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

The latest show from Teach Damhsa . Creators of the incomparable Swan Lake/Loch na hEala . Michael Keegan-Dolan and Rachel Poirier on stage. A memoir of sorts. Monologue. Life story through music and movement. References to Stop Making Sense. (Ghetto blaster. Check. Set assembled onstage. Check.) New romantics. Irish discos. English dancehall. Ballet. Culminating in a life-affirming climax to Ravel’s Bolero. Some of which was falling as much as it was dancing. Beautiful. And inspiring.

Sounds from a Safe Harbour Festival . Readings by the author with live musical backing onstage. Feist was involved. In a baseball cap. Elaine Howley . Others. It amounted to an intriguing radio drama before your ears. Elaine Howley the highlight for me. Brilliant ambient soundtrack undercutting the hilarious but unsettling text. The Distance Between Heart And Mouth by Elaine Howley

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 ...