HEADGEAR, THE BRAD PITT LIGHT ORCHESTRA and DRUMMING ROOM are among the plethora of exciting new acts featured on a compilation of Limerick’s finest talents.
They’re named after a saucy Playboy model – well, sort of. As their debut album hits the streets, irascible punk-popsters SUPERJIMINEZ discuss their unconventional moniker and tell us why, recession or not, they’re determined to bring their feel-good party music to the masses.
They’re one of the buzziest bands in indie-dom. But beneath the burbly synths and upbeat melodies, Hockey are serious songwriters with a passion for Dylan. And no, they don’t mind if you think they sound a little like LCD Soundystem
A series of spooky coincidences led to the formation of Marble City guitar-slingers Saving J.. Having garnered a huge local following, they’re ready to make the step up to the next level.
Formed when they were fresh-faced school kids, border country gloomsters Sanzkrit are at long last set to unleash their debut album. You could say they’re looking forward to finally getting stuck in.
You don’t associate Cavan with a cutting edge music scene – but Michael O'Brien aims to change that with his Origins club night. Who knows? One day Neil Young might even decide to pay a visit.
She's the hard-rocking- and by all accounts, hard-drinking- Norwegian indie-babe sensation. Ida Maria tells us about the rare condition that lets her see music as colour and more.
Sheffield native Tony Christie has come up with an intriguing album of cover versions that references Pulp, Human League and Arctic Monkeys among others.
All-girl rap duo Yo! Majesty are the hottest thing in hip-hop but that's not to say they're the best of mates. Shunda K explains why she's peeved at both her record label and partner in rhyme.
They're Ireland's leading hip-hop duo but there's more to Messiah J & The Expert than gangsta stereotypes. Over brunch, they talk about their move towards using live instruments and their hotly-tipped new record.
Some of Europe's top talent descended on Hamburg's red-light district for the Repperbahn Festival but it was Dublin's Jape who really blew the audience away
Katy Perry's second album offers minimal creativity or originality, but there are several likeable tracks – despite their turgid, juvenile and bordering-on-offensive lyrical content.
He's been painted as a loud-mouthed yob but The Courteeners' Liam Fray is actually a complete sweetheart - so long as you don't ply him with liquor and encourage him to slag his rivals.
Fresh from supporting Foo Fighters in the States, Supergrass roll into Dublin for a brace of low-key gigs in preparation for their Cois Fharraige headline slot.
Ireland’s favourite troubadour is back with his second live album. Live At The 9:30 Club documents the Idaho native’s stopover at the Washington D.C. venue last October .
Following Portishead, Tricky and Massive Attack out of Bristol are Phantom Limb – but don’t expect this lot to provide the same aural oddities that their fellow UK inhabitants do.
The less said about Adamczewski’s lyrics, the better: although plausibly intended as tongue-in-cheek, lines like ‘Aborted babies don’t get graves’ do him no favours.
In a previous life, he fronted winsome Northern Ireland popsters Catchers. Now, after a hiatus that included working in a bookshop, Dale Grundle is back with a folk-tinged new project, The Sleeping Years
He used to be a music journalist but now rapper Cadence Weapon is lighting up the hip-hop scene. The Canadian tells us he's not quite as clean living as he's made out to be.
24-year-old reggae star Natty takes time off from touring Dublin in a horse-drawn carriage to discuss Bob Marley's legacy, and the 'institutionalised racism' inherent in British society.
Jose Gonzalez first made a name for himself with 'Heartbeats', featured on the Bravia ad, but this virtuoso guitarist and singer-songwriter is a serious talent.
Like many Irish bands before them, it’s taken Red Kid a number of years to reach a financial plateau that has allowed them to release their debut album.
Internationalist jet-setting dance-pop playboy Sam Sparro has been propelled to ubiquity by the single 'Black And Gold', but he's not above offering HP a bite of his cheese toastie. Ahem.
They're rocky in a drum 'n' bass sort of a way, and will be right at home in November when they play Ireland. Lauren Murphy meets Pendulum's Gareth McGrillen
Having already triumphed at this year's National Student Music Awards, ambitious Waterford quartet Floyd Soul & The Wolf are determined to go on to even greater success.
We’re completely aware that it’s a ridiculous band name,” groans Organized Confusion singer Niall Doherty. “But we’ve come this far with it, so it might be a bad idea to get rid of it now."
Support slots with British Sea Power and a star turn at this year’s Eurosonic showcase event have given Dublin’s Halves the opportunity to hone their ambient post-rock sound.
Cajun Dance Party, the band most likely to be sent to the headmaster’s office for being too twee, know all about youthful abandon – they're currently studying for their A-Levels.
Limerick thrashmeisters Giveamanakick's third album Welcome To The Cusp is the product of ten days of cabin fever in Donegal. No wonder it sounds wet 'n' wild.
The lion’s share of I'll Be Lightning is an impressive, pleasantly surprising record. There's evidence of timeless songcraft, but there’s a welcome element of whimsy here, too.
Indie pretty-boys The Coronas aspire to be taken seriously as artists. They chat about their plans for breaking big abroad and explain why they're not the Irish Busted.
Veteran hip hop soul princess Erykah Badu's newest creative contribution is ambitious, but lacks the smoothness and cohesive feel of her previous work.
"Musically, these are piano ballads either splashed with a whimsical dose of vaudeville, tumbler-slamming jaunts, or torch songs supplemented by a tender string section."
Has an award ceremony in Ireland ever created such an optimistic buzz, or such a feverish sense of righteousness among the music community as the Choice Music Prize?
"...the emphasis is placed firmly on that voice. Rich and textured, it glistens, swoops and soars around Crawdaddy, bounces from wall to wall like a firework and explodes above the crowd."
"Oracular Spectacular is an arresting introduction to the illogical world of MGMT, and is the kind of album that’s a guilty pleasure without the guilt."
He may be destined to remain the quietly-sung, lesser-known anti-hero of contemporary American songwriting, but Cass McCombs is now accustomed, if not suited to the role.
It takes an artist of supreme confidence to record an entire album of cover versions. Maria Doyle Kennedy has courage in spades, and Skullcover is a subtly seductive record.
