15.
Car Seat Headrest – My Boy
Most artists focus solely on moving forward, writing and releasing an album to move on to the next project. Car Seat Headrest’s Will Toledo makes the interesting choice to revisit and re-imagine an old project with this remake of 2011 album’s Twin Fantasy. ‘My Boy’ kicks off the reworked record in stunning fashion. He plays Dublin in May.
16.
Laoise – Bother
Galway electronic pop artist Laoise’s follow up to ‘Rich’ is a much more upbeat pop track with dance elements that continues to show off her strong vocal abilities. It was produced by Chris Bubenzer of Diffusion Lab.
17.
Bobby Basil x Major Grave – Wanna
Dubin rapper Bobby Basil who is a former member of Dah Jevu has been releasing music as a solo artist for two years now and has collaborated with artists such as Wastefellow. His latest release ‘Wanna’ features upfront rapping in a Dublin dialect with a confident tone over a more electronic beat than we’re used to from him.
18.
Imarhan – Azzaman
Imarhan’s Temet marks Algerian desert rock sextet Imarhan’s second studio album. The band’s name, translating roughly into “the ones I care about”, is reflective of the passionate music the group create. Employing a hybrid sound of Western surf-rock guitars with pan-African rhythms and vocal deliveries, this release finds the group sounding more polished than their debut album. ‘Azzaman’ kicks off things nicely.
Australian singer-songwriter Georgia Flipo’s DIY bedroom aesthetic is olain to hear and see for her debut release. ‘About You’ puts Flipo out there with a big vocal hook and an immediately memorable chorus. The bedroom aesthetic definitely adds to the song’s appeal.
Australian four-piece Confidence Man debut with ‘Boyfriend’ last year, now they are back again with another funky high energy and fun pop song, this one features added electrifying synths.
21.
Dublin-based multi-instrumentalist and composer Dowry or Éna Brennan finally released her debut recorded single last month, recorded in one-take at Lamplight Studios. Its unfolding strings are representative of how Brennan starts every set with an improvised violin piece. The song grew from that idea until it was formed.
“Over the course of the last year, the more I have repeated this opening improvisation, laying down certain rules and structure with each performance, the more the improvisation has become an actual piece, ” says Brennan. “It begins with a drone on the note E, and builds from there, dipping into the major and minor, and growing into a cacophony of sound.”
Massachusetts-born Irish/Swiss singer-songwriter Nandi Rose Plunkett or Half Waif will be releasing her new album Lavender on April 27th. ‘Keep it Out’ is about “the evolution of the self in a relationship: the maintenance of autonomy in the midst of a process of coupling, ageing, and decay.”
Jack Colleran first appeared as Mmoths as a teenage producer of emotionally-charged downbeat electronica and quickly established himself as a purveyor of textured and layered pop electronica. The music J Colleran makes now is less immediate, more sweeping, more contemporary ambient than purely pop.
‘O+SOH’ marks the transition between the two, drawing on the texture of the former with an expansive string section that is fresh and new for the producer. It was in his own words, ” always intended to be an introduction while drawing a line between what’s past and what is to come”.
24.
Peggy Gou – Han Jan
Another highlight from the Korean producer’s new Ninja Tune EP after last month’s ‘It Makes You Forget’ list-topper.
25.
Whenyoung – Pretty Pure
London-based pop punks made up of Limerick musicians Aoife Power (vocals/ bass), Niall Burns (guitar), Andrew Flood (drums) Whenyoung have been establishing a strong sound and image for themselves since the release of their debut single ‘Actor’ late last year.This latest release from the trio is an upbeat, melodic punk-pop track with an old-school indie tone. They play with Dream Wife at the Workman’s Club on March 25th.
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