The Underground of Happiness

The album launch show. Pyrrhic . The album is lovely. Shades of Beth Orton but also MBV. The live show though brings to mind pre-1960s roots of rock n roll. It’s all good. Howls and squalls and white noise and irrepressible grooves. A hint of Twin Peaks even – Julee Cruise Angelo Badalamenti David Lynch. Dark heart within the sweet melody. Perfect. A cover of Some velvet morning by Lee and Nancy putting the seal on impeccable taste. A great show. Nudy Boy Nature on support. That’s Jim Christie who is the drummer with Elaine Malone and The Bonk. Among other things. Plus friends. Beach Boys. Garage rock. Jazz. In phase. Out of phase. Rhythms. All in all. We like that a lot. Pyrrhic by Elaine Malone inertia by Nudy Boy Nature

It’s hard to argue with a thousand screaming punters. But I will. Something lacking in among the genuinely wondrous drones. Something like a connection. Something strange between the four members on stage. Estranged maybe. So I’m swimming against the tide but not for me this one. Even given Radie Peat’s great and soulful voice. Not moving. False Lankum by Lankum

Chapter 25 The last time I saw Richard Hawley was in The Opera House . Him and band. All seated. Now I love Richard Hawley but I said then I’ll never go and see him there again. Somehow the seated audience did not fit with his noisier oeuvre – Standing at the sky’s edge et al. The quieter material and ballads worked a dream there. That’s why I didn’t buy a ticket to see Richard Hawley this time. But again the universe dictated that I would attend…you know the way…friend of a friend… (Incidentally the best venue I’ve seen him in was The Savoy . All standing. All his material worked great there including all 10 minutes of the majestic Remorse code.) Turned out it wasn’t him and band at all. Just him and Shez Sheridan . I said I would have bought a ticket if I could be guaranteed a set of ballads. That’s what I got, just not with the band arrangements. What are we left with? His velvety croon which is a fantastic instrument in itself. And some wonderful songs. Including wh...

Photo: Bríd O'Donovan This weekend one of my favourite bands, Beach House , played at the Opera House in Cork, as part of the city's Guinness-sponsored Jazz Festival . The Jazz Festival is something of an institution in the city, taking place over the Irish October bank holiday weekend. Over recent years, the festival has broadened to take in both a wider definition of jazz, and also a greater variety of programme. So for example, the Opera House had Balkan big band Taraf de Haidouks, Beach House and De La Soul , while across town in The Pavilion you could find Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and Toby Kaar , among others. This review originally appeared on We Are Noise , at this link, where you'll also find more great pics by Bríd O'Donovan - http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/10/beach-house-w-holy-other-cork-opera-house-27-10-12/ In passing through Ireland last weekend for three dates ( Mandela Hall Belfast, Vicar Street Dublin and Cork Opera House ), Bea...

A Winged Victory for the Sullen played in Cork during the week - part of their still-proceeding European tour - a gig I'd been looking forward to with great anticipation for quite a while. If you've never heard the name before, there's some notes on the album on this link. http://www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com/2011/09/winged-victory-for-sullen-winged.html The gig turned out to be a memorable experience, one that will stay with me for some time, a bright, shining highlight of the last 12 months of music (which have been pretty memorable all round). Here's a review I wrote for Cork-based webzine Noise , which is reprinted in full from this link, with kind permission. http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/01/a-winged-victory-for-the-sullen-half-moon-theatre-cork-jan-18th-2012/ The Half Moon Theatre (the radical wing of Cork Opera House ) moonlights as an arthouse cinema these days, so no venue could be more appropriate, I thought, to house the first I...