Blog: 2 U I Bestow

A Plastic Rose take their career to a new level with this amazing single 'Build From The Ground Up'. I've seen this band develop over the last few years. They were one of the best bands at HWCHs 09 where I wrote this about the band: " Over to The Button Factory for Belfast's 'A Plastic Rose' who I knew nothing about. The set was amazing. The twin vocals on most of the songs [...]

The video for the single My Meaning Your Feelings is a return to form for Dublin 3 piece alternative band Orphan Code. The song reminds me of early 90s indie tracks from the likes of Slowdive or even a hint of Spiritualized. The black 'n' white effect of the video compliments the song nicely. The seemingly aimless walking around Grafton St. in Dublin works well with the feelings within the songs. The tempo in the video and the song remains constant. This is the best aspect of the song and [...]

Dropkick Murphys prove they are one of the best live bands at a Sold Out Vicar St. gig in Dublin. from http://www.withguitars.com/ Irish American band Dropkick Murphys are regular visitors to Ireland over the last number of years. Tonight's packed show was high on entertainment value, musicianship and surprisingly high on song quality as well. The best song [...]

I might make this a regular monthly update on the blog this year and Irish bands aim to battle the recession by thinking of new ways to fund the release of an album. Here I talk about the ways Delorentos, El Hombre Jokes, Yngve & The Innocent, The Walls and The Pale are attempting to bring their sounds to the masses! Delorentos - Pop-Up Shops from @jamesvincentmcmorrow twitter [...]

There's a really nice mix of acts confirmed for this year's Vantastival. In particular I'm delighted by the inclusion of blog favourites such as I Draw Slow, Marc O'Reilly, Ana Gog, Huey & The Hobgoblins, Miss Paula Flynn and the hardest working band in Dundalk 'Redtwelve'. More info: http://www.vantastival.com/ A limited number of earlybird tickets now on sale from the website at €70 for three nights [...]

The Aftermath released their best ever song on Jan 20th and it's entitled 'In Loneliness Lives Love'. Mullingar band The Aftermath gave it a go with a decent enough debut album back in 2008. It was an album with three really good songs and the band went on a major PR campaign to get their name out there. However the quality wasn't there. They have kept going and are back with a new single which actually gets better on every [...]

The 'Introducing Mix' post is nearly becoming a weekly feature on the blog. Every week I come across new bands that I've never featured on the blog before and here's my way of opening up their music to the online world of elbo.ws and The Hype Machine! Hopefully these acts will find new fans, friends and receptive ears! My Fellow Sponges First up is a Galway band who played the 'Bagfull of Songs' sessions night [...]

'Encore' is the new single from Wallis Bird's new self-titled album that'll be released on March 9th. This single will demand you wanting more from Wallis Bird! This short single has everything you'd expect from Wallis Bird but she's now heading for that new higher level of songwriting and performance. 'Encore' is driven by the fantastic rhythm section, intertwined stadium rock style keys as well as Wallis' distinct vocal style. The catchy chorus is made for mass fan participation somewhere around [...]

Impressive debut album from Kildare band Valentine Black. For a bit of PR gold this album is out on February 14th and would actually make a decent Valentines gift! Valentine Black's album 'Desire Lines' is like a homage to the 70s folk rock of Dylan, Bowie and Elton. However the one artist who comes to mind for comparison purposes while listening to the album is Billy Joel. The [...]

Dreamy folk pop from Sligo's Pearse McGloughlin and his new band Nocturnes. After a bit of a hiatus in 2011 where he was focused on writing and recording a new album, Pearse McGloughlin has released the first single 'Bright Star' as a free download: <a href=" http://pearsemcgloughlin.bandc amp.com/track/bright-star-sing le-edit">Bright Star (single edit) by Pearse McGloughlin and Nocturnes</a> 'Bright Star' is a return to form for an musician and composer I rate very highly. It's a gorgeous [...]

