Sorcha Richardson – Shark Eyes
Singer-songwriter Sorcha Richardson last week released a new single ‘Shark Eyes’ on Faction Records. Richardson also announced that her second album Smiling Like An Idiot will be released on 23 September. The new song is about unrequited romantic feelings. Commenting on the track, Richardson said, ‘it’s about following your darker and more destructive impulses and allowing yourself to be taken for a bit of a ride, partly out of boredom and curiosity, but also partly out of a lingering hope that maybe this time it will end differently’. With a pulsating motif throughout, hazy vocals and an upbeat chorus with a whirring line on guitar, ‘Shark Eyes’ is a strong follow up to Richardson’s debut album First prize Bravery (2020) and an alluring preview to her upcoming second album. Visit: http://www.sorcharichardson.com/

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Draíocht: June McCormack and Michael Rooney – Tobar an Cheoil
Tobar an Cheoil is the third album from harper and composer Michael Rooney and flute player June McCormack, following Land’s End in 2006 and Draíocht in 2004. Of the fourteen tracks, nine are of music composed by Rooney for a range of groups and occasions, including a waltz and jig written for performance at a civic reception for Prince Charles and Camilla when they visited Sligo in 2015, ‘Lament for the Dead’ written for his 2016 Macalla Suite, music for his 2022 ‘Ulster Suite’ for Ulster Comhaltas, an air for ‘The Constance Suite’ commemorating Constance Markievicz, and tunes and airs composed for the Music Generation Laois Ensemble, the Music Generation Harp Collective and the Music Generation Leitrim Youth Orchestra. The other five tracks are a mix of traditional material and tunes composed by James Murray, Joanie Madden and John Brady. McCormack and Rooney are a skilful duet and his tunes have been an important part of the revival of harp playing in recent years. Tobar an Cheoil will be a welcome resource for players and listeners. McCormack and Rooney are joined on a number of tracks by Jack Warnock, Seamie O’Dowd, Maria Ryan, Lucia MacPartlin and Aoife Burke.

Purchase the album at https://www.draiochtmusic.com/

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Junior Brother – No Snitch
Alt-folk musician Junior Brother has this week released a new single ‘No Snitch’ and announced that his second album The Great Irish Famine will come out on 2 September via Strange Brew records. This record will follow the artist’s debut Pull the Right Rope (2019), which was nominated for the RTÉ Choice Music Prize and Best Folk Album at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards. ‘No Snitch’ is dark and unsettled, performed in the artist’s signature poetic, alternative style. With abstract sounds on strings, he sings ‘Now I’m fucking angry / Heaven knows why / Heaven knows lots of things / But God’s no snitch’. Junior Brother performs next week at All Together Now, with dates also scheduled in Limerick, Dingle, Castlerea, and Dublin. Visit: https://www.juniorbrother.com/

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Therese McInerney and Marian Curtin – The Youth that Belonged to Miltown 
The Youth that Belonged to Miltown is a new album from fiddle player Therese McInerney and flute player Marian Curtin. Both were raised in Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare, and were immersed in the musical culture of the area. The title is the name of a slow air learnt from fiddler Bobby Casey but also references the fact that they no longer live in the town; the album is a tribute to the musicians and repertoire they heard growing up in the 1990s and playing at the weekly sessions in Blondes (Cleary’s pub). McInerney previously released a solo album, Down the Strand, in 2017. She also presents the West Wind programme on Clare FM and has worked on television programmes such as the Gradam Ceoil and Slí na mBeaglaíoch. Curtin has won a number of titles at the Fleadh Cheoil on whistle and flute. The album contains a rich range of Clare tunes, from Junior Crehan’s ‘West Clare Railway’ to Casey’s ‘Cissie Crehan’s Wicked Gander’, as well as new compositions. Accompaniment comes from Aileen O’Callaghan (piano), Ger Naughton (bouzouki and bodhrán), Sharon Howley (cello) and Eimear Coughlan (harp), plus they are joined by dancers John and Conor Fennell. A launch concert will take place at the Westbridge in Miltown on 30 July, with Áine Hensey of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.

Purchase the album at https://www.theresemcinerney.com/store/p1/The_Youth_That_Belonged_To_Miltown.html

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Gilla Band – Eight Fivers
Dublin post-punk group Gilla Band have announced that their new album Most Normal will be released on Rough Trade Records this October. This is the band’s third album, following Holding Hands with Jamie (2015) and The Talkies (2019). Along with the announcement of the new album, the band have shared its first single ‘Eight Fivers’. The encroaching track features constant stomping percussion, abrasive instrumentation and distortion, and repetitive lyrics in singer Dara Kiely’s style of talk-singing, ‘I spent all my money on / Shit clothes, shit clothes’. ‘“Eight Fivers” is about 40 quid,’ said Kiely. ‘It’s about being out of touch with modern circumstances while feeling socially limited. Never fitting in and kind of proud of it. Stuck with what I have and happy for it. Being grateful and not fashionable, self-conscious and too aware of what is lacking. Accepting that jealousy played a big role in my life but trying not to feed into it.’ Most Normal is the band’s first record since changing their name from Girl Band and is released on 7 October. Visit: https://gillaband.com/

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Meltybrains? – Journey To/From The Meltyworld
Electronica-rock band Meltybrains? have this week released new music for the first time in four years. New single ‘Journey To/From The Meltyworld’ is out now on Strange Brew records and is a psychedelic foray with synths and auto-tuned vocals. Speaking about the new release, the band said ‘The track is heavily influenced by contemporary acts such as Tame Impala and King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard and also by classic bands like Can and Kraftwerk. The track navigates a voyage across the microcosmos, on a journey to the centre of the self. A driving drum and bass part attempt to keep the band on the course, as they are assaulted by a barrage of caustic synths and self-doubt.’ Meltybrains? have also announced a headline show at the Button Factory on 17 December. Visit: https://linktr.ee/meltybrains

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