Setlist: Heathers, Whelan's, 3 June 2010

Heathers are really starting to gain a following, particularly thanks to the use of their song 'Remember When' for the new Discover Ireland advert. They played a packed Whelan's on Thursday night with support from the excellent We Cut Corners.

Setlist:
Remember When
Fire Ants
Reading in the Dark
The Sunset Tree (Mountain Goats Cover)
Waiter
Bloodpact
Moose
Home and Away
Halo (Beyonce cover)
Margie
Slices of Palama
(Mountain Goats cover)

Read a full review of the gig at GoldenPlec here:
http://www.goldenplec.com/2010/06/05/review-heather-whelans-june-3rd/

Watch a short clip of the girls playing 'The Sunset Tree' at Whelan's:

Download: How to Destroy Angels EP

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame has unleashed a new sideproject on the world. His bandmates in How to Destroy Angels are his wife Mariqueen Maandig and Nine Inch Nails producer Atticus Ross. The best part about it all is that the EP is available for free, and you don't even have to click through to anywhere. Download it below as 320kbos mp3s. Excellent. You can also upgrade to a Hi-Def version of the album for two dollars, which includes the video for 'The Space In Between'.

Tracklist:
1. "The Space in Between" 3:35
2. "Parasite" 5:05
3. "Fur-Lined" 4:00
4. "BBB" 3:31
5. "The Believers" 5:36
6. "A Drowning" 7:04

Album News: Ray LaMontagne - God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise

Great news for Ray LaMontagne's many, many Irish fans. The 'Trouble' singer is back with his fourth album God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise. It's credited to Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs, who consist of Jay Bellarose (drums), Jennifer Condos (bass), Patrick Warren (keyboard), Eric Heywood (guitar) and Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar). It was recorded in two weeks in Ray's own studio at his house in the woods and is entirely self-produced. (Which marks a change from LaMontagne's usual producer Ethan Johns).

The album is slated for US release on August 17th, with the Irish release four days earlier.

Track listing:
1. Repo Man
2. New York City's Killing Me
3. God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise
4. Beg Steal Or Borrow
5. Are We Really Through
6. This Love Is Over
7. Old Before Your Time
8. For The Summer
9. Like Rock & Roll and Radio
10. The Devil's In The Jukebox

Album Review: Ryan Adams - Orion

If you follow the comings and goings of the maverick born David Ryan Adams, you'll probably have heard of his new metal-country album. "Oh Ryan..." Yeah, that's what it's called. It's a clever pun, and is a great title for the record. Not because you'll find yourself with your head in your hands after listening to it, but for the fact that it's sort of a sci-fi concept album. (Sort of - you can never make sweeping statements when Ryan Adams is concerned.)

I'm not sure if this was the proposed 2006 album Star Wars, but it does come from that time, and is produced by the man who helmed Easy Tiger, Jamie Candiloro, and is an album full of songs like 'Halloweenhead'. So if you thought that was the weak link on ET, stay away from this one. On the other hand, if you loved that tune and are looking for something louder and shoutier, Orion is definitely for you.

It's hard to know what to make of the record. It's nothing like Heartbreaker, Gold, or any of his previous releases. It is however, like some of the online stuff he streamed in 2006-2007 under various ridiculous monikers: Sad Dracula, Rhoda Ro, and Warren Peace. In actual fact, one of the songs here, 'Fire and Ice' was originally featured on a Warren Peace album (yeah, that name is another pun too). It was probably the best Warren Peace song too.

The songs are quick sub-three minute rock riots where Adams screams nonsense lyrics about galaxies, intergalactic wars, metal spiders, and all the rest of that stuff you'll find in a teenager's science fiction wet dream. It would be terrible only for the fact that it's actually great fun. It's hilarious, but also so much better than anything a teenager could concoct. Some of the riffs are among Adams' best guitarwork. 'Signal Fade' has a fantastic solo, and 'Disappyramid' is musically wonderful from the outset.