Emmett Tinley released his second solo album late last year. The self-titled album very much satisfies this fan of Emmett's earlier band The Prayer Boat. It's a positive mature album mainly dealing with relationships and love! Some of this album was recorded in 2010 in LA, while the rest came together in Denmark in 2011. Here in 2012 Emmett seems to be working the Benelux market and the album is released by Mass Marketing Recordings which is [...]

The Wall brothers are back with the first single from their new album 'Stop The Lights'. The title track has been selected by Jon Richards from Galway Bay FM as the Play Irish artist of the week. 'Stop The Lights' is a really good song that's typical from The Walls. Steve and Joe Wall have been making music for over 20 years at this stage and their musical recipe is well known by us Irish. [...]

Battle for 2nd Place follow up their debut album with a four track EP entitled 'Half The Fire'. The title track has this super video accompanying it! I like the sparse production on the song. Every instrument is crystal clear and there's nothing added that you wouldn't hear live. Irish singer Orla Pendergast's vocals are filled with the emotions the lyrics demand. Orla's performance in the video grabs your attention and enhances the song. Half The Fire is a good EP from a very [...]

Here's a little round-up of artists that have entered my social network in the last number of weeks! If you're impressed by what you hear make sure to befriend or 'like' the artist! Sarah Red First up is Dubliner Sarah Red. I love the sound of Sarah Red. Her style of alternative folk brings to mind Ani DiFranco or Janis Ian comparisons. In this song 'Misdirected Fire' I love the double bass, vocals and lyrics. Sarah Red on Facebook ------------------------------ ---------- [...]

The first Purple Sessions of the year took place last Thursday night and it was a trial run for the official re-launch of The Purple Sessions in Boyles which takes place on Feb 23rd. More details below. Thursday night was a great night of music featuring Slane's own Meridas, Drogheda's Sarah Something and one of my favourite band The Making from Co. Monaghan. The Making The headline set from The [...]

Opening this year's Temple Bar Trad festival in The Button Factory last night was Lisa O'Neill playing to a large appreciative audience in The Button Factory. It was a quality night of great tunes and funny quirky mid song explanations which charmed the crowd all night! Lisa O'Neill had the pleasure of being introduced by Mannix Flynn who gave a 'William Wallace' style introduction by saying they can pay the Anglo bondholders but they'll never [...]

February is the second single to be taken from Polly's debut album 'Mr Bookshop' and will be released tomorrow! I love the imagery in the song. We have references to Valentine's Day, snow, Winters Sun, rivers, feelings of despair and descriptions of the effect of the Sun on the landscape. February is beautifully sung over a pleasant guitar rift and it's released in time for the arrival of February. It's one of the highlights from Polly's album 'Mr. Bookshop' reviewed here: [...]

Power Pop bliss from Ireland's prodigal sons 'Heritage Centre'. A sign of a great debut album on the horizon! Heritage Centre are a progressive pop band with alternative leanings. The vocals are crystal clear and enjoyable to listen to. The music builds along quite nicely while not reaching ridiculous heights. The reason the music doesn't take off to an energetic high is because the song relies on it's meaningful lyrics. The song title hints at a song about friendship, [...]

Rams' Pocket Radio is this week's Play Irish artist with the song '1+2' taken from the new EP of the same name to be released in March 2012. The titled track deserves to be the Play Irish track this week as daytime radio is the best fit for the song! This EP '1 + 2' is going to be the forth EP release from Rams' Pocket Radio. Each release from Rams' comes with more exposure and an increase [...]

The Orchard is Michael Brunnock's second album and is set to be released in February. The Orchard is an album of great depth, strong big themes, amazing vocals and most importantly it is a collection of wonderfully crafted songs. I've been very fortunate to be in the company of Michael's album since November and it was the soundtrack of my Christmas together with Marc O'Reilly's debut and the Jukebox Gypsy live album. The thirteen songs are [...]