Applause Music Reviews: Belfast and Northern Ireland

It would seem in modern months, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to the punk rock renaissance happening in Derry. It would appear that every other day there is new EP or album coming out of the walled city, the latest of which coming from indie punk three-piece Lost Avenue (LA). Their newest album Fears has the pedal to the metal from opening to ending, capturing the spirit and furore of punk without sacrificing the indie hooks that make their choruses so addicting. Album opener and titular track Fears sees LA announce their intention to the world, heavy riffage and dangerous licks. Nearly half a minute passes before any vocals are heard, only for signer Dylan Bradley to roar into life. Bradley's voice, at risk of being drowned out by the avalanche emanating from drummer Michael Brown, rises to the task, as powerful as it is magnetic. Almost against my will, I could feel my legs start to tap as the goosebumps travelled down my arms, anticipating the breakdown. Straddli

Ty Segall is, to put it lightly, a polarising figure musically. His album bedfellow, White Fence, is no exception in this manner. Loath as I am to use this tired metaphor, they are somewhat akin to Marmite: you are either entranced by the kaleidoscopic music or puzzled by the madness, Unfortunately for the duo’s latest album Joy, its the latter. The magic of the partners first co-album Hair, wherein their talent and musicianship flowed as seamlessly as diffusion, now seems alien when compared to the co-writing of Joy, which is more reminiscent of oil and water. My first play-through was a struggle as Joy feature a gruelling 15 songs in just under 32 minutes. I am hesitant to judge an album on its runtime but it is noticeable enough to warrant commentary. Somehow managing to feel both rushed AND excessive, Joy is a clear victory for quantity over quality, with only one song over five minutes and three songs under one. Feeling more like a vanity project than an album, or even an a

The long-awaited debut album for the pride of Australia's Gold Coast, Amy Billings a.k.a Amy Shark new release Love Monster is a beast in its own right, but not one you should be in awe of. Heavy with addictive choruses, pop pedigree and soaring melodies, Love Monster is more than the average debut, filled with enough pop roots and indie hooks to draw in multiple groups, but not enough variety to be the truly special album it feels like it should be. Residing comfortably in the niche market of indie pop, Sharks displays an uncanny ability to write beyond her experience. Sounding more like a journeyman than a rookie, Sharks switches from playful to heartfelt depending in the track. Lyrics tinged with wit, emotion and attraction fill each song but not in keeping with the tropes. That would be far too easy. Instead, Sharks writes relatable and (more importantly) believable ballads that had me either placing a hand over heart with emotion (lead single Adore ) or fist pump

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

Gorillaz - The Now Now What is perhaps the most interesting thing about artist collective brain-child of Damon Albarn Gorillaz is that they seem to exist almost exclusively in the realm of the expected unexpected. After releasing the critically acclaimed Humanz last year, nobody was anticipating nor expecting a new album. Yet, I somehow find myself completely unfazed by the idea that Albarn not only had another album in the works but that they released it while touring their newest. However, one can't help but notice that these albums would have worked better as a single release as opposed to two separate ones. The Now Now has high points, but it feels somewhat rushed and suffers from feelings of inadequacy and reluctance as if Albarn himself is unsure of how much he wishes to share. Still, The Now Now is not without its pleasures. Humanz represented a break from the norm, if such a thing as the ‘norm’ exists for Gorillaz in that it was experimentally out there in lyrical, pr

ROE - Hey Thomas  ROE, aka Roisin Donald, has once again seen fit to strut her luxurious rhythms and hooks through the airwaves on her newest song Hey Thomas. Known for her infusion of sweet indie licks, razor glass vernacular and clawing lyrics, ROE has her most impressive showing yet. A Kooks inspired riff forms the backbone of this velvet lined indie-pop banger. “And I promise, to be a bit of a bully so that my friends think that I’m funny at your expense” snarls ROE, all cheek and swagger, before the addicting synth beat kicks in, inducing rhythmic finger snaps and grooving shoulder dips. Already a skilled multi-instrumentalist, ROE flexes her lyrical muscles, sliding between witty and sharp to dark and biting. Shades of Sigrid bleed through the booming drums, but it is the subtlety in the lyrics and the sarcasm that ROE puts he down unique spin on things. Rather than bombastic beats and cocaine hooks, there is a merlot muteness amidst a cocktail of sophisticated synth

