The Goo 1
Opinion DAN HEGARTY Stop, Rewind, Change Sides No
t every artist feels that it’s essential to have record label backing these days, and who’s to argue to say that they’re wrong? Then for those that want one, there’s the debate of whether to go with a major or independent. If you were look at independent labels, you’d find it hard to critique the quality of Partisan Records’ output of Irish releases in 2022. First it was Skinty Fia from Fontaines DC, then Just Mustard’s Heart Under, and just last month Protector by Aoife Nessa Francis. If these three aren’t in a great number of end of year Top 10/20 polls, I’ll be astonished. The duo Lukas Vogel and Erol Sarp who are better known as Grandbrothers were back in Ireland for dates in Cork, Kilkenny, and Dublin last month. Their show at the National Concert Hall was nothing short of mesmerising. They gave us the new track ‘Yonder’ recently, and they announced on the night that they have a new album arriving next March. Cork has always seemed to have a magical formula for offering up excellent acts. The list is a long one that includes Microdisney, The Frank & Walters, Stanley Super 800, the Sultans Of Ping, FC, Emperor Of Ice Cream, and more recently First Class & Coach and The Love Buzz. Add to that list Little Known, who’ve just unleashed a contender for song of the year. ‘Listen’ is one of those instantaneous songs that has all the ingredients in near perfect measure. It seems like more than a year ago that Lyndsey Lawlor’s debut album Dearest Philistine landed, but it was January 14th, 2022. It’s one of those albums that’s hard hitting but not in a way that will stop you listening to it regularly. The tracks ‘Bottle & Chain’, ‘Unyielding Concrete’, and ‘Sleep’ are outstanding – hopefully over time this album gets to reach a much larger audience. As I write these words, I’m eagerly awaiting to start reading Bono’s book ‘Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story’. It’s a sensation that’s not too dissimilar to waiting for new music from one of your favourite artists. There have been some exceptional memoirs in the last number of years; Mark Lanegan’s ‘Sing Backwards and Weep’ and ‘Rememberings’ from Sinead O’Connor are two of the best that I’ve read. Dear Annie is Rejjie Snow’s 2018 debut is an album that I’ve re-visited of late. It was rarely far from any playlist that I was involved with during 2018 and 2019, but so often things just slip off your radar with the passing of time. What more can you ask from a debut? This has so much, and when you consider the songs that he didn’t include on it (‘Flexin’ and ‘Pink Beetle’ in particular), it makes it all the more impressive. PAGE 34 GRANDBROTHERS LITTLE KNOWN LYNDSEY LAWLOR BONOS’ NEW BOOK REJJIE SNOW