The Long Knives

After The Long Knives forgot the time change (like the rest of the world) on Sunday, they finally made it into the studio. We at the Sessions were delighted to see them.

They snuck into our special little red room and went straight for a song. Cheap Wine is the current single, to be launched in Toner's on April 24th. On the myspace page they describe it as the most pop-friendly offering yet. I love it. The tone is summery and the harmonic riffs augment perfectly this gorgeous song.

The Long Knives are Niall, Caroline, Martin, and (the absent from the radio) Mark. This band, though they have been formed and reformed quite a many times, have the look and sound of granddaddies of musician. Wet behind the ears they are not. They sound tight and smooth and have an impressive history of recording, gigging and touring. Niall's vocals are iron-lung strong leaving the rest of the band to rock out at their discretion. They are collectively amazingly engaging to watch perform.

Personal Holly favourites are Cheap Wine and North Country Girl (absolutely gorgeous). Check them out for some freakin quality tunes:

www.myspace.com/thelongknivesireland

Star Crossed Enemies...VBFs

Star Crossed Enemies had been waiting in the studio for the past hour when I strolled in late. The North Dublin duo comprises of Brian (Malahide posh) and Gary (Donabate eh, posh). This pair has been playing a plethora of stormin' gigs in recent times. I saw them in the Globe a couple of weeks ago and had my socks well and truly blown.

Armed with two guitars and a rake of pop-rock songs, the simplicity of their work is not to be allayed with the boring pop-rock that litters the charts with startling frequency. Their lyrics are carefully written and just a wee bit on the quirky side. Check out Astronauts,

Let us go to outer space, with nothing but our guitars and a pen to take down what we've learned when we come back.

The sound is infectious, as are the guys. Their enthusiasm for the home-grown approach is a breath of fresh air. They record all their work themselves and have the confidence of the young, which is incredibly appealing.

Gary plays with the devotion of one who spent formative years in his room alone with his guitar; this comes out in beautiful riffs and an intensity that belies his nineteen years. His background oohs compliment Brian's vocals, which also come from the bedroom and according to myspace, a habit of being dumped by girls. He's got a great voice as a testament, so I for one am going to try get dumped by loads of girls from now on.

Their music is simple, honest and great to listen to in bed. I've tried it. As much as I didn't want to like it, for being all of the above and maybe falling into the emo kiddy genre (which it does not), I totally love it now. Think of Kings of Convenience on a VBF (or whatever the emokiddies say) date with Boards of Canada, drinking coffee and eating doughnuts.

Or something like that.

But don't take my word for it, check it out here:

www.myspace.com/starcrossedenemies

PS. They also hand out biccies at their gigs. Free ones. Hmmm.

The Mighty Atomics

Aloha The Mighty Atomics!

Straight out of a hotbed somewhere between Pulp Fiction, quiffs and a mouldy oul garage, this is The Mighty Atomics.

This youthful trio consisting of Nick, Conor, and Maurice, are old-style rockabilly, garage, surf, and basic 4 beat rock and roll. Basically what happened when Elvis left the building. Or maybe Carl Wilson. I'm not sure.

They played a fecking stormer of a first song, with rockin' drum breaks and catchy riffs. As Stace said, it's the kind of music you put on while driving, and rock out to, hands off the wheel, Chuck Berry style. I, personally, would have a red Mustang and a peroxide bitch by my side just to do it justice.

The lead (and only) guitar mostly drives the songs; the bass seems to be going somewhere completely different all together, but happily brought together at the rear by the (sparkly!) drums. These guys have to be seen to be believed. And danced to with winklepickers.

The skill that the band have with their respective instruments is great, and it's quite astounding how tight they sound considering a Mighty Atomic age of almost one. They are also as cute as buttons, but I fear one may be arrested, as the average band age looks to be about 12, but I was assured it was 22.

It was with great regret that I missed their gig in the King Kong Club in Whelans on Tuesday, but fear not, citizens, you can catch them again soon around the country. Check out ze myspace:

www.myspace.com/themightyatomics

Jimi Cullen (spelt IMI not IMMY)

Welcome Jimi Cullen the Junkyard Poet!

