Sophia McDonald

"Prelude To Ecstasy"
Release date: 02 February 2024
8/10
31 January 2024, 11:05 | Written by Sophia McDonald
(Albums)
The Last Dinner Party do not cower in the face of grandioseness or sheer musical luxury.
Embracing rich indie pop with a softness that can turn to a tight grasp in the blink of an eye, Prelude to Ecstacy delivers a promise that this is the start of something incredibly exciting. With classical references and themes of lust, revenge, and sorrow, this debut could be the soundtra...

The Hamburg music festival delivers a whole host of German and international acts alike, sith stellar showings from the likes of NOISY, Temples and CMAT.
Every year, Hamburg hosts Reeperbahn festival; the last hurrah of the festival season before the Autumn cold closes in. For those who haven’t been, it can feel like the last kiss goodbye with summer, as outdoor stages and indoor venues combine to welcome a wide range of artists from across the globe.
Reeperbahn straße is its own beast, a wid...

There is something deeply familiar about Beirut.
As a musician who has been active for close to two decades, building a sound near unique in how it rises and falls, tapping into a feeling of simultaneous melancholia and euphoria, Zac Condon is an old friend for many.
Hadsel comes across as a reunification of him with his listeners after a four-year break and period of reflection. Technically, his latest release was Artifacts, tracks gather...

“​​I am happily living in this world cohabiting with the huge amount of the unknown. With my spooky haunted house experience, I didn’t need to know what was happening.” Maija Sofia has been on quite the journey with her sophomore album ‘True Love’. It’s taken lockdowns and time spent in a haunted Cork mansion for Sofia’s wonderfully mystical record to come together. Unique in its sound, you can hear the echoes of the grand art gallery where it was recorded. Paired with Sofia’s unending intere...

French dance floor veteran Jennifer Cardini details how the initial blueprint of her revered Correspondant label first came into focus, and how its sound, vision, and diverse roster of artists has evolved over the past decade.
Jennifer Cardini’s schedule is as busy as it’s ever been. Catching up with her in Lyon, she had played a b2b with Gerd Janson the night previous as part of the Nuits Sonores festival. The founder of Correspondant Records continues to tour as a DJ whilst running the labe...

With her sophomore release Anna Mieke finds the sweet spot where nature meets humanness.
“This album was written by a bear!” was unfortunately one of the rejected headlines that Anna Mieke and I discussed over the course of a chilly Autumnal evening. Luckily for those with a fear of bears, they do not feature on her newest release as a collaborator. Wrapped in a snuggly jumper in her Roundwood home, we touched on her adventurous childhood, her interest in bass instruments and how she connecte...

Part of a trilogy, And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow certainly won’t be a forgotten middle child.
Following on from the cinematic Titanic Rising, Weyes Blood continues on an angelic vein. Gently clasping you by the hands, the record floats effortlessly as the Californian singer songwriter questions her identity, reflects on loneliness and pictures ghostly lovers.
The record is filled with endless comforting harmonies, gentle drums and of course, lullaby vocals. There’s a '70s feel that brings...

"If there was anything that we had to face personally or also as a band, it all came out..."
“There were a couple of nine millimeters to the head during the process” is how lead singer James McGovern describes the making of The Murder Capital’s sophomore album ‘Gigi’s Recovery’. Of course, no one was harmed in the studio, a space which saw the five piece rock band escape their post-punk past. “We see ourselves as more of a rock band. It seems more fitting to the music that we’re making and it...

Tough Baby is a chaotic melting pot of influences and genres entwined together as if by magic. The sophomore album from Crack Cloud sees pop culture as an altar at which to worship; thrusting us into a mosh pit of noise, the record is incredibly sonically agitated as it bounces in multiple directions.
The record’s opening message is a recording from frontman Zach Chou’s father Danny. He tries to give some honest inspiration, nonchalant description of how music can be the outlet of your dreams...

“We sleep all day and we drink all night / we are not wasting our time” is a lyric that flowed through Irish radio stations and mp3 speakers back in 2007. The Coronas ‘San Diego Song’ is as inherent as Mundy’s ‘Galway Girl’ when it comes to late night singalongs in pubs across Ireland. 15 years on since their debut, The Coronas have had a steady bounty of number one albums and sold out shows. They’ve even survived the pandemic with only a few jokes here and there about their predictive band n...

“For the first bunch of shows, my attitude was: I’ll just accept my fate for the next 45 minutes. I guess I’m here now so I may as well do something.”

Fears aka Constance Keane is sitting in her Shankill Co. Dublin home, her dog blissfully unaware of any music talk. In an expanding music scene, it’s bizarre and comforting to speak to someone from the same locality. “I’m just excited to be talking to someone about my work who’s from around here. Loads of my videos are filmed on Shankill beach ...

Cathartic rock, a pounding heart and a bouncing head are three elements of modern Irish music that are elevating the scene to the world stage.
THUMPER’s debut Delusions of Grandeur is a roaring record that slaps you in the face. Referencing ultimate ego death, satirising being a “rockstar” and trying to figure out a quarter life crisis, they are a force to be reckoned with.
An eclectic gallop through 10 tracks, the album is everything you would expect from a Dublin based band and more. Poetic...

Florence + The Machine’s new releases are a welcome return of Florence Welch’s distinctive style. The nods to gothic, art deco and decadence, as well as pure primal emotion and compassion for her past self, are all part of the artist’s fabric. Easter eggs from the previous four albums have found their way into the new music and videos. Taking a new step forward by collaborating with director Autumn de Wilde doesn’t mean a huge leap away from the previous stylistic choices that have made Flore...

8/10
Listening to Sun Ra as his breakfast settled and his morning coffee began to cool was Kurt Vile’s ritual whilst crafting (watch my moves). As the cosmic jazz artist’s music tapped into the spiritual, Vile too emulates deeper feelings on his ninth album. Utilising psych-warped synths, breezy instrumentals and elements of classic rock, this meditative record feels like a guide to Vile slowing down.
A personal reflection, the opener ‘Going on a Plane Today’ consists of simplistic piano chor...

As the word ‘l’objectif’ floated across his vision every day, inspiration hit Saul Kane.
“I made up the name whilst being completely distracted in French [lessons] in year 8,” the lead singer of the Leeds-based band reveals. “I just thought that a band being called a goal or objective would be cool, but it sounded cringy in English until I thought: ‘French is just cooler, isn’t it?” Kane wasn’t wrong to think that French was a cooler alternative, and with the addition of drummer Dan Richardso...