By now, you should have an inkling whether you want to hear this album or not. Unfortunately, only a limited number of vinyl copies were pressed, and it hasn't been released on CD. So you may have to find other means to get your hands on it. Have a look at eBay, I'm sure you can get really ripped off for a copy on there.

If you're in two minds about buying the record for a hiked-up price, then this should sway you. There's a song halfway through the album called 'Ghorgon, Master of War', and yes, it's every bit as good as it sounds.

Overall, this is actually worth listening to. It's not for everyone, and will probably only appeal to hardcore Ryan Adams fans. But it's great that's he's back releasing music. Hopefully that trend will continue and we'll get more unreleased albums, like Darkbreaker, or perhaps even that track-by-track cover album of the Strokes' Is This It. Maybe he'll go back into the studio and do something totally new. Nobody knows. I doubt he does himself. We'll just have to wait and see.

Setlist: Julie Feeney, NCH, 29 May 2010

Great review of Julie Feeney's National Concert Hall gig with full orchestra on May 29th over on Pensamiento Aleatorio, read it here. The orchestra was called "The Pages Orchestra" and they played the album in full as well as material from 13 Songs.

Setlist:
* Autopilot
* Monster
* Alien
* Grace
* Instrumental Interlude
* Valentine's Song
* Stay
* Nothing to Declare
* Knock Knock
* Wind Out Of My Sails
* Myth
* Excerpts from Songs from Liquid Days
* Fictitious Richard
* Mr. Roving Eye Guy
* Aching
* You Broke The Magic
* Life's Nudge
* Hallelujah
* One More Tune
---
* Love Is A Tricky Thing
* Impossibly Beautiful

Album Review: Villagers - Becoming a Jackal

Conor O'Brien is receiving a lot of hype from all directions. Critics are praising him everywhere. And justifiably so. His debut album as Villagers, Becoming a Jackal, is yet another reason why 2010 is turning out to be the best year for Irish music ever.

Since the dissolution of the Immediate a few years ago, you'd think that O'Brien may have gotten rusty, but if anything, his vocals have improved tenfold since then. His voice is glorious and soars on many of the tracks. 'I Saw the Dead' is a perfect album opener, with a wonderful entwining piano melody and enchanting vocals from O'Brien.

The album's highpoint is the title track, and the song which introduced him to the world on Later with Jools Holland a few weeks back. It's one of the songs of the year, regardless of nationality. But luckily for us, the album is full of gems. The first four songs are as good as any opening run in recent memory. 'Ship of Promises' could be a fantastic radio single, and if his new label Domino have the sense (which I imagine they do, they've done everything else perfectly up til now) then it will be all over the airwaves this summer.

'The Meaning of the Ritual' had been originally on last year's Hollow Kind EP, but has been spruced up for the full-length, and I must say the improvements have turned it into a better song. The album's guitarist Tommy McLaughlin was in charge of production duties, and this hands-on approach has really added a warmth to the album. This can be heard throughout, particularly in the breezy 'That Day'. It's also perfect for radio, as is 'Home' and 'The Pact'.

'Set the Tigers Free' is yet another highpoint, as is the growl of 'Pieces'. There's some more straightforward singer-songwriter tunes on here too, such as 'Twenty Seven Strangers' and the splendid closer 'To Be Counted Among Men'. In fact, there's not a weak point on the album. It's a perfectly well rounded record

Live: Oxegen 2010 Red Bull Music Academy Stage Full Lineup

The final lineup for the Red Bull Music Academy Stage at Oxegen 2010 has been announced, complete with daily breakdowns. This is good news for anyone who picked up a single day ticket, as you can now see who's playing on that respective day. In brilliant local news, Kildare's Planet Parade (one of my Irish Sounds of 2010) were added to the bill, and will take to the stage on Sunday. The Minutes on Saturday are also another great Irish act worth checking out.

