Saturday, June 12, 2010

Summer 2k10 in Dublin

Hey you guys, I'm in Dublin until August! One of my goals here this summer is to learn about the different independent music communities here and report back to y'all, so you can have a favorite new band from Ireland. Luckily after only 2 nights of local shows, it seems like this won't be hard.

Yeh Deadlies "Magazine" @ Shebeen Chic in Dublin 6/10/10


On Thursday night I went to see local 5-piece pop band Yeh Deadlies, after a recommendation by a clerk at a record store. The recommendation was confirmed by 3 or 4 other trustworthy opinions throughout the week. (Good call guys!) The band was celebrating the release of their new Magazine 7", which is out with help from Popical Island, a new Dublin-centric DIY-type label. (Their new label comp "Popical Island #1" — stream for free here — also features Brooklyn/American fave So Cow.)

The single ("Magazine") has kind of a Slumberland feel to it — fuzzy guitars, lo-fi female/male harmonies — but they also have some folkier acoustic songs, like the B-side "Consitution Hill." Listen to "Magazine" on the player embedded below or check out the video from Thursday. Look how awesome that bar is! Also their 7" has awesome album art:
<a href="http://yehdeadlies.bandcamp.com/album/magazine-7">Magazine by Yeh Deadlies</a>

Then a couple of different people from that show recommended checking out another show the next night: I ♡ The Monster Hero, SquAreHead, and French Suspense at the Thomas House. They were all really fun. French Suspense played a cover of "Knotty Pine" by Dirty Projectors. (My fave song by them!) My favorite set was SquAreHead. "Fake Blood" is a hit:

<a href="http://popicalisland.bandcamp.com/track/fake-blood">Fake Blood by Popical Island #1</a>

These are just a couple of the dozens of bands that have been recommended over the past few days, but definitely worth checking out. Expect several more updates on this blog, Artist Advocacy, and the Irish music mag I'm interning for this summer, State. I'll also be posting non-music-related updates from Ireland on my Tumblr and Twitter.

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