You can now buy this song and the rest of the album on our record label Indiecater Records here!

There are about 10 Irish albums that I return to in times of need. One of those is the eponymous debut from Dublin band Sunbear. This was a quartet that seemed to be going places fast. Melding the finer points of shoegaze with subtle melodies the album still sounds utterly contemporary despite its almost teenage years. Take ‘Resin’ with its scuzzy guitar parts and Martin Kelly’s clean vocals, which combine to form a nugget of indie genius. Along with In Motion Sunbear formed a powerful fulcrum in the Dublin music scene in the mid-nineties but neither achieved the prominence that their music ultimately deserved. Martin Kelly has a job on his hands with his new band Ruby Tailights to outshine Sunbear but from what I’ve heard of their debut album ‘Dressing Up’ things could get a whole lot rosier in the near future. KD

Sunbear - Resin

Watch The Video For Notebook

More Info: Official
Year: 1994

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Not sure what it is about Jeff Tweedy’s band of rarefied musicians that keeps me from their door. Of course it’s easy to fall for the scattershot charm of their big ‘hit’ ‘Outtasite (Outta Mind)’ but the thoughts of sitting through a rambling collection of their music doesn’t exactly fill me with glee. That said as a spectacle Wilco are something to behold, with endless changing line-ups and Tweedy’s fragile mindset leading to all manner of scrapes. ‘Yankee Foxtrot Hotel’ is one of the group’s most adorned pieces. With the finished studio tapes in hand Wilco’s label Warner’s decided that the album didn’t have enough commercial clout. Unwilling to compromise on their vision Wilco decided to buy out the recordings themselves. With Jim O’Rourke on production the collection is a meandering gem suitably introduced by ‘I Am Trying To Break Your Heart’. Tweedy’s sentiments are genuine and the off-kilter jamboree superbly breathes life into the songs obtuse lyrics. I’m talking myself into giving Wilco a more serious investigation here. KD

Wilco - I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Watch The Video To Radio Cure

More Info: Official
Buy Album: [UK] Yankee Hotel Foxtrot [US] Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Year: 2002

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Here is the case for the defence (here too). Pretty soon neugaze treats will be as common as cloudy days in Ireland and thus in the spirit of documenting the rise of said phenomenon this portion of the site will systematically choose the ones that are raising our heartbeats to squally feedback levels of activity. Please drop a mail or leave a comment if you wish to suggest a band that fits the neugaze tag.


Dublin band Crayonsmith is in fact Ciaran Smith and 2 other mates. They released their debut album ‘Stay Loose’ earlier this year and as the title suggests it touches on several genres for inspiration. Signed to indie Musical Voodoo Records the album has come in for a lot of critical praise and several songs have been bouncing around the net. ‘Scarytale’ is particularly impressive for its MBV droning guitar lines and Smith’s dreamy vocals. The song skittles from chord assault to soft pretty landings in the blink of an eye leaving the impression that Crayonsmith are adept at mastering the non-linear approach. Things have been looking even better of late as Sparklehorse recently announced that Crayonsmith are going to support them on their short tour of Ireland. Looks like the amps are going to take quite a hammering over the next month or so. KD

Crayonsmith - Scarytale

More Info: Official
Buy The Album: Stay Loose
Year: 2006

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First up is For Those Who Know who have already appeared on this collection of html earlier this year. Though not strictly neugaze they have moments that beef up that particular canon with aplomb. ‘Night At The Danclub’ is one such, all fey vocals, marching beats and grandiose misty guitar lines. FTWK are one of a small group of top-notch sound teams to emerge from Austin in recent times. Their life affirming self-titled EP is available for free download for a limited time from their myspace page so give it the bandwidth it deserves. KD

For Those Who Know - Night At The Danceclub

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More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy The EP: For Those Who Know
Year: 2006

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If you are trying to describe what indie is to someone who have never experienced the sounds of the underground then you could do worse than to slip them a copy of Beulah’s ‘The Coast Is Never Clear’. Beulah broke up in 2003 but remain in minds ear and it’s easy to see why when you consume their sunny side up style (at least musically, the lyrics often betray the upbeat atmospherics). Driven by the twin motivations of Miles Kurosky and Bill Swan Beulah went on to record 4 LP’s before they called it quits. ‘Popular Mechanics For Lovers’ comes complete with Magnetic Fields reference and is flush with uplifting melodies and a sugar rush for a chorus. And all achieved without recourse to their wonderful brass asides. The momentum sways this way and that revealing a patchwork quilt of enticing ideas. Kurosky has spent of his post-Beulah time away from music and a mooted solo project has stalled due to a serious arm injury. KD

Beulah - Popular Mechanics For Lovers

Watch The Video To Emma Blowguns Last Stand

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] The Coast Is Never Clear [US] The Coast Is Never Clear
Year: 2001

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It’d probably be easy to discount Siberian as another powerpop combo flaunting anthemic choruses until you realise that much of their output follows less obvious but more attention grabbing routes. One vital ingredient is guitarist Zach Tillman who used to play with Saxon Shore, an underrated crowd of instrumentalists. Finn Parnell is also pivotal as his vocals are both morning-after and night-before and manage to ably bounce off his partners’ elastic rhythms. ‘Any Day Now’ (no, not a cover of Elbow’s song of the same name) is totally peachy, a song potent enough to win over a million hearts from a cross section of the adult population. It’s very early days yet and the band has kept their recordings to the internet thus far but their self-titled debut is within touching distance of lift-off. KD

Siberian - Any Day Now

More Info: Official & Myspace
Album News: Siberian
Year: 2006

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I’ve been sitting on this one for a while since reading about the band on Nothing But Green Lights a while back. Why you might add, well, when you happen upon something that sounds as instantly attractive as ‘You! Me! Dancing!’ you gotta be careful that the thing doesn’t become tiresome down the line. The good news is that I am still playing it to all my friends’ months later and still enjoying watching their wide grins when that Glockenspiel part kicks in. Still think it goes on for a couple of minutes too long but that can’t take from what is a wonderful burst of exciting pop music. The intriguingly named Los Campesinos! come from Cardiff and there are 7 of them in all (go team esque and not too dissimilar in their frantic style). They are undeniably young, up for a good time and by the sound of this willing to invite the world to join the party. The absorbing energy and kinetic good vibes just makes me want to grab my old basketball boots and skateboard until my knees are coated in a warm film of blood. KD

Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!

More Info: Official
Buy Their Album When It Appears: Hold On Now Youngster...
Year: 2006

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Stars of Stage and Screen have cracked the download market. With hundreds of thousands of downloads (you can get their latest LP ‘American Oddity’ for free from their website) it would seem that this NY duo should to be on everyone’s lips. Instead they reside on many hard drives with precious other presence besides. The word in bloggerdom has been distinctly quiet despite the fact that Stars of Stage and Screen seem ripe for wide scale internet adulation. One listen to ‘Silver Memories’ confirms their unique appeal. Lush instrumentation and Daughtry Carstarphen’s soft vocals are a heady combination that reminds one of the dreampop collectives of old or Joy Zipper were they to lay off on all those shimmering side effects. The other half of the band consists of Timothy Roven who has worked with one third of A-ha in a previous incarnation so he certainly knows how to craft a pop song. ‘Dizzy’ is another example of the breathless wonder to be gleaned from this undiscovered seam of precious audio. KD

Stars Of Stage And Screen - Silver Memories

Stars Of Stage And Screen - Dizzy

More Info: Official
Buy Both Albums: Dying to Meet You & American Oddity
Year: 2002 & 2005

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There is something altogether heartbreaking about ‘Lone Wolf And Cub’, not exactly the band themselves (this is 5 lads who’ve only been together as a band since 2004) but their music, which peels away at your surface confidence to reveal the scared child within. Their new album ‘Wonder, is Ground on Frost?’ also sports some great titles like ‘Shinguard Explosion’, ‘Be There or be Tiananmen Square’ and this one ‘I Will Hammerpunch Your Clavicle’. Despite the threat of violence hanging in the air the latter brings forth nothing of the sort. This is post-rock that refuses to grow old, an instrumental with buried heart in the form of a glockenspiel and glistening wintry effects. Towards the end things get blurry as if one joyously rambling piece were superimposed upon another, it’s close to thrilling and perfectly snowcaps this enthralling adventure. KD

Lone Wolf And Cub - I Will Hammerpunch Your Clavicle

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: Wonder, is Ground on Frost?
Year: 2006

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Much as I was delighted to see Snow Patrol finally getting some attention, their quality control has faltered badly in the intervening period. The Reindeer Section now look like a better bet for audio kicks if Gary Lightbody ever decides to take a break from another interminably boring chorus. While we wait Joy can fill the gap with consummate ease. The latest album from the Boston trio is so laidback it’s a wonder they mustered the energy to bury so many wonderful tricks in its elegiac grooves. ‘Tiger’s Paw’ pounces from the stereo in slow motion, a lo-fi epic with off-kilter rhythms, sideway glances and plenty of twists and turns in its 5 minute spread. Apart from the aforementioned Reindeer Section collective there are nods to Will Oldham and Iron & Wine but Joy’s voice is singular enough to be worshipped in its own right. Watch the rain fall and get lost in this lazy river of a song. KD

Joy - Tiger's Paws

Watch The Video

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Devil's Blues [US] Devil's Blues
Year: 2005

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Before ‘You’re Beautiful’ there was ‘You’re Gorgeous’, a much more amiable piece of subtle pop music. In the end it was Steven Jones undoing, much like the proverbial stone around an artists necks where one song dictates how a talent is forever measured. Babybird was for the longest time a Jones solo project that yielded countless ditties, many of which remained on four-track. The onset of major label interest and with the help of a groundswell of committed fans the pick of the lo-fi recordings were rewritten and recorded for the ‘Ugly Beautiful’ collection. ‘Goodnight’ was one lucky recipient of the sonic overhaul and remains a resplendent tour to force. Jones sprays his vitriol about while a snaking hammond pummels the meek jangling chords. The combination worked and ‘Goodnight’ became one of Babybird’s 9 chart hits. ‘Between My Ears Theres Nothing But Music’ is Jones’ first record under the Babybird moniker since 2000 and is released later this month. KD

Babybird - Goodnight

Watch The Video

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] UGLY BEAUTIFUL [US] Babybird - The Greatest Hits
Year: 1996

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Arab Strap (1995 - 2006)


Arab Strap - (If There's) No Hope For Us

More Info: Here They Go

[Segueness is a curious random occurrence where two tunes ultimately beat as one]

Sequeness was invented for songs like this. One comes from that native language spouting Welsh collective who now take over the mantle of the quirkiest pop sensation from the principality after the recent retirement of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. ‘Something 4 The Weekend’ was curiously released at the same time as the Divine Comedy’s song of the same name. Great Northern come from LA and are currently working on their debut album. They’ve already released their own self-made ‘Bats’ EP, which includes ‘The Middle’, a lovingly put together homily to E.L.O. that strives with some success in bringing their own talents to the party. Both songs are solid examples of soothing song kraft but one wonders whether Great Northern were hoping that one day they would share a moment of segueness with SFA. KD

Great Northern - The Middle

Super Furry Animals - Something 4 The Weekend


Watch The Video For Something 4 The Weekend


Great Northern Info: Official & Myspace

Super Furry Animals Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Fuzzy Logic [US] Fuzzy Logic
Year: 1996

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Snakes on a plane eh, what an intriguing concept. Probably prefer snakes in a submarine myself so if the plot was to submerge completely nobody would be the wiser. Anyway the good news is that our favourite band from Helsingborg, the Sounds, have made it onto the soundtrack. You probably know the band already from their eye candy laced album covers or from this priceless piece of sugar rush. ‘Painted By Numbers’ is superbly paced, featuring blondiesque guitar moves and a chorus that goes down as gracefully as digby. Hardly surprising then that their second album ‘Dying to Say This to You’ was produced by Mr ‘Hot Fuss’ Jeff Salzman, the kicks are easy and memorable to a fault. The Sounds are currently touring with Panic! At The Disco (don’t me tell there’s more snakes about?) so now you can smile like you mean it. KD

The Sounds - Painted By Numbers

Watch The Video To Tony The Beat

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Dying to Say This to You [US] Dying to Say This to You
Year: 2005

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Oh I’m tired and in need of some spiritual fulfillment. As you all know by now Jeff Buckley’s album ‘Grace’ is one of those essential pieces of modern songwriting. His death was a tragedy, he is sorely missed but sometimes it takes a small matter like death to create an icon. ‘Grace’ works so magnificently because Buckley’s stunning voice seamlessly entwines with the lavish playing but it is perhaps the pieces where the music is stripped back that affect the most. His version of Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ has already passed into folklore but it is perhaps the Middle English hymn ‘Corpus Christi Carol’ that truly sends shudders down the spine. Apart from a sparse chord assembly, all that exists is Buckley’s falsetto, which routinely finds a higher pitch to spellbinding effect. KD

Jeff Buckley - Corpus Christi Carol

Watch The Video To Last Goodbye

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Grace (New Version) [US] Grace
Year: 1994

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The Cloud Room are yet another NY band to saviour. Well, I’m being a bit underhanded here because all I’ve heard from them is ‘Hey Now Now’. But, if they were never to record another note they could possibly die happy because 'HNN' has all the hallmarks of a indispensable stalwart that’ll stalk the deepest recesses of indiedom for decades to come. It boasts a feverish Arcade Fire momentum, a frenetic yet focused rhythm and a lively character that is both as daft as a brush and as savvy as a Wall Street economist. Apparently the inspiration for the piece was borne out of the Cloud Room leadman’s brush with death. Let’s hope he has nine lives so we can squeeze a fab album out of him (their self-titled is out now). KD

The Cloud Room - Hey Now Now

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More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Cloud Room [Us Import] [US] The Cloud Room
Year: 2005

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Kasabian take note, Flowered Up are back and primed to steal the crown that is rightfully theirs. Yep, it seems that the alcohol and drugs that ravaged several minds up to 1992 has finally ebbed away and London’s answer to the Happy Mondays are back doing shows. First time around Flowered Up were a short lived phenomenon, the buzz surrounding their antics meant their faces were gracing the covers of both the Melody Maker and NME before they had even released a record. ‘Weekender’ is their 13-minute legacy (although ‘It’s On’ was probably a better single) and it is an outrageously loose collection of danceable ideas that don’t really fit that well together. Listening to it now is close to harrowing; this is baggy without the firm belt holding the disparate parts together. That said, many who were entranced by Madchester first time round will still have a soft spot for the erratic affect it had on a dancefloor. Guess some things are better left to the mists of time. Surprisingly, Flowered Up’s new material is oddly invigorating. ‘Open Me Up’ has an elegant chorus (and an organ undercurrent reminiscent of the Charlatans ‘Overrising’), as ever things drift a little towards the end (what's with the rap?) but the song proves that Liam Maher and co. could soon be making revellers quite happy all over again. KD

Flowered Up - Weekender

Flowered Up - Open Me Up

Watch The Video To It's On

More Info: Official
Buy Album: [UK] Best of Flowered Up [US] Best of Flowered Up
Year: 2005

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I guess I’m a bit out on my own here because I just don’t get what all the fuss about Gorillaz is. The cartoons annoy me; the music is halfway to somewhere but nowhere near the outskirts of enjoyable. Just because it’s a different concept doesn’t make it any more worthy. Perhaps I just don’t get why Damon Albarn needs to skulk in the shadows leaving Blur floundering in his wake. I guess the critical moment was when Graham Coxon decided to abandon ship and go solo. So far Coxon has racked up an impressive line of albums, his guitar led missives more or less reshape Blur’s ‘Coffee & TV’ direction at infinitum (to a large degree successfully). Albarn is nothing if prolific himself and even has a movie soundtrack credit to his name. 'Ravenous' (cannibals in the snow) was made all the more lucid by Albarn’s offbeat instrumentals, no more so than ‘End Titles’ that drifted from dire piano riff to rich electronic passages within the space of 5 minutes. It’s made all the more cinematic by the drifting strings and hopelessly lost in the moment instrumentation. I'll chomp this down over those darn windmills any day. KD

Damon Albarn - End Titles

Watch The Video To Blur's 'Bang'

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Ravenous - O.S.T [US] Ravenous: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Year: 1999

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