A FEAST of the finest indie/alternative Galway and Ireland have to offer will be on display for all to hear and enjoy at the major party that always is the Strange Brew Summer Shindig.
Strange Brew Summer Shindig 6 takes place in the Róisín Dubh on Thursday August 5 from 7pm and features Galway bands Lost Chord, Disconnect 4, and Blasterbra, Dublin’s The Cast Of Cheers, Wexford’s Adebisi Shank, and Limerick’s Windings.
For Dave Phelan, the leader of Lost Chord, indie is not so much a style of music, but a philosophy, one that is “really about the love of writing songs and not caring how they sell. You do it because you love it.”
Indie is more of an attitude to music than a genre in the true sense and it has always been able to accommodate a broad spectrum of styles. Lost Chord - Dave (vocals/guitar ), Eoin O’Reilly (guitar ), Yoseph Sheridan (drums ), Darren Nestor (bass ), and Aiden Mulderry (synth ) - are proof of this.
The band can play hard rock (‘Some Other Long Haired Boy’ ), Krautrock (‘Ronald and Nancy’ ), electro-pop (the original version of ‘Cheats’ ), Afrobeat (‘You Do Not Do’ ), and sublime, melodic indie pop ‘Up North’, and pop that is definitely sinister (‘Records Not Fear’ ).
Lost Chord’s debut EP There Is No Lost Chord showcased the band’s diversity to great effect and their on-going evolution continues. While they have had a hard rock slant until now the newer material they have been working on will be bringing in many electronic elements as well.
The band are also first rate entertainers and know how to put on a show.
Disconnect 4 fly the flag for guitar/synth-pop and new wave in Galway. The band - Leon Butler (vocals/synth ), Eoin O’Reilly (guitar ), Keith McCafferty (drums ), and Yvonne Ryan (bass/vocals ) - released their EP Modern Love last year and in June they released their new single ‘Turn On The Lights’.
The single was produced by the band and was recorded at Track & Mix in Dublin. It is available to download for free from www.disconnect4.bandcamp.com and also features a remix by Crimes Against.
Blasterbra mix punk, pop, and grunge, and infuse it with a distinct Riot Grrrl attitude. The band, led by vocalist/guitarist Anna McCarthy, released their debut EP Soon late last year. The EP includes ‘My Sweetheart The Punk’ and ‘Cutting Teeth’, both of which are live favourites and area sure to be heard again, along with some new tracks, at the Shindig.
The Cast Of Cheers have been one of the Irish revelations of this year. The Dublin quartet play post-rock styled songs that are loud, fast, and heavy. The intricate, duelling, guitar riffs of Conor and Neill is underpinned by the equally dextrous bass playing of John and the pile driving drumming of Kev. It makes for a live music experience that is high on skill, ferocity, raw power, and relentless energy.
The band’s debut album Chariot is available to download for free at thecastofcheers.bandcamp.com Adebisi Shank will release their second album next month on The Richter Collective label. Like The Cast of Cheers, the band deliver thrilling post-rock. On stage bassist Vinny usually wears balaclava like headgear (except with no slits for eyes and mouth! ) and dances and cavorts in an uninhibited manner. Guitarist Lar is a talented player and delivers some exciting guitar riffs and licks.
Windings began as the solo act for guitarist and songwriter Steve Ryan. It allowed him to explore his singer-songwriter, folk, and classic rock leanings when not playing pummelling guitar riffs and ferocious, heavy, music in hardcore/punk duo Giveamanakick.
After Giveamanakick called it a day last year, Steven expanded the Windings line-up to five and set about concentrating his attention fully on the band. They have already recorded an EP, Brain Fluid, which features covers of ABBA and The Beatles. It can be downloaded for free at windings.bandcamp.com/album/brain-fluid-ep Windings played support of Teenage Fanclub at the Galway Arts Festival last week and this week they released a new split 7” single with singer-songwriter Vertigo Smyth, Old Like J/The Armada Song, on Out On A Limb Records. The single will be available on a limited basis and be individually hand numbered. Windings’ new album is due for release in October.
Tickets are available from the Róisín Dubh and Zhivago.
