Formed in March of this year, Dublin based Run Kid should be still cutting their teeth but this two track promo makes them sound like seasoned pros on top of their game.
Track 1, Delphine is an uptempo pop punk track, nice harmonies, great piano lines and a chorus that makes you want to dance. The vocals from Paddy McKenna are slightly reminiscent of Ryan from Yellowcard to this listener, which is in no way a bad thing. Production on this track is top notch.
Behind Closed Doors is track 2 a slower tempo track with a great build up to the chorus. These guys are going to be a force to be reckoned with. The string arrangement is so subtle, its masterful.
Run Kid have defined their own sound, even in these two tracks, powerpop/punk with a distinctive piano and vocal combination. Going on these two tracks they should have a long career ahead of them.
Firefly is the debut single from Edenderry based band Frantic Jack.
The band seem to wear their influences of their sleeves as shimmers of Counting Crows (vocally) and old school Green Day (guitar) raise their heads.
Firefly is a melodic track with a standard verse chorus middle 8 chorus format.
Its a decent track and if they were signed it would get a hell of a lot of airplay in the AOR charts. I’d love to see Frantic Jack push the limits a little as this is an amazingly tough genre to be in and it needs a little magic to break through.
Track two on the single is Hang from the Gates. This track in its own right could easily be a single. It starts off electric guitar and vocals and builds up to a nice crescendo. Grey’s Anatomy hello?
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going to see Speech Debelle.
It could go two ways. The gig on Saturday October 3rd was being held in Academy 2 so it could be that even though she had won the Mercury Music Prize she wasn’t very good. Option 2 The world hasn’t copped on to her immense talent yet. I’m delighted to say it was the latter.
Upon entering the cavernous venue that is Academy 2, the small crowd seems just to be out for a regular Saturday night at a local pub.
Heck I got tickets for the gig two weeks after Speech won the Mercury Prize!
Infomatics
The Infomatics take to the stage, (I used to work in the same music venue as their bass player Graham, many moons ago) and I’m impressed.
This five piece recently won RTE’s Raw Sessions and its not hard to see why. Their brand of funky hiphop is captivating and refreshing. The twin Mcs really work well together, even if one of them cutely leaves his backpack on for the entire set.
Graham gave me a CD, I’ll do a review.
By the time Speech Debelle hits the stage the venue has filled up and the anticipation is building.
Debelle comes onstage to a muted response and begins her set with her debut single ‘The Key’. It’s not long before the rapper has the crowd in the palm of her hand, winning them over with an organic jazzy triphop sound and a wicked sense of humour.
Speech Debelle (bad photo)
Debelle tells us tales of the man who drank a pint of Guinness the whole way down leaving the head intact ‘Magic innit?’ She happily asks someone to mind her stage ‘please lady’ before posing for photographs for this person. She also mentions that she won the Mercury Music Prize and that the NME guys don’t like it. She hastens to add ‘her boys don’t wear no skinny jeans’.
Her trio backing band, double bass, acoustic guitar and drums, is all she needs. The organic funkyjazz base sit beautifully with her vocal rhymes.
Afterwards she quite happily posed for photos.. I wanted to chat but crutches are still a bit dehabilating. Wonder if she’ll come on DCUFM?
The gig leaves me with a couple of questions. Has the music industry killed itself? Speech Debelle is currently playing every nook and cranny to ‘make it’. But according to anyone who was at The Academy, she already has!
I wrote this for MusicReviewUnsigned. When I get a Direct Link I will Update,
With a name like Róisín and The Beards, one automatically hopes that The lady in question has a couple of blokes in her band and doesn’t suffer from some other terrible affliction. On seeing photographs of the band, its safe to say its the former!
‘Meet me at the Central Bank’, the last line of many a conversation in Ireland’s capital, ten minutes before it actually happens.
‘I’ll be the one without the skateboard’ sings Róisín, ‘Come on let’s take a ramble’ which is what seems to happen in this tune. A series of refrains, all chorus like seem to make up this song apart from one slight breakdown. It needs a little more direction I’m afraid.
A nice ditty, probably a good live song but not blowing me away.
