Review: Live by Design // Ivy Nations

Drawing inspiration from the likes of Radiohead, Foals and Depeche Mode, Dublin four-piece Ivy Nations have unleashed their brand of shoegaze-inspired indie rock with the launch of their latest single ‘Live By Design’. Only their third release, the band have worked with producer Phil Magee (Kodaline, The Script) and received international airplay as far away as Australia. Despite having already struck a winning formula, ‘Live By Design’ sees the quartet venture into gloomier territory, riding a dark wave of moody indie.

Ivy Nations are a tight outfit who create a big sound, complete with soaring riffs, controlled yet powerful vocals and seismic basslines that would give The Cure a run for their money. ‘Live By Design’ gradually picks up tempo just as the listener is getting comfortable, breaking into the towering chorus “to escape the thoughts of someone else”. The visual accompaniment to the track is an eerie, dystopian video courtesy of Blacktooth Films, in which one human attempts to break the “design” we live by.

Catch the lads live on their upcoming Irish dates this summer, including three hometown gigs as well as Barn Dance Festival in Wicklow, Sea Sessions in Donegal and Indiependence in Cork.

Comments

Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt - John Frusciante

Dedicated to Clara Balzary, bandmate Flea's daughter (Source: wikipedia.org) "My smile is a rifle, won't you give it a try?" The first time I listened to Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt was in the back of my family’s campervan parked in Calais after we’d just been robbed. I hadn’t listened to it – or any of Frusciante’s narcotic haze of nineties releases – since, preferring his more polished offerings of To Record Only Water for Ten Days and Shadows Collide With People , until my sister bought me a copy of Niandra Lades for my birthday. My main memories of the album were Frusciante’s wails making me jump as I tried to drift off with my headphones in. So, safe to say, I was a little apprehensive upon receiving this gift. Although released in 1994, the first half of the album – Niandra Lades – was recorded prior to Frusciante’s departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers during the recording of Blood Sugar Sex Magik at the allegedly haunted ...

Live Review: Martha Wainwright @ Redeemer Central, Belfast

This review originally appeared in the now-defunct GiggingNI in 2017. Source: GiggingNI Hailing from a large family of musicians, French-Canadian songstress Martha Wainwright is something of a stand-out talent in the world of folk rock. Her main connection to the NI music scene is her duet ‘Set Fire to the Third Bar’ with Snow Patrol back in 2006. Her gig for Open House fest tonight marks her return to Belfast, having last played the Grand Opera House in the city in 2008. It also forms part of the promotional tour for her latest album, Goodnight City . Playing to a sold out crowd at listed church building Redeemer Central on Donegall Street, fans congregate from early in the evening under the soft pink fairy lights and paper lanterns which adorn the nave. Casually taking to the makeshift ‘stage’ facing a small sea of wooden chairs, Toronto’s Bernice begin their set with little introduction. Spidery vocals courtesy of frontwoman Robin Dann characterise the band, h...

Hidden Gems: We Are Family - Sister Sledge

This article originally featured on the now-defunct altmusicbox in 2015. Anthems like ‘We Are Family’ are usually synonymous with drunk uncles at family reunions and novelty songwriting as opposed to true musical hidden gems. It’s misconceptions such as this that have plagued Sister Sledge’s 1979 album in the eyes of the music-buying public and left the sisters’ 12” singles resigned to the graveyard of charity shop vinyl crates. And what an absolute shame! A perfectly crafted blend of disco, funk and R&B, commercially viable for pop radio yet with a nod to classic soul, Chic-produced We Are Family is an album that has gone on to be a central influence on the dance and even hip-hop scenes for decades after its release. Formed around the talent of four actual sisters – Debbie, Joni, Kathy and Kim Sledge – We Are Family was the group’s breakthrough record, spawning four hit singles thanks to the sprinkling of magical production courtesy of Chic masterminds and godfathers o...

Kristen Sinclair

Search This Blog