#faces of 2011

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Faces Of 2011 - Go Panda Go

Far from China, Go Panda Go represent the North West of Ireland with member hailing from Donegal and Galway. The quartet impressed us with their four-track debut EP released last year on Bluestack Records (home to Daithi O' Dronai who contributed to the EP, Lost Chord and The Casanova Wave).

A mix of taut indie-rock rhythms, boisterous harmonies and reflective melodies, the band display an assured and established sound so we're convinced that there is plenty more to look forward to in the coming 12 months. Go Panda Go indeed!

Go Panda Go EP by Go Panda Go

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Faces of 2011 - Retarded Cop

If you were down with Dublin punk-rock you're probably aware of Moutpiece, and particularly with their album artwork which featured singer Gaz Le Rock in his jocks outside a Dublin city centre fruit wholesalers giving it socks with a guitar.

Gaz, now an awesome RTE 2XM radio DJ (The Loving Room Floor) is channeling that same energy and fervour into his solo punk pop project Retarded Cop. Since November, Gaz has been posting up Youtube videos and streams of new songs almost every week. A debut LP is in the works right now with some gigs coming up very soon that will feature two drummers. It's pop from the cop.

[ Youtube | Soundcloud | iTunes | Twitter | Bandcamp ]

Photo by Sean Conroy.

RETARDED COP-COPVAN RETARDED COP - I'm going back in time

RETARDED COP - OBJECTIFY ME

RETARDED COP -The Unlucky One

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Faces of 2011 - We Are Losers

Describing themselves as “Pavement jamming with Go West,” Gavin Elsted's We Are Losers splice together retro synths and backbeats with riffy, lo-fi garage rock straight out of 1980's America. They retain an unashamed pop sensibility beneath all the bleepy keys and superfuzz guitars, with addictive vocal hooks and summery harmonies shining through in the mix. The group, which features members of Super Extra Bonus Party and Grand Pocket Orchestra, quickly earned their spurs when, for only their third ever gig, they supported Local Natives. The band has a busy start to the year, with a string of split side 7” releases, compilaton contributions and their first domestic single all due in the first quarter.

Photo - Loreana Rushe

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Faces of 2011 - Hired Hands

If intricate indie-pop is your thing, then look no further than Galway and Dublin's Hired Hands. Signed to Any Other City Records which of course, released Villagers early material as well as New Amusement, Hired Hands revel in the sounds of folk, a touch of jazz, melodies like nursery rhymes and playground times with waltzing rhythms.

All packaged up with distinctly Irish voices combined in Dirty Projectors-esque harmonies.

Hired Hands play Whelan's Ones To Watch 2011 on Friday.

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Faces of 2011 - Alarmist

The four guys in Alarmist wasted no time getting themselves noticed on the live Dublin circuit. A handful of shows in places like Bloc-T in Smithfield ignited their reputation as a killer live band. Yes, they're another instrumental band but rather than taking their cues from rock histrionics, they are clearly inspired by a wider range of sounds. They share similar freneticism to Foals in interlocking melodies, Halves in ambience (Ellis Czerniak of Halves is in the band) and the beguiling notes of Strands.

Check out their first two recorded tracks and look out for an EP in early 2011.

Alarmist play Whelan's Ones To Watch on Friday, Upstairs in Whelan's.

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Faces of 2011 - Sacred Animals

Sacred Animals appeared out of left field in 2010 with their Welcome Home EP, which promptly received State's seal of approval. The CD came housed in a homemade cover that was thoughtfully designed and carefully assembled – quite apt, as their music is constructed in a similar fashion. The Gorey-based band excels at composing languid, ambient folktronic soundscapes, overlayed with perceptive lyrics; a sound that is influenced as much by the landscapes that surround them as the records they listen to. They're modest about their efforts, with singer Darragh Nolan saying he's “...not so sure we have things figured out at all.” When you listen to Sacred Animals, though, you quickly realise that the opposite is true.

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Faces of 2011 - The Danger Is

Niamh Farrell (not to be confused with Niamh Farrell from Ham Sandwich) is responsible for The Danger Is. Farrell who studied painting at NCAD has been writing music for years and has pored her musical knowledge into this indie-pop project. The songs are breezy and Farrell's voice stands out thanks to her ability to inject emotion, range and choir-inspired backing vocals into the mix. Her debut four-track EP which was released late last year. It was recorded in Wicklow produced by Ken McHugh. Look out for her on this season's Other Voices too.

The Danger Is play Whelan's Ones to Watch on Saturday.

The Danger Is - EP by Lefthand Productions

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Faces of 2011 - The Casanova Wave

Waterford's Brian McCartan is the man responsible for The Casanova Wave. A solo project of jaunty live electronica, McCarthan oversaw the entire process from writing to playing to recording and mastering his music. The result was a debut five-track EP of promising electronic jams with a decidedly upbeat and positive disposition.

The Casanova Wave plays Whelan's Ones To Watch on Saturday.

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