8 new Irish songs you should hear this week

A lot of Irish music comes Nialler9’s way and there’s little time to feature everything we think is worthy of a thumbs up or more ears. Every week, we collate the songs that pass our writers that deserve to be heard by you. For more extensive Irish coverage, follow our Spotify playlist or hit up the Irish section.

1.

Alex Gough

Afraidofmoney

Anomaly collective member and Waterford native Alex Gough’s second single release under his new hip-hop focus comes in the form of ‘Afraidofmoney’. A far more instrumentally centred affair than its predecessor ‘Breakfast’, ‘Afraidofmoney’ also largely drops the debut’s tongue in cheek tone for a more sombre outlook.

It’s a neon soul track, a striking hybrid of bling era hip-hop and modern electronica aesthetics. The vocals, as sparse as they are, are beefed out thanks to sub replica played beneath. Delivery is in the modern trap flow, of course.

2.

Rumi

Moi

Limerick native and vocalist Rumi’s debut single and video has caught a lot of attention over the past week, from the likes of Blindboy no less. A quick listen through ‘Moi’ clearly justifies the hype. It’s a craftily assembled dance track, showing a lot of creativity in its dry vocals, detailed hi-hat patterns and captivating visual accompaniment.

3.

Shane Kelly Lester

The Attic

A sprawling acoustic folk track from Dublin native Shane Kelly Lester. ‘The Attic’ is the title track from the folk artist’s new LP. The careful application of dissonance and tension helps the music create it’s own narrative beats, working in tandem wit Lester’s poetic diction. The hushed vocals have a hint of Nick Drake in them somewhere. A perfect example of how creative a pairing an acoustic guitar and a voice can be.

4.

CADA

TROB

No, your headphones aren’t acting up. The beginning of Dublin producer CADA’s ‘TROB’ is supposed to skip like that, get it in you. Taken from the CADA’s debut Diotran-32 EP, ‘TROB’ is a leftfield and often abrasive investigation into industrial soundscapes. The bass, when it first comes in, is fairly hot, to say the least. Props to the intuitive way the producer has chopped up the guitar sounds, very distinctive.

5.

Jeorge II

80 H.D.

Dublin MC Jeorge II’s debut EP The Descent is a workshop in motivated hip-hop. The EP’s 909 heavy opener ’80 H.D’ goes hard, all bravado and aggression. There’s some clever wordplay on this one too, bonus points for the Starwars reference.

6.

Ross Fitzgerald

Serious

Former Bodytonic member Ross Fitzgerald’s new track ‘Serious’ is a disco house banger. We’re behind this 100%. The Wexford man has just released his Serious Funk EP, from which ‘Serious’ is taken. Check it out.

7.

Sundown

Deal With The Devil

North Dublin’s newest indie group Sundown’s debut single ‘Deal With Devil’ makes its way onto this week’s list for its readymade charm and memorable vocal melodies. Don’t be expecting Kid A, ‘Deal With Devil’ is relatively by the books. Yet, the band give the track more than enough character and personality through its relatively minimal arrangement to earn them their spot.

8.

Damsel

Head Hums

Garage rock galore from Cork native Damsel here. ‘Head Hums’ has exactly the type of sugary sweet refrain that bounces around your noggin for a long time after first hearing it. The song was originally released last year but we wanted to include it because it’s great and also for its brand new lo-fi friendly music video. Long live this kind of upbeat indie.