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AUDIO Joe Joyce Sophia McDonald Danny Wilson Inha
ler It Won’t Always Be Like This [Polydor] Skelocrats Boy Bitten by Lizard [Popical Island] Close your eyes during Inhaler’s 45-minute debut album and you might mistake it for a lost U2 record. What the Irish band bring to the table that differs from Bono’s legacy is their attempts to appeal to modern youth. Memories of relationships that have crashed and burned, feeling excluded and bursts of hope make the album relatable, fitting in with the likes of The Academic. Unfortunately, they can’t escape U2’s shadow, failing to push any sonic boundaries. The quartet entice you in with moody indie melodies, but listen more closely and lyrics start to stand in the way. They satisfy the indie rock formula with strong guitar riffs, emulating The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas as much as possible. However, including lyrics like “I fucking hate that bitch” and “one, two, three, four, five” take away from It Won’t Always Be Like This. The promise that comes with this double meaning title is never fulfilled. They lack complexity in how they look back at broken love and the pain of pandemic isolation. They’re reaching for something universal when instead they should be focusing in on details. Inhaler seem to be pressing on too fast. Glimmers of what could be peek out but they’ll have to persevere in finding their own voice. Riding on the coattails of a certain successful Irish rockstar won’t be enough for Inhaler next time. SMcD Like This? Try These... The Academic - Tales from the Backseat The Strokes - The New Abnormal U2 - The Joshua Tree Returning from something of an unofficial hiatus, Dublin’s premier bockety-pop supergroup is back in business. Following the departure of oddball crooner extraordinaire, Paddy Hanna, this who’s who of domestic indie stalwarts have further bolstered their ranks with the addition of No Monster Club’s (Sir) Bobby (Jukebox) Aherne and Ruan Van Vliet of Squarehead. Whether it can be chalked up to the new blood or otherwise, the quintet sound nothing if not energised on this, their most immediately arresting and deftly constructed collection to date. The shambling, grab-bag, energy that defined their first two records has always been one of the great pleasures of Skelocrats as an endeavour, so, to praise Boy Bitten by Lizard for its focus can’t help feel a little off. Yet, this newfound clarity in vision and sharpness in presentation never reads as compromise, or worse, the sanding down of rough edges at the expense of character. In essence, despite the presence of titles like We Drink Our Own Piss, the chaos has been dialled down in favour of a sweeter shade of sophistication. This twist is pointedly evidenced in closer Sweet Talk; itself an unassumingly anthemic wonder reminiscent of Pulp at their most potent, or in the taut to the point of spring loaded, pure pop pleasures of the tracks that front and centre the belted vocals of Bronwyn Murphy White. DW Meljoann H.R. [Boy Scout Audio] Aesop Rock Spirit World Field Guide [Rhymesayers Entertainment] The second album from Irish singer and producer Meljoann sounds like the output of a malevolent algorithm that’s been trained on pop music from 1985 to 2005; glittering R&B vocals one minute, industrial fuzz the next. Lyrically and sonically, the album might be too scattered and dissonant to win over any non-believers, but if you like your pop with a little bit more existential dread than usual, you’re in for a treat. Trophy Wife, a glitchy Bond theme song from an alternate universe, is a highlight. JJ While travel isn’t an option for most of us right now, you could do a lot worse than a metaphysical journey with rapper Aesop Rock on Spirit World Field Guide. Rock’s eighth studio album is a woozy confluence of his lyrical proficiency and skill behind the mixing desk. There are vast synths, crisp drums and creepy 8-bit hooks. These unearthly soundscapes are scattered with mind-bending lyrics; this spirit world is full of bats exploding out a mountain cave and crystal skulls. It’s a hell of a ride. JJ John Francis Flynn I Would Not Live Always [River Lea Recordings] Dublin Traditional scene staple and multi-instrumentalist John Francis Flynn is the latest emissary of the domestic folk renaissance to find a home at Rough Trade offshoot River Lea Recordings. Flynn’s arresting debut shines for its ingenuity and unfettered invention as droning tape manipulations, gurgling analogue synth passages and jazz squeals shine in conversation with traditional songs, arrangements and approaches. For all the instrumental mastery on display, Flynn’s rich vocals stand apart, the deeply felt empathy in his delivery lending the songs their own kind of gentle authority. Mesmerising. DW The Cribs Night Network [Sonic Blew] In a year where landfill indie made headlines, a new record from the brothers Jarman should be no surprise. The Cribs eighth studio album, their first entirely self-produced effort since forming twenty years ago, is coloured with a nostalgic palette that spans from Dusty Springfield-tinged melodies to generous helpings of indie-infused Britpop. Opening with the lilting Goodbye, sprinkled with Spector-like magic, the trio radiates an alluring warmth. For those whose coming of age was soundtracked by The Cribs, this release feels as though their sound has matured with their audience. ZH Tyler the Creator Call Me If You Get Lost [Columbia] AC/DC Power Up [Columbia Records] Cohesive chaos, Tyler the Creator’s surprise drop brought with it his now signature honesty, complete with colourful opinions and lonely boy yearning. Call Me if You Get Lost sees the rapper take creative control, crafting an album more worthy of being called a compilation. Playing with ‘90s R’n’B samples and warbling bent vinyl sound effects, Tyler takes advantage of his post Igor success by including experimental tracks. Featuring big names (including his hero Pharrell), Tyler lets go of traditional song structure as flowing beats compliment bouncy lyrics. SMcD Bruce Lee once said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” That being the case, he probably wouldn’t have fancied meeting AC/DC in a brawl. On their seventeenth studio album, the Australian hard rockers give us 12 entertaining variations on the musical kick that they’ve been working on for decades. You might forget some of the riffs as soon as you’re finished listening, but Brian Johnson’s demonic vocals can still thrill. JJ Lucy Dacus Home Video [Matador] Lambchop Trip [Merge Records] The perfect soundtrack to reliving a teenage life, Lucy Dacus’ trip back through time carries a comforting, yet melancholic, weight. Vignettes painted as old home videos, Dacus’ memories are captured with a tone of fondness. Phoebe Bridgers’ clever instrumentation meets Weyes Blood’s smooth vocals, Dacus is carving her own throne in indie’s hall of fame. Home Video thrives during its gentle moments that handle the past carefully. Emotive reflections on who past characters grow up to be are the record’s killer punch, as kids become complicated adults. SMcD Ever the restless auteur, Kurt Wagner’s latest pivot sees him encourage each bandmate to choose a track to cover. This diffusion of creative control largely forgoes the electronic dabbling of recent releases in favour of a return to some understated country soul for grown-ups. The selections are characteristically left-field, while Wagner’s laconic baritone sedately unfurls across a six-track collection stretched to album length by its sparse slow burn. It should be a throwaway concept, but under the covers you’ll find a cohesive summation of an enterprising band quite content to fly below the radar. KB Now Open 29 South Anne St, Dublin 2 Tel. 01 531 4491 55