Promo photo for The King Said
Brian Coney here, at your service. You know, it’s a sad fact of life that despite the constant influx of exciting music on our doorstep, even the finest, most radically inspiring local bands come and go – often completely unexpected – like the seasons. A case in point is General Fiasco who, only a couple of days ago announced, completely out of the blue, that they were going on hiatus after years and hundreds of shows together as a band. In other words, time is precious, music-making and consuming friends. Discover and embrace the following while they’re here.
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The Holy Sparks!!! - Plot Of The Patriarchs
First up we have the The Holy Sparks!!!, a Dublin-based garage-prog outfit obsessed with "historical villains, dark shadows and eternal truths". You may as well aim high and all that, right? Taken from their recently-released four-track EP titled Plot Of The Patriarchs, the title track is a headstrong garage-rock effort propelled by the vocals of the band’s frontman; a low-end, possessed croon placed nicely between Ian Curtis, Jim Morrison and Nick Cave.
Susie Blue – ‘Lisbeth’
The opening track from her debut EP, Stripped Bare, ‘Lisbeth’ is a track by Susie Blue, the stage name of Derry singer-songwriter Susan Donaghy. Calling to the mind the jaunty pop-folk of Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, Donaghy’s approach is very much in the same vein as fast-rising, fellow Derry-based artist SOAK. Stripped Bare, whilst perhaps lacking a certain punch overall, is a hugely promising first outing from a young artist who has every potential to capitalise upon her neck of the woods being City of Culture 2013.
The King Said – ‘Architect’
Lastly we have ‘Architect’ by Dromore-based instrumental band The King Said. Taken from their brand new three-track EP, Comet Chaser, it is the best summation of their sound to date: decidedly soaring, crescendo-based post-rock that calls to mind the likes of pioneers of the genre such as Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai and Mono. Given a little more experimentation over a full-length, the band are very much capable of following in the footsteps of local instrumentalists Tracer AMC (R.I.P) and, lest we forget, And So I Watch You From Afar.
