New releases out today: The Murder Capital, Youth Lagoon, Sam Fender, Maruja, Decal, Chalk, Slightly Dishevelled and more
Here’s a rundown of new Albums & EPs on DSPs and physical releases in record shops this week.
Nialler9 keeps a rolling list of Irish album releases for 2025.
New Albums and EPs:
New Albums
The Murder Capital – Blindness
The third album from Dublin alternative indie rock band The Murder Capital finds the band moving towards more jagged rock sounds. It was recorded over three weeks in the studio in Los Angeles with John Congleton. It’s got an immediate visceral quality to it borne out of the record’s “let’s not overthink or labour over the production”, which adds a fresh live session feel to the album.
The band’s singer James McGovern says of the record:
“There’s what’s in front of us, in our immediate field of vision. There are the things we can touch, the love we can feel. Then there’s everything else. Blindness is the warped belief. The behind us. The secluded. Love at a distance. Faith in denial. Distorted patriotism. The fading face of moments in the rear view. Blindness brings it all into focus.”
Youth Lagoon – Rarely Do I Dream
What started with the release of the single ‘Football’ this time last year comes to fruition with a new album from Idaho-based songwriter and producer Trevor Powers, in relatively quick succession after his 2023 return Heaven Is A Junkyard.
Powers has perennially succeeded as intimate songwriter, and his latest work shrouds that intimacy in a more fervent sonic noise, and recordings taken from audio of old family home movies he found in a shoebox.
Sam Fender – People Watching
The North Shields singer-songwriter and guitarist’s music continues to imbue his songs with the spectres of 80s soft rock – Springsteen, Petty and Dire Straits.
I was going to say it sounds like the The War On Drugs but it turns out Adam Granduciel from that band is the literal co-producer of the record, and you can really hear it on the title and opening track.
Slightly Dishevelled – Dirty Dishes and the West Wing
The Dublin noise five-piece band’s debut record features 14 tracks of spiky rock music with nods to Irish tradition through its “how ya getting on?” a capella choir intro and a rendition of ‘Waxie Dargle’ as popularised by The Pogues.
The band released the 15-second sound of a siren called ‘Nenagh Nenagh’ as the album’s third “single” this week. Much of the rock’n’roll here reminds me of the late ’90s Detroit garage rock variety – The Von Bondies and The Detroit Cobras.
Dirty Dishes and The West Wing was recorded on Achill Island in 2023, and it’s giving – you need to see these songs live in a sweat-soaked grimey venue.
Ider – Late To The World
English duo’s third full-length album finds the melodic indie pop project in full swing.
Leaning on the idea of “powerful minimalism”, the album is both a grander scale and restrained, echoing the key characteristics of a lot of ’80s pop music – billowy synths, strong vocals, galloping pristine drums (live on record for the first time for Ider) and gliding production.
There are also nods to new wave, electro-pop and Mazzy Star-style alt-rock.
NAO – Jupiter
The unique sugar soul voice of NAO anchors a concept album, the artist’s fourth, exploring themes of growth, abundance, and profound self-discovery.
NAO’s angelic and warm voice has always been the main draw, it’s so singular that it elevates any song, but luckily a NAO record is never monochromatic, but I would love more of the clubby pop bangers of her early work myself.
Maruja – Tir na nÓg EP
Manchester band Maruja cross the wires of post-punk and psych jazz with inspirations and artwork drawn from one of the members – saxophonist Joe Carroll’s Irish roots whose dad is Irish (all the artwork are photos taken by Joe’s great grandfather and grandfather).
So this EP underlines the improvisational aspect of their work coming across like Godspeed You! Black Emperor in free jazz mode.
Of the title, Joe says: “the ancient stories about Tír na nÓg teach us wisdom and lessons still valuable today about love, health, connection and respect. The notion that the tangible world is not the be all and end all is also something we explore sonically when we improvise together, it’s here where we allow ourselves to become vessels to new ideas that present themselves without thought. The name is also a carry on conceptually from our previous EPs ‘Knocknarea’ and ‘Connla’s Well’ where artists would drink from the waters of Connla’s Well to gain the knowledge and wisdom of Tír na nÓg.”
Baths – Gut
LA artist Will Wiesenfeld’s electronic project continues with his first album in seven years.
Guts displays a melding of electronic textures and softer rock dynamics, with Will Wiesenfeld’s soaring eccentric vocal lines to the fore.
Martin Luke Brown – man oh man !
Known to some as a member of the supergroup FIZZ along with the likes of Orla Gartland and Dodie.
Back on his solo work, focus track ‘back2ya’ addresses that band’s time together- “It was a bonkers turbulent time; high highs, low lows. I wanted to acknowledge the significance of it for all of us, and to embrace this new chapter. It’s really a celebration of returning to being just friends as opposed to friends, colleagues, therapists and everything else we became during that time”.
Elsewhere, ‘hello !’ is an understated psych pop song that has echoes of Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Mac Demarco with cosmic jazz undertones.
Decal – The Echoes Are Decoys
A brand new album from Irish electro stalwart Alan O’Boyle, who has been making music as Decal (previously alongside Dennis McNulty as a duo) for nearly 20 years.
The Echoes Are Decoys is a 13-track release on Frontend Synthetics, itself an Irish dance institution at this point.
Ultimately showcasing a barrage of classic Decal tropes from Freekin Failures, blissful and banging, to the slow, moody and gothic church organ style of A Very Simple Cure, The Echoes Are Decoys ranges everywhere from softly distorted melodic electro like the Kraftwerkian Coast II, to synth-pop such as the catchy anthemic riffs of In The Absence Of Sense, through the Detroit-esque rousing techno of Kill This Space.
Standouts for me on a brief listen are ‘All Night’ And ‘Slowly Melting Away’.
Chalk – Conditions III EP
The final EP in a trilogy of releases from the Belfast noise-punk band. It was produced by Chris Ryan, is released on Nice Swan Records and features recent single and video ‘Afraid’ along with three others.
Plenty of EU, UK and Irish tour dates incoming.
Buí – 24
Buí are a Belfast indie music project featuring Josh Healy and friends which released an album of songs recorded last year. There are gig coming up in Pharmacia, Limerick on March 29th and The Duncairn, Belfast on April 17th.
d*mp – SURPLUS TO REQUIREMENTS
A grab bag of extra beat productions in the form of a beat mixtape from Irish producer Ryan Dwyer.
Also released today
- Basia Bulat – Basia’s Palace
- Merzbow – Nine Studies of Ephemeral Resonance Volume 5/6
- Mild Minds – Gemini
- Paris Texas – They Left Me With The Sword
- Porridge Radio – The Machine Starts To Sing EP
- Q Lazzarus – Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives Of Q Lazzarus
- Tim Hecker – Shards
