Stevie Nicks in Dublin review: The singer is not ready to hand over her mantle to Taylor Swift or anyone else The bona fide legend gives fans at the 3Arena moments they will never forgetThu Jul 04 2024 - 11:20
Cigarettes After Sex: X’s - One-note approach lends itself to meditative pleasuresWhen the Texas band’s glutinous brand of indie rock hits at the right moment, there is plenty to enjoyThu Jul 04 2024 - 05:00
Exmagician: Sit Tight – One of the most satisfying and intricately crafted albums you’ll hear in 2024The Belfast duo, who were in the brilliant but now defunct Cashier No 9, craft oddball pop songs packed with ideasThu Jun 27 2024 - 05:00
Kate Nash: 9 Sad Symphonies – Swoonsome strings, emotionally cathartic lyricsBeautiful arrangements are in abundance here, although many of Nash’s lyrics sound like the aural equivalent of an exposed nerveThu Jun 20 2024 - 05:00
Babel composer Roger Doyle: ‘Part of me is still the cigarette-smoking, sleeping-till-1pm teenager’The ‘godfather of Irish electronica’ has reissued his magnum opus for its 25th anniversary. It’s a highlight of a career seeded when he asked his parents for a pianoWed Jun 19 2024 - 05:15
Mark Everett of Eels: ‘They tell you what per cent of patients die during the surgery. You just try to dwell on the percentage who don’t’Everett wants to clarify a few things, most notably that Eels Time! was not directly influenced by his health scareMon Jun 10 2024 - 05:15
Beyond the Pale headliners Jungle: ‘Spotify are ripping us off – same with Apple Music, same with Amazon’After years of flying under the radar, the British soul-funk-electro-dance collective are riding on a wave of international successSat Jun 08 2024 - 05:30
Charli XCX: Brat review – Banging tunes sandwiched between snarl and snarkAmid so much sanitised pop, Charlotte Aitchison’s innovation has never been so essentialFri Jun 07 2024 - 09:15
James Vincent McMorrow: Wide Open, Horses – Ripping up the rulebook for another great musical experimentThe Dubliner’s seventh studio album explores the ‘flaws’ and ‘special moments’ of the recording processThu Jun 06 2024 - 05:30
Young Offenders star Chris Walley: ‘What is it about Cork? I dunno. That’s a dangerous question to ask a Cork person’The Young Offenders star’s busy schedule continues with the Abbey Theatre production of Elizabeth Kuti’s The Sugar WifeSun Jun 02 2024 - 05:15
Niamh Regan: Come as You Are – Warts-and-all thoughts on life, love and relationships Second album of assured indie-folk pursues more of a full-band soundThu May 30 2024 - 05:15
Conor Niland: ‘The Irish got such a kick out of me playing Wimbledon, but unfortunately there was just one chance’Limerick native had a rollercoaster career as a pro tennis player, training with Serena Williams and playing against greats including Novak Djokovic. Regrets? He has a few, he tells Lauren MurphySat May 25 2024 - 05:00
Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft review – Her third album is not quite a genre bender, but this star is growing in sophistication The singer seems to be tiring of being the introspective, disaffected pop spokeswoman for Gen Z. Hit Me Hard and Soft is altogether more personalThu May 16 2024 - 13:17
Arab Strap: I’m Totally Fine with It – Aidan Moffat ramps up his campaign for the best-songwriter-of-his-generation awardBrutally candid yet beautiful, the latest offering from the frontman and Malcolm Middleton is not the soundtrack to your summer barbecuesThu May 16 2024 - 05:00
Faye Webster: ‘I want people to feel understood and related to’Ahead of her Dublin gigs, the Atlanta indie-artist talks of her new ‘break-up’ album, being an Obama favourite and privacy in the context of fameTue May 07 2024 - 05:00
Dua Lipa: Radical Optimism review – Step aside Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, this is the pop album we’ve been waiting forAlbum review: As Beyoncé ventures into country and Taylor Swift wallows in another break-up album, Dua Lipa is the star we need right nowFri May 03 2024 - 00:00
