Just Mustard – Heart Under
Heart Under is the new album from Dundalk five-piece Just Mustard, released today on Partisan Records. The album comes after a series of singles including the dark and grungy ‘Still’, lo-fi track ‘Mirrors’, and the gritty, distorted ‘Seed’. The record is an expansion on the band’s earlier work, namely debut album Wednesday (2018), and has a darker, more dense sound, with less dream-pop tendencies and heavier walls of instrumentation. Singer Katie Ball’s distinct and bewitching vocals combined guitarists David Noonan and Mete Kalyoncuoglu, unrelenting bass from Rob Clarke, and percussion that strikes a balance between necessity and subtlety from Shane Maguire, show the band in a shift of mood. The album title comes from the lyric ‘the heart under its foot’ from ‘Sore,’ and the band discussed the idea of wanting the listener to feel like they’re ‘on a train going through a tunnel’. ‘This album felt very blue to us,’ explains Ball. ‘There was sadness and sorrow in the album, and it felt like being underwater and under something very heavy. We let that influence the music, but it wasn’t a decision – it just naturally happened that way.’ It’s dark, complex, and enthralling music that you can sink right into, immersing yourself under its layers of swirling, echoing sound. Opener ‘23’ – with its guitar that sounds like a bowed instrument – and the trance-like ‘Rivers’ are other highlights. Just Mustard have just finished an extensive tour across Europe and the US with Fontaines D.C., and have now begun their solo tour, visiting the UK, Ireland and Europe between now and October. Visit: https://justmustard.ie/index  

Sorcha Richardson – Archie
‘Archie’ is the new song from Dublin singer-songwriter Sorcha Richardson, out this week on Faction Records. The track opens with a blues-folk sound with slide guitar and rattling, steady percussion. It’s reminiscent of alternative-country band Wilco, and is a move from the indie-rock sound we are used to with this artist. ‘Archie is a song about teenage hopes and dreams and about losing touch with the people who you once shared them with,’ says Richardson. ‘I wrote the earliest version of it at a writing camp in the spring of 2021 with some of my favourite Irish songwriters … As lame as it sounds, it makes me feel like I’m living out my teenage dreams when we play it. I think that’s one of the greatest feelings you can have.’ The song was recorded at The Clinic in Dublin with band mates Joe Furlong (bass), Cian Hanley (drums) and Jake Curran (guitar). This week Richardson performed at an event curated by James Vincert McMorrow at the Barbican in London alongside The Scratch, Niamh Regan and Aby Coulibaly. This summer she will perform at All Together Now in July and Electric Picnic in September. Visit: http://www.sorcharichardson.com/

Brídín – Empty Room
Sligo-based harper BRÍDÍN has this week released a new single ‘Empty Room’ which will feature on her upcoming debut album. The single follows the musician’s EP Ocean of Stars, which was released in February. ‘Empty Room’ begins with a simple layering of vocals with minimal accompaniment, later joined by atmospheric and subtle guitar and strings before a circling motif on harp takes over. The song was inspired by being intrigued by the sounds of an empty room, stemming from being an introvert. ‘Some people feel sorry for you if you’re on your own, I’m just expressing that I’m really happy in my own company,’ the artists says. The recording also features guest musicians Clare Sands on fiddle, Brian Dillon on keys and synth, Jake Curran on electric guitar, Paul Leonard on drums, and Áine Lynch on cello. The track was recorded and produced by Brian Dillon. To purchase ‘Empty Room’, visit https://bridin.bandcamp.com/track/empty-room

Ed Sheeran feat. Denise Chaila – 2step (remix)
Limerick rapper Denise Chaila features on a new remix of Ed Sheeran’s song ‘2step’. The release comes after Chaila performed as a support act to Sheeran during his Irish tour last month in Dublin, Limerick, Cork and Belfast. Sheeran has collaborated with a number of artists for various remixes of the original ‘2step’, including American rapper Lil Baby and Ukrainian rock band Antytila. The upbeat pop song features Chaila singing a melodic excerpt mid-way through that’s akin to 90s pop R&B acts such as T.LC. and Destiny’s Child. Another huge moment for the rising artist. Visit: https://es.lnk.to/2S-DeniseChaila

O Deer – Staying at Home
‘Staying at Home’ is the latest single from singer-songwriter Oisín Walsh-Peelo, performing as O Deer. With a stripped-back sound giving the acoustic guitar – played eloquently in an open tuning – centre-stage, ‘Staying at Home’ was written in response to the social isolation experienced during the pandemic. The instrumentation remains gentle and simple throughout, with the guitar and vocals later supported by soft strings, harp and double bass performed by Caimin Gilmore of Crash Ensemble. ‘The pandemic was a tough time but beauty had a way of poking its head through the turmoil regardless of the state of the world at large,’ says Walsh-Peelo. ‘This song was written to mark that feeling. Despite the fact that it was a public requirement to stay at home in 2020, at that moment in time it really was all I wanted to do. I had been gigging and touring a huge amount in the years running up to it … The pause allowed some time to reflect, to grow vegetables and get to know the people living nearby. I honestly hadn’t spent that much time in one place in years and it got me thinking a lot about the nature of travel and movement. I was really into playing and recording guitar in open tunings during the many quiet days and seeing what emerged’. Visit: https://odeermusic.bandcamp.com/releases

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