Curtisy & hikii ‘Milk & Honey’

Heralded by some as the ‘CEO of Jobstown’, Tallaght rapper Curtisy is riding a wave of clout following his Choice Prize-nominated debut album What Was The Question? He’s evidently shifted into a more confident gear on this new single, spitting out some swaggering, bag-chasing bars over a dark jazz-rap beat put together by fellow Dubliner hikii.

It’s the latest taste from the duo’s upcoming mixtape Beauty and The Beast, pipped as an oxymoronic blend of toxic and positive coping mechanisms that built his working class, coming-of-age story.

“There’s particular moods and moments that are carried throughout the tape; we went into this knowing how many songs we wanted, knowing what story we wanted to tell, thinking about singles and videos as we were creating the project, Curtisy noted. “It was created entirely in one place, during one period of time and I think that is noticeable throughout.”

VARO, ‘Sweet Liberty’ feat. Ian Lynch

Arriving ahead of their upcoming LP The World That I Knew (out May 9), Dublin-based trad duo VARO team up with Lankum tunesmith Ian Lynch for a droning and hypnotic recital of a song from the 1800s

“The poet and weaver John Sheil had perhaps the biggest impact of any songwriter in 19th Century Ireland and many of his songs are still extant in the oral tradition, especially in and around Drogheda where he died in 1872,” Lynch explains. “This song was learned from the singing of Pat Usher of Tinure, Co. Louth in the 1970s and it appears on a 3 CD release entitled The Usher Family, which came out in 2019. I first heard it here and was particularly taken by its humanitarian message of racial equality and freedom of all from oppression. It is quite remarkable that it was written in Ireland in the 1800s.”

M(h)aol, ‘I Miss My Dog’

The second single off of M(h)aol’s album Something Soft, due out May 16, 'I Miss My Dog' is a heavy, uncompromising electronic tune of techno-like beats and scratchy production, mixing industrial sounds with ominously melodic vocals. With a touch of rock flavours and a hard-hitting, breathless two-and-a-half minutes run time, the tune offers another enticing look into an upcoming record that promises to be electrifying.

Zoé Basha, ‘Traveling Shoes’

Blending folk, blues, americana, jazz, and Irish influences, Dublin-based French American musician Zoé Basha’s ‘Traveling Shoes’ is the lead single to her anticipated debut album Gamble, out now. An intimate track of bluesy guitars, buttery-smooth vocals and masterful mix of strings and winds, the song is also lined with rich storytelling reminiscent of traditional Appalachian Mountain songs.

Echotal, ‘The Port Of Missing Men’

David Rooney’s Echotal is back with the enigmatic new single ‘The Port Of Missing Men’, released ahead of the Beyond the Red Forest EP, set to follow on April 25. Layering soft arpeggios with atmospheric strings, the instrumental track slowly builds in tension to form a darkly mystifying soundscape, both emotionally vulnerable and mesmeric.

Jazzy & Ankhoï, ‘Closer To The Floor’

The queen of Irish dance music Jazzy returns today for her new single ‘Closer To The Floor’, released in collaboration with Moroccan-born electronic artist Ankhoï. Layered with bouncy beats, glistening synths and the Irish artist’s signature buttery smooth vocals, the tune is a first taste of the summer packed up in three minutes of vibey soundscapes.

"I’ve been sitting on this one for a minute, but wanted to hold it back until the weather picked up,” Jazzy commented on YouTube. "Honestly, when we started messing with the sample DSK’s ‘What Would We Do’, there was such a buzz of summer off it, even though it was the middle of winter! We even went to Miami to shoot the music video, because the weather over here just wasn’t cutting it!”

DOVE & Kehina, ‘CHROMA 009 KR36’

BICEP return to their DOVE alias – which the duo describe as “an extreme version of the Bicep sound. Heavier but also calmer” – with new single ‘CHROMA 009 KR36’, released in collaboration with London-based artist Kehina. With hazy vocals drifting in-and-out of focus as the track’s swirl of restless drums and synths unfurl, the tune is as hypnotisingly atmospheric as it is rousing and heavy.

"It’s a dizzying, trance-like track that weirdly reminds me of a lot of the music my mum used to play when I was a kid, particularly North African Gnawa music. That same hypnotic rhythm, that trance you fall into while dancing” Kehina comments on the new single. “I recorded and wrote this a month or two after vocal surgery. It really helped pull me out of my head and reminded me why I love making music in the first place. It helped me imagine a future in something I’d had to step back from for a while."

Skinner, ‘Eisbär (Grauzone Cover)’

After the release of his debut album New Wave Vaudeville last January, Dublin-based “slouch-rock”-er Skinner returns with a cover of Swiss band Grauzone's ‘Eisbär’.

The Irish singer-songwriter sings – and at times screams – in the song's original German about wanting to be a polar bear so that he would not have to cry any longer.

Skinner's rendition preserves the original version’s post-punk sensibility, with reverberated, scratched vinyl sounds and a psychedelic, distorted staccato guitar riff.

