space of a week - after all, how much musical talent can a town with approximately 12,000 residents contain?

Well, it seems like it's definitely punching about its weight - first we had Glass Wings earlier in the week, and now comes the turn of singer/songwriter Emmét McGonigle.  Self-described as 'just like Damien Rice... if Damien Rice was a twenty year old curly-headed hipster', he has recently released his debut E.P, from which the single "No One Likes The Good Guys These Days" is taken from. You can definitely hear the influence of Damien Rice on the track, as well as a little bit of Villagers in there as well.

The biggest touchstone in our humble opinion however would be Radiohead, with its acoustic-meets alternate production, with all its atmospheric bells & whistles positioning it somewhere between the band's "The Bends" & "OK Computer". His vocal as a touch of the Thom Yorke in places as well, albeit a 'twenty year old curly-headed hipster' version of Thom Yorke.

"No One Likes The Good Guys These Days" is released on May 8th, and is taken from "The Blame E.P", which is out now.

Ten Fé - Turn

The Metaphorical Boat has been extolling the virtues on London duo Ten Fé for over a year now, with the psychedelic "Make Me Better" being named as our #1 single of 2015, and also being big fans of the driving rock sounds of "In The Air" & "Elodie". We've had the pleasure of seeing them live twice, once in London and once in Brighton (but zero times in Belfast yet, but hopefully that's something that will be remedied once they finally play here). Needless to say, their upcoming debut album, which is now scheduled to be released in 2017, is going to be a firm favourite with ourselves once it comes out.

Following the release of "Elodie", we said that as much as we loved the rockier side to the band, we were looking forward to hearing some of the more psychedelic sounding tunes they've played live being given a push. Well, it's almost as if someone's been listening to us, as Ten Fé have just released "Turn", which sees Leo Duncan take on lead vocals on a single for the first time since "Make Me Better" (we'd observed at their Great Escape gig that Leo tends to take on lead vocals on the weirder sounding tunes, with Ben Moorehouse taking the lead on the rockier songs).

The song takes its title and theme from the idea of "turning the other cheek". As everyone knows, this phrase originates from the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus says to His followers that if anyone hits them on one side of the face, to turn around and let them hit them on the other cheek. It's a great sentiment, but one that can't always be applied universally. It would make boxing matches tediously one-sided, for example. The song itself is a woozy sounding slice of psychedelic sounding pop, one which isn't a million miles away from the sound of Jagwar Ma (interestingly, the bands share a producer, Ewan Pearson), and is another great piece of music from Ten Fé, one that hints at a wonderfully diverse album once we receive it.

"Turn" will be released as a 7" single on 21st October.

The Parades - Breathe

Reading based trio The Parades first came to our attention recently when their latest single "Breathe" received airplay on the wonderful New Voices show on BBC Radio Ulster on Tuesday evening. Despite already seeming to have picked up a decent following already, there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of information about them floating around the interwebs.

Of the tidbits that we can find about them, the most intriguing is that they share a booking agent with several acts who have been associated with both The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent, and supported an ex-BGT act, Loveable Rogues, on their tour last year. We don't know whether this means that a Mr Cowell has a hand in this band, but if this currently unsigned band does end up inking a deal with Syco in the future, there may be a reason for that.

All this however shouldn't detract from their music, and if "Breathe" is anything to go by, they've got some great tunes in them. The alternate-rock song calls to mind the intense energy that has hallmarked some of Foals' most recent hits.

Hibou - Dissolve

It's funny, it was only the other day that we were thinking to ourselves that it's been a while since we'd heard from Seattle native Hibou, whom we featured a few times on the blog back in 2013, and he goes and drops a new track on us out of the blue, with the promise of an album to follow in due course. Three epizeuxises for the power of positive thinking!

