Kristen Sinclair

In Waiting (Source: Pillow Queens' Bandcamp) ‘Highly anticipated’ is a cliché attached to many debut albums, but after four years of EP releases and relentless touring, In Waiting from Dublin’s Pillow Queens has lived up to its title. Brooding melodies, fuzzy guitar and hazy harmonies meet anthemic choruses in this cathartic exploration of being young in modern Ireland. Recorded in rural Donegal, the LP sees Pillow Queens grapple with spirituality and religion, family, politics and the crises of late-stage capitalism. Touching on everything from queer identity to life and gentrification in the Irish capital, impassioned vocals channel the anger of punk into rousing indie rock. In a country where almost half of people aged 25 to 29 still live at home with their parents, this frustration is tangible. ‘Handsome Wife’, a single from 2019, is a rejection of the nine-to-five, marriage and kids, white picket fence lifestyle that still feels expected even in today’s society. Riff-d

“I’m going get my piano tuned now, I’m very excited!” chirps Amy Montgomery as we wrap up our call. The 20-year-old singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is just over a week away from the release of her debut EP following two new music videos, a string of singles and touring as far away as Australia. The culmination of four years’ work, Intangible is twenty-one minutes of powerful alt rock with squalls of guitar feedback lifted by bright, fluttering synths and vocal prowess akin to Janis Joplin, Alanis Morissette and even Miley Cyrus. Raised on classic rock, Amy’s sound gives a subtle nod to the music that nourished her, but she manages to rise above her influences. “I’ve been surrounded by music since I was born and in my house growing up. My dad is a big muso, he loves all sorts of rock music and I would hear AC/DC from no age. I picked up the guitar after my dad inspired me to; he plays the guitar as well and taught me my first few chords. I have this memory from when I was

When Joshua Burnside was about six he planned to run away from home, escaping through his ground floor bedroom window. Finding out about this plan, his older sister warned that if he jumped out the window, he’d go straight through the ground and into the depths of Hell to meet the Devil himself. That, of course, never happened. But still, the formative memory gives Into the Depths of Hell its title.   A follow-up to 2017’s NI Music Prize-winning Ephrata , the album draws on its predecessor’s mélange of Americana, Irish folk and Cumbia rhythms, but with a decidedly darker edge. Never one to shy away from life’s big questions, his lyrical content tackles head-on the issues of self-medication, anxiety and humankind’s destruction of our planet. An apocalyptic chorus of voices and sound effects opens the album and is littered throughout. This cacophony of distortion, thuds and clattering adds to the general feeling of malaise. Vocals oscillate between whispered and bellowed, giving way

Peter J. McCauley, image courtesy of Chordblossom Peter J. McCauley has spent much of lockdown watching RuPaul’s Drag Race with his wife. Aside from working on his latest LP Amnesty , the singer and multi-instrumentalist has already caught up to season 11. “I like to live in an alternate reality where my opinion on drag artistry matters,” he laughs. It’s a rare period of rest for the Belfast native who is more often found on the road, once touring these islands in a Transit van behind the drum kit for Mojo Fury, and more recently at festivals across the world as Rams’ Pocket Radio. Under his former alias, McCauley released a string of EPs and singles and a concept album, B é ton , in 2013. Four years ago, he decided to record under his own name and delivered Liminals , his first EP as Peter J. McCauley. Following a long stint on the road and recording documental album Voices of Belfast , two years of work has lead up to in the release of his first full length unrestrained by his form

Lisasinson by Victoria Herranz Spanish garage rock is almost entirely synonymous with Hinds , the rambunctious, all-female band who took Madrid’s sounds to international ears in 2016 with their jangly debut Leave Me Alone . Formed in 2011 by Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote, the frontwomen joined forces with bassist Ade Martín and drummer Amber Grimbergen to become Spain’s most internationally successful indie export, sparking an interest in the Spanish capital’s thriving underground scene. For a country raised on the tontipop of Las Ketchup , Eurodisco acts like Baccara and hallmarks of tradition like Julio Iglesias , a new generation of bands were emerging who had always had to look abroad for the ramshackle rock ‘n’ roll sounds that their own country wasn’t making. As the now well-documented Madrid scene came to light, it became clear that not since the countercultural Movida Madrileña movement in the 70s and 80s following Franco’s dictatorship had the city’s scene been so vi

‘The Fight Is Not Over’ reads the slogan emblazoned across the jackets of Strange New Places onstage at the Ulster Hall at the end of their electrifying set at the NI Music Prize in November. “As much as the small victories are meaningful and worth celebrating, our work is not done. While injustice persists, we won’t shut up,” lead vocalist Ashley Jones tells the packed-out venue and live radio broadcast over Northern Ireland, “Until a sea-change in our society affords us autonomy rather than oppression, we will not be satisfied. We aren’t there yet, which is why we’re still here. The fight is not over. Join us in it.” Whilst activists in Northern Ireland had fought for years to finally achieve the equal marriage and abortion rights that the rest of the UK and Ireland enjoys, Strange New Places’ message was clear: now is not the time to stop fighting – we have not reached the end goal. Over six months later, the quote adorns the back of a new vinyl compilation The Fight Is

Dua does Disco (Source: sharinapro.com) When we think of disco, we think Sister Sledge, the Village People and Michael Jackson, groovy basslines and shimmering synths – a call to dance with no regard for tomorrow, in the words of Martha Reeves. Its heyday may seem confined to the faded neon-emblazoned LPs of the late 70s and early 80s, but the enduring influence and appeal of this genre resurges every decade, be it through innovative sampling or retro-tinged production. Dua Lipa’s latest release Future Nostalgia is an essay in majestic disco pop and is spearheading its most recent revival; similarly, The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ resounds with polished 80s disco glamour. A decade ago, Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox and Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories gave a nod to the classic disco sound with a modern twist (and the latter with Nile Rodgers’ Midas touch). Back at the turn of the millennium, Kylie Minogue dabbled in nu disco on Fever , whilst the crate-digging DJs of t