HeadStuff’s Best New Irish Music | The 10 Best Tracks Of August 2022
With the absolute wealth of talent cropping up on a weekly and monthly basis around the country, it can be pretty daunting to keep up with the latest and greatest music on the Irish independent scene in a given month. That’s where HeadStuff comes in – as part of a brand spanking new feature we’ll be selecting HeadStuff’s Best New Irish Music, naming the freshest and finest tunes from those independent Irish gems that you might have missed but that demand to be heard.
And we’re kicking it all off right now with The Best Tracks Of August 2022.
‘Cafe Continental’ – Fizzy Orange
It’s no secret that Fizzy Orange have been throwing down some of the funkiest tunes around the capital since bursting onto the scene back in 2020, and ‘Cafe Continental’ continues the trend with one of the sextet’s most joyful ad groovy compositions yet. There’s plenty of Thin Lizzy and Boomtown Rats in the Dublin city soul Fizzy Orange serve up on this late summer ska jam.
‘Backwash’ – Gilla Band
The former Girl Band return with their highly anticipated third record Most Normal this coming October. The name may have changed but judging by the ferocious blast of post-punk that is ‘Backwash’, Ireland’s biggest and best noise rockers certainly have not.
‘How Long?’ – Floorshow
The latest single from the hottest new shoegaze band in Ireland, ‘How Long?’ delivers more of the same dreamy vocals and wicked industrial textures that Floorshow have made their own since debuting in December of last year. The band may only be in its infancy, but Floorshow have already established a fully developed and highly captivating sound.
‘Luminator’ – Oisin Mod
As the opening track of Mod’s shimmering debut from this past month, ‘Luminator’ sets the tone perfectly for the psyched out melancholy that Honeycomb unravels over the course of a spellbinding 39 minutes.
As described recently in HeadStuff’s review of Honeycomb, ‘Luminator’ is a “sparsely populated wave of spacey dreampop that uses plucked guitar strings, soothing keys and Mod’s whispered vocals to wash over the listener with a warm yet strangely haunting welcome”.
‘I’ll Be Ready’ – Neil Dexter
The lead single from Dexter’s forthcoming solo debut of the same name is a striking piece of electronica that explores a number of ideas and sounds. Building from a base of retro Eno-esque keys, ‘I’ll Be Ready’ bursts to life with a pulsating beat that swells into something entirely modern before a gentle ambient outro. It’s a fascinating preview for what is sure to be one of the most intriguing Irish electronic records of the back half of this year.
‘Shoulder Blades’ – Ailbhe Reddy
The alt-folk star trades in her guitar for a piano and synths on this lightly exploratory single ahead of the expected sequel to 2020’s Personal History. ‘Shoulder Blades’ is a gorgeous departure that highlights Reddy’s exceptional voice and poetic lyricism. It’s also got one of the best vocal hooks of the Dubliner’s discography to date for good measure. More of this please.
‘Always Neighbours’ – Lemoncello
Possessing all of the haunting baroque beauty we’ve now come to expect from Laura Quirke and Claire Kinsella, ‘Always Neighbours’ is “an ode to the cyclical nature of love and life” according to the band themselves.
‘Frost Is All Over’ – The Mary Wallopers
The seven piece trad punk outfit recently announced their debut album will arrive this Autumn when they dropped ‘Frost Is All Over’ last weekend, and this lead single is classic Mary Wallopers – a punchy and effortlessly charismatic slice of modern trad that retains the intimate charm of the Dundalk group’s early ballads.
‘Int’l Biking Anthem’ – Local Boy
There was no shortage of excellent singles courtesy of Jake Hurley this past month as ‘Crazy Stupid Love’ and ‘Get Up (Out The Bed)’ made for two fantastic singles from the Dublin singer-songwriter, but the sun kissed nostalgia of ‘Int’l Biking Anthem’ gets the nod here as Local Boy returns with all the swagger and character that first brought Hurley’s irresistible slacker R&B to attention in recent years.
‘If I Get To Sleep’ – Weather Underground
The Raheny quartet’s Making A Day Of It EP skillfully blends the complimentary styles of the band’s dual songwriters, with frontman Daniel Brady’s infectious indie bangers offset by drummer Daniel Kearns’ psychedelic bedroom rock. Closing track and highlight ‘If I Get To Sleep’ falls somewhere in between the two, a charming slice of Cure indebted indie pop that makes effective use of the band’s newfound secret weapon – the almighty kazoo.
Listen to and follow HeadStuff’s continuously updated Best New Irish Music playlist below:
