IT IS always one of the main indie nights of the year, a chance to see and hear some of the best rising and emerging Galway and Irish bands around. It is the Strange Brew Summer Shindig in the Róisín Dubh.
Strange Brew Summer Shindig #13 takes place on Thursday August 3 from 8pm. Headlining are Squarehead, the Dublin trio who combine surf rock, garage rock, and indie. New single 'Waves' sees them develop that sound, further emphasising the more pop side their outlook, and bringing in a definite 1990s touch, with elements of Teenage Fanclub.
Oh Boland are one of Galway's best loved bands. The Tuam pop-punk/garage trio of Niall Murphy, Eanna MacDonnchadha, and Simon McDonagh made one of the best Galway albums in years with Spilt Milk, showcasing their high energy, raucous, yet anthemic and melodic sound. A second album is recorded and highly anticipated.
No Monster Club is the cartoonish art-pop brainchild of Dublin songwriter/vocalist Bobby Aherne, described by The Last Mixed Tape as "the mad scientist of Irish indie-pop...one of the most inventive and unpredictable acts on the Irish music scene." Their songs have been described as "a stripped-down, sugar high Pet Sounds" by NYLON, with, according to The Irish Times, "the kind of tunefulness that makes a joke of so much contemporary pop music".
New Pope is singer-songwriter David Boland, declared by The Thin Air as, "Not merely one of our favourite Irish songsmiths at the minute, but quite clearly one of the very best." One of the most significant figures in the independent music scene in the west of Ireland, he is a driving force behind the Citóg music nights and the outstanding Citóg Records label.
With his third album out later this year, New Pope has also been working on a series of music videos for songs from his 2015 album Youth. The videos are created from vintage footage from the west of Ireland and, like the album, touch on issues of memory, belonging and place.
Le Boom are an Irish electronic-pop, who have only been on the go for a year, and yet Paste magazine has already declared them "about to break into America in a big way" while Phil Udell in State said: "Possibly the best live electronic act to come out of Ireland'. Ones to watch, definitely.
Autre Monde are something of a Popical Island 'supergroup' featuring Padraig Cooney (Land Lovers/Skelocrats ), Paddy Hanna and Mark Chester (Ginnels ) and Eoghan O'Brien (No Monster Club ). Their debut single ‘Customs’, was described by The Last Mixed Tape as "pop and clicks with swirls of electronic bells and whistles that provide an ever evolving undercurrent for the post-punk tinged track itself".
Nome King is the lo-fi musical project of Ciarán Smith (Crayonsmith/Night Trap ), incorporating acoustic instruments, synths, and samples, and inspired by Elliott Smith, Daniel Johnston, and early Beck.
Floor Staff is Dublin songwriter, producer, and composer Anthony Donnelly, described by Clash magazine as "a pop maverick fusing electronic production to nagging, dream like melodies that grab hold of your unconscious”.
Also playing are Dublin singer-songwriter Paddy Hanna ("one of Irelands' finest songwriters" - Totally Dublin ) and Steady Decline. Admission is €5. See www.roisindubh.net
