Halogen Days is an EP by New York's Vassals, and its four tracks of slow and considered musical, which will encourage you to reflect on your life, just through virtue of its thoughtful composition and relaxed pace. 

Opener 'Sea Spell' trundles along at a walking pace as distant vocals and pulsating guitars dance with shimmering percussion, distorted guitars at the end cut through the sense of wonder and nostalgia, paving the way for 'Moonless'. The second track quickly shifts from a muted number to an assured and raucous anthem, with those distorted guitar licks once again adding a welcome sense of flair to the dying moments. 

With minimal and generally quiet lyrics, 'SoHo' feels primarily like an instrumental number full of sass. Stabbing and soaring guitars create celebratory landscapes, with the dynamic prowess of famed post-rock outfits, something that 'Ghostwood' mirrors. Closing this short taste in progression style, the track escalates through a handful of atmospheres before proceeds end abruptly. 

With only four tracks Halogen Days doesn't have much scope to introduce Vassals, but it does provide a welcome taste of the band's intentions and potential. If you like intriguing and dynamic music with a focus on pace and introspection, then perhaps this band could be the flavour for you. 

Halogen Days is available from iTunes and Bandcamp. 

A proper power trio in the tradition of Nirvana, Shellac, Budgie and Biffy Clyro, Bitch Falcon are regarded as the hardest rocking band in Dublin. Noisy and punchy, they've been on Annie Mac and Huw Stephen's 'Other Voices' show and are lined up for showcases at Canadian Music Week and in London on 18 March.

They’ve been compared to Ontario’s Dilly Dally and LA’s Bleached and have played with Fucked Up, Torche, The ZZZ’s, Glen Hansard, Fight Like Apes, No Spill Blood and Red Enemy. They’re just back from their first national tour coinciding with the release of their recent single, ‘Clutch’ and ‘Syncope’ is their new offering.

The song begins with a downtuned riff straight out of the bowels of doom metal. Two thirds of the way in, the tempo slows to a sludgy crawl as Nigel Kenny pounds out a deathly beat. Naomi McLeod's warm bass rumble fills the low end like Jason Newsted-era Metallica. “Fee, fie, foe, fum” go the lyrics as the music evokes the bone-shaking footsteps of Jack's legendary giant.

The song is lent another dimension by Lizzie Fitzpatrick's theatrical, impassioned vocal. She  strangles her guitar into submission until its final death rattle after three minutes of fighting for its life. Following on from ‘Wolfstooth’, ‘Breed’, ‘TMJ’ and ‘Clutch’ , 'Syncope' once again marks Bitch Falcon as one of Dublin’s finest and most extreme bands.

Buried deep in the concluding moments of Paradise, the voice of an unidentified woman asks: “Everything is going upside down. How are we going to work on it, work on it to make it better? All of us.” Before we reach her words of warning, we have encountered an ominous funeral march intro, a dystopian vision of hell, an impassioned rant directed at Christians and a lot of other people, a song in which a mother repudiates her own child, a song about hating God and, just to finish it off, an ecological apocalypse. It is fair to say that ANOHNI has taken up where she left off with Hopelessness, confronting the ills of the new, fragmented, hate-driven politics head on.

Paradise, consisting of six songs, showcases the remarkable, uplifting confidence of the last year’s acclaimed Hopelessness. Transformed in a new identity, the former Antony Hegarty became a prophet - her commanding voice searing and impossible to ignore on songs such as ‘Drone Bomb Me’. Paradise is a coda, but no throwaway extras release. A carefully assembled set of songs creates a different atmosphere to its parent album, with Daniel Lopatin joined on production by Hudson Mohawke to add a new level of clubby bounce to the pitch dark subject matter.

‘In My Dreams’ opens with rushing winds, a wistful solo organ melody and massed harmonies, but this proves to be a decoy. The organ fades and the big, club beats of title track ‘Paradise’ take its place, full of the snare rolls and Mohawke. Exceptionally listenable, it combines statements of existential despair - “Hopelessness, I’m here not here” - with enormous, stomping beats and a delicate melody, and eerie duck call effects. It is a heady mix. If ‘Paradise’ is the high point, songs such as ‘Jesus Will Kill You’ (pan pipes, a grunty sample, deep bass), ‘You Are My Enemy’ (AHNONI’s purest vocal tones, church organ, door slamming kick drums) and ‘Ricochet’ (the lyric: “I’m going to hate you, my God, for making me this way”, plus steam hammer percussion) deliver the goods. Paradise walks the fine line between eternal Goth gloom and irresistible tunes, while leaving none of society’s ills unaddressed. More power to AHONHI for expressing our collective anger and telling it like it is. 

Paradise is available via Amazon and iTunes. 

Dublin band The Klares will be releasing their new single ‘Gooie’ on February 17. Following on from last year’s ‘Sparks Alone’ the new song continues in their high-energy pop rock milieu. Andy Burke (vocals and rhythm guitar), Jordan Lawless (bass), Eoin O'Shea (lead guitar) and Cormac Sheridan (drums and backing vocals) have been together since 2011 and finally finished school last year, allowing them to concentrate full time on music.

The layered guitars and backing vocals are a big step forward for the band, and the youthful exuberance transforms into manic energy, driving ‘Gooie’ past in a flash.

The influence of The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys and Catfish & The Bottlemen are still to the fore, with lead singer Burke channelling Alex Turner. Their Favourite Worst Nightmare dynamics tell a story of sexual insecurity; “She said you're lacking in bed/.../You're just not good enough”, all of which makes the title a bit icky.

They’ve come a long since winning the Schools Award in The Big Break 2015. Having recently opened for The Academic at the Button Factory and with two EPs to their names already, the teenagers are veterans of the music scene at a young age.

Tickets for the single launch show can be obtained here.