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Tag: review

  • Sanskrit: Midweek Blues Review

    sanskrit Monaghan band Sanzskrit are back with a new single. It’s the first we’ve heard of them since debut, After the Wedding, which was a good solid start for the band.

    ‘Midweek Blues’ threw me off to start, it’s a lot more poppy and mainstream than I was expecting. The accordion sound coupled with the bass sound, give it a definite Oirish sound which I’m not a huge fan of. But it’s a damn catchy track, you hit the chorus before you’ve even realised and you’ll be humming it all day.

    If the guys box clever here, with a little more sparseness in the production they could find themselves in Noah & The Whale/ Mumford & Sons territory. It will be interesting to see what direction the new album, ‘Carving Our Names in Trees’, takes. (more…)

  • G.D.C: Off My Chest Review

    GDC from Facebook promoOccasionally something comes along and completely throws you. This isn’t what i thought it was going to be at all. Off My Chest is the first release from G.D.C. (Grá Don Cheol), the brainchild of Cillian Foster.

    I was expecting something in the signer songwriter vein so this threw me a little, instead I got an uptempo indie rock track. The song opens with a big drum sound before heading slightly into Britpop territory. There are echos of the Gallagher Brothers and Christy Dignam, especially in the vocal style but Foster has enough originality to make this sound his own.

    The track shows Foster has good perception of song structure and flow and the production cleverly plays lyric lines between his main vocals and slightly effected. Nicely done, not too over powering. A break of ‘Let me move on’ shows vocal harmonies balanced for a huge sound. Is that a thermin in the middle of everything?

    Damn fine start for a first track.. I’m genuinely looking forward to the album. (more…)

  • Duncan Maitland: Lullabies for the 21st Century

    Duncan Maitland lullabies for the 21st centuryI’ve been listening to this record for a while now, after having a staggered release in different territories, Duncan Maitland’s solo debut album is out and it’s a great listen.

    ‘Lullabies for the 21st Century’  is an album of fine songwriting with lush harmonies and memorable hooks. Listening to this record I see the vibe in the late 60’s / early 70’s, lush like ELO but without being over the top. The former Picturehouse man has created something timeless here, it nods at the past but is has many contemporary traits.

    ‘Your Century’ starts the album, a simple guitar and harmonies before raising the soundscape with simple but perfectly balanced harmony layers. Current single ‘Terry The Toad’ has a memorable chorus and urges you to hum along to ‘everybody’s playing it cool’. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but something here reminds me of the McCartney side of The Beatles. (more…)

  • Samuel Arnold: City Boy EP Review

    SAMUEL ARNOLDDublin based singer songwriter released his City Boy EP this week. The four track offers a great introduction to this new artist.

    The lo fi, simple production suits this EP completely, letting Arnold’s vocals and finger plucking guitar style speak for themselves. This isn’t another ‘oh poor me’ singer songwriter, Arnold lets his quirks show and this sets him apart. His lyrical style seems to have his tongue slightly in his cheek but manages to be spot on the money.

    On the title track ‘City Boy’ Arnold says ‘got laptop burn marks on my laps & I play console to console my lack of the physical’. Ah yes, the potential loneliness of city living. (more…)