Applause Music Reviews: Belfast and Northern Ireland

Auspicious does not do justice. Culture Night in Belfast, one of the biggest nights of the calendar year, completes its first decade. As my head bobs against the window on my train, however, I am drawn to the faces around me, Irish and British, immigrant and local, and crack a small smile as physical proof of a matter materialises around me – Culture Night is about the culture of Belfast. This is not a celebration of Irish culture, but the hundreds of communities and families that make our port city such a thriving, unique cluster. As I depart Great Victoria Street station and slip into the masses, my theory is confirmed as humans of all shapes, sizes and orientations fill my vision. Truly a night to be proud of. I head first past City Hall wherein I hear the unmistakable whine of police sirens. I raise my hands in mock/completely serious surrender before approaching the source of this distraction. A large stage has been set up by the  Inter-Cultural Community Development Foun

Paul McCartney - Egypt Station At 76 years of age, many would be content to ride the coattails of their past achievements. Few have more right to do so that Paul McCartney, who had some success as a young man with a few bands. You may have heard of them. Sir Paul, the curator of a discography that spans half a century, has long rejected the notion of basking in the past, instead focusing on two things: the audience, and the future. Enter Egypt Station, an album that deals with the questions of morality and the unknown. Not the most common topics for a musician of McCartney's standing, but as he ruminates in opening track I Don’t Know - “…you know I’m only a man.” In typical McCartney fashion, however, he still manages to make his observations on the human condition catchy with the reassuring hook “Its all right, sleep tight, I'll take the strain.” For a man with a career such as his, to hear uncertainty is unfamiliar, bordering on excitement. It’s a testament to Macc

John Andrews - Johnny Was EP East Belfast musician John Andrews released his second EP Johnny Was, a follow up from 2014’s self-titled debut John Andrews. Working with producer Rory Donaghy, Johnny Was retains an acoustic heart shrouded in a variety of genres and techniques that give it a large soul. Driven lyrically by stories of freedom, imprisonment, love, heartbreak and everything in between, Andrews takes advantage of the rich tradition of storytelling present in country music, adding components of rockabilly, hip-hop and punk to deliver a statement EP. The EP opens with a fire and brimstone sermon delivered by a grizzled missionary, of whom Andrews is quick to dispel with a rock and roll riff that would assuredly leave the aforementioned preacher peeved. Rejection of religion is no new topic amongst the musical community, but the pervasiveness of Andrew’s rejection throughout the album is telling: rejection of religion, of barriers, being forgotten and even of musical

Paul Weller - True Meanings If ever the opportunity arises for me to chat with Paul Weller, the first question I’ll ask is when he finds time to sleep. The Mod Father returns on True Meanings, his 26th record in a career long enough to have three distinct eras. In this time, he has cast a shadow of influence that has spanned generations of musicians and inspired acts such as The Smiths, Oasis and Arctic Monkeys. Few hold the level of respect he does and fewer still carry a gravitas that has kept them so relevant past their prime. In fact, to suggest that Weller’s career can be simplified down into something as ordinary as having a ‘prime’ seems disingenuous. The man is like an Italian vino, he only seems to improve with age. Not one for stagnation, Weller newest release leans further into the unknown than any of his previous projects. Gone are the fist shaking political anthems, replaced with methodically melodic acoustic narrations and collaborations with Villagers, Martin

Hozier - Nina Cried Power  Back after a four-year hiatus, Andrew Hozier-Byrne aka Hozier released his newest EP Nina Cried Power on September 6th 2018. Unfair as it is for one the of the worlds foremost cult heroes to release a teaser, it is rare that one finds an EP so utterly packed to the brim with content. Known for his vulnerable honesty, subtle bite and poetic lyrics, Nina Cried Power picks up from the success of 2014’s mega success Hozier and build on it. No longer restricted to the jagged reaches of the human soul, Hozier reaches colossal new heights while maintaining that all too homo sapien penchant for pain and love that made his eerie charm so accessible.   In typical fashion, the Irish singer-songwriter is impossible to pin into one genre or other, with frequent switches between triumphant defiance (Nine Cried Power), moody malevolence (NFWMB) and body swaying blues (Moments Silence). Less a composer now and more of an architect, Hozier’s evolution from bog got

