Kristen Sinclair

Bandcamp Strength NIA’s second full length release opens with disembodied vocals over the ominous stuttering chords of an organ. Formed around the talents of frontman Rory Moore, the band’s USP is using old, broken instruments to create a discordant brand of post-apocalyptic pop with the occasional chorus peeking up from beneath the rubble. The band like to think of their work as “the first pop songs in the world”. Following on from their debut Northern Ireland Yes in 2018, Ulster is a Dance Master abounds with regional references and is a smorgasbord of instruments and sounds. The whole album clocks in at well under an hour and its lyrics recount eerie tales from Irish history to a more recent a youth spent in Derry. Song topics include everything from gravy buns to the population of Strabane. The comically titled ‘Dressing Up for the TUV’ is an ode to the women found guilty in the last witch trial in Ireland in 1711. Moore speaks as the TUV councillor objecting to their memoria...

folking.com Dani Larkin’s debut record Notes for a Maiden Warrior is an album in two halves. The first, based around the theme of the Warrior, represents the dark side of the moon. It explores the archetype of Ulster as the warrior province, home to Cú Chulainn and his superhuman abilities. Larkin reinterprets this image in her songs, presenting the warrior’s strength through reflection and resilience. The second half, Maiden, is sleepy and sincere. It plays with ideas of light and feminine energy, showing strength through vulnerability and a celebration of love and kindness. Notes for a Maiden Warrior draws on ancient, otherworldly tales as a study of tenderness, pain and learning. Larkin’s native Armagh-Monaghan borderlands inform the sense of duality of the record, with one foot planted in each. Similarly, the ancient Irish concepts of the underworld and the supernatural underpin the LP, with the lines between the tangible and the mystical blurring with uncanny ease.   The...

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...

This review originally appeared in the now-defunct altmusicbox in 2016. Source: wikipedia.org It’s no secret that women have provided many of 2016’s most exciting releases so far, and Los Angeles indie rockers Warpaint are only adding to – if not topping – that list, with their latest studio LP Heads Up . The album is the band’s third release following its members working on solo projects or collaborating with other artists, including Hot Chip and Kurt Vile. Listening to Heads Up from start to finish, the quartet’s new ethos of simplicity is beautifully apparent: “[When we] agree that we’re stoked about [a new song], we’re done. That’s a lesson we’ve learned—not to overanalyse,” vocalist and guitarist Emily Kokal told NME .  Mixing of the LA ladies’ latest studio offering began as early as January this year, and they’ve never sounded fresher, or, dare it be said, cooler. As a band known for sharing singing and instrumental duties, the wonderful mélange of summery keyb...

This review originally appeared in the now-defunct altmusicbox in 2016. Source: Stereogum I hesitate to use the term ‘girl band’ when talking about Spanish four piece Hinds (FKA Deers). You’d never hear an all-male band referred to as such, and whilst these four madrileñas are shaking up the gender politics of the garage rock scene, the fact that they are women does not override but in fact brings a unique new dynamic to their summery, ramshackle indie pop. “It’s so difficult because there are so few women in rock that people see you as a woman first, not in garage or pop or any genre… We’re gonna disappoint you as perfect women. In rock, no one is perfect,” vocalist Ana Perrote told i-D of the band’s experiences. The foursome’s hotly anticipated debut ‘Leave Me Alone’ is characterised by a jangly, upbeat sound complete with fuzzy surf pop riffs, chugging drums and delightfully dazed vocals. Formed in the Spanish capital in 2011, Perrote, Charlotta Cosials, Ade Martin an...

This review originally appeared in the now-defunct altmusicbox in 2016. Source: Bandcamp By nature, so-called ‘skate music’ is difficult to define. Hard-edged punk rock may spring to mind, but a scroll through any YouTube comment section or online forum on the subject will prove the contrary. For such a niche subculture, which many associate with the likes of Sum 41, Blink-182 or The Offspring who spawned the high-tempo skate punk genre in the 1990s, modern skateboarders have branched out. So it begs the question, what do skaters really listen to? Jenkem, a specialist magazine dedicated to all things skateboarding, has compiled a collection of nineteen tracks handpicked from its readers’ suggestions in an attempt to answer exactly that. Spanning an array of styles from indie rock and electronic to instrumental hip-hop, created by artists from across the globe, Beginnings is music for skateboarders, by skateboarders. Produced by founder Ian Michna and his brother Adrian...