Runabay - Too Soon (Reverie)

Hailing from the Glens of Antrim and Belfast, sextet Runabay have been building up a name for themselves over the past few years with their folk-rock sound, and have developed a reputation as one of the best live bands on the local scene.

We were lucky enough to catch the band live in the Duncairn Arts Centre (one of the finest local venues in North Belfast) for their sold-out performance there, and were mightily impressed by how tight they are live, their great vocal harmonies, and most importantly the strength of the tunes that they have amassed in their set. It was interesting to note that some of their earlier songs, including ones that first brought them to our attention originally, were dropped from the set, and the quality of the songs on offer didn't suffer one bit.

The band have just released their latest single, which marks a further development of the band's sound. "Too Soon (Reverie)" follows on from their recent single "Lotus" in moving away from the more raucous sound of Runabay's earlier sound into a sound that's more holistic and pop-orientated. With its pop chorus and finely tuned harmonies, there are elements of The Shins, Fleet Foxes, and even a smidgen of Coldplay in "Too Soon (Reverie)", but more importantly, there is an emerging sound that is very much one that belongs to Runabay alone, which bodes well for the band going forward. With a strong set of tunes, and an enviable live presence, Runaway are making a mighty mark on the local scene.

"Too Soon (Reverie)" is out now. John from Runabay was also a recent guest on our podcast. 

The Metaphorical Boat Podcast Episode 06 - Runabay

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 John McManus from Antrim/Belfast six-piece Runabay, who talks about the band's new single "Too Soon", how Runabay's live set has evolved, whether he prefers songs that come together quickly or slowly, and whether he'd like to see their music used in adverts.

Listen or download now on Soundcloud or on iTunes:



Find out more about Runabay on -
Official | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp

Vokxen - Blood Vein

We haven't mentioned Co. Antrim based synth-pop quartet Vokxen on the blog for quite a while, last spilling digital ink on their behalf back in 2015 following the release of their debut single "Somebody". They've kept something of a low profile since then, although they were selected to be mentored as part of local music hub Oh Yeah! Centre's Scratch My Progress scheme.

They're starting to kick back into action now, and on the strength of their new single "Blood Vein", they are going to garner quite a bit of attention indeed. The song is a strong stormer of a synth-pop song, which called to mind the sound of late New Order, with strong, unconventional (for this genre of music anyway) vocals that may appeal to fans of London Grammar.

"Blood Vein" is available to download, in exchange for a modest fee, now.

Earls of Enkalon - Valhalla

If there's one thing that the local music scene has been crying out for recently, its for its own Kasabian-esque electronic rock act. Thankfully we now have Antrim based rockers Earls of Enkalon to fill that particular little niche. Their debut single, "Valhalla", is a great introduction to the band, with its low-slung basslines, Tom Meighan-y vocals and some interesting creative synth noodling. It's a confident debut for the Enkalon fellows, and one that should mark them out locally.

"Valhalla" is available to download now.