Time, it seems, has not mellowed Cure mainman Robert Smith one iota. If anything, this eponymous album, the band’s first since 1999’s Bloodflowers, is the angriest they’ve ever been.
Having established their cult credentials with Turn On The Bright Lights, Interpol are back with a new album that looks like earning them a place at rock’s top table. New York City fop Sam Fogarino tells Colm O’Hare how they’re sharp-dressed for success.
A breathtaking variety of acts have come together - as Lennon might have put it - to focus attention on the ongoing genocide in Darfur, under the auspices of Amnesty International.
The border counties may not exactly be a hotbed of indie rock but that hasn’t stopped Monaghan hopefuls The Flaws from producing one of the year’s most mesmerising debuts.
Prog fans, if you are still awake, approach this compilation with caution. The Bedrock resident has compiled and mixed Choice, but the selection features his favourite classic club tunes – including The Grid’s ‘Flotation’ – as well as more diverse tracks from St. Etienne, Young American Primitive and The Cure on the second disc.
RTE is often, and rightly, castigated by the print media for sub-standard productions, but its new comedy-drama series Bachelors Walk is already being heralded as one of the station’s best ever projects before it's even half-way through its eight-part run.
STEPHEN ROBINSON goes on location to discover the secret of the show’s success
A very impressive collection of songs from this quirky and highly polemical Cork outfit who come across as a tantalising blend of Talking Heads, The Doors and The Cure.
Highly-rated alt. American singer-songwriter whose re-location to London has seen him transformed into a kind of post-modern Goth- revivalist. His second album certainly reveals a passion for dense 1980s textures and echo-laden vocals with strong hints of The Cure and The Bunnymen. Some of the material descends into bombastic stodge but songs such as the Smiths-like ‘Sacred Heart’ and the indie-pop of ‘City of Brotherly Love’ are well worth hearing.
Like Humanzi, Limerick’s Vesta Varro show much promise. Their much anticipated double A-side has been delayed as interest in the UK has grown. With a sound taking in early U2, Joy Division, Wire and The Cure, they fit snugly into the current scene. Sharp, polished guitar hooks are punctuated by a strong chorus. At times ‘Blue Mirror Boy’ evokes memories of Woodstar’s wonderful ‘Dumb Punk Song’. An assured debut and a band to keep tabs on over 2006.
The Deftones sound can be described as heavy. It's a heaviness, however, which is attributable to the bruising weight of emotion and atmosphere in the music, as much as to the effect of guitars and drums. The influence of The Cure and The Smiths is obvious: there is a real and pressing darkness to their music, absent in goth metal peers, such as Korn and Marilyn Manson.
The deadline is approaching for entries to the 2008 International Songwriting Competition, with the full list of judges just announced, including Tom Waits and Black Francis.
"When it’s not swinging, her mood is mostly downbeat, melancholy and soulful. Her greatest asset is her smoky voice, reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald with a pop sensibility."
From swallowing canaries to rubbing lemon in your armpits, Alison Bourke presents the wisdom of the ages on the subject of that most elusive of holy grails – the instant hangover cure.
Losing their keyboard player to Dirty Pretty Things and falling out of favour with their record label The Cooper Temple Clause have certainly been through the mill of late. From adversity comes strength however and the band are back with arguably their strongest album yet.
Fifteen years since they first topped the Irish charts, The Saw Doctors remain one of this country’s most successful bands. So why do so many people still consider them a novelty act?
Now that minimal techno has become a trendy cliché, it’s time for the cutting edge of dance music to find a new direction. Trentemoller has pointed the way with a compelling new album.
No, the name doesn’t refer to a local Corkonian wino legend; it derives from founder members Joe and Aoibheann Carey’s first names. Since forming the band just under 12 months ago Jodavino have gone from playing to just a dozen punters to feeding the 4000 at the Marquee.
A decade of
decadence down the line, and Limerick popsters the hitchers show no signs of going away. Frontman
niall quinn yes, really talks to Kevin Barry.
Despite huge record sales, high-profile support slots and endless MTV rotation,
Good Charlotte are still good boys who choose early nights over conspicuous consumption. Stuart Clark finds out how, and why
Avert your gazes, sensitive readers. Jon McClure of Reverend And The Makers offers his thoughts on Johnny Borrell, Thom Yorke and “the most racist television ad of all time”.
Social diarist Amanda Brunker is so high-maintenance even her paper plates are designed by Damien Hirst. Colm O'Hare joins the TV presenter, model, actress, budding novelist and loose-tongued Eamon Dunphy guest in her comfy sea-front residence in Clontarf. Photos by Cathal Dawson.
