The Goo 1
Opinion words: Dan Hegarty STOP, REWIND, CHANGE S
IDES Stop me if you’ve heard this before… What a year it’s been so far for music. Even if you were to take international music out of the equation and focus solely on Irish music, the volume and quality of what’s been released so far in 2025 has been incredible. From For Those I Love to Maria Somerville, M(h)aol to Will de Burca; it has to be one of the best of the past couple of decades. Two of the best finest EPs of late have come from Cruel Sister and mischa & the bear. ‘A Corpse Is Talking’ from the former features the singles ‘Window Seat’ ‘XOXO’, ‘Iron Pills’ and two other excellent tracks. Dublin duo mischa & the bear brought us the ‘Even Unto The Next World’ EP last month. The best way to describe it is an intensely beautiful listening experience. Far Caspian is Irish-born, Leeds-based musician Joel Johnston. His latest album ‘Autofiction’ could be one that we’ll be talking about for years. The album landed back in July, and has been a favourite to these ears ever since. Pick of the tracks are ‘Window’, ‘A Drawing of The Sun’ and the outstanding ‘End’. By the time you’re reading this, you may or may not have seen Far Caspian at The Grand Social. Acts like U2 and Fontaines D.C. have never shied away from touring. You could say the same for NewDad and Sprints. Both bands spent large parts of last year touring their respective debut album, and this year has seen them continue to clock up the miles on their touring schedules. Both bands have upcoming Irish dates to support the releases of their second albums. Sentimental Tourists is the new band formed by Paul Page (ex-Whipping Boy) and David Long (ex-Into Paradise). Their debut self-titled EP arrived last month, and features impressive four tracks. It’s hopefully the first of many releases from the fledgling outfit. With news of the release of Just Mustard’s third album ‘We Were Just Here’ (October 24th), let’s jump back to their second album 2022 album ‘Heart Under’. Blending textures and sounds of brute force and beauty with seamless precision, it’s one of those albums that seemed like a future classic once it was unleashed to the world. 6