Road Records Farewell Party (Button Factory, Dublin; Sept 10th)

The recently closed Road Records will soon be holding its farewell party at Dublin's Button Factory. Originally pencilled in for late-August, the show has since been moved to Friday September 10th.

Performing at this late night extravaganza will be the Redneck Manifesto along with Female Hercules, Legion Of Two, Patrick Kelleher and his Cold Dead Hands and Cian Nugent. The show will topped off by a DJ set from the folks at Road Records.
Doors open at 8pm and will run until close. Tickets are €16 and are available from City Discs, Sound Cellar or online from tickets.ie.

Road Records have been an absolutely fantastic bunch of people over the years and if anyone from Dublin deserves a big send off, it's Road.
Dublin will never be the same again, but it is another indication of how the world is turning.

Something for the Weekend: David Byrne "Glass, Concrete & Stone (live)"

Recorded in 2004 on the BBC's Jools Holland show, David Byrne put down a fantastic live version of "Glass, Concrete & Stone". Released earlier that year on his album Grown Backwards, the album delved into moments of symphonic and operatic beauty, while also staying true to some of Byrne's rock yearnings.

Produced with Patrick Dillett, it was Byrne's best received album since Rei Momo at the tail end of the 80's - since Grown Backwards, his output has increased in quality as the pendulum swung back towards the former Talking Heads lead.

That year, "Glass, Concrete & Stone" would also feature in the soundtrack to the Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson schmaltz/romantic comedy, In Good Company and was covered by singer-songwriter, Holly Miranda earlier this year on her EP Choose to See.

Since Grown Backwards, Byrne has knocked out three further albums, including his 2006 effort with Brian Eno, Everything that Happens Will Happen Today and Here Lies Love - his collaboration with Fat Boy Slim that was released in April of this year.

David Byrne "Glass, Concrete & Stone (live on Jools Holland, 2004)"

Review: She Sir "Yens"

Floating the creamy goodness that is dreampop and shoegaze, Texas' She Sir arrive with aural tales steeped in airy percussion, polarised by schizophrenic sounding vocals. In quick succession, the songs on the four-track EP - led by the beautifully quaint "Ginger" - arrive and depart, but a clear dent is left upon its absence.

On occasion folksy tendencies drift into being, but never quite penetrate enough to defer one from sleepy sensations - this really is the equivalent of swimming in mid-air, before arriving at a pool of freshly cleaned be sheets brimming with an elastic smile (which reminds me, I need to wash my bed sheets, they’re filthy. They’re beginning to get a kind of leathery feel about them due to constant use - sleep, not otherwise, sadly. That and there is often excessive fluff and dust trapped in the material which to honest can be somewhat overpowering at the best of times).

Like a night train rolling off into the distance, this is meant to be listened to when summer gradually flees and autumn wanders in unbeknownst. As all turns to dark once again, a brief silence slips inward until a car pulls in. Yens really is quite reminiscent of the silhouette created by the shining headlights as the brightness clothes the perimeter – here cometh the halo.
Everything about this feels like getting wash in light too – the shrouds, the shrouds!!

With a vocal only intro into the EP's final movement, "Boystown" feels like the beginnings of loneliness captured in pure sound. A buzzing background fills out as it gets trapped in its own thoughts, surrounded by people talking amongst themselves, appearing separate and impenetrable.
And then it was done. Short and sweet, almost psychedelic tinged indie, but more sober and reflective than expected. The sound of a solo life, almost barren, yet curiously filled.
Buy Yens here (vinyl) or here (digital).

She Sir MySpace
Rating: 4 out of 5

Something for the Weekend: The Pop Group "She is Beyond Good and Evil"

Of all the band's to ever announce a reunion, the Pop Group are possibly the last name I ever expected to see on a billing any time soon; however a reunion of sorts is what is happening. Four dates - two in Italy and two in London - have been posted and these will be rare opportunities to Mark Stewart and his gaggle of post-punk / abstract jazz / dub / noise merchants in the flesh.

The Pop Group were quite simply one of the finest group's to have emerged from the late-70's punk scene. With humble beginnings in Bristol (England), the five-piece would release two mesmeric albums and three classic singles that were as uncompromising as one could possibly be without resorting to Metal Machine Music-like escapades.
Brimming with contempt for capitalist culture, their début album, Y, did not hold back and in fact their follow-up, Why Do We Tolerate this Mass Murder?, only fuelled their bitter dislike for consumerism - which makes their reforming all the more odd.

