Hard Working Class Heroes: Part 3/3

The Radio - One of Two Ways

The Radio is the studio project of Stephen Murray (formerly guitarist with one of the best Irish bands of all time [Rollerskate Skinny]), in which he composes incredibly catchy ditties and enlists various females to contribute gorgeous vocals. 'One Of Two Ways' is so angular it could take your eye out, and its crispness suggests that Murray's shoegazing days are well and truly behind him. The most wonderful and concise definition of 'art rock' yet.


Oh No Ono - Keeping Cold In Warm Country

Keeping Cold In Warm Country is what would happen if The Strokes were gifted with an otherworldly synthesiser and forced to enter the Eurovision. In other words, Oh No Ono are awesome! Despite often sounding so impossibly 1970's NYC, there's definitely enough inventiveness in their music to convince us that we're actually listening to 21st century Danish rock music.


The Lovekevins - Tamagotchi Freestyle

The only thing stopping this Swedish duo from being called Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - apart from the very obvious legal reason - is that they have names like Lindefelt and Fredrik. Yes, Lovekevins brand a very similar brand of digital twee to that of their tourmates and friends. But I - and anyone else with half an ear - should find it very hard to get tired of any number of Pavement/Abba fusions.


Jape - Floating

Here's an all-time classic by the man who promises to be the saviour of Irish music in the very near future. His forthcoming 'Jape Is Grape' EP will contain the first of the much-anticipated batch of songs which have been amazing Jape concert attendees for over a year now. 'Floating' is where the many colours of Richie Egan combine to create a blinding white light, as slacker-pop and intentionally-lazy philosophical meanderings gradually squelch towards a euphoric conclusion.

Hard Working Class Heroes: Part 2/3

Fight Like Apes - Lend Me Your Face

Here we have 114 of contemporary Irish music's most celebrated seconds. Despite the misleading running time, everything is played at such an illegal speed that the tune seems to squeeze in at least three choruses. And that's not to mention the pant-shittingly scary and forceful title motto which has since taken on a life of its own, in various "lend me your..." forms. It won't be long before this is a household phrase and Fight Like Apes a household name.



The Terribles - These Songs

The Terribles' predominantly downbeat and tremendously rich compositions makes their team statement - "to make people with converse-type trainers dance" - appear ludicrous. But it's not as though the world needs another Maximo Park. 'Those Songs' is a slice of lo-fi Americana just the way that Jason Lytle and Georgia Hubley like it, with dreamy vocals, lush drums and twinkling glockenspiel.


Evil Harrisons - Lion Salad

There's something distinctly theatrical about Dundalk quartet - and purveyors of showband indie - Evil Harrisons. 'Some Grand Plan' is their masterpiece; shuffling drums, Libertines-esque guitar, a stirring string section and oddball stream-of-consciousness rap vocals which are thankfully closer to Born Ruffians than they are to Red Hot Chili Peppers.



Loveninjas - I Wanna Be Like Johnny C

Labrador Records continue their generous, hook-laden contribution to the world with this group of electro-pop messers. Although they can sometimes be an annoyance (see: a song entitled 'She Broke His Penis In Two' and a couple of forays into 'eighties' overkill' mode), their debut album 'The Secret Of The Loveninjas' is filled with enough lovely moments to balance the books. The slow-building opener 'I Wanna Be Like Johnny C' is a good example, all climbing synths and Jarvis Cocker shouts. It is only unfortunate that their HWCH set clashes with that of their similarly-monikered countrymen Lovekevins.

Hard Working Class Heroes: Part 1/3

Hard Working Class Heroes festival 2007 takes place this weekend, in six venues within Harcourt Street's POD complex. There has never before been such an abundance of amazing Irish bands and - as many of them have yet to release albums - a festival like this is ideal for people to figure out what's awesome and what's awful. As well as showcasing hundreds of great tunes from this island, the weekend will feature a 'Scandinavian Invasion'. Although the Canadian showcase of last year's festival was of a slightly disappointing calibre, the foreign bands - probably en route to Ireland on longboats right now - performing this year are almost entirely great. This week, Hi-Fi Popcorn will be featuring twelve of the best acts...

