Hello and introduction

Hello and welcome to everyone reading this! This is my online archive for all my music reviews for Belfast and Northern Ireland. I will be updating this as I write them.

If you wish to have a piece reviewed, please email me at benjaminjlmagee@gmail.com

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Stayne - Parachute

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Stayne - Parachute Derry singer/songwriter Stayne makes a highly anticipated return to the ‘new releases’ column with ‘ Parachute ’. A self-described pop artist who brings “something a little different,” his newest single pulls no punches. On his latest, the ‘I slay ’ performer tackles everything from alcoholism, spirituality and needing someone to hold on to a 'human parachute.’ Know to fuse his lyricism with introspection and self-worth before sending them out into the world, Stayne’s newest is his best so far. The warm gruff vocals of the walled city resident flow into range, telling a tale of victory and failure. A stripped back arrangement of keys and ghostly strings help elevate the vocal message, ultimately committing addition by subtraction. Wallowing in a more subtle sound than would be expected from pop allows Stayne to bring his voice to the forefront, giving lines such as “I’m a whole different man when I’m holding a beer” a new gravity. With this being
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Stone Broken, Those Damn Crows + Baleful Creed - 10th February 2019

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Stone Broken, Those Damn Crows + Baleful Creed - 10th February 2019 As I make my way down fountain street, my breath materialises in front of me. As it dissipates into the night, a low rumbling grows. It’s emanating from the top floor of local music hostelry Voodoo, which plays host tonight to a contingent of hard rock fanatic and headbang enthusiasts. The scuzz is palpable as I make my way through the door. First onstage is Belfast’s own Baleful Creed . The heavy rock quartet, known for their weighty riffs and ruthless demeanour, are having some fun tonight onstage. While sticking to the meat and bones of their gruff sound, we are treated to some wavey psychedelic blues in between licks. These deviations don’t last however, and it’s not long before pounding drum fills are shaking my back wall table and gruff, leathery textured vocals are searing the paint of the wall. Ripping up the stage with a prehistoric sound steeped in the blues (a wild harmonica appears for a moment),
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The Hunna - Dare

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The Hunna - Dare  Hertfordshire four-piece The Hunna have returned with their newest endeavour Dare, an album that screams “all filler no killer.” Most bands struggle with their second release and The Hunna are no exception. Just as Arctic Monkeys were the first ‘youtube’ band to make it big, The Hunna shunned the circuit for Facebook presence, which worked very well for them as regards to their fanbase. Unfortunately for the rest of us, this did not translate into good music. While I appreciate there are very few Alex Turner/Paul Weller types in the world, Dare is sonically and nigh unforgivably boring even in this era of repetition and dishonesty. There is a formulaic, synthetic feel to the album that sounds not only tiresome but outright disingenuous. Music is amazing because it's organic and primal, it comes from a place of sweat that travels ‘from heart to limb, to pen’ (Bryan Fallon, Handwritten, 2013). This is where the magic comes from, but Dare sounds more akin to
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