The best new Irish songs this week feature emerging tracks we’ve selected from artists from the island of Ireland, with more recommendations below.
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For more extensive Irish and new music coverage, read the Irish section for individual track features.
deathtoricky
Fido
The Kildare rapper has done it again, with arguably his best song yet.
‘fido’ is undeniably spinning its own cloudy rap vibe with it’s own sonic identifiers. The tune’s percussive bright production is by 1sinister x babycashy.
Rebel Phoenix
Star Sign
You might have known Rebel Phoenix for his urgent Dublin rap flow and lyrics, but this latest upcoming project is an about-face that no-one, not least the man himself saw coming. ‘Liminal’ is a starry-eyed alt-R&B ’80s-influenced track with Rebel P singing – it gave me Casisdead vibes musically – something wholly surprising from what is, the first instalment of his EP trilogy called Fractals.
“You’re too hard on yourself in these hard times, You brighten up those dark skies when your heart shines,” the song goes.
Crying Loser
Do The Jerk
Cork no-wave garage punk band Crying Loser have announced their new album The Ick is released in April on the Trapped Animal label with pre-orders now effectively making the vinyl version all possible.
‘Do The Jerk’ is an effective jerky saxplosion fitting of the no-wave tag.
Gigs?
March 19 — Rome, ITA — Fanfulla 5/A
April 11 — Clonakilty, IRL — DeBarra’s
April 24 — Manchester — KAMERA Ballroom
April 25 — Leeds — Wharf Chambers
April 27 — London — The Shacklewell Arms
April 28 — Brighton — The Pipeline
April 30 — Newcastle — Star and Shadow Cinema
Martha Dark
Build Them
Martha Dark is a Belfast electronic producer whose latest track is a nu-disco and funk-spinning house tune screaming out for a summer sunshine drop.
Curtisy, Owin
The Instigator
The Dublin rapper will release a new mixtape made in collaboration with producer owin called Get A Life! on March 20th, and ‘The Instigator’ is the fourth single from the release – there’s some new sonics and styles on this new record that shows that Curtisy ain’t repeating himself.
Get A Life! expands the sonic palette of the Jobstown rapper “with tracks often fractured into dual movements, blurring boundaries between swampy hip-hop, drill, soul, and alternative dream-pop.”
Lil Skag features on three tracks along with the recently released ‘Talk of The Town’.
Tomike
Illusion
London-based Irish artist Tomike has featured here before many times with electronic R&B-leaning alt pop music, but recent releases have seen the singer/producer move towards self-penned and produced house music, like this new dark-edged tech house song ‘Illusion’.
Tomike has collaborated in this vein with Obskur, and previously Rory Sweeney, and on her own track ‘By The River’.
Tabitha Smyth, Joe Usher
Circles
A delicate breakup duet from London-based Belfast artist Tabitha Smyth who has form in creating this kind of alt-pop music.
It’s from Smyth’s just-released 45 Minutes EP, dropped before Smyth appears in Mick Flannery’s musical The House Must Win with Tommy Tiernan and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo and a film debut alongside Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer in A24’s The Death Of Robin Hood.
“I wrote Circles while I was in an intimate relationship with someone but felt like we were living in two completely different universes. We had different interests, opinions, and moved in entirely separate circles. The song explores the slow crumbling of that kind of relationship. I got the song to a certain point before realising it was always meant to be a duet – I’m so over the moon with the extra perspective Joe’s vocals bring, it completely transformed the song.”
Merricat
merrow
Dublin alt-rock band Merricat impress with new single ‘Merrow’, a song that has a Just Mustard influence.
The band’s origin is that classic formed in art college story.
Merricat are vocalist and rhythm guitarist Kelly Branagan, Kai Malone on bass, Oisin McGough on lead guitar and Joshua Hayes on the drums.
For more extensive Irish and new music coverage, check into the Irish section for individual track features…
We are prioritising Youtube / Bandcamp embeds where possible.
Other Playlist additions this week:
- Furlong, hikii, Mickzart, Boyler – The Anthem
- Callum Wall – Ballad of a Tin Can
- Def Nettle – Mohawk
- Naked Lungs – GLITTER
- KhakiKid – Favela
- lxverboy, Sophie Moon – stxtic
- Outstraight, Panda Drey, No Venom, Beano, Conkan, Donkobz – ASAHI
- Virgins – reveries
- find-joy – Peptides
- Promise O’nali, Leo Miyagee – Prophecy (part 2)
- SYGH – Angel
- PIRACYISTHEFT – HERBIE
- autumn owls – Deadman’s Bench
- Becky McNeice – Fine
- Cable Boy – Icarus
- Merricat – merrow
- Ciara McNally – Let Me Love You
- POSER – Keep it going
- Monday’s Child – Over Again
- Rita Perry – Tard pel Treball
- Muirġen – Mo Bháidín
- Aby Coulibaly – Love Is Enough
- KNEECAP – Smugglers & Scholars
- Christian Cohle – Levitate
- Crying Loser – Do The Jerk
- Soda Blonde – Suit & Tie
- David Kitt – what i ask – kittser’s version
- The Nose – Gabbo (Clyde’s Water)
- Lil Skag, Sugabooo – Carrick-On-Shannon
- AE MAK – Folk Songs For Mama & Papa
- Bucket – DNB
- Paul Spring, Shanny, The Leon Stax Equation – Love You Better
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