Friday 9th July
Chipmunk
Tinie Tempah
Gabriella Cilmi
Darwin Deez
MemoryHouse
Colm K (FreeStyle MellowShip)
Andreya Triana
The Capitals

Saturday 10th July
The Drums
Dirty Projectors
Wild Beasts
Alex Metric
Jackmaster
Space Dimension Controller
Illum Sphere
The Minutes

Sunday 11th July
Broken Social Scene
Delphic
Jamie Lidell
Local Natives
Hudson Mohawke
Cecile
Robot Koch
Planet Parade

Setlist: I am Not Lefthanded, Whelan's, 1 June 2010

The excellent I am Not Lefthanded stopped off in Dublin on Tuesday night as part of their Time to Leave tour. Sadly, I missed the gig, but if you get a chance to see them around the country, I'd recommend checking them out. Not on the setlist is an acapella version of 'I Will Follow You into the Dark' which I hear was amazing.

Setlist:
Everybody Sleeps
The Place That Won't Take Me Back
Endline
Lifelines
Long Goodbyes
Persuade Yourself
Late Night Drive
New One
Boats, But Not the Ocean
---
I Will Follow You into the Dark

They play Baker Place in Limerick and the Stables in Mullingar on Saturday and Sunday night respectively.

Columns What I Like: Drowned in Dublin

Not quite a Blogs What I Like feature, but close enough. You're already probably an avid Drowned in Sound reader, and probably haven't failed to notice the new column in town. Niall Byrne, the curator of Ireland's Annual Best Music Blog nialler9, has started a new in-depth feature on Drowned in Sound.

It's called Drowned in Dublin, and features all the best new Irish music from the likes of the bigger names such as Heathers and Villagers, as well as collectives such as Popical Island and the Richter Collective, and then some lesser known artists such as MelJoann and Solar Bears.

Holding it all together is a wonderful Soundcloud playlist, which will probably get about a dozen listens from me over the weekend.

Drowned in Dublin playlist by Nialler9

Read the full article here:
http://drownedinsound.com/news/4140139-drowned-in-dublin-1

Stream: Tift Merritt - See You on the Moon

2008's Another Country was a decent country-pop record from Tift Merritt. For her new album, however, Merritt has taken out most of the pop and made a more straight-up country album. It's more of a throwback to her first and second albums, and is sure to please her early fans. See You on the Moon has just been released in America, and can be streamed in full on Merritt's official website. (The album cover isn't great though!)

Tracklist:
Mixtape
Engine To Turn
Things That Everybody Does, The
Six More Days of Rain
Feel Of The World (with Jim James)
Never Talk About It
All The Reasons We Don’T Have To Fight
Live Till You Die
Papercut
See You On the Moon
Danny’S Song
After Today
Bar With A TV On

Stream:
http://www.tiftmerritt.com/discography/see-you-on-the-moon/

Album News: Ryan Bingham - Junky Star

After getting my hands on new albums from Villagers, Divine Comedy, Drive-By Truckers, the National, the Hold Steady, and many more, I wasn't quite sure what to look forward to for the rest of 2010. Luckily, there's still a few more great albums on the way (Justin Townes Earle' Harlem River Blues, Drive-By Truckers Go Go Boots, and the new Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit record to name a few). So now I'm even more delighted that Academy Award winner Ryan Bingham is back with a new album in September.

It'll be under the moniker Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses, and is called Junky Star. It's due out in America on Lost Highway on September 7th, so expect it on the 4th in Ireland. It's produced by T-Bone Burnett, who was also responsible for that excellent Oscar winning song 'The Weary Kind'.

You can also hear two new songs from the album on Bingham's MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/ryanbingham

Album News: Guggenheim Grotto - The Universe is Laughing

The Guggenheim Grotto's last album (their second), Happy the Man, was one of my favourite Irish albums of 2008. It was a marvellous pop-rock record. So when I saw over on IndieLimerick that there was a new one imminent, I had to find out more.

The Universe is Laughing is the band's third full-length, and has been release online on their official website.

Tracklist:
1. Trust Me I’m A Thief
2. Map Of The Human Heart
3. Wings And Feathers
4. Never Before
5. Concentrate
6. Wisdom
7. Ruby Heart
8. The Spiegel Song
9. The Universe Is Laughing
10. Diamond.

