The Underground of Happiness

And finally in this Irish round-up, The Last Sound . Actually this is a band you'll find in these pages before. It's one man, Barry Murphy , for the most part and his single of a couple of years ago 'Only the lonely know the glow is failing' was on constant play around here. The album is a brilliant fusion of pop tunes and dirty industrial noise. Doesn't sound promising? You need to hear it. Again, this review from the pages of WeAreNoise . http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2013/06/the-last-sound-rainbow-xplode-osaka/ The 5th studio album from Dubliner Barry Murphy, with Bryan O’Connell on drums, could be the perfect Irish summer record – shards of sun through dirty black clouds. The most impressive feature of the album for me is its capacity to carry genuine and lasting pop hooks on board waves of filthy background hum and industrial noise. Melodies, synth chugs and hummable bass parts literally trip over themselves in a race to the pop funny bone but ...

The new album from Dublin's The Last Sound comes out this week, we started the show with their knockout single from a couple of years ago taken from it, followed by more great drones from Date Palms . The new O Emperor album comes out soon too, it's very interesting, more from that over the next few weeks. More tasty Irish music in the shape of Cat Dowling, Floor Staff, Enemies & Sundernix . The Collision/Detection Box Set is out in June, from that wonderful series we heard Hong Kong in the 60s and Sone Institute . And something of a double play for Michael Rother , first drumming with Melbourne's Beaches (pictured), then in his own right with a NEU! classic from 1975. Somehow, motorik is sunny music. June 4 2013 Show w/ O Emperor,Beaches,NEU!,Date Palms,The Last Sound,Cat Dowling,Olof Arnalds++ by Theundergroundofhappiness on Mixcloud The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.co...

A lotta new music this week and some bands you may have seen on tv lately. Low & Melt Yourself Down were both on Jools Holland last week, and great they were too. This Is The Kit (picture by Rory Coomey) played in Cork last w'end (brilliantly) and they're still on their Irish tour - their album is just re-released by Brassland of The National fame. Nancy Elizabeth remixed by Leaf labelmate Matthew Bourne, gorgeous of course. The Last Sound new album comes out next week, another killer number from them (is it goth-electro? I'm not sure, who cares...). Colleen being intriguing and mysterious about birds, from her first album in several years. V.O. being progressive and poppy and irresistible. Scout Niblett covering TLC. And this week's obligatory Thrill Jockey loveliness from Zomes . And of course Here Is Your Temple providing one of the great fist-in-the-air pop anthems of recent years. 'Once rich' shows no sign of getting tired any time soon. ...

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 224 Tues June 5 2012 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here https://rapidshare.com/files/3773966344/The_Underground_Of_Happiness_June_5_2012.m4a Playlist Low - Try to sleep ( playing Cyprus Avenue, Cork, July 11 ) Katie Kim - Dimmer ( playing Cork Opera House, July 21 ) AU - OJ John Maus - Mental breakdown Elisa Luu - Se fosse per me Markus Mehr - Flaming youth The Chap - Rhythm king Yeasayer - Henriette Naim Amor - Le revenant Jherek Bischoff feat. David Byrne - Eyes ( playing Village Underground, London, June 18 & 20, w/ Amanda Palmer ) Bruce Haack - Program me Last Days of 1984 - Woods ( playing The Pavilion, Cork, June 16, w/ REID ) *next week's show will feature more music from Last Days of 1984...

Very fine Irish albums don't come along all that often (although more often these days, perhaps because there simply are more of them released), so I tend to sit up and take notice when one as conceptually coherent, brilliantly produced and downright catchy as Wake up to the waves comes along. Here's a review I wrote of the album for Cork zine WeAreNoise , original link http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/05/last-days-of-1984-wake-up-to-the-waves-osaka/ . Last Days of 1984 are a duo from Dublin – Darren Moloney and Brian Rice – who make blissed-out dance music, using swirling, whooshing synths to create a giddy tropical house rush. You could make comparisons with the percussive offbeats of Tanlines , the euphoric tropicalia of El Guincho , or, at a push, Animal Collective (the latter particularly in the beautifully treated back-of-the-room harmonies). The beaches of Ibiza are never far from the mind on this album, but it’s nothing like a one-dimensional piece of work. ...

Intriguing second album from the Wicklow native and friends, which takes on the threads of 1980's new wave and goth influences to add more dirty disco and Italo elements. Opener Miracle candle is an underground dancefloor classic in waiting. And previous single Contact sports has an appealing noir pop atmosphere. Gouge has an air of Japan (the band) about it, which is only a good thing. The vocals aren't always successful to these ears (often fed through filters or heavy effects), but the best results are where Kelleher's voice is played straight and allowed to stand on its own merits. The beautiful falsetto vocal (as well as synthesised handclaps and creamy synth washes) of Seen me blue will make you think of Ariel Pink (I think they're calling it hypnagogic pop these days). The underdog Elvis-croon and subdued Joy Division bass riff of Broken up now are a complete triumph, and at 3 minutes leave you wanting more. The stalking, spoken word I don't remember com...

Great to see Thread Pulls again over the weekend, playing on Friday at the Crane Lane Theatre in Cork . They make some racket for just two fellas and a (small) bit of machinery. One of the highlights of the gig was this, from their New thoughts album that came out last year on Osaka . I'm not sure about the choice of venue, although it was quite amusing watching what the Crane Lane weekend "regulars" made of sparse rock 'n roll, stripped to the bone. Not as entertaining as the gig itself, mind you. I spoke to them when they played in Cork last year, you can check out that interview here . Also on the double bill were fellow Dubliners Twinkranes , a band I hadn't seen before. They brought drums and organ, with electronics, and were pretty impressive in a driving, krautrock kind of way. We like a bit of motorik, in fairness. You'll get an idea from this. And have a look at their eye-catching hanging backdrop here.

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 179 Tues June 7th 2011 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) Cork Campus Radio, 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/ccr *listen back to this show at https://rapidshare.com/files/2876851482/UOH_Podcast_June_7_2011.mp3 Playlist Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - The copper top (radio edit) Adrian Crowley - These icy waters ( playing King's Place, London, June 10, w/ Serafina Steer ) Kitty, Daisy & Lewis - Messing with my life ( playing Oxegen Festival, Punchestown, July 9 ) Tune-Yards - Bizness ( playing Whelan's, Dublin, June 17 ) Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Fright night (Damn Funk remix) ( playing Field Day Festival, London, Aug 6 ) EDM - Stereo/Video Jai Paul - BTSTU The Horror The Horror - Wilderness Chad VanGaalen - Sara John Stammers - The fridge (full band version) ...

Spooky little goth-electro (maybe post-wave?) number from Dublin artist. Featuring a killer Top 40 chorus with banks of shoegazey male and female vocals, undercutting the isolation of the lyric. Another fascinating release on this excellent label. Single launch at The Joinery Gallery, Dublin, May 21, with Thread Pulls and Legion of Two The Last Sound - Only the Lonely know the Glow is Failing by osakaRecords The Last Sound: Only the Lonely Know the Glow is Failing from Osaka Records on Vimeo .