The Underground of Happiness

The great new Caribou album loomed large over this week's show - from it we played the gorgeous 'All I ever need'. I find I'm pairing it with the new Wildbirds & Peacedrums material, they have a second thrilling single of drumbeat soul (let's call it) from their upcoming new album. I've been reading the 4AD biography of late so I thought it'd be nice to pull out some Tarnation from 1997, an old No Disco staple in the Donal Dineen days. You could file that sound next to Calexico, so as luck would have it we also had the writer Sylvie Simmons with her debut album produced by that other Tucson legend Howe Gelb . Sean Nicholas Savage plays in Ireland this week, Paul Smith & Peter Brewis with beautiful, lyrical chamber pop. A Lazarus Soul and Women's Christmas , two fine Irish bands with new albums out around now. Jennifer Castle and A Winged Victory For The Sullen , you'll find more on the blog on those; Circus Devils and GBV , ...

I haven’t had my eye on Montreal I realised. Sometimes happens, says you. Then I got an e-mail from the lovely Plugd Events people about upcoming shows at Triskel Arts Centre here in Cork. Among the Amen Dunes and Girl Band listings was the unknown-to-me Sean Nicholas Savage . “Once a staple of Montreal's all-night illegal party scene” ran the tag. Intriguing already, wouldn’t you agree? (And by the way shouldn’t every city worth its salt have an all-night illegal party scene?) I did a bit of digging and found a beguiling brand of bedroom soul, a concoction of home-made beats, gentle guitar picks and trashy synths, with the coup de grace of Mr Savage’s yearning high register vocal. I arrived at this year’s album Bermuda Waterfall which has a series of memorable underground (all-night/illegal) pop tunes. But I’m highlighting ‘Heartless’, it really is the most beautiful and poignant thing. I suppose because it has such potentially cheesy elements – drum pads rescued from...

Something of a sombre/sedate/low-key tone to this week's show, it goes like that sometimes. Gospel meditation from Peter Broderick from a couple years back, he plays Cork soon. So does Sean Nicholas Savage , making gorgeous bedroom soul. Wildbirds & Peacedrums exploring the overlap between rhythm and desire, thrillingly. Sumptuous jazz pop from Bill Wells and (mostly Japanese) friends; spare piano from Soley ; Bell Gardens with lovely drifting drones; A Winged Victory For The Sullen , orchestral grandeur; Little Tornados , quixotic dream pop. Then two Second Language releases to finish. Silver Servants (pictured below the cover of their s/t album), a kind of English underground pop supergroup, with glorious dreamy psych pop. And Mark Fry (who is also part of Silver Servants) channelling Bert Jansch to great effect. More on these pages as always. Sept 16 2014 w/ Bill Wells,Bell Gardens,Soley,Little Tornados,SIlver Servants,Wildbirds&Peacedrums++ by Th...

Another extended show this week, great to have time to pull out a few old treasures, along with the huge backlog of excellent recent releases, plus music from acts on tour in the autumn. The former category, 'Bonnie & Clyde' by Serge & Brigitte , that inspired and ageless slice of psych pop with the best ever "woo-hoo" in pop music (the giddy playfulness between them is a lovely subtext); Donnie & Joe Emerson , two Oregon farming brothers making bedroom pop sound fucking essential in 1979; and Cluster making pastoral, sky-gazing kosmische. The latter category, Amen Dunes , bringing their beautiful 1000 yard drones to Ireland this month; likewise Sean Nicholas Savage (pic), gorgeous bedroom soul from Montreal; SlowPlaceLikeHome , fuzzy and warm electronica from Donegal; Tennis , heart-melting white soul. And Pye Corner Audio , bringing the autobahn compellingly to English underground pop. Sept 9 2014 Hr 1 w/ Serge & Brigitte,Amen Dunes,Sean ...