On Sunday myself, Stace and Cillser the Sound Guy had the extreme pleasure of being the audience for Wexford's Finest, Jimi Cullen.

For me, Jimi fills the gap between entertainment and music. You don't have to shoe-gaze or read a history of feeling bad to enjoy his songs...they are simple and entertaining. He explains there's enough sad and depressing songs; sometimes you just need a bit of humour. He played us Realistic Love Song, which was exactly that. All the bullshit surrounding lovesongs was scarpered in return for a very sincere take on the whole messy business. Me and Cillser the Sound Guy were laughing our arses off.

This is not to say Cullen misses the spot emotionally. In his vast repertoire reside some fairly serious subjects. It's all to do with attitude.

This multi talented fella totes his guitar around and also comes complete with harmonica. His voice sounds like whiskey and chocolate. Love it.

You can check out Cullen play in a freaking plethora of places, including Amsterdam, Vienna, and em, The Bridge Tavern in Wicklow Town (Go OOOOONNNNN WICKLA), just look on his Myspace:

www.myspace.com/jimicullen

Do it.

Wayne Brennan

First up on Sunday was Wayne Brennan. For those of you unfamiliar with the open mic yokey in Dublin, Wayne is a bit of an institution. He's played with loads of people, and his show is rock steady and pretty tight.

Just back from touring what seemed like the whole of Ireland, he is surprisingly perky and full of life. His songs are beautifully crafted slices of life, complete with great guitar playing and a beautiful voice.

And so the man who works every hour in Bejazus kicked off the show with a couple of chirpy songs that had me and Stace nearly jumping in our seats. As in, they were class.

Cillser the Soundguy was even nodding along, and holy christ, it takes a lot to move him.

Check out his website:

http://www.waynebrennan.com/

Christine Deadly

Actually her name is Christine Deady. But she's deadly. You get the picture.

Christine hails from an incredibly musical background in Kilmuckridge, including a plethora of instrument-totin' brothers.

I've seen her name around the open mic sets in Dublin for the past year, and always was terribly curious about her music, though I never got to see it.

She rocks! Her voice has caught that zeitgeist that puts me in mind of East Coast colleges and brownstone buildings and scarves and feisty broken hearts. It's bleeding gorgeous.

She had me and Stace and Wayne and Cillser the Soundguy captivated with her intimate tunes and incredible voice. The Lovely Michelle was her back-up and together they transformed our little studio into a haven for day dreaming.

She's playing lots round the country and releasing her single in about 5 weeks time, so check her out.

www.myspace.com/christinedeady

Lisa Cuthbert

Next up was Lisa Cuthbert. We hastily set up her massively heavy keyboard in the studio as I prayed to sweet Jesus I wouldn't drop it on her fantastic boots.

Lisa has a voice that, for me, borders between Fiona Apple and Sarah McLaughlan. Apologies in retrospect for comparing her to other singers, I freakin hate when people do that, but yeah. Deep, throaty vocals that twist and flip to delicacy when you're least expecting it. Simultaneously beautiful and haunting.

She played two tracks for us, Cherry Blossom and Ready to Unfold. She plays piano really really, sickenly, jealous-inducingly well. Grrr.

Check her out soon, her new EP's out and she's playing round the country in the next few weeks.

The Resistance

Great show last night.

First up was The Resistance. Three of this five-piece from Dublin/Kildare (including an affable, violin-playing Yank, who really is Irish) came round to the studio in East Wall to play a set and promote their new album.

Dave, Rob (or Rock, as I heard it) and Eanan blew me away. Wow. I had confided to Dave earlier that I was getting a little tired with the new music I've been hearing here and there, like it's all a bit samey.

Somewhere between the Shins and I don't know, somewhere else cool (it's Monday night, for fuck's sake, I have no vocabulary), yep they were great. Lovely off-chords and harmonics, gorgeous vocals and a violin sound which made me want to cry.

As in it was so good.

Check out their myspace and catch them live, deffo. You won't be disappointed.