Ham Sandwich return to Galway

You have to love Strange Brew nights in Galway's Roisin Dubh: consistently managing to pull in great bands and charging the public absolutely nothing to see them. Thursday 19th November sees an enticing double-bill, as Ham Sandwich and Stanley Super 800 venture west (or indeed north). And it's free. Speaking of Ham Sandwich, they've just released their new single 'Out of the Darkness'. Aptly named it is too, a dreamy, wistful and accomplished number that seems to herald a change in style from the often gothic, dark atmospherics of their debut album Carry the Meek. It's available to download from iTunes or their Myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/eathamsandwich

Albums / Singles of the Year .... for now

OK so i was asked to send in a list of my Top 20 albums and singles for the year 2009. This will probably be revised before the end of the year (i still haven't got Fuck Buttons' new record, for a start), but here's the first draft anyway, and I wouldn't expect it to change too much:

ALBUMS:

1 – BAT FOR LASHES – Two Suns

2 – WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS – The Snake

3 – FEVER RAY – Fever Ray

4 – MICACHU & THE SHAPES – Jewellery

5 – JAPANDROIDS – Post-Nothing

6 – FLORENCE & THE MACHINE – Lungs

7 – YACHT – See Mystery Lights

8 – BIBIO – Ambivalence Avenue

9 – ANIMAL COLLECTIVE – Merriweather Post Pavillion

10 - NEON INDIAN – Psychic Chasms

11 – WORRIEDABOUTSATAN – Arrivals

12 – FUTURE OF THE LEFT – Travels With Myself and Another

13 – MARTYN – Great Lengths

14 – PASSION PIT – Manners

15 – MANIC STREET PREACHERS – Journal for Plague Lovers

16 – GIRLS – Album

17 – DIRTY PROJECTORS – Bitte Orca

18 - THE HORRORS – Primary Colours

19 - SUNSET RUBDOWN – Dragonslayer

20 - TELEPATHE – Dance Mother

SINGLES:

1 – BURIAL & FOUR TET – 'Moth'

2 – WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS – 'My Heart'

3 – TUNE-YARDS – 'Hatari'

4 – DIRTY PROJECTORS – 'Stillness is the Move'

5 – HEALTH – 'Before Tigers (CFCF remix)'

6 – TIMES NEW VIKING – 'No Time, No Hope'

7 – ANIMAL COLLECTIVE – 'My Girls'

8 – DARKSTAR – 'Aidy’s Girl’s a Computer'

9 – BAT FOR LASHES – 'Daniel'

10 – ATLAS SOUND – 'Walkabout'

11 – ZOMBY – 'Tarantula'

12 – HEALTH – 'Die Slow'

13 – GRIZZLY BEAR – 'Two Weeks'

14 – HERE WE GO MAGIC – 'Tunnelvision'

15 – PHOENIX – '1901'

16 – SUNSET RUBDOWN – 'Idiot Heart'

17 – SURF CITY – 'Autumn'

18 – THE ANTLERS – 'Two'

19 – YACHT – 'Psychic City'

20 – NEON INDIAN – 'Should Have Taken Acid With You'

Midlake for Vicar Street in February

As announced on Jim Carroll's On The Record blog, Midlake will be playing Vicar Street next February 14th. The live date will come hot on the heels of their new album The Courage of Others, which is released February 1st.

Fuck Buttons: Irish dates announced

Their second full-length Tarot Sport has been garnering rave reviews all round, and so it's good news indeed that Bristol-based noiseniks Fuck Buttons have announced some pre-Christmas Irish gigs:

Wed 16/12/09 Cork, Ireland @ Lane Theatre

Thu 17/12/09 Galway, Ireland @ Roisin Dubh

Fri 18/12/09 Dublin, Ireland @ Button Factory

Sat 19/12/09 Belfast, Northern Ireland @ Black Box