Sick Love: Champagne review – Emo-tinted grunge with a knockout combo of pace and panacheDublin band’s debut album, though lacking originality, is a confident step forward, with one track featuring in the TV comedy series The Young OffendersThu May 02 2024 - 02:00
Picture This: Parked Car Conversations – Solid pop songs with a saccharine heartbeatTired lovelorn paeans dominate this album, while upbeat anthems are where the band’s strengths truly lieThu Apr 25 2024 - 05:15
Take That in Dublin review: ‘Whose idea was it to have stairs?’ puffs Gary Barlow as the band roll back the years with dazzling show Elaborate stage set-ups are par for course with Take That but bells and whistles would mean nothing if songs were not up to scratchTue Apr 23 2024 - 11:27
New Jackson: Oops!… Pop – This swerve towards deft melody suits David Kitt down to the groundKitt's third album under the New Jackson moniker sounds so carefully crafted, you couldn’t really call it a side projectThu Apr 18 2024 - 05:00
Matthew Devereux: House Devil – The Pale frontman’s solo album feels like a missed opportunityA lugubrious tone and sense of aimlessness drag this philosophical effort downThu Apr 11 2024 - 05:00
Lyra debut album review: slick, cutting-edge pop from a powerhouse vocalistCork native takes a confident step forward with these vibrant, dynamic songsThu Apr 04 2024 - 05:15
High Llamas: Hey Panda – Proof that it’s never too late to stop taking creative risksLeft turns and a sense of fun abound on Sean O’Hagan’s latest askew pop effortThu Mar 28 2024 - 05:15
Declan McKenna: ‘Victoria Beckham went to the same school as me. That’s quite funny’The artist’s latest album is the most innovative and buoyant so far, having the feel of something like a new eraMon Mar 25 2024 - 05:15
Beyoncé country: How a shy girl from Texas became a cultural icon The singer’s pivot into country music, via her hit Texas Hold ‘Em and her new album, Cowboy Carter, is the latest smart move in a glittering careerSat Mar 23 2024 - 05:30
Niamh Bury: ‘I was really shy as a kid. But performing always came easily to me’Niamh Bury is about to release her debut album, but her talent is fully formed, thanks to years of community folk singing and inspiration offered by artists from Mary Black to PlanxtySat Mar 23 2024 - 05:00
Elbow: Audio Vertigo - Guy Garvey and co’s best album in years The Manchester band have discovered the sense of experimentation that informed their early materialThu Mar 21 2024 - 05:30
Jim Reid of The Jesus and Mary Chain: ‘I’m not saying we’re all lovey-dovey: we still scream at each other’The famously fractious Reid brothers return with their eighth album, Glasgow Eyes, and a tour that includes dates in Dublin and BelfastSat Mar 16 2024 - 05:15
Norah Jones: Visions – From contentment to melancholy, but all in the same dreamy toneAnd a lovely tone it is, too, but overall it makes for forgettable listeningThu Mar 14 2024 - 05:15
‘We sat down, with the fire burning, and sang face to face for the first time’: Marry Waterson and Adrian Crowley on their new album The English singer, one of the Waterson-Knight-Carthy dynasty, and her new Irish collaborator have made Cuckoo Storm togetherMon Mar 11 2024 - 05:00
Bleachers: Bleachers – Not even the help of Jack Antonoff’s starry friends can stop this album from petering outA disengaged vibe, unnecessary sax solos and a heavy leaning on influences weight this album downThu Mar 07 2024 - 05:00
Marti Pellow: ‘Let’s not walk around on eggshells. We’ll talk about what you want to talk about. So, addiction?’The former Wet Wet Wet singer returns to the band’s first album, from 1987, on his new tour. It’s a chance to reflect on the highs and lows of life since thenSat Mar 02 2024 - 05:15