Torquil Campbell, singer with Canadian indie achievers Stars, is a thoroughly nice guy – when he’s not plotting to put photographs of his naked, crucified, Spiddal-born wife on his album covers.
'80s-influenced indie stars BLACK KIDS have been taking flak from message board snobs before their Bernard Butler-produced debut album has even been released. The crime? Being too popular.
Jeremy Hickey, aka Rarely Seen Above Ground, has become one of the most acclaimed artists in the Irish indie scene. He talks about the intriguing origins of his unique musical style.
Exhausted following her prolonged spell on tour, Bic Runga is keen to make it back home to New Zealand for some well-earned r’n’r. but not before she discusses the vagaries of life, love and pop stardom.
Recorded in the bucolic splendour of County Westmeath, Bloc Party's second album is a labyrinthine concept album about urban living. Better to take a risk, says frontman Kelé Okereke, than to repeat yourself .
They may be one of the hottest bands of the year, but Las Vegas synth fiends The Killers are planning to cool off this Christmas with some well-earned down-time and a skiing holiday in Utah. But not before they’ve discussed texting Charlize Theron, hanging with Elton John and that David Bowie tribute with Stuart Clark.
With Paul McGuinness now taking care of business, The Rapture can’t be entirely kidding when they tell Stuart Clark that they have no problem with becoming the biggest band in the world.
On the face of it, the show is like any other Brian Kennedy night. Young girls become giddy. Mothers are impassioned as they shove themselves to the front, wailing along with the words and leaving piles of flowers at the singer s feet. The singer, bless his heart, is trilling and wowing at the reception, resplendent in crushed velvet, letting his all-embracing charms soften up the crowd.
To mark the occasion of the release of a near definitive punk compilation, GEORGE BYRNE fondly recalls the days when pogo was go-go and gabba gabba was hey.
Irish labels, bands and artists often face an uphill struggle to garner recognition, even on their home turf. Which is why hotpress and HMV have undertaken their own combined initiative, to coincide with the announcement of the shortlist for the first Choice Irish music prize. As a product of this initiative, all ten albums will be specially stocked and displayed in HMV stores all over Ireland on the run-in to the announcement of the winning album later this month. Here, we take a look at the list – and reflect on those that have been omitted.
Annual article: The Electric Picnic wasn’t just one of the musical events of the year; it also let us chow down and have a natter with some of the top pop combos of the day, including Bloc Party, Gang Of Four and New Order.
How did Brandon Flowers, Ronnie Vannucci, Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer go from the Las Vegas dive bar circuit to selling four million copies of their debut album, Hot Fuss? On the eve of the band's highly-anticipated Oxegen 2005 appearance, Stuart Clark talks to the people involved in the making of The Killers.
He’s spent years trying to live down his bubble-gum pop days but, two decades after the event, former hearthrob Jason Donovan is finally going back to his roots.
Annual article: Phil Kieran and DJ Papillion were two of the outstanding names in a fantastic year for dance music, says Mark Kavanagh. Plus the dance charts of 2005.
They came from sunny Melbourne to Chipping Norton, England to record their debut album, and thence to Ireland on a whistlestop tour that took them from the capital to the wilds of Leap and beyond. SIOBHAN LONG urges THE KILLJOYS to put down their back–packs for a while and make time for a chat.
From studying at the Brit School of Performing Arts and providing backing vocals for Westlife, to her Terry Wogan-facilitated assault on the charts and subsequent elevation to bona-fide star status, former Belfast resident Katie Melua has packed an enormous amount into her 19 years.
As the dust settles in the wake of the Stormont Settlement, eamonn Mccann assesses the situation and wonders just how much of their ideology Republicans are in the process of jettisoning.
All over Ireland, at any time of the day or night, hundreds of musicians are at work in recording studios, getting their sounds down for your delectation. So which are the trailblazing facilities? COLM O HARE reports.
With preparations well underway for Cork city’s hosting of the European City Of Culture festivities in 2005, the indigenous music scene is already rising to the challenge
With the return of Sean's Show to Channel 4, Ireland's most successful funny man (he'll love that - Ed) is back in the spotlight. But behind the obsessive, neurotic, insecure, angst-ridden exterior of the show's central character, is there an obsessive, neurotic, insecure, angst-ridden individual? Here Sean Hughes worries over religion, dreams, sex, drugs, family and ... Christmas (aaah!). Interview: Joe Jackson.
Their debut album Hopes And Fears launched a host of hit singles, going on to become one of the most successful British records of the past five years. But, their indie background notwithstanding, Keane have still been dismissed by some self-styled aficionados as just too nice to be considered real rock'n'rollers. "If only people knew," says lead singer Tom Chaplin.
