The Underground of Happiness

A few tunes this week from artists playing Cork soon. This is the Kit plays The Cave in Mitchelstown this week, Julianna Barwick is part of the wonderful Sounds from a Safe Harbour Festival line-up in September; and also in Sepembert, August Wells bring their beautiful chamber pop sound to Coughlan's . Good times. Still tripping on Deradoorian , intoxicating stuff. Totally Mild are a Melbourne 4-piece with a great line in lovelorn indie guitar pop. The centre of the show was all Glasgow - Kathryn Joseph, C Duncan & Man of Moon - great variety and quality and all playing UK festivals over the summer. And some classic Nun Attax from the soon to be digitally released Kaught at the Kampus EP from 1981. A little Cork treasure. More on the blog. *By the way, apologies for a microphone glitch at the beginning of this show (anyone listening live would have experienced some disconcerting but soul-cleansing silences). So the first couple of links are missing from the ...

The centrepiece this week was a cut from the Kronos Quartet collaboration with Bollywood legend Asha Bhosle from a few years back, an album well worth your time. The track we had was a version of her original song from the 1971 film Hare Rama Hare Krishna , music composed by her husband RD Burman at that time. The Kronos Quartet play Cork Opera House in May, along with Julianna Barwick . That should be a very special night. On the world musics theme, we had Sabina again with her refreshing update on bossa nova, paired with Gal Costa , the Brazilian Tropicalia great. New music too from Wussy (energising tribute to The Who, kinda), Bob Mould (in very good voice), Arch Garrison (rubbing folk music up against vintage synths, brilliantly) and Shonen Knife (extolling the virtues of green tea, loud and fast). And the wonderful Future Islands , who play Dublin in November, with their new single 'Spirit', another weird pop anthem full of soul and yearning. Apr 15 2014 w/ K...

Beautiful album, released a couple of months back on Asthmatic Kitty , featuring a collaboration between two of its roster, Julianna Barwick and Helado Negro . She the one with the banks of celestial vocals (you'll find some more links in these pages), he with the sonic sculpts, or as the PR puts it, "rustic-Latin-psyche-folk meets big-city-blockparty" (nice). Anyway, I'm saying no more about this. This one's not for reading about, it's for listening. Believe You me by OMBRE

You'll remember seeing the name Julianna Barwick around here before. She was responsible for one of the most beautiful, and haunting, albums of last year, The magic place on Asthmatic Kitty , her debut for that label. Her first album, Sanguine , is getting a first issue on vinyl now, on the Portland-based M'Lady's label. If you were into The magic place , you'll love it. If not, you need to hear it, so here you go.

Beautiful new release from Julianna Barwick , who is one of our favourite singers/artists around here. Her fantastic album The magic place came out earlier in the year, also on Asthmatic Kitty - this was the UOH verdict at the time. Julianna Barwick - The magic place (Asthmatic Kitty) From the opening strains of Envelop , with multiple wordless, heavily treated vocal parts creating texture as well as melody, you know you're in the presence of something special here. By the end of that track, as a distressed piano line gradually swamps the vocals, a haunting, heartrending mood has taken over from the initial bliss. The title track is a choral symphony which slowly disintegrates into a lone soprano. Cloak sounds for all the world like a line from a church hymn sampled and looped, until its layers gather a power not witnessed in any church I've ever been in. White flag creates the effect of standing at the mid-point of three competing choirs, which somehow manage to complemen...

A few months late with this, but there are some things so special you won't mind waiting. Julianna Barwick - The magic place (Asthmatic Kitty) From the opening strains of Envelop , with multiple wordless, heavily treated vocal parts creating texture as well as melody, you know you're in the presence of something special here. By the end of that track, as a distressed piano line gradually swamps the vocals, a haunting, heartrending mood has taken over from the initial bliss. The title track is a choral symphony which slowly disintegrates into a lone soprano. Cloak sounds for all the world like a line from a church hymn sampled and looped, until its layers gather a power not witnessed in any church I've ever been in. White flag creates the effect of standing at the mid-point of three competing choirs, which somehow manage to complement each other. You could quibble that a sameness sets in midway through the album which might have been broken by the use of more percussion...

A fresh and hopeful New Year to all. Apparently it's spring already (and there's revolution in the air) - in Ireland usually marked by the return of Wind. Some tunes following, which have been doing a great job of making us forget about the dodgy central heating at UOH HQ. They should keep the most reptilean among you warm, and the most revolutionary cool. All albums, unless otherwise noted. The Phoenix Foundation - Buffalo (Memphis Industries) Cracking opening single from album of same name by the Wellington, New Zealand band. The tune is equal parts giddy, joyous and amiably psychedelic (let's face it, the plot concerns a seafaring buffalo), with an irresistible "woo-hoo" middle eight. The jangly guitars, high-fretted bass and spot-on arrangement make me think of fellow kiwis The Chills (something everyone should be made to do, daily). The whole thing is as fresh as a daisy and tends to remind you why you fell in love with pop music. Practice singing along w...