Julie Hawk - 'Narc' (Interpol cover)

It's always a good sign when a singer/songwriter can take a well-known track and push something to the fore that was previously hidden, and so it proves with this Interpol cover by Galway-born London-based Julie Hawk. Indeed if you were to choose a song by the NYC quartet that was begging for an acoustic version, 'Narc' - from their classic album Antics - probably wouldn't be at the top of the list: excellent as it is, it's more about the interplay between those piercing guitar lines and the top-of-its-game rhythm section; not to mention that exquisite breakdown and outro.




Hawk's version, however, emphasises a melodic strength to the song that wasn't always so obvious, and redirects the focus on to a lyric that's one of Paul Banks' less cryptic/daft (delete as appropriate) ones. She even pulls off the switch-up towards the end with aplomb.





Hawk's 'Take Off Your Suit'/'The Postcard' is available as a name-your-price download from Bandcamp. The impressive, restless range of her vocals drive songs that can have a dramatic and tense sweep to them (the former) or a wistful and regretful air (the latter).

She plays the Roisin Dubh in Galway this Thursday night with Come On Live Long.

Thundercat & The Roots - 'Heartbreaks and Setbacks' live on Jimmy Fallon

Forget snore-fests like Jools Holland or...whatever else is on TV?, Jimmy Fallon is seemingly where it's at these days for must-see music performances. Just recently we had Drake's stunning performance of 'Too Much' (ft. Sampha) from new album Nothing Was The Same. Now there's this, as Fallon's house band The Roots join Brainfeeder virtuoso Thundercat for an outstanding run-through of probably his best track, 'Heartbreaks and Setbacks'. It's taken from this year's Apocalypse album, but to be honest I'm probably going to struggle to listen to the album version again after seeing this. Magic.





The aforementioned Drake performance:

recommended: eagleshadow - Cassette demo #1

 Don't really know a whole lot about this one, other than it was brought to my attention by Laurent Fintoni via his 'Best Bandcamp Releases' column for Fact. The tags indicate he's from Belfast, but wherever it originates from this is charming stuff that seems to nod at a number of electronic music trends without ever seeming like it's jumping on any bandwagon. Opener '909+C' has a peculiar, faded-tape quality that reminds you of quality-stamped cassette labels like Leaving Records, but its melody is bright, airy and buoyant, sort of like something from the Lucky Me stable except with the multicolour maximalism and hefty bass dialled back.

 'Ghost of (cassette mix)' is something else entirely: its main, bluesy guitar riff sounds like a vintage, virtuoso-but-understated jam from the 70s, the track's languid, mid-tempo drift evoking images of a smoke-filled lounge/studio. Everything is just so, with unobtrusive, barely-there percussion and lovely counter-melodies.
Then there's 'Jazz Sax', which is more along the lines of the electronica/brass hybrids of Archie Pelago (or, closer to home, ZoiD's jazzier experiments); listen closer and some of the more high-pitched, free-floating lines recall something like 'Kaotic Harmony'.

There's more stuff on his Bandcamp, including two volumes of 'B-Side Jams and Old Tracks', both of which are, like Cassette demo #1, available for name-your-price.

recommended: Divil A' Bit - In Deference To The Squeamish I

In Deference to the Squeamish I by Divil A' Bit from Divil Bit on Vimeo.


David Colohan (United Bible Studies, Raising Holy Sparks), Natalia Beylis and Willie Stewart (both of Woven Skull) make up the trio Divil A' Bit; Stewart also directed this evocative, gothic-tinged video for their track 'In Deference To The Squeamish I'. It suits the alternately eerie and serene folk vibes of the track so well, its bucolic setting (Drumnadubber Wood in Leitrim) reflecting the prominent, integral use of field recordings in the track itself. (Beylis hosts a 'daily sound diary project' called The Sunken Hum which is well worth checking out, its unaltered field recordings/soundscapes encompassing everything from creaking gates to cattle marts).

'...Squeamish...' is based around a simple but hypnotic banjo (or something similar?) figure that gradually, subtly builds into something more lyrical and intricate; just as essential to the overall atmosphere, however, are the sounds of stones steadily splashing in water, chirping birdsong, and the irregular hum of passing cars (the music was recorded under Archies Bridge, Royal Canal, Longford).

An album is on the way from the trio, who will be performing an interactive 'Keyboard Massacre' at this year's Hunters Moon festival in Carrick-on-Shannon (the festival is run by Beylis and Stewart).

Feather Beds - 'Walter'

Three tracks have surfaced so far from Dublin-based Feather Beds, and if they're anything to go by then his debut album The Skeletal System (due September 2nd) will be worth checking out.

All mid-tempo haze and gently layered atmospherics, 'Walter' boasts an understated vocal that seems to blend seamlessly with the surrounding hum and buzz. Halfway through, the warm glow gives way to a stuttering, percussion-heavy section that fades in and out of focus, lending a further air of elusiveness to the track. It's that persistent, shimmering low-key drone that stays with you and charms you throughout, though; a mirage glimpsed through disorientating fog.
 
There's also a video for the track, made by Greg Corcoran.




Previous tracks 'On Your Deathbed' and 'Airbrushed' are also (also) available to download from the Feather Beds Bandcamp.