Stream 'Wisdom':

More info/buy:
http://www.guggenheimgrotto.com/

Watch: Every Ireland World Cup Song Ever

With the 2010 World Cup starting next week in South Africa, most of Ireland's men will be tuned in to the telly cursing at the fact we're not there instead of France. If Thierry Henry gets a run-out at any time, the decibel level is sure to rise fivefold. But just imagine if we were there, then we'd have four weeks of having to listen to both our official and unofficial World Cup songs. The Irish have had some good teams over the ages, but not as many good World Cup anthems. Although you can't go wrong with 'Put 'Em Under Pressure'. Still a classic.

I'm probably missing a good few unofficial ones here, so if you know of any, leave a message in the comments and I'll try to add it. Also, some of these videos are terrible, but they're all that's available.

1988 - European Championships, West Germany
Ireland's first ever international football competition was also our first attempt at trying to create a soundtrack for a sporting event. The songs were the musical equivalent of a nil-all draw. Very uninspiring, and not something you want to go back and revisit very often.

Liam Harrison and the Goal Celebrities - 'Give it a Lash Jack'


Christy Moore - 'Joxer Goes to Stuttgart'


'Ooh Ahh Paul McGrath'


1990 World Cup, Italy
1990 was Ireland's best ever World Cup, not just on the field (Packie Bonner sand David O'Leary have been heroes ever since), but off it as well. One half of U2 (the less well-known half) took it upon themselves to turn a riff from the Horslips into an anthem. And it worked. We've been singing that one World Cup song ever since. Nobody has come close. Also, who can forget that Billy Joel cover by Memories? Oh dear Jesus. Allegedly Joel himself actually tried to sing some of the lyrics to it when he came to play Ireland later that year.

Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen - 'Put 'Em Under Pressure'


Memories - 'The Game'


'Jackie's Army'


'The Flame'


Penney's Winning Team - 'The Team That Jack Built'

1994 World Cup, USA
Amazingly, there are more videos from the batch of songs from the 1990 World Cup than the 1994 one. I could only find one, the awful 'Watch Your House for Ireland'. So if anyone knows where I can find a video or mp3 or anything of any of the others, let me know.

'Watch Your House for Ireland'


Joe O'Toole - We're going to America
The Mighty Quinn

2002 World Cup, Japan and South Korea
Ireland's most recent World Cup was probably the one with the worst song yet. I mean, it has Dustin and the bloke from Aslan, but even worse contains the line "Sayounara Connemara". I also remember there were other songs in 2002, but can't remember the names. Anyone care to jog my memory?

Irish Squad, Dustin, Nicky Byrne, Christy Dignam - 'Here Come the Good Times'


2010 World Cup, South Africa

This year to cash in on the World Cup, Shay Healy has teamed up with the Corrigan Brothers to release this ditty. Since Ireland aren't there, it's a tribute to England's best player, Wayne Rooney. Damn you Thierry Henry.

Corrigan Brothers & Shay Healy - 'Wayne Rooney is Our Hero'

Album News: Feeder - Renegades

After toying with the Renegades side-project, Feeder are back under their original moniker, and have chosen to call their new album Renegades instead. They had released an EP as Renegades, but their new full-length will be a Feeder record. The lead single from the album is 'Call Out', which comes out on June 14th, and had previously been a side-project tune. The album itself is due July 5th.

Feeder are due to play the Academy on August 19th.

Tracklist:
1. "White Lines"
2. "Call Out"
3. "Renegades"
4. "Sentimental"
5. "This Town"
6. "Down to the River"
7. "Home"
8. "Barking Dogs"
9. "City in a Rut"
10. "Left Foot Right"
11. "The End"
12. "Godhead"

Watch Feeder/Renegades 'Call Out' live:

Watch: The Tallest Man on Earth - Bob Dylan Covers

The Tallest Man on Earth has long been compared to Bob Dylan. At a show in Lincoln Hall, Chicago on May 28th, he didn't help himself move away from those comparisons. In fact, he's moved even closer, as he played a cover of Bob Dylan's 'I'll Keep it With Mine'. Not only that, he then followed it up with his take on 'The Man in Me' with Nathan Rathlieff.