Fox Colony EP Launch, ROE, Cherym + Sweater Cult - Voodoo - 11th September 2018  “You’re a writer are ya? Tell ya what son.” A rapid succession of finger jabs into his chest, “You should be writin’ about me, I - listen to me son - I know this city, rite?” I offer a hopefully believable head nod in agreement, yes I do believe that you know this city sir, retrieve my Guinness and make a quick retreat into the darkness, throwing vague promises of returning with a notebook over my shoulder towards the inebriated man in the corner. A solid start to the evening in the only venue where this type of interaction is a foregone conclusion: Voodoo. I ascend the stairs amidst the smells of shattered pints and black leather to the second floor. This is where the magic will happen tonight, as the 21st-century answer to The Pound Bar holds host to four of Northern Irelands finest. As I enter the room I see human shapes, silhouetted against the light of the stage, sharing hyperbolic handsha

Don Maple - Never loved you better  Following the success of his previous release Sweet and Sour, Belfast based troubadour Don Maple rolls out the red carpet for his latest single Never Loved You Better, a psychedelic sonnet dedicated to enjoying the simple things when life is determined to cut you down. A song as much about defiance as it is about enjoyment Never loved… opens with a smoking lounge lick, employing that factor of psychedelia that sounds both retro and modern simultaneously. Don’s velvety vocals, reassuring in their uneasy drawl, crawl over the smouldering carpet laid down by the guitar and drum accompaniments. An unmistakable similarity in lyrical and vocal style to Alex Turner, particularly in the ways Maple stretches the last syllable of each line impossibly beyond its mortal career like some 1950’s American bubblegum, only adds to the agile, dreamlike composition of his music, which in itself resemble the love child of Radiohead and Eels. Not one for

The Kooks - The Limelight - September 3rd 2018 So storied is the venue tonight that almost as much could be written about the building as the band playing within. Limelight has seen the likes Oasis, Blur and more come through its doors. This night, however, belongs to The Kooks. I arrive during soundcheck to see a small line stretching from the locked doors to the venue. Almost three hours early. A telling sign. We enter sometime later, greeted by the all too familiar violet pastel lights of Limelight 1. On stage, a variety of instruments with a drum kit behind. Across the skin, two words only: The Kooks. The last bastion of Brit Pop, indie colossi and the cult band to end all cult bands, The Kooks have amassed over 400 million Spotify hits and countless awards. Tonight, they bring their hits to Belfast. Before them, however, The Silences take the stage. A fitting opener that kept us guessing, The Silences would jump from War On Drugs style expansive tracks, to slower style

SX-70 - 100 Suns Belfast Quartet SX-70 pilot a successful re-entry with their third single 100 Suns. Breezy, expansive and spirited, the development in mentality, both in composition and aural quality, is marked when comparing the first two singles to this one. 100 Suns is the sound of a band arriving. Rather than the big picture, it is the devilish details that make this song so enjoyable. The audible crackle as the song begins sets the retro tone and was reminiscent to me of a vinyl LP beginning its sonic journey. Meanwhile, the sunny licks and airy riffs of guitarists Ethan Tohill and Jack McGarry transport you to a warm summer afternoon in landscape shrouded by the Slumber Instagram filter. The vocals of Tohill are particularly captivating, capturing that thin territory between cheerfully and cataclysmic, a region usually inhabited by the likes of Morrissey. Indeed, 100 Suns is reminiscent in structure to a Smiths tine, one but for the modern indie landscape. 100 S

Hand Models Summer Party - August 30th - Limelight 2 The Wood Burning Savages, Hot Cops, Hand Models, Beauty Sleep, Wyona Bleach, Mob Wife Playing a gig at The Limelight. An experience money can't buy for a local band. Carrying the same weight amongst Belfastians as The Roxy or The 100 Club does to a Londoner, Limelight has a comparable history to any venue in Northern Ireland with all the accessibility that the Ulster Hall lacks. This isn’t just any venue, this is OUR venue, the venue of the people. It's only suitable that our bands should be the ones putting on a show. The doors open a little after 7 PM and the stench of sticky floors and Morgan and Fanta fills the nostrils just before the unmistakable rumble of sound checking reaches the ears (“testing, testing… I've got absolutely nothing from the bass amp…” etc etc). A sizeable enough gathering of close friends is inside already, and as I sip my Becks they grow into a crowd. The intimacy of Limelight