Sting – all dull AOR anthems, mawkish charidee singles and empty celeb blather, right? wrong! The artist formerly known as Gordon Sumner here talks to hotpress about the lingering fall-out from the break-up of the police, hanging with über-hip filmmakers Terry Gilliam and David Lynch, and getting the seal of approval from the late Johnny Cash.
Stuart Clark – himself a black belt in origami – discovers how The Ramones and kickboxing chinese detectives have helped Ash to overcome their sordid heavy metal past and become Top of the Chops.
Christy Dignam of Aslan has never been one to pull his punches and, as a result, controversy has dogged the band with every new public utterance. Now as their debut album Feel No Shame nestles at the top of the Irish charts, in an in-depth interview he attempts to set the record straight, on his attitude to U2, poverty, drugs, groupies, his personal life and the macho implications of the band s image and music. Sceptical Eye: Cathy Dillon
He might have been a young Einsten but instead MARK OLIVER EVERETT ended up as EELS aka a man called E aka the Souljacker. PETER MURPHY discovers how it all went horribly right
Massive Attack explain why they are outspoken opponents of the proposed war in Iraq, give high praise to Sinéad O’Connor and reveal how a porn soundtrack left them gasping for airtime.
As Duke Special set off for a jaunt around Europe with the Divine Comedy, our correspondent hitched a ride on the tour bus. In between the sound-checks and the motor-way pitstops, he received a unique insight into the life of the touring musician.
If you want to make a demo that won't be used to blackmail you a few years down the road to fame and fortune, there are a few things you should know. Here, the experts tell Niall Crumlish what they are.
Over the past twenty-five years, attitudes and experiences in the North’s two biggest cities, Belfast and Derry, have been markedly and vitally different. To understand why may help us to define both the opportunities for and the obstacles to peaceful change. Report: BILL GRAHAM
As Joy Division, and then New Order, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris have been responsible for some of the most spellbinding, groundbreaking and downright brilliant music of the past twenty-five years. With their new album Waiting For The Sirens' Call in the top 10, the legendary trio here sound-off about the legions of bands they’ve influenced, Madchester, Ian Curtis, 24 Hour Party People, Bez, Gwen Stefani, and why they intend to continue their quest for sonic innovation for some time yet.
Never mind figgy puddings and partridges in pear trees, there’s some serious seasonal business to be done as the annual HP-7 summit gathers in the crucible of cultural discourse that is The Central Hotel’s Library Bar.
Ahead of his 50th birthday, Morrissey talks exclusively to Hot Press about the sexual nature of singing, letting go in the studio, being blacklisted by the UK's Radio One and how he approaches songwriting.
Triumph Of The Will meets Spinal Tap and Bach meets Sabbath as METALLICA join
forces with 101 dinner jackets. Peter Murphy travels to Berlin to sample the results.
In a remarkably honest interview, which directly preceded the death of his mother, Jonathan Rhys Meyers reflects on his spells in rehab and discusses life as one of Hollywood’s hottest young actors.
With ‘Yellow’, Coldplay captured the imagination of even the most resistant of hard-boiled rock’n’roll cynics. Now, as A Rush Of Blood To The Head achieves lift-off in the U.S., even the sky is no longer the limit.
It's been a long strange trip and no mistake, one that describes a discernible line from
Harry Smith's Anthology Of American Folk Music through to the Handsome Family.
But there's even more going on beneath the surface. GREIL MARCUS, the music critic's music critic,
is PETER MURPHY's guide on a mystery train whose other passengers include Elvis Presley, Robert Johnson, Mark Twain, Nick Cave, The Blair Witch, Bill Clinton, The Band, Siniad O'Connor, Beck, William Burroughs, William Faulkner and Bob Dylan. And that's just the first class carriage. All aboard
Nirvana - Ten years after. Peter Murphy talks to producer Butch Vig, musician Mark Lanegan and critic Greil Marcus, and gets the inside story of the making of Nevermind, the classic album that changed the face of music, unveiled the anthem 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and brought the world face to face with a screaming soul called Kurt Cobain.
Ireland has changed utterly since the Saw Doctors first enthralled us with their hick schtick, doing for rural Ireland what rap acts did for Compton, but now they’re back with their sixth studio album and sounding as vibrant and celebratory of all things real and Irish as ever.
The latest four-piece from the Big Apple to spark a record company feeding frenzy, The Stills (like their mates Interpol) owe a sizeable debt to early ‘80s British pop acts.
With bands like New Order, Nine Inch Nails, Bauhaus and Snow Parol announced for the bill, this year's Coachella looks set to blast the Californian desert
Check out the Spring '07 batch of videos created by Tisch School of Performing Arts students from New York University working with the cream of current Irish musical talent.
