Last week, a host of Ireland's brightest young bands - including Sprints, Kneecap, NewDad and Gurriers, all tipped for future greatness in the '10 new Irish artists you should be listening to right now' feature we posted this time last year - withdrew from the internationally-renowned SouthBySouthWest music festival in Austin, Texas. This decision was taken in solidarity with the Palestinian people upon discovering that the event took sponsorship from the US Army and various defence contractors who supply Israel with weapons.
“We cannot in good conscience attend an arts festival that has 'The US Army' as a 'Super Sponsor' and and is platforming RTX (formerly Raytheon), Collins Aerospace, and BAE Systems, the very companies selling the weapons that have murdered 31,000 Palestinians, over 21,000 of them women and children,” Kneecap stated when announcing their decision to scrap their scheduled appearances at the event.
The stand taken is emblematic of a more conscious, principled, bold and fearless emerging generation of Irish musicians making waves on both sides of the Irish border. Here are ten of the best new artists on the island worth your support.
Chalk
Formed during lockdown, the members of Chalk met while studying film at Belfast's Queen's University, and have used the term 'trauma techno' as a description of their intense, punishing electronic post-punk which sits somewhere between A Place To Bury Strangers and HEALTH. Signed to excellent indie label Nice Swan, who released their new EP, Conditions II on March 1, the band are currently on tour across the UK.
Bambie Thug
That rising nu-gen/'Ouija-pop' star Bambie Thug is Ireland's representative at this year's Eurovision Song Content in Sweden is a truly fabulous achievement. The blurb on the event's official website runs, 'Cork-born alt disruptor Bambie Thug is smashing through gender and socio-political stereotypes to create an era-defining sound that borders on elements of pop, rock, electronic and more', and her bid for Eurovision glory, Doomsday Blue, co-written with Cassyette and Wargasm's Sam Matlock, is described as "an ode to the queer community". Win or lose, this is just the beginning of a new Thug Life era.
YARD
Drawing inspiration from SUUNS, Gilla Band, Death Grips and Nine
Inch Nails, and operating in the same noise rock-techno field as Chalk, Dubliners YARD describe their sound as "an intense and immersive sensory experience". The quartet have gigs supporting CLT DRP in England this week, a headline show in London on May 3, and festival appearances in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Brighton later that month.
Spider
Released on February 23, Spider's new five-track EP An Object Of Desire deals with themes of sex, shame, objectification, intimacy and self-worth, and was inspired by the Dublin alt-rock singer's Catholic upbringing. "So we go back to mine, he takes my shirt off, I lie there in silence, it's my blindspot," she sings on the superb shoegaze-influenced title track, adding the biting line, "He asked for consent, he's such a keeper."
"Writing this EP was a way for me to explore the conclusions that were put there by a religious upbringing that covered this area of life in so much shame and nonsensical conditions," she explains. "It also allowed me to process the anger I had towards the ways I was mistreated in the past without the pressure of maintaining grace. This project feels like the most personal, freeing thing I’ve made thus far!"
Klubber Lang
Something of a '90s supergroup, Dublin's Klubber Lang feature Ciaran McGoldrick, ex-(sic) on vocals/bass, ex-Revelino guitarist Ciaran Tallon, former-Mexican Pets drummer Fin O’Leary and Def Leppard producer/sound engineer Ronan McHugh on keyboards. It's fair to say that the quartet have very, very little craving for any degree of mainstream success, but if you have a soft spot for the likes of The Jesus Lizard, Unsane or Girls Against Boys, these could be the best new band you'll hear all year.
Cruel Sister
With a name inspired by a 17th century murder ballad, it's little surprise that the music released by Cruel Sister, aka self-described "local Dublin witch" Faith Nico, deals with the darker side of life, intrusive thoughts and uncomfortable feelings. Inspired by PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine and other equally uncompromising musical visionaries, as heard on last year's Turgid EP, it's raw, and noisy, and utterly compelling.
Cherym
"They said that I'm a slut, they said that I'm a sinner. They tried to call me names, and say that I'm a baby killer." With these opening lines, Cherym's current single Alpha Beta Sigma serves as a striking teaser for the Derry pop-punk band's excellent debut album Take It Or Leave It, released last month via Alcopop! Records.
"As three queer people who didn’t really fit the criteria when it came to the DIY music scene at that time, we have watched as the scene has evolved and grown into something much more inclusive and beautiful that we can now confidently say we feel like we’re part of," the band stated when announcing the record. “This album tells the story of how our lives have been transformed in the last six years – two EPs, lots of shows all over the world, and a few pronoun changes later… we made the record we needed to hear when we were growing up."
Enola Gay
Thrillingly-intense, sussed and politically-aware noise-punks from Belfast, with rap- inspired vocals and a love of electro-rock and '90s shoegaze, Enola Gay have received love from Iggy Pop, Therapy? and ex-Savages vocalist-turned-Anatomy Of A Fall-star Jehnny Beth. The band play The Limelight in Belfast this coming Sunday, March 24 with Gurriers and YARD collaborator Yinyang - "BEST LINEUP THIS CITY WILL SEE ALL YEAR! DONT BE A SHITEBAG MON DOWN" they state amusingly on Instagram - and have a free show at Omeara in London on April 2.
Scattered Ashes
Scattered Ashes self-identify as "an abrasive Dublin four-piece ranging in influence from Goth to Punk", and take musical cues from Joy Division and Interpol, matching "aggressive sonic textures with a strict sense of space". Having previously played shows with the equally-abrasive Dublin avant-punk Meryl Streek, the quartet have a free London gig upcoming at Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes on April 13.
Virgins
Influenced by Slow Crush, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, Fugazi, Nothing and more, Belfast shoegaze band Virgins are set to release their debut album nothing hurt and everything was beautiful on April 11 on Galway's Blowtorch Records. Led by guitarist Michael Smyth, the band's captivating mix of fuzzed-out riffs and Rebecca Dow's dreamy vocals, is perfectly showcased on new just-south-of-nine-minutes single Softer.