The Carters - Everything Is Love The worlds premier power couple, who transcended normal adjectives years ago and now apparently only move with words like ‘luxurious’ and ‘thunderous’, has seen fit to grace us with a collaboration album after all these years of coded musical messages and public glare. Rather than a sappy love duet, however, Everything Is Love represent two of the worlds most recognisable artists at their intellectual and influential peaks. Both Jay Z and Beyoncé are masters of their craft and making bad records is simply not their M.O. Try to their form, Everything Is Love is preposterous and glamorous, ripe with respect, love and wit, but also undercut by a real anger, racial commentary and a giant middle finger to the haters. Filled with little surprises along the way, akin to finding a dark chocolate sharp in your chocolate chip cookie, Everything Is Love is an RnB infused hip-hop statement by possibly the best-known couple in the world. Now I approach

Florence + The Machine: High As Hope One thing I've noticed about the truly great singers is their ability to appear huge. I don't mean physically or mentally large, but emotionally gigantic with vocals that can add height to a room with just their voice. You know the type, the vocals that can either make you feel lost in a sea of sweat and mob exhilaration or make you feel so very alone in a crowd as if the singer is speaking to you and you alone. This indelible quality has been afforded to very few in the past century: Freddie Mercury had it. Adele and Paloma Faith both have it. Florence Welch has it, and she's taking it to places never seen before, combining her modern-day Stevie Nicks-ness with the primal, elemental fury that she and her band have become known for. Their newest endeavour ‘High as Hope’ features some of the most personal and furious songs yet, proving that Welch is once again the leading figurehead against what The Guardians describes as ‘The New

Surf Green - 100 Percent Punk rock three-piece Surf Green (SG) released their latest EP 100 Percent and were gracious enough to forward me a copy to tell you, the people, what I think of it. In a sentence: it’s loud, it’s fast and it’s punk. Did you expect anything else? Much like their live sets, SG’s EP positively drips with enthusiasm and barbarity. They doubled down on their strengths and produced their most impressive, polished and high sounding EP to date. Whereas 2017’s Real Friends lacked the balance between live, electricity energy and necessary production, resulting in an audible lack of identity, 100 Percent almost sound like a different band. SG have fixed their mistakes and we have been rewarded accordingly with a fantastic, vocally driven and brutal EP. The opening track is almost the most important one, as it sets the tone and pace of the album. SG do exactly this with Santo, with its battle cry guitars, screeching vocals and zero ***** attitudes. The perfect met

Biffy Clyro - MTV Unplugged: Live at Roundhouse, London  Live albums tend to be challenging for most bands. Recording music is a delicate process at the best of times, and contending with the numerous faults on any given night as well as a screaming fan base can often deliver mediocre results. They rarely capture the atmosphere in a stadium, which is why when a good live album comes along, its immediately talked about in the same vein as ‘ Live and Dangerous ’ ( Thin Lizzy ) or ‘ Strangers in the Night ’ ( UFO ). Enter ‘ Biffy Clyro ” with their newest album ‘ MTV Unplugged: Live at Roundhouse, London. ’ Long inspired by Kurt Cobain and ‘ Nirvana ’ (Frontman Simon Neil credits the Seattle Grunge icons for his decision to learn guitar), I went into this album with a rough expectation to find similarities between this album and ‘ Nirvana’s ’ iconic unplugged set. I also loaded a fair amount of scepticism. I know who Biffy are, and I knew this would be very different from their