Danny Carroll: I Am the Cheese – Not just some mopey guy with a guitarThis debut solo album is filled with charmingly well-rounded songs, proving there is more to this Dublin indie musician than meets the eyeThu Feb 29 2024 - 05:00
Nadine Shah: Filthy Underneath – Musician pours her pain into her best album so farA thought-provoking and poignant musical exploration of the light and shade of lifeThu Feb 22 2024 - 05:00
Jason Lytle: ‘I’ve always felt like an underdog, through every period of Grandaddy’The songwriter on the band’s sixth studio album, Blu Wav; overcoming inner turmoil and substance abuse; and learning to relaxMon Feb 19 2024 - 05:00
Cherym: Take It or Leave It – Derry LGBTQ+ trio tackle weighty issues with sparky energyLed by the vibrant vocals of Hannah Richardson, this debut album is packed with boisterous power-pop songs steeped in emo and grunge influencesThu Feb 15 2024 - 05:30
Spider: ‘I want to be the biggest rock star in the world’ Her parents wanted her to stay home in Tallaght, but Jennifer Irabor overcame their scepticism to follow her dream in LondonSat Feb 10 2024 - 05:15
Benjamin Francis Leftwich: Some Things Break – Tender folk pop riddled with eye-rolling lyrical platitudesMatty Healy playing Benjamin Francis Leftwich’s song New York may be closest he has come to international hitThu Feb 08 2024 - 05:00
The Last Dinner Party: Prelude to Ecstasy – Offbeat and accomplished, this is a killer debut albumThe London band burst on the scene trailing accusations of being manufactured, but these well-crafted, thoughtful songs will quieten the naysayersThu Feb 01 2024 - 05:45
The Devil’s Spine Band: Arrows of the Golden Moon – Undeniably ambitious but ultimately disjointedThe album, inspired by Oscar Wilde’s trip to Colorado, features luminaries of the Irish independent sceneThu Feb 01 2024 - 05:00
James Arthur: Bitter Sweet Love – Former X Factor winner should stick to the jaunty popThe ballads on this album, in contrast, are sloganeering and uninspiringThu Jan 25 2024 - 05:00
NewDad: ‘Suddenly we were playing sold-out shows and people were singing our music back to us’The young Galway alt-rockers have come a long way since they got together to avoid having to perform solo for their Leaving Cert music examsSat Jan 20 2024 - 05:15
Sleater-Kinney: Little Rope – An angsty, downbeat collection that does not rank among their bestA decent offering informed by tragedy after Carrie Brownstein’s mother and stepfather died in a car crash in 2022Thu Jan 18 2024 - 07:04
Green Day: Saviors review - Pop-punk survivors in dire need of rejuvenationThere is room for redemption in a band who are not yet past their sell-by date but are clearly in dire need of rejuvenationThu Jan 11 2024 - 05:30
Marika Hackman: No Caffeine is an early highlight and whatever her inspiration was, it worksThere is a definite 1990s indie and grunge influence to this album alongside the classical piano leanings, but Hackman is not bound by itFri Jan 05 2024 - 05:00
Bunkhouse: My Reptile Brain – Lo-fi screwball pop and absurd lyrics that include a nod to RIP.ie There are catchy melodies and glimmers of greatness amid the sillinessFri Dec 29 2023 - 05:00
Comedian Peter McGann: Christmas dinner can do one, as far as I’m concernedComedian Peter McGann would rather eat beans than turkey and has no work next year but, on the upside, he’s in Chris O’Dowd’s new showSat Dec 23 2023 - 05:00
Moya Brennan: Nollaig Gaelach - The first lady of Celtic music corners her marketBetter songs and better production would have allowed Brennan to use her voice to more potent effectFri Dec 22 2023 - 05:00
Hozier in 3Arena: A sleek, polished and powerful performance from the Wicklow man‘Very good to be home’: Hozier returns to Dublin as a conquering heroWed Dec 20 2023 - 09:48
Mairead Doyle-Heffernan’s Christmas: There’s no place like townThe comedian, podcaster and star of Channel 4′s Selling Super Houses shares her festive plans and habitsWed Dec 20 2023 - 05:00
