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  • [/2010]

    [/2010]

    2010 has been a strange year. It’s had its up and downs and some stuff happened that made me really think about what matters most.

    Fcuk it!

    It’s been a year for the Old Spice man and the iPad. A nerd had a movie made about him and Wikileaks leaked a bit too much. Ireland’s been in the news for all the wrong reasons, IMF, bailouts, unemployment and not being able to get out of the place quick enough.

    The year I started doing a lot more writing and Elvis Costello and Plan B used my reviews in their websites and I got to review some great gigs and interview some amazing people. Thanks to everyone who came on the Culture Cafe on DCUfm.com and who listened whenever I hijacked the radiowaves.

    We had three snowpocalypses/i and had more than one hot day.

    I could go on talking about what music and films I enjoyed, who I loved, who I hated but no mini review could be complete without me mentioning the thrill of the San Francisco Giants winning the World Series.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyVdbfyvwso]

    (more…)

  • Terence Rowlands: Beta Review

    Terence Rowlands BetaThere are albums that come along, without fuss or hype and grow into our consciousness through word of mouth firstly, then by the immense talent that drips from every note played. Beta by Terence Rowlands is such an album.

    From the first notes of the opener ‘Overplayed’, its obvious the Rowlands is passionate about what he’s doing. It just adds a extra spark to the whole thing. Overplayed blends piano, guitar and strings with Rowlands’ honest vocals being centre of attention – and rightly so. The laidback country ‘Junkstore’ follows with its subtly addictive vibe.

    Beta is full of acoustic led songs, delicately fused. Despite the fact the Rowlands said ‘It was recorded in stages around the country, in flats, houses and my brothers garage’ and because of this he had to do all the instrumentation separately himself, you don’t get a disjointed feeling at all.

    Throughout the album there are indications of where Rowlands influences lie, vocally somewhere between Jason Downs, Adam Duritz and Thom Yorke. Rowlands has used his time to beautifully meld them together to produce something beautiful and quite unheard in a while round these parts.  (more…)

  • Tune of the Week 30/12/2010: Nero – Me and You

    Tune of the Week 30/12/2010: Nero – Me and You

    Tune of the Week 30/12/2010: Nero – Me and You

    I was supposed to put this up last week, I love the track, love the video. The last Tune of the Week for 2010 is Nero: Me and You.

  • Resurrection Fern: Transcend Mortality Review

    ResurrectionFernThis is an album that somehow managed to slip through without me getting to it this year. Resurrection Fern are together since 2008 and ‘Transcend Mortality’ was released at the end of June. Bad me..

    So what’s it like? I got a nice surprise actually. Once the words Resurrection or Mortality are mentioned I automatically think of some death metal stuff. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Resurrection Fern are an alternative folk ensemble, led by songwriter Bean Dolan.

    The album starts with ‘Brothers’, a great crossover track with layered vocals and a distinct  Americana/country styled vibe. The tempo track is built up from guitar and double bass and is a fantastic introduction to the band. At 6.18 It’s a little long for radio but if It were me, I’d be doing a radio edit and getting to the States with this one.

    Instrumental track ‘Fasten The Clamp’ sees the band introduce a little Irishness to proceedings in the shape of a whistle. Not being a fan of trad ( I know shoot me), this is just enough without going overboard.

    The album dips a little with the slower/lower register tracks but excel during more upbeat numbers. ‘Hummingbird Heart’ shows off the vocal talents of Dolan and the female backing vocalist. During ‘Stay in the Sun’, the musicianship and vocals are perfectly balanced for a magical ride.

    During the more uptempo tracks Dolan’s vocals are clear and strong and this gives the whole sound an added dimension. ‘Two Days Driving’ shows this off perfectly.

    Finishing off with ‘When You’re Weary, Come Home’, Resurrection Fern bookend a really good record. Some of these tracks could do really well on US country radio, given the market size that ain’t no bad thing. Resurrection Fern could take on the folk world – and win.