A lot of music from Ireland and Northern Ireland comes our way and every week, we listen through it all, sift the list down to a manageable list and share the best new tracks from emerging artists and some more established acts that deserve to be heard by you.
For more extensive Irish and new music coverage, follow our Spotify playlist or hit up the Irish section for individual track features.
1.
Archy Moor
I’ve Been
Gearing up for the release of the Bonnie Hill EP, London-based Dublin rapper Archy Moor’s latest ‘I’ve Been’ is produced by Earl Saga and spins with the growing confidence of the artist. The video was shot in South Korea and Japan.
2.
Poser
Letter To Dublin
Poser’s latest track is a lament of the push and pull of living in Dublin city with the words of a poem shared on Tik Tok by Alice Kiernan ringing out through the song’s Fred Again-esque airy electronic pads and synths.
“I love my home, but my home doesn’t love me back.”
3.
Banríon
Departure Party
Dublin indie band Banríon released a new EP today called Dare To Crush. I loved ‘Fooling’ so much that I put it in my Irish tracks of 2022, so it’s nice to include another track on the EP, a song that references an too familiar millennial event of an emigration gathering – when a friend is moving away for economic reasons.
The song, like Poser’s, is one with a common theme in new Irish artists, about feeling unwelcome and uneasy about the progress in Dublin city, which erases cultural spaces and hikes up the rent.
The EP was recorded with Rian Trench at Meadow Lodge Studios.
Banríon will play a small Irish tour of Galway, Cork, Limerick and Dublin from February 25th to March 11th. Dates.
4.
Jennifer Evans
Very Fond
It’s been a good while since we heard from Irish artist Jennifer Evans, 2016 to be precise.
Returning to a loose jazz and prog pop sound, the now London-based artist has a song on the Slow Dance ’22 compilation entitled ‘Very Fond’ which wears an esoteric math-rock-esque arrangement.
‘Very Fond’ released on is a mix of studio recording and mix by Dilip Harris (Mica Levi, King Krule, Mount Kimbie, Roots Manuva) as well as Jennifer’s home production.
5.
Trinkets
Blue
Five-piece Dublin band Trinkets impress with their debut single ‘Blue’, an indie-pop track with soft ’80s guitar tones and a gentle melodies by songwriter and vocalist Rosie Spiro.
6.
Swimmers Jackson
Stripped Away
Swimmers Jackson is Niall Jackson, a London-based Irish man who released a solo album Murmuration in 2020 and also of the bands Bouts and Sweat Threats.
‘Stripped Away’ is the first song from the project since then, a bright acoustic classic indie song with gentle drums by Brendan McInerney (Bleeding Heart Pigeons/ The Mary Wallopers), about losing identity in the face of a pandemic.
The tune is from a forthcoming album called Now Is All, due March 31st, which was recorded by Micháel Keating (Bleeding Heart Pigeons). It’s available from Bandcamp on CD / LP.
7.
Oceanna, Fiona O’Loughlin
From The Sea
Dublin-based jazz band Oceanna are Gabriel Bellator, Morgan Slogget (of hip-hop duo Paper Clap, Raul Moya and William Aranha.
Built on a reworked version of the band’s debut song ‘Noir’, ‘From The Sea’ features the words of Clare poet Fiona O’Loughlin, and is a joint release, with the collaborators having played live together last year, with more to come.
The band also played with Qbanaa too lately.
8.
Daniel McDermott
Memento Mori
‘Memento Mori’ is a stirring ambient piece from Irish multi-hyphenate musician Daniel McDermott, which he says is “inspired by the writings of Ed Calderon, a former narco policeman, who chronicles the beauty and tragedy of Mexico and its endless violence.”
9.
Les SalAmandas
Mary’s Got Issues
West Cork-based Irish-French duo Les SalAmandas are Julie O’Sullivan and Colyne Laverriere who featured here last year with ‘Gold’.
The pair have a debut album entitled There’s a Sea Between Us (recorded with award winning producer Daniel Ledwell last year in Nova Scotia), Canada coming on February 14th, and ‘Mary’s Got Issues’ is a bright indie folk ditty that says everyone has things they are dealing with and that’s more than OK.
Catch Les SalAmandas live at The Commercial, Limerick (Feb 17th), Black Gate, Galway (Feb 18th), Green Room, Dingle (Feb 24th), Coughlan’s, Cork (March 3rd), and Whelan’s, Dublin (March 23rd).
10.
Gurriers
Approachable
Fresh from Eurosonic, the Dublin five-piece rock band Gurriers‘ debut single proper is the Idles-esque ‘Approachable’, which the band say is “a tongue in cheek anthem about the rising far right rhetoric all over the world,” that brandishes shouty backing vocals and pummelling guitar lines.
It was produced by Chris Ryan (Robocobra Quartet, NewDad, Just Mustard).
11.
Perlee
Lampshade
Saramai Leech and Cormac O’Keeffe are Perlee, a Meath/Berlin duo with a forthcoming album Speaking From Other Rooms out April 21st on Greenbay Records / Backseat.
‘Lampshade’ is a hazed dream pop tune with a friendship-themed video inspired by old TV and movies they loved.
“We used to love series like Quantum Leap and movies like Wings of Desire that had an angel character watching in the wings until they intervened in someone’s life. The song is about becoming comfortable in your own skin and Seamus O’Rourke is an amazing actor from Leitrim who brought the story to life along with the superbly talented Matthew O’Brien getting his angel wings.”
12.
Uh
humanus
“Neo-celtic outsider rave” is the memorable description this track from Uh was billed as, and is does sound a bit like vocals from a Celtic album of the late-’80s spliced with acid modular synths and tribal drum beats.
The live video of the track (also on Spotify) reinforces it.
UH is the chosen project name of London-based (with west coast of Ireland roots) siblings Dominic and Fionnuala Kennedy, and humanus, the duo’s debut album is released April 28th on PRAH Recordings and it’s on Bandcamp.
For more extensive Irish and new music coverage, hit up the Irish section for individual track features
For this and more Irish songs, follow the Nialler9 New Irish Spotify playlist.