Soda Fountain Rag - Red Tape

This bedroom pop project introduces us to a yé-yé girl for the 21st century. Ragnhild Hogstad Jordahl - drummer with Norwegian indie-popsters The April Skies - makes chirpy songs influenced by some of her fantastic fellow Scandinavians. Think France Gill or Clothilde, but armed with Fruity Loops and a laptop. Her debut album is due for release this autumn on Ireland's lovely yesboyicecream records, but until then, she has fifteen songs available for free download.


Super Extra Bonus Party - Everything Flows

Choosing a name which strings together three massively enthusiastic adjectives with one of the most positive nouns in existence doesn't leave a band with many options. And so Super Extra Bonus Party rise to the challenge, throwing samples, indie guitars and guest vocals on top of breakneck beats. Their awesome live show is a collision of inventive goodtime electro and bizarrely appropriate visual art.


Michael Knight - Coronation Street

Michael Knight is neither the name of a Knightrider obsessed band nor a singer-songwriter with a bizarre birthname. It's actually the assumed title of Berlin-based musician Richie Murphy, a man who specialises in clever piano-based pop songs infused with the spirit of many dead classical composers, as well as the smart-arse bounce of The Divine Comedy and multi-tracked harmonies which recall that band which were fairly popular during that decade we were in around forty years ago..


Grand Pocket Orchestra - Radio

Following in the footsteps of their sometime bandmates Fight Like Apes, Grand Pocket Orchestra look to the genius of America's Elephant 6 collective for inspiration and to procure a distinctly un-Irish sound. 'Radio' is an exciting sprint to the finish line with clanging guitars and duelling vocal melodies, whilst 'Little Messy' is a summertime gem which falls somewhere between Pavement and Modest Mouse. HWCH sees the band make a much-anticipated rare live appearance.

Danielson In Dublin.

DANIELSON FAMILE


It's not everyday that a troupe of film stars clamber onto a Dublin stage, fully decked-out in matching medic's regalia. Whilst maybe not - yet! - of the same calibre as Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts, last year's A Family Movie marked the Danielson Family's induction into the rockumentary hall of fame. Charting the band's progress since their inception (the first songs were written in 1993 as part of frontman Daniel Smith's thesis project), the film is a thorough study of an intriguing group. Perhaps most surprising is its exposition of Smith's stringent Christian beliefs. He often sings somewhat tell-tale lyrics such as "I love my lord, I love my lord, I love my lord", but it is still surprising - and perhaps even refreshing - to hear such a talented, respectable and nice man speak passionately about his spiritual mentality. As he insists that the band's material is written by God but channeled through him, we are given reason to praise the lord (and God's lawyers are given reason to sue the band for some royalty cheques).

Shortly before the release of Danielson's sixth - and latest - record 'Ships', one of their cohorts released a solo album entitled 'Illinoise'. Although he utilised a similar approach to instrumentation, melody and harmony as his employers, it's easy to see why Sufjan became a megastar - whilst Danielson remained firmly underground - when you hear Stevens' soft croon alongside Smith's yelping, excitable and radio-unfriendly falsetto. According to the ever-industrious Pitchfork Media, he has a voice "like a mouse! Or a scary clown!", although maybe something like "Black Francis on helium" would be a more fitting reference point (Hi-Fi Popcorn 1-0 Pitchfork Media). Either way, they are some truly unique vocal chords which will be resonating and colliding with glockenspiels to fill the air in Dublin's Crawdaddy on Sunday night, as Danielson make their debut Irish appearance.


We Don't Say Shut Up
Rubbernecker
Did I Step On Your Trumpet
Good News For The Puss Pickers
Uh Oh (It's Morningtime Again) (live Little Wings cover)

'Did I Step On Your Trumpet' video

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