4: Fight Like Apes – …and The Mystery of the Golden Medallion

Fight Like Apes

When I thought about doing up the list of 46 albums, one that was certain to make the list was ‘Fight Like Apes and The Mystery of the Golden Medallion‘. It’s bloody great, that’s why. I’m well late to the game with this album though, having picked it up a few weeks before Zavvi shut its doors in Kilkenny but start to finish it’s top notch stuff. We’d featured tracks from them on the podcast when the album was released last September but it took me until the UK release in January to get off my arse and grab it.

Why did I wait?

Quality tunes, great lyrics, beats that are just too catchy and even the packaging rocks. They’ve played Glastonbury, Oxegen, Reading and Leeds, have supported and toured with the Prodigy, the Ting Tings, Kasabian, We Are Scientists and more and they’re going from strength to strength. In the wind up I think I only paid 7 or 8 quid for the album but if you’ve not heard it, get to listening. Check the track below for some FLApes goodness and stop by the FLApes MySpace and site.

Fight Like Apes – Jake Summers
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More Burlesque From Can Can Casino

Can Can Casino

Burlesque lovers take note – with Miss Bella-A-Go Go, The Ding Dong Belles, Miss Dotty Potts, Mr. Moneypenny and more on the bill as part of a new-look cast and show, Can Can Casino is on its way back to Kilkenny for Friday March 6th, again taking up residence in Kytelers.

The Swingin’ Bluecats are back in tow as the house band for the night with news that they’re set to release a new album this year as well.

Keep an eye on cancancasino.com for the details and tickets.

3: Coheed and Cambria – In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3

Coheed & Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3

Today’s album, the third of the series, comes from the forum as Stranger_by_day suggests ‘In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3‘ from Coheed & Cambria. Why?

“To me the album has everything. Its got your heavier songs, your softer songs, great, memorable lyrics, hooks galore. Its a great progression from their first album, it retains some of the post-hardcore elements of the first, while maturing their sound. The title track alone should show you exactly what I mean, it basically sums up that whole album, & if you were interested in the band at all, that will always be the track I’d recommend. Sure, Welcome Home is the more known track, but In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 will always be the standout track for me, & for a lot of fans of the band.”

Got iTunes? Click here to fire up the album.

Click here to see what’s made the list so far as we continue through 46 albums for lent. Also stop by PlaylistMix.com and CubikMusik.com for a free track a day over lent.

New U2 Album Hits The Shelves

U2 - New Album On The Horizon, At Last

It’s been leaked, it’s been online for a while now and there are likely to be dodgy copies already floating around car boot sales but ‘No Line On The Horizon’ finally went public last night with U2 fans queuing overnight in Dublin. Maybe the internet got the better of fans this time around or people just aren’t that bothered any more in doing the midnight queue thing as the Indo reports about a dozen people had gathered around 8pm last night – with people in the line already listening to copies of the album on their iPod as they waited for the doors of HMV to open up.

So what do you reckon? Has it been worth the hype? Of all of us here I’d say I’m more the U2 fan but not to the point where I’m rushing down to Rollercoaster this morning to pick up the first copy off the shelf. That said, I’ll bag a copy of it for the weekend and see what it’s all about. Reckon they’ll ever pull a Radiohead on it? Not if they’re moving to Amsterdam…

SXSW Irish Acts & Times Published

Lisa Hannigan

Time and money. Two things I would love to have more of. If I did have more of them, they would be going towards tickets and a trip to this year’s SXSW, with the Irish contingent consisting of Lisa Hannigan, Fight Like Apes, Republic Of Loose, Dirty Epics, Fighting With Wire and more.

State has the list for Thursday March 19th kicking off with The Guggenheim Grotto at 9pm and wrapping with Fighting With Wire on the Saturday (21st).

You can find the full music schedule here. We’ve also been following SXSWI on Twitter.

2: Death Cab For Cutie – Plans

Death Cab For Cutie - Plans

I’ve been a fan of Death Cab For Cutie for a few years now. The Seattle quartet have had a few good releases over the years – Something about Airplanes, Transatlanticism, The Photo Album, Plans, We Have The Facts and We’re Voting Yes, the Forbidden Love EP and the latest offering of Narrow Stairs. I move through their albums *very* slowly. It took me over two years to get away from listening to Transatlanticism and now the same thing is happening with Plans. While I picked up a copy of Narrow Stairs when it came out, I’m sorry I’d neglected Plans for so long as it’s another quality album. 11 tracks of pure goodness from the opener of Marching Bands of Manhattan to the slower closing track of Stable Song (starts “Time for the final bow…”).

