Kristen Sinclair

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...

The dark upstairs room of an old sports bar in Belfast is an unassuming venue for a revolution. Against a backdrop of silver streamers and placards from the pro-choice rally that has just taken place, a small crowd gathers as Sister Ghost blast out a rendition of Nirvana’s ‘Love Buzz’. Vocalist Shannon Delores O’Neill sings in impassioned yelps, continually falling to her knees, eyes closed, and dropping the microphone at the end of the song. Nirvana played the track at the first ever Rock for Choice benefit in Hollywood, California, in 1991. Sister Ghost are performing it at a fundraiser for the same cause. One of many placards in the Ulster Sports Club Amid the threat posed by Brexit, civil rights struggles and a paramilitary resurgence, the political situation in Northern Ireland remains fragile. The country is gasping in a political vacuum without a functioning government since 2017, after disagreements between the two main parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and ...

This review originally appeared in the now-defunct GiggingNI in 2018. Launching his new EP all round the light said :, County Down troubadour Joshua Burnside returns for his second headline gig at The Empire, Belfast. Joined by local veterans Lambing Season and the newly-signed Brash Isaac , Burnside proves unrivalled in his craft and cements himself as a champion of the NI music scene. An ample crowd is already gathered before the first act even take to the stage, in what might be south Belfast’s only properly air-conditioned venue (and in 22°C+ heat, there’s only so much a cold beer can do). Lambing Season , an experimental folk group, are back for their first gig in years. Squeezed onto The Empire’s tiny stage, the seven-piece create brass-heavy, folk-infused soft rock vaguely reminiscent of Arcade Fire. The band is fronted by multi-instrumentalist Gerry McCrudden who gives direction to his bandmates’ atmospheric harmonies and very talented trumpet playing. It’s easy...

This review originally appeared in the now-defunct GiggingNI in 2017. Now in its seventh year, Limavady’s Stendhal Festival returned to Ballymully Cottage Farm this weekend for two days of music, art, poetry, theatre and comedy. The event takes its name from the syndrome first described by French author Marie-Henri Beyle in 1817 – the experience of being exposed to “an experience of great personal significance, particularly viewing art”. Stendhal Festival, like its namesake, encapsulates the full spectrum of creativity experienced by humans, and boasts a line-up of too many incredible acts to be enjoyed in a mere 48 hours. As Ireland’s best small festival, our finest local talent – coupled with some UK acts and those from further afield – flocked to the County Derry countryside for what was to be Stendhal’s busiest year yet.  As campers make their way to pitch (read: wrestle) their tents, the dreamy, 80s-infused pop rock of Beauty Sleep fills Ballymully whilst festiv...