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VACANT
Featuring members of the now defunct pop punk group, Hooray for Humans, Vacant are hardcore quintet from Dublin. Their guitarist Steve produced Adebisi Shank’s sophmore album but don’t understimate their heft factor based on their history of poppier music ventures. They hold no punches and describe themselves as more of a powerviolence act. It all sounds very macho but one half of their rhythm section is Naomi MacLeod on bass, bringing the all important female touch to the operation. They’re a band you really need to experience live. Blink and you’ll miss them, their set is literally about 11 minutes long with each track coming in at around a minute in total. They’re currently working on new material and you can download their demo for free via bandcamp.
It Was All A Bit Black & White
Our next act brings us to Galway and these guys are a two piece, heavily influenced by the likes of Adebisi Shank. Onstage, are just drums and guitar. The guitarist Matt has a pretty hefty pedal board, the kind that would even make the aforementioned Adebisi Shank a bit jealous. He runs this through a bass amp and the whole thing generates a bit of a Death from Above feel to their sound. They still seem to be crafting their live show and you get the feeling that once they’ve done so the band could skyrocket. This is a track called ‘Mechanical Paradise’ from their latest EP and we’re happy to say that you can download the whole thing for free via their bandcamp.
The Depravations
Sunny indie folk from the (not so sunny) West Coast of Ireland. Galway’s The Depravations have been generating a bit of a buzz for themselves on the blogosphere and are on the verge of releasing their debut album. Indie folk is a somewhat oversaturated genre in Ireland but these guys managed to carve their own niche in that area. If you’re feeling a bit ropey after the weekend’s celebrations this will certainly lift your spirits. They’re launching their debut album Onwards, Westwards at the end of this month. This track is called ‘I Get Lost’ and you can hear the whole thing on Bandcamp.
