6 of the best Irish songs this week

Slightly Dishevelled

Lament

Dublin-based noise five-piece Slightly Dishevelled are set to release the debut album Dirty Dishes and the West Wing on 21st February.

‘Lament’ is the spiky guitar rock’n’roll latest single that will feature on the album, recorded in a studio in Achill Island in 2023. It’s a little bit punk rock, a little bit QOTSA.

The album also features a version of ‘Waxies Dargle’ and 2024 single ‘Bank Account’.

Smokey

Superman

Last heard alongside Curtisy on Rory Sweeney’s Carlos Danger Irish Hash Mafia mixtape, and fresh from hosting Smokey’s Cookout nights at Hen’s Teeth, Smokey is back on his rap solo buzz once more.

On ‘Superman’ that blunted hip-hop style is in full effect on a production by Halfpipe, and with references to DOOM and Sade, Smokey is speaking my language.

It’s the first of a series of singles this year from the former Rog Poets collective MC.

amy michelle

atrophy

Under the thematic veneer of lavender visuals Mullingar artist amy michelle has consistently put out confessional pop songs delivered with ASMR-leaning vocals.

‘atrophy’ has some of that DNA sure, but it’s guitars are more in your face, and its production is overall more glowing.

The song is about being stuck in a cycle of a toxic relationship, and features on amy michelle’s third EP, on. ‘atrophy’ is the second single from amy’s upcoming EP NOTHING HOLY IS FREE out February 25th.

Amy Michelle 

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Blue Slate

This Is How I Sleep At Night

The intro to Kildare alternative rock band Blue State’s new single is the closest an Irish band has come to sounding like Romance-era Fontaines since its release, but that’s not the endgame.

There are a lot of commonalities with late 80s/’90s rock era on this track, yet the song’s subject matter of body dysmorphia is thoroughly up to date.

 “Lyrically, ‘This is how I sleep at Night’ is about the vulnerability and distaste of self image. It taps into a dark period of my life and explains my experience with an eating disorder and the thought process when experiencing it. I think the scariest thing about body dysmorphia or an eating disorder is that it may not be as visible to the naked eye, until you’re deep in it.”

Vocalist/songwriter John Harney.

The song features on the forthcoming This is how I sleep at Night EP out February 12th. 


 Blue Slate:
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Barkbeat

On The Brink

Barkbeat are best friends Mark Lombard and Aoife McGrath. They’ve been making songs together since 2021 about Mark’s impending move to Vancouver in March has become an impetus to do something with those demos sitting on Google Drive so an EP called Doghouse is forthcoming on February 6th.

‘Exit Wound’ is a dreamy indie pop track that serves as the band’s first single.

Barkbeat

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Jordan Adetunji

Break The System

Jordan Adetunji has had a whirlwind year – a smash hit single that has now been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit award.

All this interest has seen the release of a debut mixtape called A Jaguar’s Dream last Friday. It features tracks made with producers like hitmakers Chase & Status along with ‘Kehlani’ and tracks with Bryson Tiller, Lil Baby, and Kwn.

It’s ‘Break The System’ produced by Danja and Take A Daytrip that stands out to me, mainly because it sounds like the kind of R&B meets light house music that made Drake’s More Life one of his best releases (and it was also a mixtape).