The Goo 1
Opinion words: Dan Hegarty STOP, REWIND, CHANGE S
IDES The forecast for music in November and December used to point towards Christmas music, with very little else new arriving. Thankfully times have changed, and late 2025 has seen a healthy consignment of music without festive accompaniments. Some of the best material has come from Affection To Rent, Breezy iDeyGoke x Art Of Algebra, HAVVK, Chasing Abbey, Chosta, Croíthe, and Belfast’s Huartan. The Stunning released ‘Stand Up In This Wicked World’, which isn’t just an excellent track, but a song that reflects the times that we live in at present. The Irish contingent that will travel to the Eurosonic festival in The Netherlands in January continues to grow. While putting this piece together, these are the acts that have been confirmed: Florence Road, Basht., MOIO, Child Of Prague, DUG, Curtisy, Madra Salach, SexyTadhg, The Null Club, Officer John, Bucket, and Dove Ellis. Previous Eurosonic participants The Scratch have announced details of their third album, which will arrive on March 13th. Titled ‘Pull Like A Dog’, it’s preceded by a single of the same name. It’s great to see that the Borderline festival has announced its line-up for February 19th, 20th and 21st at The Workman’s Club and Project Art Centre. The line-up includes the highly thought of Bleech 9:3, Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Brooki, green star, and many others. While we’re on the subject of festivals, it’s been confirmed that the 11th annual Dublin Bowie Festival will take place from February 24th to March 1st. The festival will celebrate 50 years of Bowie’s ‘Station To Station’ and 10 years of his final album ‘Blackstar’. Lastly, Candice Gordon’s 2017 debut album ‘Garden Of Beasts’ is one that I’ve revisited recently. At times ethereal, sometimes seemingly abstract, and others featuring glorious indie pop; it’s an album that covers a lot of musical ground. Yet with that said, it all makes perfect sense as a body of work. You may not find it on all platforms but as I write these words, it’s playing via Bandcamp. If you search you may be able to track down a vinyl copy too; it’s certainly worth it. 6