You can catch the Tallest Man on Earth in Whelan's on June 10th.

Watch The Tallest Man on Earth - 'I'll Keep it With Mine':


Watch The Tallest Man on Earth - 'The Man in Me':

Setlist: Crowded House, Olympia Theatre, 30 May 2010

Crowded House always seem to be playing in Ireland. I don't think a year has gone by where I haven't posted a setlist from them. Luckily, each time they visit, they do really mix it up. At the Olympia on Sunday night they played a varied set, and had two wonderful covers.

1. Something So Strong
2. Saturday Sun
3. Private Universe
4. Fall At Your Feet
5. Even If
6. Say That Again
7. Either Side of the World
8. Kare Kare
9. Four Seasons in One Day
10. Heaven That I'm Making
11. Archer's Arrows
12. Money (That's What I Want) (Barrett Strong cover)
13. Nails in My Feet
14. Locked Out
15. Distant Sun
16. It's Only Natural
---
17. Fingers of Love
18. Weather With You
19. Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads cover)
20. Better Be Home Soon
21. Twice if You're Lucky
22. Don't Dream It's Over

Watch 'Say That Again':

Setlist: Teenage Fanclub, The Academy, 30 May 2010

Teenage Fanclub stopped off at Dublin's Academy on their current tour and played a nice little set on Sunday night.

Setlist:
1. Start Again
2. Sometimes I Don't Need To Believe In Anything
3. The Past
4. It's All in My Mind
5. Don't Look Back
6. Verisimilitude
7. Baby Lee
8. Ain't That Enough
9. I Don't Want Control of You
10. The Concept
11. Everything Flows
12. Sparky's Dream
---
13. I Need Direction

Watch 'Spark's Dream':


'Everything Flows':

Live: Owl City at the Academy

After the success of their debut single 'Fireflies' synthpoppers Owl City seem to be everywhere. Great news for the fans: they'll be here in November. The one-man band is due to play the Academy on November 24th.

Tickets are priced €22.50 and go on sale this Friday. Their current single is 'Umbrella', have a listen to it below.

Live: The Divine Comedy at HMV Grafton Street

After their excellent instore at Road Records over the weekend, the Divine Comedy are set to perform at another of Dublin's top music outlets, HMV on Grafton Street on Thursday, June 3rd. They'll take to the stage at 5.30, and it's sure to be a packed show.

They're currently promoting new album Bang Goes the Knighthood, which came out in the UK today. Read my review of the album here.

Watch The Divine Comedy 'At the Indie Disco' live:

Album News: Rhymefest - El Che

Rhymefest has had a very succesful career so far even though the man born Che Smith has only released one proper album so far. He's a Grammy Award winning songwriter, having co-wrote 'Jesus Walks' with Kanye West, and his Man in the Mirror mixtape (released before Michael Jackson's death) is one of the finest mixtapes I have heard in years. His debut album Blue Collar came out in 2006, and next week he's due to release the follow-up El Che. It's set to be good, the man is damn talented.

Tracklist:
1. "Intro: The Agent"
2. "Talk My Shit"
3. "Say Whassup" (feat. Phonte of Little Brother)
4. "How High" (feat. Little Brother & Darien Brockington)
5. "Chocolates"
6. "One Arm Push Up"
7. "Prosperity"
8. "Truth On You" (feat. Twone Gabz)
9. "Intermisson: Juan Carlos"
10. "Chicago"
11. "Agony" (feat. Glenn Lewis)
12. "Last Night"
13. "Give It to Me" (feat. Saigon & Adad)
14. "Intermission: No Help"
15. "City Is Fallen" (feat. Slique)
16. "Celebration"

Download: Joe Pug - Bury Me Far From My Uniform

'Bury Me Far From My Uniform' was the standout track on Joe Pug's debut album Messenger, and in time for Memorial Day, he has made it available as a free mp3 download. It's one of the best war songs of recent years, alongside labelmate Jason Isbell's 'Dress Blues'.

