Dublin rockers Thumper are on the road to debut album ‘Delusions of Grandeur, after long being the darlings of the down and dirty live rock show. It’s been a long, slow road, from the days when the name represented just frontman Oisín Furlong and his ramshackle recording techniques, to a full-on, double-drummer act crammed with pulsating personality.

“In the early days, when I was just releasing lo-fi tapes and throwing them around Dublin, I was anything but slow and steady,” Furlong laughs. “I recorded stuff fast, made 100 copies and got rid of them. Years later when the project had transformed into a collaborative unit we released the Out of Body Auto-Message EP and although that was a little more methodical, it was still fairly ramshackle.”

“The slow-n-steady approach to this album was more a consequence of circumstance than any master plan. I do think it was for the better though. Our favourite records by King Gizzard, Dandy Warhols, Oh Sees, Diiv, none of them are what you would describe as minimalist, so I’m glad we took the time to really dig into this as a ‘studio album’ as opposed to an artefact of our live experience in 2019. Maybe we’ll take that approach in future, but for this release slow and steady was the name of the game, and it was a nice change of pace.”

The album, Furlong says, is essentially a nod to the journey. “At an hour long, our debut album is technically a double album,” he says. “We actually ended up having 13 tunes on it, but whittled it down to the necessary parts. Apart from the lyrical themes of the album, the title ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ is kind of in acknowledgement of Thumper beginning as a bedroom recording project, and through some twist of fate ended up as a 6 piece band with a double debut album.” 

“When we decided to lean into that concept I thought it would be funny to include a completely over the top 3 part tune like we’re some prog band or something. It actually ended up being a really enjoyable creative task, as it was totally outside of our comfort zone to compose something like that.”

“When we returned home on a last minute flight from Germany, where we were touring in 2020, Alan got a taxi straight to our home studio and started burying himself in the songs,” Furlong recalls. “I didn’t see him for months because of restrictions. When I finally got in to see what he was doing, the songs [we had already recorded] had begun to transform from something that resembled a garagey Stooges-esque album to a much more considered wall-of-sound type vibe. In retrospect it was probably a form of therapy, we had all this energy that was pent up and meant for the road, and needed somewhere productive for it to go.” 

Maybe it’s the slightly Spanish twang of her guitar track on the intro to ‘Won’t Go’. Maybe it’s that harrowing video drama (below). Most likely it’s just the voice… Whatever hooked me, it took about one track.

There’s something fantastically refreshing about west Cork native Áine Duffy and her brand of…erm… flamenco dance-pop? Whatever this is, it’s sassy, dramatic and poignant, and you should listen to it. I caught up with Áine to ask about her album ‘With Bells On’ and find out what she’s all about… 

Hi Áine. Let’s start with the obvious. You have a seriously unique voice. What’s your background, vocally?

I have always just sang with my own voice. Maybe not knowing who Eddie Vedder was when I was younger helped! I feel it gives you more scope to be honest and hit more notes. Putting on any accent restricts you. Singing is an art form, a form of expression, so I love to hear the original accent of a person, it should be the only way.

I sang anywhere I could, especially in the car! I went to a convent too for 14 years, but they were not encouraging to me at all. They had lots of musicals and I wanted to be on stage. Still, I loved AC/DC and played gigs of all kinds of cover songs when I was 15, all the way throughout college. I made my own versions of things, and had to learn whatever songs were shouted at me from the audience. I was like a little juke box.

Do you find its more of a challenge breaking into the Irish music industry when you come from a relatively rural corner of the country? Are we too ‘Dublin-centric’?

Well sure, we are a little Dublin centric, I’d be lying if I said other, seeing as of all the controversy there is. I understand though, it’s the capital!

I love Dublin and driving up and down and staying sometimes, but the reality is, I write my own stuff and can make a lot of noise as a neighbour.

If someone said I had to stop playing the guitar at ten o’clock at night, I would be a little disappointed to say the least.
So the countryside is better for me. I’m sure there is plenty bands in Dublin who would love to have a beach and peace and quiet, but need to be in the big smoke because of the opportunities, and sometimes one would not even be considered for a project because they do not live in the city, but hey, its only a trip in the van and a small country after all!

The April 2014 edition of the Music Alliance Pact sees my head turned by the ever-wonderful Neil Adams, whose latest endeavour ‘Extra Fox’ sounds like his other band The Cast Of Cheers strolling through a neon cityscape as part of a Sonic the Hedgehog cut scene. In other words, gorgeous. See the below ‘Come Together’ for a taster, or you can grab an entire album for a price of your choosing via his Bandcamp page. If you came for Neil, stay for the latest 27-track compilation which includes Peruvian rock legends ‘Bondage’ and a stunning Italian effort from the equally dubiously titled ‘Flying Vaginas’. All for free, as usual. Why wouldn’t you…

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 27-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

IRELAND: Hendicott Writing
Extra Fox – Come Together
Neil Adams’ Extra Fox is one of several current side-projects from Dublin scene heroes The Cast Of Cheers, a smartly bristling bedroom electronica aside. Taking elements of his math-rock mainstay’s choppy style, Adams’ charmingly skittish beats and soulful melodies nod towards the neon lights of urban Japan. The man himself credits Com Truise and “that feeling like you’re inside an 80s video game” with inspiring a new thought process. The album is available on a pay-what-you-want basis on Bandcamp.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
The Plasticos – Marfil
This band from La Plata usually cites British rock acts such as The Kinks, Blur and The Stone Roses as their main influences. However, this track from The Plasticos’ new album, Kilómetros, is one of our favorites because of its grungy sound that reminds us of the new Argentine rock movement from the late 90s. You can listen to the album on Bandcamp.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Dianas – Dix
There are moments when all you want to do is kiss the guy who invented the internet. Such is the case when one Bandcamp tag after the other, we stumbled upon Dianas, a trio from the distant city of Perth. Dix is a dreamy drone-pop tune with all those floral notes typical of Scottish indie; kind of like what Camera Obscura might have sounded like on a hot summer’s night in Western Australia.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Isaar – Tudo Em Volta De Mim Vira Um Vão
Sort of a sad waltz, Tudo Em Volta De Mim Vira Um Vão is taken from Isaar’s new album, Todo Calor (roughly translated as “All The Heat”). Originally from Recife, one of Brazil’s most prolific cities, Isaar shows her strong influences of local culture such as frevo, maracatu and manguebeat, but also flirts with pop music and other contemporary artists like Siba and Orquestra Contemporânea De Olinda.