"I’ve always had a real fondness for the song since I was a teenager,” said Skinner. "When translated to English the lyrics are so stark and I think it really captures the beauty and sadness of what it means to be lonely.

“The idea of wanting to be a polar bear alone in the arctic so you ‘wouldn’t have to cry any longer and everything would be fine’ is so striking and I think a lot of people can relate to that feeling of isolation.”

BRIARS, ‘Words’

Cork-based indie-folk act BRIARS have released their enveloping, genre-blurring new single ‘Words’.

The uptempo track's first part, driven by acoustic guitar and drums, features singer Mick Grace singing against hushed accordion and trumpets. The tempo then slows down for an ecstatic traditional Irish music breakdown, with prominent, speedy fiddle melodies.

“It’s a song that got a great response with festival crowds last summer, so we decided to release it the same way that we play it live,” said writer, singer and guitarist Mick Grace.

“We always loved the way that the likes of Planxty would go from a song into a tune, kind of making it a full set, so I suppose this is a bit of a nod to that approach, done in our own way.”

Emily Panter, ‘Remember They Love You’

Kicking off with a droning guitar and stoic vocal performance, Emily Panter’s title-track off her debut EP Remember They Love You explores the human need for connection.

“This track serves as a reminder that we are never truly alone, despite what we tell ourselves,” Panter said. “It is important to reach out and to remember that sharing and asking for help is not being a burden.”

The song derives inspiration from artists like Duran Duran, Dire Straits and Don Henley.

“This is music gifted to me by my parents, but now coming through me,” she said. “When asked about the genre I often panic and describe the music as ‘Boys of Summer’ but underwater— a sound that captures both the melancholic and joyous moments of life, memories that are still there but wavy and decaying.”

Fans can catch Panter tonight at her EP listening party at Commercial Bar Limerick.

April, ‘Puppy’

Co. Kildare singer-songwriter April has shared her new single ‘Puppy’.

With soft vocals that sit somewhere in between Clairo and Billie Marten, and a dreamy pop-rock sound, ‘Puppy’ finds April likening the person she was in a relationship with to a dog.

“I wrote 'Puppy' when I was living in London, processing the end of a relationship and how fast someone moved on—almost instinctively, like they couldn’t help themselves,” said the singer.

“It’s a mix of frustration and acceptance, wrapped in something lighthearted & funny. I wanted the song to feel like a memory you can’t quite place, the little details that stick with you even when everything else fades.”

RUÁ, ‘Forbidden Pleasures’

Derry-born artist RUÁ has released ‘Forbidden Pleasures’, from her upcoming record The Magic Theatre, which in turn serves as the soundtrack of the short film Step Inside the Magic Theatre.

‘Forbidden Pleasures’ deals with "reaching a breaking point after a long numbness - feeling days all blurring into one, with nothing putting a fire in your belly, leaving you craving aliveness.”

The track opens with RUÁ’s soft vocals upon some high-reverb ambience. The tension builds until a beat drops, alongside electric guitar, bass, and a furtive pan-flute. A twangy bass then adds a Western touch to this haunting soundscape.

Oscar Blue, ‘Lighthouse’

Opening with booming drums and a pleasant guitar, Oscar Blue’s new track ‘Lighthouse’ explores the passage of time. His deep, bellowing voice sings of love and connection, filling the track with a sense of warmth.

“Lighthouse guide me home,” he sings. “No I’m not made for sinking, no I’m not made of stone. Show me my people again, the whites of their eyes as the waves roll me in.”

Blue’s introspective lyrics make it apparent that he truly values the people in his life. The musician from East Clare will visit Limerick’s Dolan’s on November 21.

Skull the Pierre, ‘WHOLEHEARTEDLY’

Dublin-based hip hop artist Skull the Pierre has released ‘WHOLEHEARTEDLY’, the first single from his upcoming EP, set for release in October.

Over an old-school, Notorious B.I.G.-inspired hip hop beat, Skull the Pierre addresses his life journey on this self-confronting track.

“When i was fourteen I was living the dream on my Stockholm streets / A lot of things don’t change, now I’m living my bars and the dream is me,” playfully raps the artist in the song’s hook.

God Knows, 'The Observer' feat. Dreddy

Fresh from a standout performance on The Tommy Tiernan Show, Zimbabwean-Irish rapper God Knows drops his latest track, 'The Observer'. Featuring quickfire verses from fellow rapper Dreddy, the song makes impressive use of sampled piano and pulsing bass to complement the flow of the lyrics.

"This track is about our current state of the world and how we navigate in it," he says. "It's really me genuinely observing what is happening around us, namely the hardships globally and having to exhale after a long day of work and having to do it again tomorrow."

Strap, 'Mother Nature'

Progressive rock four-piece Strap release their sophomore single, 'Mother Nature'. Through their exploration of multiple genres, Strap show off with a catchy beat, impressive lyricism and rhythmic guitar riffs in the verse, while the chorus explodes with the energy of rock. Influenced by acts like Hozier, The Strokes and The Smile, 'Mother Nature' is bound to delight fans of these musicians while offering up a sound that is still wholly Strap's.

