Faces Of 2010
Faces of 2010 Mixtape
We spent all last week telling you our top fresh Irish bands and artists to watch out for. This week it’s the show part of the “show and tell” where you get to hear all 20 bands for yourselves.
Our Faces of 2010 mixtape will get you acquainted with the best new Irish talent out…
Faces of 2010 – Bitches With Wolves
The end of the week and we reach our final Irish band to watch in 2010. Come back next week for our downloadable compilation of the acts that we’ve featured but in the meantime we’ll leave you with these words – “I’ll start a riot once I’ve fixed my lipstick”. Meaningless nonsense perhaps, but in…
Faces of 2010 – Yes Cadets
Northern Irish music guru Rigsy has deemed Yes Cadets to be the most exciting new band in the country and, to be honest, we wouldn’t argue with him when it comes to matters North of the border.
Formed in Belfast in 2008, having bonded over a mutual love of all things Canadian, independent and musical,…
Faces of 2010 – John, Shelly and the Creatures
You may not realise it, but you’ve probably heard John, Shelly and the Creatures already; their song ‘Long May You Reign’ is featured in the current Discover Northern Ireland ad campaign. That tune is indicative of the knack they possess for writing instantly loveable music – a knack that has earned them widespread critical praise…
Faces of 2010 – Twinkranes
State meets Anto and Ray from Twinkranes in the library bar of Dublin’s Central Hotel. It’s an old-fashioned, carpety sort of place, full of high-backed chairs, table lamps, and bookcases. It somehow doesn’t feel like the most appropriate place to meet members of a band who describe themselves as a ‘psychedelic power trio specialising in…
Faces of 2010 – Vengeance And The Panther Queen
The sound of Britney singing the Misfits, the Birthday Party covering the Carpenters or Bad Brains playing Madonna songs remixed by Daft Punk. That, according to Vengeance and the Panther Queen, is what Vengeance and the Panther Queen sound like. Fronted by the provocative figure of Tara McCormack and featuring various members of Republic of…
Faces of 2010 – Nakatomi Towers
Their roots may lie in indie rock but it was a mutual love for house and electroclash that convinced Dave Frecknall and Julianne Shawe to form Nakatomi Towers. Taking the best of both worlds, they create music that’s pop-savvy and infectiously danceable. It’s these qualities that have landed them support slots for the likes of…
Faces of 2010 – I Am The Cosmos
I Am The Cosmos is unique amongst our Faces of 2010 in that he has yet to make his live debut. Locked away in his home studio, the Dublin-based artist has spent the last year assembling a growing collection of wonderfully dreamy electronic soundscapes and posting them to his MySpace profile. From this lone outlet…
Faces of 2010 – Patrick Kelleher
The term ‘electro-folk’ is a contradiction in itself and has been applied all-to-readily to any act with the temerity to mix acoustic guitars and synthesizers. Patrick Kelleher is one such artist who has been placed in this category by some but, to be honest, that’s an insult to him; his speciality lies in delivering deceptively…
Faces of 2010 – Catscars
This is the sort of music not conceived in the recording studio but in the laboratory of some evil, demented scientist. Inspired by John Carpenter, Vangelis and a healthy dose of 80′s New Wave, Robyn Bromfield – alias Catscars – has spent the past year nurturing a sound full of cinematic tension and with a…
Faces of 2010 – 8Ball
It may seem strange to feature a band who have been around for six years as a name for the future but for 8Ball, 2010 feels very much like a fresh start. Having built up an admirable head of steam prior to the release of their debut album in 2006, matters rather fell apart thanks…
Faces of 2010 – We Cut Corners
Our very own Alan O’Reilly was suitably impressed when he caught We Cut Corners supporting Joan as Policewoman last October. ‘These guys are definitely ones to watch,’ he said at the time and now we’re making that statement official. Being a guitar/drums duo has inevitably lead to comparisons with the White Stripes, which may seem…
Faces Of 2010 – O Emperor
“Why can’t all bands be this instantly lovable?”, wondered our own Johnnie Craig when he came across Waterford’s O Emperor at last October’s Hard Working Class Heroes festival. The band certainly stood out then and still do. Their dreamy sound owes much to the music of America both past and present, joining the dots between…
Funeral Suits
When Funeral Suits take their place on the NME Shockwaves tour Dublin show next month it’ll be confirmation that the Dublin / Limerick trio have moved on apace in the short time since the release of their Eye Spy… EP in May. Keeping the new material coming ever since without a drop in quality, their