How South Korea’s greatest filmmaker has twisted the nation’s black-and-white approach to the law by depicting moral violence with enthralling shades of grey.

When Korean director Park Chan-wook finally made his international feature-release debut last year with the startling, brittle melodrama Stoker, he opened its trailer with the line, “Personally, I can’t wait for life to tear you apart”. It’s a line that sums up a theme that’s not just at Stoker’s heart, but runs through the very best of Park’s past work, an oeuvre that features a collection of hugely acclaimed Korean-language movies, not least the legendary Oldboy. Whether it’s the distinctly un-Twilight-like vampires of Thirst or the infamous Vengeance trilogy, Park’s movies are dark and challengingly abrasive in character. His inspirations seem to lie in his university education in philosophy and in an apparent total lack of fear when it comes to pushing movies across the normal boundaries of what’s acceptable. Equally, though, Park’s breathtaking worldview stems from Korean society itself.

I lived in South Korea for two years, and it took me half of that time to come to grips with just how some of the complexities of Korean society work. In terms of development, Korea isn’t all that far behind Japan; Seoul is a megatropolis of overblown technology and almost embarrassing levels of luxury. As recently as the sixties, however, the country wasn’t only poor, but economically dismal – being closely comparable to Ethiopia – and Samsung weren’t much more than the noodle company they started out as. It’s often forgotten that, in the decade following the Korean War, even the ever-controversial oligarchy just north of the border was actually more successful. The result is an entire nation of nouveau riche.

It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that those riches come with some social consequences that sit far from the European norm. Heady modern consumerism, which peaks with an almost Milanese love of the overpriced and labelled, makes image everything. A heavy tax on imported cars has made even the modest Mini (which would cost over €100,000 in Seoul) a sure sign of a life of success. While the most modern of comforts take root, though, traditions still stand tall.

A woman should be married by 30 or considered a failure. One of the highest average alcohol consumptions on the planet is offset by a draconian stance on even the lightest of recreational drugs. No business meeting is complete without a tediously extended procession of bowing at kickoff, and pride dictates that the abundance of American military bases that allowed the construction of such a stable and prosperous nation be superfluously guarded by their Korean counterparts. Failure… well 16-18 hours of schooling per weekday for your average early teen will give you an idea of how well it’s tolerated. Korean culture is a cuttingly harsh one to live amongst if you’re unsuccessful. Park’s genius often lies in deconstructing or playing off these taboos.

I’ve been eyeing Music Alliance Pact enviously from afar – and picking up plenty of great tracks from around the world – for some time now, and learnt about some great new artists from the three dozen or so bloggers who represent their countries each month. It brings me a huge amount of pleasure, then, to take over the organization of the Irish part of MAP, previously run by my esteemed colleagues Nialler 9 and Harmless Noise.

For this first month, The Rusty Fixtures have been kind enough to offer up a track that you can’t get anywhere else, scheduling for a yet-to-be-planned future record. It’s a cracking little folk song with some clever genre fusion along the way, and there’s so, so much more here to explore. Without further ado…

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 27-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

IRELAND: Hendicott Writing
The Rusty Fixtures – When Ya Left Me
Strung together on beer-money budgets in the finest of Irish folk traditions, The Rusty Fixtures nevertheless throw a glance or two in the direction of reggae and blues in When Ya Left Me. The break-up track – an unreleased MAP exclusive set for their second EP – sees the progression of a bittersweet tinge that’s been ever-present since the rural rising stars saw their kit stolen, burnt and then replaced by the local community back in 2011. Now edging towards Dublin and starting to make an impact, the five-piece are paying it forward, offset harmonies, mellow buzz, cajons and all.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Plein – Madera & Fuego
Plein started almost seven years ago as an excuse for a group of friends to gather and play their favorite songs. After several years of playing live and participating in different compilation albums, this indie-rock band from Buenos Aires released their first record in 2012, with songs recorded using a method of pre-established rules inspired by Lars von Trier’s film The Five Obstructions. Madera & Fuego is taken from their 2014 EP Número Uno.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Yon Yonson – Culver City
Childhood friends Andrew Kuo and Nathan Saad are Yon Yonson, an experimental pop duo from Sydney. Their sound is ambitious and unpredictable – listen no further than their latest release Hypomantra to understand. As the band designed the record to be played as a continuous set, each track on the record is incredibly malleable, both in sound and score. Culver City, with its origami beat samples, is a glimpse of Yon Yonson’s standout oddities which show that this talented duo’s output is just as diverse as their intention.

CANADA: Quick Before It Melts
The This Many Boyfriends Club – Only Trying
“We are a mercurial bunch,” says Casimir Frederic Coquette Kaplan, guitarist and vocalist for The This Many Boyfriends Club, since by the time you hear Only Trying, vocalist Veronica Danger Winslow-Danger will have sung her last lo-fi “dandy punk” show with the band. A new single will also be up for the offering, signalling yet another shift for this ever-evolving Montreal band. I’ll follow this club wherever they want to lead me. You will too.