Browsing Tag

Belfast

Fuar became the airwaves’ new favourite folk-punk raconteur with ‘Ladies Night’

Posted on 25 September 2024

In his latest single, Ladies Night, Belfast’s Fuar arrived with the swagger of a seasoned raconteur and the fervour of a folk-punk revolution, stirring the still airwaves into a riotous frenzy. Here is a single that marries the cheeky charm of Irish folk with the electric buzz of college radio rock, a sound nostalgically nodding to R.E.M.’s sticky-sweet hooks yet boldly staking its own claim in the folk domain.

Fuar melded the quintessential tones of traditional acoustic folk instrumentation with punk’s refusal to harmonise with convention, creating an atmosphere thick with euphoria. The charismatically magnetic vocals turn every syllable in the lyricism into a call to arms for those weary of the beige and the mundane in the folk scene.

The singer-songwriter may have only started to write his legacy with his recorded material, but if Ladies Night is anything to go by, his saga will be etched into the annals of folk before long. Having leapt into the recording scene in 2024, he’s quickly amassed a following enchanted by his panorama-painting lyricism and his earmilk-pouring progressions. With over 100 spins spanning from Amazing Radio to Radio New York, and echoes of acclaim reverberating through the blogosphere, Fuar has ensured his journey isn’t just one to watch—it’s one to be part of.

Ladies Night was officially released on September 10th and is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Belfast’s Fuar became the paragon of the loveable rogue in his folk debut, Leave the Light On

Posted on 25 March 2024

For his debut single, Leave the Light On, the Belfast-born-and-bred multi-instrumentalist Fuar put the faux Irish roots of Mumford & Sons to shame. If you want to get high on the fumes of authentic Irish folk, make Faur your dealer.

The infectiously upbeat acoustic folk anthem needed little more than his guitar chords, a solid backbeat and Faur’s naturally exhilarated charisma to drive the euphoria through the progressions of the hook-proliferated single which celebrates love and the ecstasy found in the sparks of connection.

With Faur’s affinity for punk giving Leave the Light On plenty of fiery rugged bite, he hasn’t just contributed to the rich tapestry of Irish folk music, he’s made his own matchless mark on the genre. With the promise of plenty more singles to come conflated with the commercial potential which courses through his debut, it is impossible not to anticipate Faur becoming one of the biggest breakthrough singer-songwriters in 2024. Watch this space.

Leave the Light On was officially released on March 16th; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Wynona Bleach deliver distortedly euphoric feel-good Alt-Pop with ‘Glimmer’

Posted on 25 November 2020

Hailing from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Wynona Bleach have, under a previous title (R51), already had the kind of impact alt-rock bands dream of, releasing two critically acclaimed EPs and playing the BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds, supporting Feeder and Alice In Chains, performing on the BBC’s Introducing anniversary show at Belfast’s Ulster Hall, and embarking on a 12-date headline Russian tour before adopting their new moniker and decamping to an abandoned warehouse in central Portugal to record their debut album under the production oversight of The Coral’s Bill Ryder-Jones.

Lead single ‘Glimmer’ is a gorgeous sliver of distorted feel-good alt-pop, all searing-yet-bouncy guitar and thumping bass ‘n’ drums stunningly capped by Melyssa Shannon’s killer vocal take. There’s a touch of the Hayley Williams there, for sure, along with some Smashing Pumpkins, a smattering of Wolf Alice or the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, and maybe even the poppy harmonies of Haim in places, with a definite blast of old school swirling, swooping indie like Garbage, Curve or Swervedriver added into the melting pot for an extra measure of cool.

Shannon’s delivery is delicious, alternately fragile and raucous, merging effortlessly with guitarist Jonny Woods’ backing vocals, poppy and dreamy on the verses before the belter of a stadium-anthem chorus kicks ass with its gang-vocal shoutiness, the twin-pronged guitar of Woods and Aaron Black delivering both a crunching, overdriven power-chord belter and an insanely catchy single-note melody over the crashing tightness of Carl Gilmore and Matty Killen’s rhythm section.

Wynona Bleach’s debut album ‘Moonsoake’ is released next month, and available to pre-order now; the self-filmed video for ‘Glimmer’ can be viewed from Wynona Bleach’s website, or via Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

New Kid on The Bloque

Posted on 24 December 2017
Anywhere Street DE1 (feat. Jamie Thrasivoulou) by Bloque Capitals

Following in the grimy urban traditions of King Krule, The Streets and more famously of late, Sleaford Mods, the punning named Bloque Capitals is a brilliant slice of social observation, a real “we are all in the gutter but some of us are face down” sort of vibe, a dark reality, a music of the underclass. Like the narratives he threads across the top of his punchy beats, plaintive pianos and brooding electronica, this is an anthem for the latch key kids of the modern age, the forgotten, the lost and those who have fallen through the cracks in society.

The music is as brutal as the images it portrays, the language as uncompromising as the streets it wanders and the end result is as bruised as it is brilliant. It echoes with the same alien and alienated voice as similar musical mavericks, from Shaun Ryder’s street smarts to John Cooper Clark’s insightful poeticism, from Ian Dury’s self-mythologising rhymes to The Streets side similar swipes at the bottom of society. All of whom are indeed in the gutter, maybe even looking at the stars but on the strength of this track Bloque Capitals may just be on his way to becoming one.