If you'd forgotten about Hibou in the intervening period, them "Dissolve" should bring you right back up to date, seeing as it follows the same jangly, surf-rock sounds that brought him to so many people's attention, whilst adding something a little bit different to the mix - just listen to the last minute of the song, where it appears the guitars have entered through some sort of wormhole and come out the other end it a weird yet somewhat pleasant manner.

"Dissolve" will be the lead track of Hibou's debut album, which is due for release on September 18th.

Hibou - Hide Away

On Sunday, Now Playing @6music announced the list of the 25 artists that were mentioned the most on UK-based blogs in 2013, a list that was topped by the wonderful Wolf Alice. Whilst it's understandably unlikely that anyone will like everything on the list (how the heck did Justin Timberlake make it?), there's enough variety on it that there should be something there for everyone. (You can still listen to the show in full until this Sunday on the BBC iPlayer. If you skip forward to 1:19:00, you'll get to hear a contribution by your local, friendly captain).

One artist who I hadn't expected to make the top 25, but am pleased by his inclusion, is Seattle's Peter Michel, aka Hibou, who made it to #21 on the list after the UK blogosphere went crazy over the wonderful "Sunder" back in May.

He's now released a new single, "Hide Away", in anticipation of his debut album, which is due sometime next year. The song moves away from the surf-rock grooves that dominated "Sunder" and instead veers into dreamier territory. The guitar still dominates thankfully, but the production is richer and more layered than in the past, giving off a slight M83 vibe.

The last time Hibou was mentioned here, I commented that the music he was making is good, but he still needed that extra something to help distinguish him from his influences. "Hide Away" seems to be a step in the right direction - there seems to be a distinct sound emerging, which I imagine will be fully realied by the time his album comes around.

"Hide Away" is available to download on a "pay what you like" basis.

The Pidgeys - Blue

Is there a growing trend among Northern Irish artists to take inspiration from Pokémon? One of the best EPs to come from the north this year has came from TeamRKT, who named themselves after the crime syndicate from the game/TV series. In addition, one of Wonder Villains' best loved songs, "Ferrari" contains lyrics about swapping siblings for a Charizard.

Now we have another group who've appear to have Pokémon related sympathies. Belfast trio The Pidgeys appear to have named themselves after one of the pigeon-derived creatures that you can obtain near the beginning of the game. And in what is possibly a more oblique reference to the franchise, the band's debut EP, "Blue", has quite possibly been named after the first Pokémon game released (alongside Red). The song itself is a bass led alternative-rock tune that calls to mind 90s groups like Sebadoh and Pearl Jam, and should place them nicely alongside fellow Northern Irish 90s revivalists Vanilla Gloom and Echo Raptors.

The "Blue" EP is available to download from the band's Soundcloud page for free.

Hibou - Sunder

The surf-rock genre has had something of a resurgence in recent years, with alternative artists like Wild Nothing, DIIV and Belfast guys Girls Names winning over the blogosphere with their jangly tunes. The next artist hoping to break through with his own take on the sub-genre is Seattle based Peter Michel, who records under the name Hibou (which incidentally, is the French word for owl).

If you're a fan of the aforementioned groups, you will find much to love in his latest single, "Sunder". All the trademarks are there - the jangly guitars, a prominent bassline, hushed vocals buried in the mix, and a more-than-slight hint of the "17 Seconds" era of The Cure. It would have been nice if the song had something extra to distinguish it from its influences (the distorted vocal break from 1:50 notwithstanding), but it's a decent song, and one that should find favour with many people.

Hibou's debut E.P, "Dunes", will be released on June 13th. "Sunder" is available as a free download.

Unquiet Nights - Someone's Love on Drugs

I have previously written about Belfast/Italy based trio Unquiet Nights last month after they released "Song of Lust" to the world. In anticipation of their upcoming album "21st Century Redemption Songs", the band have now released a new song, which the band have graciously made available as a free download.

