This has been yet another exciting month in Northern Ireland… let’s kick things off with some brand spanking new emerging talent. First off the bat is the offering from former Front Woman of No Mean City, Jilly St John.
Jilly returns to her rawking roots with her new venture the aptly named Wyldling. Hot off the press Wyldling is much in its early stages but St John and “Friends” which the act consist of have already offered the online world a taste of some pretty promising tunes. The initial stand out track for me is ‘Waiting on Water’ which holds one hell of a catchy chorus. The track which holds an unmistakable guitar solo slotted in between the echoing raw vocals of St John, shows just how far the front woman has come from her No Mean City days.
It is hard to define which genre exactly Wyldling fits into, but one thing’s for certain NI will be hearing a lot about them for the rest of 2012.
The scene has been buzzing lately with one EP, Barbara from the very talented Best Boy Grip. The hype surrounding Best Boy Grip is not unjustified, as the first thing that springs to mind when listening to this EP is to put it simply, that it is pure listening pleasure for the ears. Barbara is just pure melodic genius and personally it’s been a long time since I have heard such an inviting EP, from any artist. The EP is filled with beautiful lyrics “My heart stops beating when I hear you speak”, which can be somewhat comical at times “you’re the one that feeds me honey from the hive” are just infectious from start to finish. Stand out track for myself on this EP has to be the title track Barbara, with its beautiful upbeat and pure fun vibe. This is one artist that I see going from strength to strength.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+best+boy+grip&qpvt=youtube+best+boy+grip&mid=BDCF524004A9754C91EFBDCF524004A9754C91EF&FORM=LKVR2#
Next up on the scene we have A Plastic Rose who will be releasing their much anticipated new single on March 19th, under the Di Di Mau label. The band kicked off 2012 with one hell of a start by supporting the legendary NI act, Snow Patrol in London’s O2 arena and Belfast’s Odyssey arena, both of which were sold out shows. Gary Lightbody who sought out the band himself in a local venue, in Belfast was impressed enough to add them to the Snow Patrol tour support. The first single from the album which is rumoured to being released in September 2012, is none other than ‘Build From The Ground Up’. The track starts with an orchestral feel before going fast into A Plastic Roses own take on alternative rock, which takes me vastly back to the nineties. A band hotly tipped not to be missed, I would recommend keeping an eye out for the rest of these guys singles in the run up to their already much talked about new album.
One band that I cannot fail to mention that has been buzzing all over Northern Ireland recently is the crazily upbeat, Wonder Villains. The band who hail from Derry-Londonderry are in one word pure POP. In a scene filled with rock and indie, the Wonder Villains could be described as none other than a refreshing change. Popular track is the highly cheerful ‘Zola’ with its zesty and infectious catchy fun filled pop feel. A band who are as bubbly in their music as they are on stage, if you like that sort of thing and fancy a change they would get my vote as a band to go check out.
That is it in the way of bands and EP’s for now but when it comes to NI, it is most definitely a scene that never sleeps. If your around in the next month are so these are my tips for gigs to go check out.
New Noise events will be bringing all of Northern Irelands hottest acts to two venues in Derry-Londonderry, Masons bar and the Nerve Centre. Next up is More than Conquers, Dutch Shultz and Droids on the 30th March, a club night where all the cool kids will be for sure. One gig I am truly excited about though is Radar Presents on Thursday 1st March in the Speakeasy bar, Belfast, with In case of Fire, Before Machines and firm favourites, Like Statues.
If like me you can’t wait until next time for your guide to what to listen to in Northern Ireland, local Belfast Radio station Blast 106 promote what’s new in local music every Wednesday on Through the Wall 7pm to 9pm.
Listen here: http://blast106.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=1
That’s all from me for now but I shall be back soon with lots more in the exciting world of the NI music scene.
Words by: Dorothy Lawrence