It would seem that inside every successful singer songwriter there’s a covers album struggling to get out. Following George Michael, Annie Lennox et al, the fad now appears to be passing into Irish trad circles, with De Dannan’s ill-advised Hotel Hollywood effort and now Luka Bloom’s first release for two years.
If you can get over the slightly worrying sensation of a city of nine million crowded around one increasingly frayed hymnsheet, Yes New York has much to recommend it.
For the most part, the guitars jingle and jangle, the percussion is non-intrusive and Yorn's voice is that of a troubled troubador who has seen enough of life's underbelly to rejoice in its happier moments
Having parted company with Primal Scream, Kevin Shields has remixed two Bow Wow Wow tracks for Sofia Coppola’s latest blockbuster-in-the-making, Marie Antoinette.
The fact that almost the entire American population of Dublin was up the front shaking their stars and stripes notwithstanding, at The Shelter, Yorn and his band had a pretty blank canvas on which to paint their honest and catchy rock and roll
Morrissey has accused BBC Radio One of banning his music because the Controller doesn't like him. In an exclusive interview, the cover story of the latest Hot Press, he reveals: "I have a letter from him to my plugger which begins, 'let me explain to you why we will never play Morrissey'... which is alarming."
A year bedevilled by inconsistency, 1987 cruelly ruptured all the upheaval theories linking it to ’67 and ’77. Lots of brilliant singles and precious few (and few precious) albums.
Sountracks are getting weirder, that's for sure. No longer an excuse for stringing together the usual clutch of Motown classics, they are increasingly challenging audiences' sense of time and place by crossing genres and spanning generations.
Sountracks are getting weirder, that's for sure. No longer an excuse for stringing together the usual clutch of Motown classics, they are increasingly challenging audiences' sense of time and place by crossing genres and spanning generations.
Laundry Service is by no means a great album, but Shakira Rimpoll's eccentricities elevate her head and shoulders - and at least three cup sizes - above the pop conveyor belt pack
’85 was a good year for music, though not for albums. The most interesting 12-inch singles came from John Lydon and Afrika Baambatae’s Time Zone project and The Bomb Party with ‘World Destruction’ and ’Ray Gun EP’ respectively.
Benson’s voice, double-tracked throughout, has a homely, unfussy quality which perfectly complements the record’s ordinary-bloke lyrics and sweet melodies
“If you build it, they will come” – a familiar quote from a Hollywood baseball movie – became the mantra for Dolan’s Warehouse’s 10th birthday celebrations.
Such a strange and contradictory year. Mixed fortunes complemented perfectly by a bizarre range of listening choices. A disc for every mood, and every memory.
In '92 we celebrated 15 years of existence, with cover appearances by The Cure, Jim Morrison, The Pale, REM and David Byrne, as well a special edition on sex, and cover features on the X case and Oliver Stone's JFK.
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.
Meteor Music Award nominee Maria Doyle Kennedy is finally giving a full release to her 2005 Skullcover album, which has previously only been available through her website.
If ever a cause needed highlighting, it’s the ongoing tragedy in Darfur, Sudan, which in the recent words of Goal’s John O’Shea "the international community has all but abandoned".
Comedienne Eleanor Tiernan invites Anne Sexton into her Georgian home, and talks to her about childhood holidays in Kerry, her love of JP Donleavy, and writing a play – well, kind of – about Damien Rice and Damien Dempsey.
Do you remember the music that was playing when you got your first kiss? And what was the soundtrack the first time you had sex? Often it’s not the overtly sexy songs that have the deepest sexual resonance…
I think I know how Ireland could win more gold medals at athletics. The thought struck me as I watched the wondrous performances of the Kenyan squad at Stuttgart, and recalled both the role played in Kenyan athletic success by the Irish Catholic clergy and the rather different role played at home by the Christian Brothers.
This fortnight's Hot Press is our Electric Picnic special to celebrate we've teamed with O2 to put together a collection of the best Irish talent to grace the festival in a 16 track free CD. There’s something here for everyone; in fact, it’s the perfect picnic spread! Not only that, but we've got some of the bands in question to preview the festival for you (and us!!)
Q: Which top Irish quiz-masters’ pathological obsessions include Something Happens, Shamrock Rovers and the amount of shopping days left to the next Suede gig? A: George “You Started, So I’ll Finish” Byrne
Five years ago no-one would have believed it. But with dance music reaching new heights of popularity, Irish rock ’n’ roll is engaged in a desperate fight for its very survival. Reporting from both sides of the battle line: Stuart Clark
Though often overlooked, some of U2’s most exciting and challenging music through the years is to be found hidden away on the flip side of their singles. From U23 to Melon bill graham rides the wild horses of the U2 back catalogue and finds that there’s quite a few thoroughbreds among their many cover versions and experimental remixes.
