Given that Marnie Stern has been rather candid in recent interviews about how the suicide of an ex-boyfriend spurred on ‘For Ash’, the first track from her eponymous third full-length, we should not be surprised that Stern has not opted for an overtly morose opening soundscape. Instead, we are treated to trademark Stern stop-start shredding,…

On first listen to Our Inventions, you may feel that motherhood in the intervening years since last album Faking The Books… (2004) has caused Valerie Trebeljahr to quieten down somewhat. But, hold on’¦. this is a Lali Puna release – amps aren’t ever going to go to 11 around here; in fact, you probably

With the exception of perhaps Rob Crow, Spencer Krug is almost a shoe-in for the inaugural Pitchfork-backed -Mr Prolific Indie Rock of the Decade’; while the perceived day job he holds down may well be as co-frontman of Wolf Parade, the busy Canuck also finds time for Frog Eyes, Swan Lake, and not least, Sunset…

Coming after their recent jaunt in sunny France recording album #4, Dublin instrumental marvels The Redneck Manifesto have pencilled in Saturday, August 29, for their first live outing of 2009 with a headling hoedown at Whelan’s. Expect to hear Redneck’s “hits” along with material from the eagerly-awaited follow-up to 2005′s I Am Brazil….
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While we would generally be aghast at the idea of indulging in sweeping geographic stereotypes, Phoenix‘s fourth album could possibly only come from a French band; drenched in Gallic chic, it mixes punchy guitar pop tunes with smatterings of French Touch, and, while frontman Thomas Mars’ distinctive vocal can sometimes veer towards the laissez-faire, the…

The usually collegiate-infused surroundings of Castletroy in Limerick will right about now be settling into a quiet, student-free, summer. Not so, it seems, with the announcement of a weekend Noise Festival taking place in one of the suburb’s estates.
Perhaps taking their cue from the well-respected Hideaway Housein Dublin, Northern Ireland promoters Chain Reaction host…

For an outfit who probably got their name after a disgruntled trip to their local car garage, it’s not startling that there is an almost mechanical sound to Parts & Labor’s fourth album Receivers…. From the bagpipe-esque opening keyboard strains of -Satellites’, manipulation of equipment and sound is the name of the game as

Bizarrely for a man who spits out vehemently bastardised pop tunes at an incredibly fertile rate, there seems to be something genuine about Jay Lindsey, or at the very least, his alter-ego Jay Reatard. He may manage to funnel oomph from decades of rock music, mashing Eddie Cochran, The Stones, Ramones, Richman and Dino Jr…

It is somewhat apt that Vampire Weekend have just got their daily nutrition dose at a Turkish restaurant in Hamburg. Defying the conventions of their Columbia University education, they nosh down on some tasty kebabs, as opposed to munching preppy salads.