The month in Northern Irish music...
So 2012 is upon us and if you believe the hype this is the year of the rapture and the world's going to end… but on a positive note at least we have a jolly good old amount of exciting new music to keep our ears happy and have the craic until the ‘End of Days‘!
This year Northern Ireland is already showing a wealth of promising material, first off lets get started with…
Decomposing In Paris
Decomposing In Paris are a quirky little experimental trio. Few bands that hail from Northern Ireland are as distinctive and interestingly stunning. For such a new band on the scene they send shivers as to what they could become with the release of their debut EP expected early this year. Decomposing in Paris’s music is as poetic as their name, songs like ‘Naked’ show already likenesses with Portishead and even in some respects the vocals of Becca Hopkins could be matched with, the haunting dramatics of Sharon den Adel on Within Temptations’ softer tracks. A favourite track of mine is ‘Ambition’ with its beautiful unique and melodic vibe complimented by delicate musical lines.
Moving on to a heavier genre…
Eyes See Blind
Eyes See Blind are an exuberant metal core five piece from Larne/Belfast. The self described meat and potatoes of the NI scene are a commanding new band with a thunderous rhythm and live energy, that will see them recording their debut album in August of this year with Rising Records UK.
The bands EP ‘You’ll Never Kill The Tide’ is three tracks of rip- roaring heavy metal, that would suit fans of the likes of Bullet For My Valentine and is certainly not for those of you who enjoy a nice laidback anthem. Stand out track for me has to be ‘Let’s Settle The Score’ which combines not only the energy and exuberance of the music at the bands core but the razor sharp scream vocals of Ricky Boyle.
On to a mellower vibe…
Chris Keys
NI has no shortage of singer songwriters but Chris Keys is emerging as a one to watch in 2012. This year will see the release of his six track EP ‘New Day’ and if his EP launch at the Blackbox in Belfast was anything to go by fans of acoustic gentle harmonies and the likes of John Mayer will be in for a treat. The debut EP title track ‘New Day’ is a pleasant melody filled little gem of a tune.
And onto a really exciting note…
Like Statues
Now if there is one band I am really excited about this year it is Like Statues… I haven’t been this excited about a band from Northern Ireland since the first time I heard the likes of Intermission play…
Like Statues are a 4 piece alternative rock band from Belfast and state influences from the likes of Reuben and Twin Atlantic and you can certainly hear that resonate throughout their material. The bands first EP way back in October 2010, ‘Numeric in Design’ had five excellent tracks of progressive alternative rock at its best. The single ’The Grand Scheme of Things’ is a blindingly beautifully thought-provoking song and if the bands new demos are anything to go by; then 2012 may very well be a very exciting year for them. The new demos from the band I have had the pleasure of having a sneaky peak at certainly send shivers, with just an ever so slightly edgier feel to them. I cannot express enough how much this is a band people should be watching this year. New track ‘Swept Along’ is four and a half minutes of pure listening pleasure and ‘Eye Level’ is an experimentally heavier track with catchy little guitar riffs for the ears to enjoy.
Well that is my pick of the NI artists to be excited about, well just a fraction of them it was a tricky little task to pick just a few… there is a whole host of exciting new material coming from the likes of The Jepettos, Dead Til Friday, Wlydling and so many more that I could probably write a book but we have a whole years worth of time to listen and discover it all! Until next time…
Words by Dorothy Lawrence
This year Northern Ireland is already showing a wealth of promising material, first off lets get started with…
Decomposing In Paris
Decomposing In Paris are a quirky little experimental trio. Few bands that hail from Northern Ireland are as distinctive and interestingly stunning. For such a new band on the scene they send shivers as to what they could become with the release of their debut EP expected early this year. Decomposing in Paris’s music is as poetic as their name, songs like ‘Naked’ show already likenesses with Portishead and even in some respects the vocals of Becca Hopkins could be matched with, the haunting dramatics of Sharon den Adel on Within Temptations’ softer tracks. A favourite track of mine is ‘Ambition’ with its beautiful unique and melodic vibe complimented by delicate musical lines.
Moving on to a heavier genre…
Eyes See Blind
Eyes See Blind are an exuberant metal core five piece from Larne/Belfast. The self described meat and potatoes of the NI scene are a commanding new band with a thunderous rhythm and live energy, that will see them recording their debut album in August of this year with Rising Records UK.
The bands EP ‘You’ll Never Kill The Tide’ is three tracks of rip- roaring heavy metal, that would suit fans of the likes of Bullet For My Valentine and is certainly not for those of you who enjoy a nice laidback anthem. Stand out track for me has to be ‘Let’s Settle The Score’ which combines not only the energy and exuberance of the music at the bands core but the razor sharp scream vocals of Ricky Boyle.
On to a mellower vibe…
Chris Keys
NI has no shortage of singer songwriters but Chris Keys is emerging as a one to watch in 2012. This year will see the release of his six track EP ‘New Day’ and if his EP launch at the Blackbox in Belfast was anything to go by fans of acoustic gentle harmonies and the likes of John Mayer will be in for a treat. The debut EP title track ‘New Day’ is a pleasant melody filled little gem of a tune.
And onto a really exciting note…
Like Statues
Now if there is one band I am really excited about this year it is Like Statues… I haven’t been this excited about a band from Northern Ireland since the first time I heard the likes of Intermission play…
Like Statues are a 4 piece alternative rock band from Belfast and state influences from the likes of Reuben and Twin Atlantic and you can certainly hear that resonate throughout their material. The bands first EP way back in October 2010, ‘Numeric in Design’ had five excellent tracks of progressive alternative rock at its best. The single ’The Grand Scheme of Things’ is a blindingly beautifully thought-provoking song and if the bands new demos are anything to go by; then 2012 may very well be a very exciting year for them. The new demos from the band I have had the pleasure of having a sneaky peak at certainly send shivers, with just an ever so slightly edgier feel to them. I cannot express enough how much this is a band people should be watching this year. New track ‘Swept Along’ is four and a half minutes of pure listening pleasure and ‘Eye Level’ is an experimentally heavier track with catchy little guitar riffs for the ears to enjoy.
Well that is my pick of the NI artists to be excited about, well just a fraction of them it was a tricky little task to pick just a few… there is a whole host of exciting new material coming from the likes of The Jepettos, Dead Til Friday, Wlydling and so many more that I could probably write a book but we have a whole years worth of time to listen and discover it all! Until next time…
Words by Dorothy Lawrence
