The Goo 1
Opinion DAN HEGARTY Stop, Rewind, Change Sides It
feels like I’ve only just finished last month’s piece for The Goo, and here we are again… another month has passed by, and with it comes some pretty exceptional music. If, like me, you missed Anie Valentine’s latest single ‘Boys’ when it landed in March, it’s a track that you may find yourself adding to whatever playlist of listening routine that you have going on. It follows her 2022 single ‘Ending Things’. It’s definitely up there with the best of what’s come so far in 2023. Speaking of great tracks, Bobbi Arlo’s latest single ‘Juni’ is the strongest track that the Dublin artist has released so far. It had been more than a year since Arlo released music, and ‘Juni’ really does build anticipation for what’s coming next. It has a harder sound than much of the previous material, but it doesn’t lose any of the soulfulness that helped build an audience initially. If the name Sam Healy doesn’t sound instantly recognisable to you, perhaps his band North Atlantic Oscillation might. The Irish born/Edinburgh based musician has been the main person behind NAO since they formed in 2005. Album number five ‘United Wire’ landed recently. If they’re a new name to you, the new album is a perfect starting point, or you can go back to the 2010 debut ‘Grappling Hooks’ and work your way forward. The line-up for next month’s Mother Block Party is shaping up to be the best since its inception. Joining Mother DJs, guests include Self Esteem, Purple Disco Machine, Krystal Klear, along with DJ sets from the highly regarded Tara Kumar, Kelly-Anne Byrne, Claire Beck and Conor Behan. This year’s event takes place on June 23rd and 24th on grounds of the National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks. Grian Chatten’s recent extracurricular artistic activity caught a lot of people by surprise. The Fontaines D.C. vocalist’s debut solo single ‘The Score’ landed late last month. You could describe it as a folk tune, and while it’s different from much of what Chatten has brought us via his band, it’s not a complete departure in sound. You could quite easily run out of superlatives when trying to describe Margaret Healy’s debut album ‘…And You Are?’ The problem is, you’d have to find it first. Released in 2001, it combines atmospheric textures with beautifully crafted songs. It’s one of those truly excellent lost albums that far too few people know about. It would be great to see it made available again both digitally and physically. PAGE 6 BOBBI ARLO NAO KAB GRIAN CHATTEN