Featuring The Last Dinner Party, Youth Lagoon, Sprints, Anna Mieke, CABL, Fynch, Curtisy, Arvo Party, Blimp & Echo Northstar.
It’s the first New Music Friday of the year, which means a manageable amount of music to be getting on with, along with a slimmed down list of new releases.
The 10 songs this week represent my favourites of the year to date, with a strong showing from Irish artists.
See the end of the post for the Spotify playlist featuring more than 10 tracks released this week, which ispdated weekly.
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1.
The Last Dinner Party
Caesar on a TV Screen
The UK band of the moment, crowned the winner of BBC’s Sound Of 2024, the five-piece band build upon their classic pop ABBA-influenced sound that they established last year with singles like ‘Nothing Matters’ with a theatre-infused track and video from their forthcoming debut album Prelude To Ecstasy, out February 2nd.
2.
Sprints
Shaking Their Hands
One of the more introspective songs on the debut album from the Dublin garage punk band’s debut album Letter To Self, which was released today on City Slang, ‘Shaking Their Hands’ is a song waiting to clock off, and shows a band working their sound in subtle ways that still rises to a roar.
3.
Anna Mieke
Red Sun (Live)
A new version of a song from singer-songwriter Anna Mieke’s 2022 album Theatre, ‘Red Sun’ is a recording of the closing number of the record, performed live at Black Mountain Studios in Dundalk with Anna Mieke on harmonium and guitar with the band consisting of Matthew Jacobson (percussion/synth), Ryan Hargadon (alto sax) , Niamh Dalton on fiddle (saxophonist with Trá Pháidín) and Sam Clague on electric guitar and also bass clarinet.
The video was shot by video collaborator Anna Heisterkamp, and the recording is by Nick Rayner and Brían Mac Gloinn.
The live version is also on Bandcamp.
4.
Youth Lagoon
Football
Trevor Powers follows up last year’s Heaven Is A Junkyard, with a once-off single on 7″ on Fat Possum, with the album’s co-producer Rodaidh McDonald on the boards.
“‘Football’ is really a celebration of failure. Society has a terrible habit of only recognising achievement while glossing over the greatness in the shadows. We’re so distracted trying to earn love, worth and value that we forget it’s something we inherently already have. I wanted to play with this idea through the lens of sports ‘cuz, in a lot of ways, sports are the truest religion.”
5.
CABL
See You In A Year And A Half
The Dublin four-piece indie-rock band CABL bring an ethereal atmosphere on their recent single ‘See You In A Year And A Half’, a track that evolved out of the their first jam with drummer Eoghan Lynch.
The track’s crystalline driving arrangement is brought to crescendos over its five-minute running time.
I also loved CABL’s November-released single ‘Shoelace’ so they are a band to watch right now.
6.
Fynch
Main Road Woes
Burner Records’ Fynch is a man rocking the D12 references from the Bricker to Crumlin Road.
“I’ve been up and down the Crumlin Road, truth be told, it’s a cold world / Is it because I’m rocking shorts in December?”
The local references are a way of encapsulating the static experiences of young working class men in such areas.
“No two people experience their environment in the same manner, there are always other factors at play. ‘Main Road Woes’ was written as an exploration of that, knowing how people feel about where I’m from [Drimnagh], I’ve always had to explain that the narrative around my hometown is a false one. There’s a rough edge and that’s grand, but there’s a soul there, it’s a community which was constantly scrutinised when I was growing up. It was, and still is, a place full of hardworking people that were looked on skeptically because of what was in the papers. Some people played up to a perception, but most just kept going up and down that main road everyday, working away and making a living.”
Fynch has an album Youngfella out in February.
7.
Curtisy
Tree Sap
Along with Fynch, Curtisy is among the finest voices in Dublin rap at the moment, with ‘Tree Sap’ just another notch proving it. A doll-featuring video by Laura Dooney was also released for the song.
“Tree Sap was recorded in April in my producer hikii’s studio, a safe place for me to create. We’ve made dozens of songs but when I heard this beat, I knew this was one of them ones I was gonna have a lot to say on. “This song has themes of addiction, love, deception, all things I was experiencing at the time. It’s a diary entry with no rules. This song was just for me originally, to understand my thoughts but after our first listen back to this song, HIKII and I both felt that this track was different and we’re excited to see if people agree.”
8.
Arvo Party
MAZE
Edifying brain-swirling synth and electronica from Belfast producer Herb Magee aka Arvo Party. ‘Maze’ is like a dancefloor take on Tangerine Dream’s ‘Love On a Real Train’.
9.
Blimp, Sideluv
Sleepless
One of a trio of tracks released on New Year’s Eve from the Dublin producer Blimp, ‘Sleepless’ melds percussive hits, bass and a hypnotic vocal to fine effect.
10.
Echo Northstar
Waking Up
Echo Northstar aka Paddy Hennessy, formerly of Cork band HappyAlone, has marked 2024 for plenty of new activity.
‘Waking Up’ is the soundtrack of that stirring from a slumber, after playing a support slot for Cruel Sister last November.
A forthcoming EP things I wish I could say will be released soon, and more shows are coming.
Nialler9 Weekly Playlist
Nialler9 New Music Playlist
For more extensive Irish and new music coverage, hit up the Irish section for individual track features
For this and more Irish songs, follow the Nialler9 New Irish Spotify playlist.