The band broke up in 1981, citing infighting amongst the group - Stewart has since worked on many shortlived collaborations and solo projects while other members of the band went on to form other acts, such as Pigbag, Maximum Joy and Rip Rig + Panic with Neneh Cherry in the early 80's.

Stewart mentioned recently that there will be a new Pop Group album out later this year, although there has been no word of a release date as of yet.
The Pop Group will be playing the following dates:

• Locamotiv Club, Bologna, Italy (September 9th)
• Spazio 211 Club, Turin, Italy (September 10th)
• The Garage, London, England September 11th and 12th)

For a slice of pure post-punk genius, "She is Beyond Good and Evil" should keep you all going for the weekend - and get Y; it's a truly fabulous album. Enjoy.

The Pop Group "She is Beyond Good and Evil"

Eoghan MacAoidh (R.I.P)

While not a fan of the Dublin's Liberty Kings as a band, I cannot help but feel for the young band following the news of the death of their guitarist Eoghan MacAoidh late on Wednesday night.

The five-piece rock band were involved in an accident when their camper van was hit by a lorry on the M1 motorway near Leicester - the 24-year-old was killed instantly. The crash also left fellow guitarist Brian Kelly in a critical condition; however the rest of the band escaped the frightening incident with minor injuries.

The band were on their way to Stockport to release their new single "Electric Army" following a show in Kent when the crash happened. This would have been the band's first UK tour.
Regardless of what one thinks of an artist or a band, it is still shocking when their lives are lost at such a young age. Since the accident, I have heard that Brian Kelly has been placed in an artificial coma to help reduce the swelling on his brain and while it may be a long road to recovery, I do hope Kelly sees some improvement very soon.
As for Eoghan MacAoidh, my thoughts are with his family and friends at this very difficult time.

Something for the Weekend: Rubicks "Is This Love?"

With the release of their new single on the horizon, electro-rock band Rubicks are moving steadily forward to the release of their second album, which is apparently coming fairly soon. The London foursome (not in a sssexy way, you understand) have been knocking out some quality material over the years - especially their highly regarded debut, In Miniature. Last year, they also released the stomper-monster "Idiot Time" with follow-up "Giddy Up" coming out in April.

Rubicks will be launching "Is This Love?" at the Playground show in Koko with fellow mashfacers Kap Bambino, Autokratz and Kavinsky. Doors are at 9pm and it's a tenner in the doors. Fun shall be had.
The video for "Is This Love?" was filmed by Flow Bohl and is really quite good - so simple in its application, which is rather lovely.

[Gig] Kap Bambino, Rubicks, etc (Koko, London; Sat Aug 14th)

This Saturday at Koko in London, The Playground will be presenting an absolutely mammoth night of spazmatronic musings headed by Kavinsky, Kap Bambino and Autokratz. To be frankly honest, I've never heard of either Kavinsky or Autokratz - they might be good, they might not. Fuck knows.... or at least I will by 4am Sunday morning.
Having had the pleasure of seeing Kap Bambino twice in the last year, one can assure the dear reader that they are a rather epic example of extreme industrialised-punk induced electronic music, whose trash appeal will most probably leave a large sum of the audience deaf and dead; only to be exhumed at a later date. Surprisingly, I will have neither a shovel nor a spatula on my person, so those that want to be pealed off of the ground may need to find help from elsewhere.

Anyhoo, Rubicks will also be utilising the night to release their brand new single "Is This Love?" The London four-piece shall be knocking out a set of razor sharp electro-rock spells in an attempt to kill us with their musical sexibility.
The band, whose second album will also be out soon, are painfully god - so much so, that every listen is like a joyous punch in the face with solid gold knuckleduster, potentially leaving the recipient with severe facial damage and broken teeth.

I have no idea if any tickets are left, because quite frankly I got mine ages ago and as such haven't had to check back. As well as that, I never bothered to ask as there are better things to be doing right now - such as caressing my glorious new blue teapot and killing the ants that are building a village in my washing machine. Now that's disgusting, but not as disgusting as someone that pisses all over the toilet seat - really... why do people do things like that?
Should there be any tickets left, they are about a tenner a drop and doors open at 9pm, with the show finishing at 4 or 5am - really don't remember which and I'll be in no state to know what time it is on Sunday morning, although the bike ride home will be a barrel of laughs - probably.
Buy tickets now now now!!