"This is one of our favourite songs to perform live," says guitarist Seán Burch. "We've been excited for a while to see what people think of this song."

Problem Patterns, 'Sad Old Woman' feat. Matt Korvette

Gearing up for an EU, UK and Ireland tour, Belfast-based queerpunk band Problem Patterns don't pull any punches with their first single of 2025. A loud, aggressive and defiant rebuke of societal expectations of women, 'Sad Old Woman' features thrashing drums, distorted guitar, syncopated vocals and a strong collaboration from Pissed Jeans' Matt Korvette.

"'Sad Old Woman' is about accepting the inevitable," the band says. "The older women get, the more they're forced to maintain a certain image and decorum, lest they become grotesque or even worse, invisible."

Katie Phelan, ‘nothing stays the same’

Singer-songwriter Katie Phelan shares a warm and nostalgic first look at her upcoming EP Blues and Greens, set for release on June 11 via 7476. Both a love letter to home and an ode to letting go of the familiar, the track reflects on the quiet weight of everyday moments.

Delicate guitar and soft percussion carry her reflective lyrics, rooted in the feeling of leaving home for the first time.

“I wrote it in my childhood bedroom on the floor, where I have written a lot of my songs, in anticipation of moving away from home for the first time,” she shares. “It is about missing the little mundane things (like the sounds of family pottering around the house) and these simple things being more important than you realised.”

haunted images, ‘I Forgive You’

haunted images, a project by Louth-based producer and songwriter David O’Farrell-McGeary, dropped his debut self-titled album yesterday. Layers of synth and guitar swaddle his voice, which builds gradually into a wave of sound.

“Overall, this album is about forgiveness,” said O’Farrell-McGeary. “Forgiveness within yourself and forgiveness of the people around you. An exploration of dark periods of time through the lens of music. Although each song has its own individual identity, the piece as a whole definitely has its own unique identity. It’s a deeply introspective album where I dissect myself at every song and put many personal and traumatic experiences under a musical microscope.”

The song was written as a stream of consciousness during his time in Lonon with modernlove. O’Farrell-McGeary will host an album launch party at Drogheda’s The Watchtower on April 25.

Avenue 68, ‘Saffron’

Dublin-based band Avenue 68 blend R&B, soul, and jazz influences on their latest track ‘Saffron’. With silky smooth vocals, intricate guitar melodies, and rhythmic drums, the song pairs rich musicality with a mix of playful storytelling and heartfelt emotion.

The band says the tune came from a “light-hearted conversation about the skyrocketing price of saffron.” From there, the track grew into a metaphor, personifying the spice as a character, someone who, like saffron, is both beautiful and rare, yet ultimately destructive.

With its balance of humour and heartbreak, 'Saffron' explores the complexities of love and betrayal.

George Houston, ‘Hey Arnold’

Alt-folk artist George Houston, hailing from rural Donegal, shares ‘Hey Arnold’, the lead single from his upcoming album TODC (The Original Death Card). Inspired by 60s heartbreak anthems and shaped by his signature vintage pop flair, the track draws on the bittersweet spirit of Dionne Warwick’s ‘Do You Know the Way to San Jose’ while offering a uniquely queer, Irish take.

“I grew up listening to 60s/70s pop,” says Houston. “I’ve always wanted to hear a good old-fashioned heartbreak anthem in that classic style that represents the queer community.”

Fun, entrancing vocals are paired with jolty guitars and smooth drums, creating a nostalgic atmosphere that bridges old-school sound with modern storytelling.

Nerves, ‘Dirty Fingers’

West of Ireland four-piece Nerves return with their first new release in over a year, and it’s their most intense offering yet. Produced by Daniel Fox, ‘Dirty Fingers’ captures a thrilling, chaotic tension through jagged noise-punk guitars, relentless percussion, and piercing feedback.

Avant-punk at its most visceral, the track pushes the band’s sound to the edge, with blistering rhythms and serrated guitars beneath stark, exposed vocals. It’s a song that feels like it could implode at any second.

“With 'Dirty Fingers' we wanted to come out of the gates with something that was fast, intense and sonically overwhelming,” says frontman Kyle Thornton. “'Dirty Fingers' is the abrasive, danceable and industrial side of this band taken to its extreme, with the added vulnerability of starting a tune with just vocals, something which freaked me out enough at the time that I knew it was probably a good idea.”

Orla Gartland, ‘Now What?’

After weeks of performing it live on tour, Orla Gartland has finally released her new single, ‘Now What?’. The track features on the upcoming extended version of her latest album, Everybody Needs a Hero, and showcases a melodic, percussion-driven sound underscored by a gentle sense of nostalgia.

“I started this year with a strong feeling that I had more to say,” Gartland explains. “Last year I experienced some big life changes; I felt more unravelled & pensive than any other time in my adult life. ‘Now What?’ explores the vast unknown we face after a breakup and how our feelings morph and change over time.”

Listen to our playlist below: