The plethora of artistic talent in Ireland- be it in the realms of music, dance or the visual arts- remains an undamped factor in preserving the Irish spirit in the face of economic hardships.

The Dublin based alternative/indie rock band White McKenzie is one such promising musical force.

I Draw Slow are an Irish five piece peddaling Irish-Americana folk roots old timey like a gimlet eyed carpetbagger will sell you an elixir for beauty, another for snake bites and in the saloon later – will swagger away with your maiden head.

Celtic Frost… oh aye.
Get up outta’ that with yer Darkthrone’n’Subhumans.
Wait until around eleven and cut the mix with a drop’o’Nick Drake. ‘Gonna see the River Man’ and all the swelling hearts and strings that go with it.

We’re Here To The End is the first full-length live album by the band Therapy?, due to be released on eight of November 2010. The album was recorded over three nights at the end of March this year at Monto Water Rats, London, and mixed in May 2010 at Blast Studios, Newcastle.

For this review, the ghosts in the machine here at Big Rock Candy Mountain have decided to try something new, and have two of us review it at the same time, in the same piece.

“Perfectly Defect” is, to my count, the 11th release from the very strange Håvard Ellefsen, better know to us mortals as Mortiis.

Atlanta’s favourite sons return with a compilation of sorts.

It is of a rare occasion that you perchance to hear a melody, a tune – no, a hymn – on the Gramophone that later allows you to remark;

“So that’s how I ended up with tobacco burns on my gullet, a broken toe and my poor Cossack Semyon following me around with a bedpan waiting for my monocle to pass.“

A thud… metallic screams and electronic clicks, drowned in reverb. Something is coming. You know its there, but not when it will strike. The tone deepens. Another thud… then another… another… rhythm – aggressive military rhythm, angry whispers… here it comes…

I guess not many of us really believed Trent Reznor when he said he was going to step back and focus on production. Well, it turns out he did and he didn’t. He, uh…

…he started a family band… of sorts.

No, really. Stick with me. Don’t panic. I’ll ease you through it.

I was in the states on September 10th, in New Jersey planning to head to Philly the next day, and you could not avoid it. It was in every paper, from the free Metro to the best broadsheets and everything between. It had its own website for months previous and one of the biggest marketing campaigns I have ever witnessed. No I’m not referring to the anniversary of the terrorist attacks. I’m talking about my subject, my lifeblood. Music.

More specifically I’m taking about Metallica.

The problem with being handed anything to review whilst drinking in a Dublin pub, is that the chances are; you’ll stumble home, put it somewhere then promptly forget where you put it. This will undoubtedly lead to several trashings of both your home and office before you find whatever it is you were supposed to review.

This is why it has taken so very long to review this year’s new EP release by the Irish Melodic Hardcore group, 20 Bulls Each (20BE). To the 20BE member who had the faith and generosity to shove a fresh and unopened EP into my hand in the bowels of the drunken vortex that is ‘The Foggy Dew’. I apologize for the delay.

Hey there…

I have something you don’t have.

I’m listening to it right now.

At this moment in time, I have ‘Care In The Community’ by Babar Luck booming through both 1000 Watt speakers as I do headphones I’m currently wearing. It’s just that good that it needs to be channeled twice, once to directly to the brain, mainlined, then again, through the collection of carefully aimed satellite speakers through the body.

Trying to be impartial, when writing an Ulver review, for me personally, is not going to be easy, as I’ve loved everything they’ve released from their black metal roots, to folk and onwards to electronica and beyond.