If you’re looking for something a little different, some more chilled out electro-indie-rock then this is good starting point. Yes, I’ll still try to shove Transatlanticism on anyone who’ll listen or gets in the van with me but Plans is slowly heading that direction as well. If you’re a fan of The Shins or Weezer you’ll do well here.

Take a listen to ‘Crooked Teeth’ (track 7) below.
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Click here to buy or preview Plans by Death Cab For Cutie on iTunes.

1: Hybrasil – The Monkey Pole

Hybrasil - The Monkey Pole

We’ve featured a track or two from Hybrasil on the podcast over the past year, so when it came to picking the first album for the push during lent, this one was an obvious choice from the stack currently sitting on the desk!

The Monkey Pole was the debut album from Wicklow-based five-piece-now-four-piece Hybrasil. Fire The Stone Roses, Blur or Gorillaz into a blender with a sprinkling of electronica goodness and you’ve got the makings of Hybrasil. The album hit the shelves in 2007 having been recorded partly in Pete Meighan’s bedroom (engineer) and Redhills House in Cavan. For me, it’s an album of two halves, cut in the middle by ‘A Million Moment’, a bit of a slower number I’m not overly keen on at all but start to finish you’ve got ten (out of eleven) great numbers in there.

Check out the tracks ‘We Got Music’ and ‘San Fran’ and the 80s-tastic ‘God Bless The Devil’ (track 8). Winners all the way.

Listen to ‘We Got Music’ below
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Listening During Lent – 46 Albums

I’m not the overly religious type by any means, but during lent I’ve always found a way of giving something up, or taking something up. In chatting with Colin at Cubikmusik yesterday (before tucking into a stack of pancakes) the idea was conjured up to spread some music love during Lent and get to pluggings some tracks and albums.

So over at Cubikmusik you should be able to grab yourself a track a day, handpicked by Colin for download; over at PlaylistMix.com you’ll be able to pick yourself up a free download a day of podsafe music with a selection of tracks coming out of the previous 47 shows while here on KKM we’ll be plugging an album a day, taking suggestions through the forum, email and comments on the blog.

Some of the suggestions so far include albums from Led Zeppelin, MGMT, Fight Like Apes, Band Of Horses, Feist, Weezer, Portishead and more. Got some to add?

How it works for albums is this – if you’ve got an album you think people should have in their collection, tell us about it and let us tell people about it. Suggest the album and give us a short paragraph on why you think it should get the push – what brought you to the album, what are the standout tracks etc.

Seemingly Sundays don’t count during lent (reducing the length from 46 to 40 days) but who says you’ve to stop listening to music just because it’s Sunday. First of the albums is due along later today but if you’ve got suggestions, email hello@kilkennymusic.com and we’ll add them to the list (there’s over 46 suggestions from people at this stage).

Lily Allen & Co. En Route To Oxegen

MCD announced another string of names for Oxegen yesterday. I think Ray Foley was right (at least I think it was Foley) when he said that eventually you forget who’s playing Oxegen given the way they keep announcing bunches of acts.

Anyway, the latest bunch of acts includes Lily Allen, Keane, The Specials, Paulo Nutini, Wallis Bird, Digitalism, The Mars Volta, Swedish House Mafia, Miss Kittin and The Hacker, Crookers and Hockey.

In case you’ve forgotten, the headliners for this year’s festival are Kings of Leon, The Killers, Blur and Snow Patrol.

Guitar Lessons With A Legend? It’s Possible…

Clive Barnes

Acclaimed roots musician Clive Barnes, now living in Kilkenny, is opening his doors for one-to-one guitar lessons locally. Having run a hugely successful guitar school in Wexford for over a decade, the guitar maestro who is set to release his fourth studio album ‘The Ghost Country’ later this year, is taking on ten students for private tuition in Kilkenny.

From beginner to advanced, all styles are going to be taught including country, metal, folk, jazz, blues and bluegrass with specialties in techniques including fingerpicking, flatpicking, slide, shreddying and theory.

Fans of Clive’s live performances will have seen one man who can make a single guitar sound like a dozen. Myself and Ross have worked extensively with him since his arrival in Kilkenny and having the chance to learn from him on a one-to-one basis is something you should strongly consider if you’re looking to learn guitar. Apart from playing the guitar he’s also currently rocking out a nice Goldtone six-string banjo, has recorded with the likes of Eric Bibb, Joe Cocker, Taj Mahal and has toured with The Blind Boys of Alabama, Seasick Steve, Joe Ely, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Garth Hudson (The Band) and a whole lot more.

To book your place (places limited to ten only), contact Clive on 087 2076828.

(By the way, he’s got nothing to do with Clive’s School of Music / EasyLearn)