Download:
Joe Pug - 'Bury Me Far From My Uniform'

Watch the song performed live:

Live: Sam Amidon at Whelan's

Folkie Sam Amidon just released his fourth album I See the Sign earlier this year, which is the follow-up to his excellent breakout record All is Well. He'll be coming to Dublin to promote it on Wednesday, June 2nd.

Tickets are €14 and on sale now. Support on the night comes from Leif Vollebekk.

Watch Sam Amidon 'Saro':

Watch: Neil Hannon - My Lovely Horse

Neil Hannon was at Road Records in Dublin yesterday to promote the Divine Comedy's excelllent new album Bang Goes the Knighhood. Not only did he play songs from that record, but also got in the Eurovision mood by playing an impromptu 'My Lovely Horse' (that's the Eurovision entry Ireland enters in Father Ted for any of my non-Irish visitors, it fared about as well in Eurosong 96 than Ireland did last night).

Thanks to Brogen Hayes for the heads-up about this excellent video. (Also have a look out for Sean Earley somewhere in the video)

Watch Neil Hannon - 'My Lovely Horse':

News: Eurovision 2010 Results

By now the fallout is well over and most of Europe is getting on with the rest of their lives. However, Germany is probably already perparing to host next year's Eurovision Song Contest after 19 year old Lena took home the coveted prize with her song 'Satellite'.

It was a disappointing night for both Ireland and the UK, as both of the home countries were left propping up the table, with Ireland in 23rd and the United Kingdom coming in 25th from 25 acts on the night.

Eurovision 2010 Full Results table:

Place	Country	Performer	Song	Points
1	Germany	Lena	Satellite	246
2	Turkey	maNga	We Could Be The Same	170
3	Romania	Paula Seling & Ovi	Playing With Fire	162
4	Denmark	Chanée & N'evergreen	In A Moment Like This	149
5	Azerbaijan	Safura	Drip Drop	145
6	Belgium	Tom Dice	Me And My Guitar	143
7	Armenia	Eva Rivas	Apricot Stone	141
8	Greece	Giorgos Alkaios & Friends	OPA	140
9	Georgia	Sofia Nizharadze	Shine	136
10	Ukraine	Alyosha	Sweet People	108
11	Russia	Peter Nalitch & Friends	Lost And Forgotten	90
12	France	Jessy Matador	Allez Olla Olé	82
13	Serbia	Milan Stanković	Ovo Je Balkan	72
14	Israel	Harel Skaat	Milim	71
15	Spain	Daniel Diges	Algo Pequeñito (Something Tiny)	68
16	Albania	Juliana Pasha	It's All About You	62
17	Bosnia & Herzegovina	Vukašin Brajić	Thunder And Lightning	51
18	Portugal	Filipa Azevedo	Há Dias Assim	43
19	Iceland	Hera Björk	Je Ne Sais Quoi	41
20	Norway	Didrik Solli-Tangen	My Heart Is Yours	35
21	Cyprus	Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders	Life Looks Better In Spring	27
22	Moldova	Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira	Run Away	27
23	Ireland	Niamh Kavanagh	It's For You	25
24	Belarus	3+2	Butterflies	18
25	United Kingdom	Josh	That Sounds Good To Me	10

We also found out Ireland's position in the second semi-final. We came 9th (ten acts got through, the tenth was joint on 67 points with us). Turkey won our semi final with 118 points, and Belgium romped home in Tuesday's first semi-final. However, it was not either of their nights, and one of the Big Four won for the first time in 13 years. It was also Germany's second ever victory, they last won in 1982.

And as for the stage invader during the Spanish song, AFP reported "Some in Spain identified the intruder as Jaume Marquet Cot, better known as "Jimmy Jump," a real estate agent from the separatist-minded region of Catalonia who is known for pitch invasions of several major sporting events."

Here's the winning song, Lena with 'Satellite':


And here's a nice acoustic version of the song: