Jenna Nicholls has the sort of voice that entrances within a couple of seconds of coming into contact with it. What makes it even more special is the fact the songs she writes are so memorable. Nicholls is part of a new folk movement based in Greenwich Village called the Fairplay Collective (there are a smattering of Irish troubadours in there). Her voice is distinctive but from time to time you may hear traces of Norah Jones, Stina Nordenstam and most especially that singer from the Motifs who I don’t know the name of. ‘Just How Much’ is as unhurried as it is precious with Nicholls in reflective mood. The atmosphere is serene; you’ll pick every word that is uttered and find a world that normally goes at a million miles an hour slow to a relaxing canter. Powerful stuff, more of which can be found on Jenna’s upcoming album ‘Curled Up Toes in Red Mary Janes’. KD

Jenna Nicholls - Just How Much

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Year: 2008

This blog is fast turning into the Frightened Rabbit appreciation society such are the lavish gifts they are bestowing on us. I hope you haven’t forget the majesty that was their December gift ‘It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop’ which an acquaintance of mine eloquently described as ‘not being like a Christmas song at all’. Anyway enough relaying of such under appreciation it’s time for a new cut from the Selkirk boys new album ‘Midnight Organ Fight’ which is being put out by Fat Cat (no wonder the rabbit is...arrgghh). As you’d expect the dynamics are entirely illuminating as ever with Scott Hutchison's devilish vocals again holding court like a jester (the album comes out on April’s fools day) with a subtle line in social commentary. Frightened Rabbit play Crawdaddy, Dublin on the 23rd of February; lettuce pray together. KD

Frightened Rabbit - The Modern Leper

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Year: 2008

This is the 3rd duo to appear on these pages in as many days. Aren’t good things supposed to come in three’s, not sure but Peachcake are certainly a nice thing. The music of Stefan Pruett and John O’Keefe is not all that far removed from what you could expect to hear on mainstream dance radio. Ok, there are squiggly bits but nothing scary enough to put off your average Saturday night boogier. ‘Stop Acting Like You Know More’ is also deeply pleasant on these ears, ears I might add that haven’t seen a dancefloor for nearly a decade. And that name Peachcake, it’s so cute and memorable, I can picture it scrawled in luminous letters across a million schoolbags. Era, it might be disposable but sometimes happiness comes from places you least expect. Peachcake are from a town called Carefree, so put on their music and pretend like you are accidently at a party. KD

Peachcake - Stop Acting Like You Know More About The Internet Cafe Than Me

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Year: 2006

Having SXSW on your doorstep every Spring has got to help I guess but Austin still punches above it’s weight in the great bands producing department. And here is another one, a small band as it happens because Aster only number two people. Bryan Ellis supplies the vocals and guitars while Tim Husmann pretty much does the rest. Quite puzzling how they recreate their sound on stage but on record Aster sound like an ingeniously put together act. ‘Some Things Seldom Heard Of’ is their first album and with bubbling electronic wonders like ‘Attempting To Multiply’ present throughout it is likely to propel them skywards (be careful not to damage those delicate satellite instruments lads). Ellis’s vocals do have a touch of the Jason Lytle’s about them and the music often appropriates Grandaddy’s awkward gift for melting hearts. Watch them fly. KD

Aster - Attempting To Multiply

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Year: 2008

Writing songs about cutesy love is so passé. I mean why bother with matters of the heart when there’s acres of words than can be spilt on prehistoric crocodiles or a South Korean scientist who ballsed up his stem cell research. And we’re not even talking about British Sea Power’s cerebral new direction this time the focus is up North, Leeds direction to be precise. That’s where David Gedge and the Wedding Present come from, remember the lads who’ve had their hearts broken more times than Julia Roberts. I Concur are only just onto their second single (Lucky Jack/ Build Around Me) yet they’ve already had some fervent music press hacks breathing leeringly down their necks. ‘Oblige’ will show you why, it’s about as loose and freewheelin as you’re going to get in indie circles (sorta this years sensible Ed Is A Portal) and comes festooned with the sweetest jangling chords. ‘Oblige’ is taken from the bands debut EP ‘Whatever It’s Going To Be’ and right from the off you know it’s going to be special. The point is though do you concur? KD

I Concur - Oblige

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Year: 2007

I am sure ‘First Sight’ would have managed quite well on its own without the distraction that the words introduce. Even though they are a perfect fit for the music when Jesse Elliott sings atop what could be the Postal Service at 33rpm the union sounds a tad detached. This is at least half of the attraction of These United States, they sound as if they are making up their own rules as they go along. The duo (David Strackany being the other permanent) were joined by a cast of thousands (well almost) as they recorded their debut album (with a very long name). The finished product is deliciously distinctive, a polished mess that’ll have you toe tapping with a consistency that should if nothing else lower your cholesterol. KD

These United States - First Sight

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Year: 2008

Isn’t it funny how I can fall heads over hells for this and then in the same breath discount Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’ (and that Thom Yorke solo sideshow) as criminally boring. Get back to what you do best lads, I promise I’ll be here waiting for you when you do. Faunts unmistakeably take some hints from the Oxford heads descent into electronic fidgeting but do so with such style the comparison is quickly forgotten. ‘Of Nature’ is the most effervescent track from the Edmonton natives current EP ‘M4’ which has already seen some action on the soundtrack to the Xbox game ‘Mass Effect’ (‘M4 Part II’). Hard to believe it stretches to over 8 minutes, as ‘Of Nature’ never outstays its welcome. Buried beneath the artificial heartbeats there is a storm of human emotions waiting to burst out and towards the end that’s just what they do spectacularly. Faunts sophomore LP is due in the summer. KD

Faunts - Of Nature

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Year: 2007

Listening to ‘Wake Up Boo’ and the opening sequences of ‘I Hang Suspended’ just highlights the chasm between the Boo Radleys pop flourishes and their equally enjoyable experimental alter ego. The latter was given free reign on the Boo’s 1993 masterpiece ‘Giant Steps’. Here was a heretofore shoegaze/lo-fi indie outfit completely kicking out the jams and going for broke. The spectacular success of what was achieved owes much to Martin Carr’s pristine writing and lead singer Sice’s crystal vocals. The playing for its part is ingenious, employing a vast array of instruments to add fluidity to passages of music that has no right to be so digestible. Carr’s gift for melody could in other hands have made the Boo Radleys a lot of money, instead he punctuated the sweetest audio with experimental left field outbursts that had audiophiles in raptures. ‘Giant Steps’ hasn’t a solitary weakness so with that in mind I am going to dispense with my normal one track per post rule. Fall in love with this music and Pale Saints fans stretch out your ears for the lush Meriel Barham on ‘Rodney King’. KD

The Boo Radleys - I Hang Suspended

The Boo Radleys - Rodney King (Song For Lenny Bruce)

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Year: 1993

If this were from a Swedish outfit it would be all over the blogosphere like a hicky. Instead We Should Be Dead come from a much sexier part of the world known as Limerick. Yep, that’s the same place that threw up the Cranberries a while back. Who knows what the future holds for this new quartet but if you are in any way partial to a piece of tasty Blondie then it’s time to dine out in style. ‘Forget Romance, Let's Dance’ has already done well in Ireland and is indicative of the post punk on offer on their eponymous debut LP. Chugging chords, elastic beats and a sweet vocal (I'm hearing Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura) turns what could have been an admirable pastiche into something that could yet shatter a lot of hearts (and not necessarily just the ones made of glass). KD

We Should Be Dead - Forget Romance, Let's Dance

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Year: 2007

And you thought Dan Deacon was where it was at for exhilaratingly odd electronic sorts. Time to revise that notion I’m afraid. I don’t what this is. I don’t know how to classify it. Is it being wilfully obscure or is there a perfectly formed pop song in there somewhere? Could it be a nursery rhyme or the perfect soundtrack to a slasher movie? Pablo Díaz-Reixa is from the Canary Islands and makes this wondrous noise so probably only he can answer these questions (he and those aliens in Close Encounters). Oh right, pop/tropical/club, should have guessed, it makes complete sense now. Right I’m off to buy a set of cheap steel drums, they are all the rage you know. KD

El Guincho - Fata Morgana

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Year: 2008

Despite the name Bigmouth Strikes Again are most definitely not a Smiths cover band. In fact they are from a different musical sphere altogether, one that will have you thinking of several post-rock visionaries. Their debut ‘Ascender/Descender’ is vibrant and adventurous and quite an achievement given that the quartet recorded it during a short break away from real life mundanity. The album has plenty of big hitters with the best of them challenging the great Explosions In The Sky for emotive impact. Take the opener ‘You Shall Know Our Velocity’, which although quite short punches the air around it with the ferocity of a space shuttle at take off. It helps of course that the build up is absent; instead Bigmouth Strikes Again lay their noisiest cards on the table within the opening exchanges. If any of you remember Whipping Boy's effervescent debut ‘Submarine’ this will surely rekindle the flame you once held for it. Close your eyes and dream of distant worlds. KD

Bigmouth Strikes Again - You Shall Know Our Velocity

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Year: 2008

There are so many great things about this song it would take a review of encyclopaedia proportions to do it justice. The obvious crowd pleasing moments would have to include Chase Duncan’s cool slacker vocals and Brian Lubinsky’s refreshing off-kilter drumming but the overall feeling is of an indie classic in waiting. ‘Power Lines’ is a sneak preview from the Interiors self-titled LP, which is due out in April. This miracle is that the album got made at all after Duncan (who is also the bands guitarist) almost lost a finger in a freak accident involving (the) wind in Chicago (!) early last year. Luckily he recovered and the Interiors seem destined to make good on their recent signing with the 54-40 or Fight label. The forthcoming album is awash with great singles like the slow burner with a jangling heart ‘Crashing Through’, the low slung shuffling rhythms of ‘All The Cities’ and the rapid-fire gunslinger that is ‘Ghosts’. The Interiors have serious designs on your attention and if you know what's good for you you'll recipricate. KD

The Interiors - Power Lines

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Year: 2008

Wohoo, great news this morning as Bell Orchestre are recording a new album. Similar yelps of joy should also be coming from others who have heard their masterful ‘Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light’ which came out 3 long years ago. This is the band Bach would have put together if he had known what was to follow in his path. Bell Orchestre never resort to words though, their rolling herds of sonic invention are based purely on their interaction with a wide array of instruments. Success in other arenas (some of them play in the Arcade Fire) it seems has taken its toll on the time that can be given to Bell Orchestre. But now at least we have some evidence that something is in the (reed) pipeline. Let’s hope the new material can trigger sweet emotions like ‘The Upwards March’ and ‘Les Lumieres Pt. 1’ do. KD

Bell Orchestre - Les Lumieres Pt. 1

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Year: 2005

There is a song by Sufjan Stevens from his ‘Greetings From Michigan’ LP called ‘Redford (for Yia-Yia and Pappou)’ which is played entirely on the piano (some slight synth backing too). It gets me every time which is rare for a piece so quiet as I normally prefer the up tempo sort. So on the face of it Eluvium shouldn’t stand a chance but Matthew Cooper ain’t just your normal ivory tinkler. In fact it seems entirely appropriate that his ambient landscapes should be corralled into the same pen that contains melodic noise merchants Explosions In The Sky. They are currently in the middle of a Northern/Southern Hemisphere tour together and tonight they arrive in Dublin. The audience may be primarily chasing EITS’s sonic lightning but I’m sure by the close they will be taking some Eluvium away with them. ‘Etude de Multiples’ is as far as I know an unreleased track from Cooper but much like the Stevens piece mentioned above it is a thing of quiet beauty. KD

Eluvium - Etude de Multiples

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Year: 2007

It’s going to be something alright. Those mysterious Texan instrumentalists Explosions In The Sky play Dublin’s Tripod tomorrow night and my ears are waxing lyrical at the prospect (there’s a joke in there somewhere). EITS are undoubtedly post-rock’s kingpins having overtaken Mogwai as the Scottish collective increasingly lose their focus. Last year’s ‘All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone’ was a sprawling affair that lacked the finesse of its predecessor ‘The Earth Is A Not A Cold Dead Place’ but still managed to wring several dozen damp beach towels worth of emotion from the hearts of the listener. EITS push their message through arching crescendo’s of white noise, crystallised valley’s of jangling chords and everything in between. An inspiring example can be heard via ‘The Only Moment We Were Alone’ from 2003 which should see you on the cusp of exhilaration only to fall back into old ways 2 minutes later as you struggle to prittstick the fragments of flesh you once called a heart. It's going to be a rollercoaster night. KD

Explosions In The Sky - The Only Moment We Were Alone

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Year: 2003

You can now buy this song on one of our Indiecater compilations here!

Last year ace Offaly act My Brother Woody brought out the quirkily titled ‘It's A Long Way From That Sort Of Thing You Were Raised’ thus confirming Ireland's reputation as a land full of artists with a penchant for elongated home truths as album titles. It all began way back in the nineties when the Hitchers (whose minor splash 'Strachan' got a tiny thumbs up from the ginger Celt himself) decided to release a record called ‘It's All Fun & Games 'Til Someone Loses An Eye’. So nobody should be surprised to read that Michael Knight's (whose debut ‘Youth Is Wasted On The Young’ still sends hugger's pop absorbing nerves into spasms of delight) forthcoming smash is to be saddled with the following mouthful ‘I'm Not Entirely Clear How I Ended Up Like This’. Of course it all makes sense when you sit down and examine Richard Murphy the creative force behind the band. A quick breeze through the photo montage on his myspace page reveals someone struck with a fashion sensibility that can only be described as ‘disco gringo’. Besides the devilment there is a keen talent at work, Murphy comes complete with a gift for rotating harmonies and an ability to colour them with glossy orchestral manoeuvres that never appear superficial. ‘I'm Not Entirely Clear How I Ended Up Like This’ may be a step away from the pop freeflow of his debut but the new found maturity is equally as entrancing. Along with the cunning pop songs there are flashes of baroque and even moments of spaghetti westernism. ‘Dumbshow’ is the operatic opener, sans lyrics it ebbs and flows with Murphy joined along the way by a trio of sirens, some double bass, a string or 2 and a floppy fringe full of inspiration. Like so many of Michael Knight's compositions it is both uplifting and melancholic at the same time with an ever changing list of dynamics ensuring that not even the most hopelessly attention deficient individual will find time to be bored. ‘I'm Not Entirely Clear How I Ended Up Like This’ is due out in April on yesboyicecream records, cone get it. KD

Michael Knight - Dumbshow

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Year: 2008

{ review culled from the indiecater archives, album rated 7/10 }

It was always hard to understand the pious attitude towards James in the music press. On the face of it here was a band that had the gifted knack of coining off the shelf airs full of energetic melody. On its release the critics scoffed at ‘Seven’ for supposed stadium oriention. That somehow James had forgotten their humble folk-rock beginnings and had turned into would-be rock gods. That's progress in my book and looking back ‘Seven’ is a monumental improvement on their previous efforts 'Stutter', ‘Strip Mine’ and 'Gold Mother' which lacked the finesse and imagination of the follow-up. There's an energy to the music that went some way to translating the spectacle that was James in concert. One such show was recorded for MTV around the same time ‘Seven’ was released and it remains a landmark film of a band at the peak of their powers, where cartoon flowers elegantly waltzed with an effortless montage of sound.

'Born of Frustration' is smothered in luscious trumpet sounds (supplied by the appropriately named Andy Diagram). Don't know what it is about that instrument but when it's used properly it gives me the shivers. The songs ingrained spirit is precocious and endearing. 'Ring the Bells' is as streamlined a pop tune as you're likely to hear and as Tim Booth hollers it's hard not to mimic his puppet dangling in the wind dance moves. 'Sound' has a similar theme that sees Booth once again successfully reprise his werewolf persona. When James sail close to the good ship U2 on 'Live a Love of Life' retribution would be forthcoming were it not for 'Don't Wait that Long' which is an exhaustive example of how a love song should be written. The song broods by way of a dalliance between Saul Davis’ fingers and the chords at his disposal. This is the sound of the human body straining to control too many wounded ventricles. ‘Next Lover’ showcases the aftermath and the knowing frayed playing subtly coaxes the required imagery from the words. The album engineers its way to the summit with a couple of James most notable achievements. 'Heavens' is as angelic as you'd expect and proves without doubt that Coldplay weren’t the first band to devise memorable piano riffs. It’s the title track, however, that encapsulates the essence of the piece. Shimmering above the strain of sweet guitar strings and classy brass sunsets Tim Booth pulls on his most affecting persona to steal the girl of his dreams.

We have a lot to thank James for. Their t-shirts alone kept me in fashionable tops for years. While these may be passé now, their music still sounds contemporary and vibrant. Later albums like ‘Laid’ and ‘Whiplash’ were accomplished affairs, which while never losing sight of the tune lacked the adrenalin rush that so propelled this album. ‘Seven’ is all the evidence that was ever needed to prove that James had the ammunition to be greats. Unfortunately in 1992 the sound of Seattle had swept all diversions aside so much so that ‘Seven’ never garnered the attention it warranted. What a shame then, that this great band will be remembered for a novelty hit. It’s enough to make you sit down in sympathy. KD

James - Born Of Frustration

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Year: 1992

Look up Mapother IV and you’ll likely get back more references to his teethness than of the band of the same name. The reason, well Mapother IV are not one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, they are just a psychedelic sonic manifestation about to release a trio of records this year. Signed to Ghost of Pasha’s 2lofi4U record label they should make friends wherever Velvet Underground and Brian Jonestown Massacre's groovy fans hang out. ‘Barlow (Is Dreaming Of You Somewhere)’ I’m reliably informed is not about a permed bespeckled soap monster. Can you even imagine her in good enough form to ‘dance round the corner like the belle of the avenue’? Nah, didn’t think so. The song is of a jolly disposition with its head firmly fixed on a sound that first emerged about 40 years ago. Out of time, periodically out of tune but boy is it good for the mind, body and spirit. KD

Mapother IV - Barlow (Is Dreaming Of You Somewhere)

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Year: 2008

If you think Fanfarlo are quite a treat then you may just fall in love with their artistic bedfellows Pete and the Pirates. Despite a smattering of great singles their debut album ‘Little Death’ won’t see the light of day until next month. Their hometown is Reading and even though it hosts one of the biggest music festivals in the UK every year I can’t recall a single musical great (outside of the stupendous Chapterhouse that is) from there. That should be all about to change though once you clasp ears on PATP. I mean isn’t ‘She Doesn't Belong To Me’ just the cuddliest piece of ramshackle pop you’ve heard this year? The jangle does the trick all on its own but then you can add Tommy Sanders crackling voice (yes it is he from Tap Tap and yes this song did appear on ‘Lanzafame’ and yes that is another band from Reading) and a stop-start momentum to lift proceedings into the realm of classic pop song par excellence. Mid table wannabes, not a chance, you’re listening to the future premier champions. KD

Pete and the Pirates - She Doesn't Belong

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Year: 2008

I often wonder how people from outside Ireland view the songs that we hold dear. ‘Arclight’ is certainly one of them, a tune that is recognisable to every Irish ear that has come into contact with a radio. Produced 19 years ago it needed a re-release in 1991 to find its audience. Right from the off the stark piano keys will suck you in and even if they don’t Nick Kelly’s emotive vocals have the wherewithal to stop you from wriggling free. ‘Arclight’ was included on the Fat Lady Sings debut album ‘Twist’, which appeared like a revelation in the pop starved home produced market of 1991. The Fat Lady Sings it seemed were going places and even signed a major deal with Atlantic Records. Sadly it wasn't to be and Kelly left the band soon after their second album ‘Johnson’ came out in 1993. He has since carved out a moderately successful solo career. KD

The Fat Lady Sings - Arclight

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Year: 1991