Kap Bambino MySpace
Rubicks MySpace
Autokratz MySpace
Kavinsky MySpace

No More Dancing at the Ballroom

Regulars of the Dublin live music scene will be in for a bit of a downer next month as the Ballroom of Romance plays out for the final time.
The club, held religiously in the Lower Deck (bar the odd occasions where God was forsaken), will be holding its 100th event across two shows on September 17th and 18th after over eight years of constant gigology. Bringing the Ballroom to a close will be Electric Eel Shock, Legion of Two, The Dudley Corporation and a whole bunch of others.

The Ballroom of Romance began in June 2002 and have offered not just shows, but also a whole heap of support to artists (Irish or otherwise) over the years and Easy Music... bows down to their grateful greatness. Having played the Ballroom once some years ago (think it might have been #62), I got to see first hand how Allan Blighe and the co dearly loved the shows they organised - it was something that really came across when considering the effort and care they put into all of these events.

Some club nights come and go, but rarely lay a dent in the surface of a city's culture. The Ballroom of Romance was one of those rare things that carved out a great personality in Dublin's often insipid live music scene.
There will be more details posted as they come in.

------
Ballroom #100 Part I
Electric Eel Shock, Bob Slayer
with
The Dudley Corporation and Hounds
9pm, 17th September, The Lower Deck

Ballroom #100 Part II - The final ever Ballroom night
Legion of Two, Dinah Brand and Glimmermen
8:30pm, 18th September, The Lower Deck

Something for the Weekend: Kap Bambino "Dead Lazers"

There are those that are often too lazy to do any research that will happily slate the likes of Kap Bambino, DAT Politics, Sexy Sushi and Dandi Wind (etc...) for throwing together copy and paste versions of Crystal Castles, but the truth is rarely so simple. Like genres everywhere, it is too easy to point out some generic artist and assume that all within its meagre artistic walls suffer their influence and sadly Kap Bambino (and the rest) have found their reputations tarred inadvertently.

Fear not, it did not stop them from releasing the rather excellent Blacklist last year on Because Music and while the album will not win prizes for glittering song writing or deep lyrical meaning, it does win for being a bomb-like gem of an album. The sheer fact that it is an absolutely mental piece of dark electronica. gives it my own personal kudos.
With its industrial manifestations laid bare, the French duo - consisting of Caroline Martial and Orion Bouvier - tear through the listener with several blunt metal objects, all covered in evidence deflecting leather. They make, get off their tits and are nice about it - exactly what I need on a Friday morning.

Kap Bambino play some of the finest and most energetic live shows that I have ever seen and will be returning to the London shores next Saturday for a show at Koko. I have no idea if there are any tickets left, but I really don't care as I already have mine.
Here's "Dead Lazers" to cement the feeling of obscure mentaldome. Does it work? Yes. Is it just really harsh Euro-techno? Yes. Was the video filmed around the corner from me? Damn straight. Am I in it? No.

(August 2010) Easy Music for Difficult Ears Spotify Playlist

...and then suddenly it was August. The evening creep in ever closer clawing away the daylight and all the time, I'll sit in my bedroom, staring out the window soaking it all in; wallowing in the sober presence of an approaching autumn shadow.

August 2010

1. XTC "Science Fiction" (Fossil Fuel:The XTC Singles Collection 1977-1992, 2009 Virgin Records) Buy it here
   
2. Beat Happening "Gravedigging Blues" (Black Candy, 1989 Rough Trade) Buy it here
3. Mars "3E" (N.Y. No Wave, 2003 ZE Records) Buy it here
4. Tom Ze "Toc" (Brazil Classics 4: The Best of Tom Ze, 2007 Luaka Bop) Buy it here
5. Ocote Soul Sounds "La Reja" (La Reja, 2008 ESL Music Ltd.) Buy it here
6. U2 "Endless Deep" (War Re-Mastered, 1983 & 2008 Universal-Island Records) Buy it here
7. The Specials "Ghost Town (Extended Version)" (The Very Best of the Specials, 2008 EMI Records Ltd.) Buy it here
8. Tom Waits "Black Box Theme" (The Black Rider, 1993 The Island Def Jam Music Group) Buy it here
9. Green Day "Last Ride In" (Nimrod, 1997 Reprise Records) Buy it here
10. New Tango Orquesta "Time Lapse Variation" (Vesper, 2009 Hoob Records) Buy it here
11. Kronos Quartet "Wa Habibi" (Floodplain, 2009 Nonesuch Records) Buy it here
12. Trost "Filled with Tears" (Trust Me, 2006 Four Music Productions) Buy it here
13. Dock Boggs "Country Blues" (Sugar Baby, 2008 One Media Publishing) Buy it here

July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010