alternative music

It's been a long-awaited return for Vampire Weekend fans, and their fifth studio album, Only God Was Above Us (OGWAU) does not disappoint. Breaking away from their previous Afro-Americana and folk-inspired sounds, this album is a…

A new solo effort from a rock veteran in the latter stages of their career wouldn’t exactly be something many new music fans would be rushing to hear in any given week. Then again, Kim Gordon isn’t just any rock veteran. And boy, does her…

On Thursday 24th of May 2012, a little-known yet extremely buzzy band with an unusual name took to the stage at Dublin’s Academy 2, the smaller basement venue at Middle Abbey Street’s Academy. Alt-J’s debut album An Awesome Wave wasn’t…

Gathering my notes to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything, a satisfied exhale fills the silence in the Library Bar of the Central Hotel. “The Guinness tastes good. It’s good to be home” says Conor Wynne, guitarist with Otherkin, the…

In 2007, things for Nine Inch Nails fans were getting weird: songs were found on flash drives in venue bathrooms, burner phones were being handed out from the backs of vans that led to anti-establishment rallies, a secret show and a…

"AMPLIFY CHAOS." "TERMINATE EVENT." "SIMULATION ON." "SATISFACTION." "DEVIATION." "ADD VIOLENCE." These are just some of things found on the mysterious and clue-laden cover art for Nine Inch Nails' new EP Add Violence, an image of an…

2017 is passing by at an alarming rate, and it's almost hard to believe that some of these albums were released only in the last six months. June is the perfect time to reflect on the year so far, and this one has been a stormer. Mark…

New Music Weekly is your one stop shop for new releases in the world of music each and every week. From the best of the best, to some of the rest, Mark Conroy is here to give you the low down on what you might have missed. This week;  …

They never simply go through the motions; never play it as if a set is just another box to be ticked off on the touring circuit. On their previous visit to Dublin, in the National Concert Hall last August, Warpaint kept the crowd on their…

In 2003, I bought my first proper stereo system. It played CDs, had a twin-tape deck so I could record the pretend radio shows I spent hours on, a remote control and you could hook it up to a MiniDisc player. Two entire albums on a single…