New Music On The Scene

I love going to gigs, checking out different music - at home and abroad - and finding new tunes from relatively undiscovered bands. Below are a few notes on a couple of new groups/albums that have recently come across my radar!

Seven Days

While I was out for a few pints in Mullingar last weekend I dropped into Danny Byrnes to check out a local band; Seven Days... these guys were pretty good and I'd say they'll go places if their live performance on that night is anything to go by. With influences such as The police and The Dave Matthews Band, they're definitely on the right track!

They're releasing their debut single 'Outside' on May 22nd at the Academy 2 and are touring furiously at the moment. These guys are a young band and were on new band stage at Oxygen last year. They're also battling it out in the Hotpress 'Tiger Untamed' competition at the end of the Month.

The Courteeners

I came across The Courteeners listening to Phantom and I'm sure many of ye have heard of their first single 'You Over Did It Doll' from the new album 'Falcon'. This caught my attention and below is another song from the new album that hasn't hit the airways yet.

These guys have been around for a good few years; releasing their first album in 2008 but are really coming into the limelight now; playing Glastonbury in June. From Manchester this four-piece have a good sound and have been compared to the likes of The Smiths and The Stone Roses and more modern acts such as the Artic Monkeys but they do have their own brand of indie guitar rock which is refreshing.

These guys have recently played Dublin but no doubt will be back soon.

MGMT

We all know of MGMT and their catchy hits of Kids, Time to Pretend and Electric Feel but listening to their newest album Congratulations you would be forgiven if you didn't initially recognise them.

Their new album is sparking much debate and people either hate it or love it. After listening a few times over I can clearly say that I'm a fan... but I wouldn't think it will appeal to the mainstream music fan base and will have a more selective following.

The album is more mellow and laid back and definitely wont be featured in the nightclubs. I can see myself relaxing to a few of these tunes after a surf and that suits me just fine. The album contains a 12 min track 'Siberian breaks' which makes reference to and sounds slightly like (at times) Loenard Cohen's song Marianne!

Below is one of my favoutite tracks; and is the title track 'Congratulations'. Give this album time and a couple of plays to get your head around the sudden change in tempo from Oracular Spectacular.