"Someone's Love on Drugs" is a somewhat darker beast to the band's other recent songs, whilst very much still influenced by alternative 80s. The main guitar riff that dominates the song would not sound out of place on The Cure's "Faith" album, and whilst the vocals of Luke Mathers might not have the same ubiquity of Robert Smith, it certainly shares the same existential angst.

Stillpoint - Reasons to Fight

"Reasons to Fight" by Belfast based trio Stillpoint is an epic, Biffy Clyro-esque slice of heavy rock full of volcano-sized riffage, and a chorus that acts as both a mission statement, and a call to arms for the inevitable fans that the band will accumulate. It's also nice to hear a local act keep their accent whilst singing in this genre, as opposed to the customary mid-Atlantic accent that so many groups insist on using.

"Reasons to Fight" is available to download for free from Stillpoint's Bandcamp page.

Kandy Kolored Tangerine - You Are, Boy

Here's a teaser for you: how loud can a band get whilst still remaining deeply melodic? I guess it's really a rhetorical question, as I'm sure it differs from person to person (Megadeath for example are described as the world's loudest band, and they've never floated for me). One band however that can be both loud and incredibly hook-laden are Danish six piece Kandy Kolored Tangerine.

On their song "You Are, Boy", the band mix the occasional falsetto and structure of The Temper Trap with the relentless wall of noise style of Sonic Youth for an epic, anthemic track that pushes the red to it's ultimate limit. After many years of searching, I might have finally found the exception to the rule 'If you can't play it well, play it loud.'

"You Are, Boy" by Kandy Kolored Tangerine is available to download for free via Paper Garden Records.

The City And Horses - We Will Never be Discovered

Most bands dream of living the high life, being airwave darlings and having millions of adoring fans screaming their names in a Beatlemania-esque flurry of hysteria. One band that apparantly do not want that is New York 6-piece The City and Horses.

The title track of their upcoming album, "We We Will Never be Discovered", is an ode to remaining in perpetual obscurity. Musically, with it's jazzy flute and it's spoken word verses, it sounds like a cross between Cake's "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" and Focus's "House of the King."

One would like to think that The City and Horses' cries for remaining underground are just an example of reverse psychology to encourage us music fans to scream their name from the rooftops until everone has heard about them. In the case of yours truly, it looks like they may have succeeded.

"We Will Never be Discovered" will be released on September 27th.

Let's Buy Happiness - Dirty Lakes

Newcastle based 5 piece Let's Buy Happiness have been creating quite a buzz lately, supporting bands like The Temper Trap and Frankie & the Heartstrings, playing Glastonbury, and recording live sessions for Huw Stevens. They are now lining up their next single release, which is the rather groovy "Dirty Lakes."

"Dirty Lakes" has an odd feel to it, given that Sarah Hall's empassionate vocals and evocative lyrics seem more akin to Melanie-esque folk than the Joy Formidable-esque instrumentation that the song contains. Nonetheless, this juxstaposition of styles works wonders on this track.

"Dirty Lakes" will be released on September 26th on Ghost Arc Records

Empty Lungs - Identity Lost

The members Belfast punk group Empty Lungs have been playing on the Belfast scene for many years now, playing in bands like Bomb City 7 and The Lobotomies. The trio formed less than eight months ago and are gearing up to release their debut single "Identity Lost" on September 20th.

Mixed by Oppenheimer's Rocky O'Reilly, "Identity Lost" is a powerful piece of alternate-punk that exhibits an intelligence and musical virtuosity beyond what you would expect from the genre. Definitely a band worth watching on the local scene.

Sharliza Jelita - No Go Pogo

London based Singaporean artist Sharliza Jelita produces a brand of high energy alt-pop that has slowly disappered from the mainstream in the past few years. But is Sharliza the artist to bring it back again? Based on her recent single "No Go Pogo", the answer could be yes.

"No Go Pogo" mixes the infectious pop vocals and euphoric songwriting of The Noisettes with the production and instrumentation of The Go! Team for a joyous three minutes of pure bliss.