Top Ten Albums of 2012 from Indielimerick

Another year draws to a close and its time for the top ten of 2012 . As I always say these are records that I have personally enjoyed over the last year so more than likely I have left out some mainstream classics.
Would love to hear some of the readers choices too , so please comment below.
Had a great 2012 and Ive been to some cracking gigs , 20 gigs so far and counting. The best of the year has to go to Ryan Adams live at the Olympia, the man never disappoints. (Review).
If you would like to see all the monthly album picks over the last year and also all the top tens from the last six years check out it out here.

The list of albums below are in no particular order as always, Hope you have a great christmas and a wonderful new year, Thanks for reading!

The Lost Brothers - The Passing of the Night

The Chevin - Borderland


Eamonn Hehir - The Flag Listeners

The Cranberries - Roses


Protobaby - The Spark

Funeral Suits - Lilly of the Valley

Angus Stone - Broken Brights

Julia Stone - By The Horns

Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball

 
Mark Geary - Songs about love, songs about leaving

Moscow Metro Live at Dolans , Limerick 08/12/12 Review

Last Saturday saw local band Moscow Metro headline a gig upstairs in Dolans , The band laid on a full bill including a whopping four bands supporting on the night, ensuring a lot of music for your five euro entry fee.

First act up on the night were the only local support in the form of 'Randolf and The Crokers' , as I have said before cant really go into much about the band as I am in it lending some harmonica. We played a nice twenty five minute set to a very appreciative crowd warming up the night. We are currently recording an record and hope to have something out early next year in the form of a single first. Keep an eye on us here.

Next up were five piece Tipperary band 'Raffiki' , The band produce a great big sound with the lead vocalist ever changing throughout the set. They played a great set and yet again the crowd were very much enjoying it. The band are just about to release a new single in the form of 'Little Charm' in the coming days so keep on eye on them here

Next up on the massive bill were Dublin outfit 'Sounds of System Breakdown' , This three piece indie electro outfit played a nice set . There sound could be very much compared to that of Hot Chip not in a bad way. They are currently in the process of getting there debut album out into the world after a sneak peak thanks to an ep release back in March. Check them out here

Last support act of the night was another Tipperary band this time in the form of 'Silent Noise Parade' . Once again we were provided with more indie electro , The band released a full debut album during the year entitled 'Electric Lives and the Nightmare' however have very little live experience. Tonight saw this line up playing live together for the first time and its hard to believe it. They sounded great and it seemed like they have been gigging for ages , the crowd loved it and warmed things nicely for the main band. Check the lads out here.

Last up were what the big crowd were here for 'Moscow Metro' , The lads have had a massive year with gigs at Electric Picnic, Liss Ard, and Body and Soul Festivals, as well as nationwide tours with the Delorentos, The Funeral Suits and Dry The River, and special guest appearances with The Futureheads, Jape, and The Minutes. You don't get better really and they were back to headline a gig in there own city tonight.
The upstairs was now heaving with people gathered into watch the lads, The band played a great energetic set throwing in some newbies into set which included a nice cover of 'Echo and The Bunnymen'.
The band have been very busy of late trying to self fund their debut ep through fundit.ie which has just finsihed and they have had a great response managing to reach their target figure and more. The EP is expected to be released next February so we can hope for a good few more live dates after that.
Cheers for a great night!

Albums Worth Listening to in December 2012

L-R
A notoriously bad month of album releases but please give a listen to the four above. Of coarse the obligatory Christmas album from the great Sufjan Stevens to follow on his Christmas tradition of releases. Hopefully have the best of 2012 post up some time next week. Cheers

Buddy Guy - Live at Legends

Sufjan Stevens - Silver And Gold Songs For Christmas

Benjamin Francis Leftwich – In The Open EP

Martha Wainwright - Come Home to Mama

 

As Always Suggestions Very Welcome!

 

Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters Fund It Campaign

Excellent local band Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters are now on the hunt for funding for their second album , The Fundit campaign is now in its last two weeks and the band need a bit more to see it through. As I have said before the fundit route is a great route to take for a band as it is a win win. You get the album and they get the funds to do it! The band have a whole heap of great rewards for your buck so check it out here. If their debut album is anything to go by then the second will be a cracker. Go Fund!

The band will play an acoustic show this Friday in the Blind Pig to generate more funds , This show is well worth checking out!

Mark Geary live at Dolans , Limerick 30/11/2012 Review

Anytime Mark Geary is billed to play its worth dropping everything to get to it as he never disappoints . Friday last in dolans was another such occasion as he played the intimate upstairs venue.

 

The support act on the night were the local outfit 'Randolf and the Crokers' , A bit of a personal interest in the band as I play harmonica on some of the tracks. The band is also made up of Shane Storan and Clare O'Brien, The lads featured on last years Limerick compilation album 'The New Reindeer Age' with a track called 'Carry On'. The band played a nice warm up set of nine tracks including a cover of 'The Rolling Stones' track 'Love in Vain'. As a member of the band its hard to give a full opinion but it seemed like the crowd really enjoyed the set and you could hear a pin drop during songs which is always a good sign especially for just a support act. Randolf and the Crokers are set to play again this Saturday this time supporting the local band 'Moscow Metro'. Be sure to call down!

 

Mark arrived out on stage accompanied by a backing singer to his right and a pianist to his left. He played a sublime set taking in tracks from all his album releases including his 2012 release 'songs about love, songs about leaving'. He is a joy to watch on stage as he is so comfortable playing live , I last had the pleasure of catching live back in 2008 in the same venue (Review Here) just after he had released the album 'Opium'. As his discography grows his live performances seem to get better. The banter like back in 2008 is still great and he always has a great fun with his audience. Its great to see an artist just enjoying what he is doing. The classic tracks gained some great audience singalongs and he even roped me into adding Harmonica to his track 'South' , This was not pre-rehearsed but it somehow worked thank god :)

 

Clare from Randolf and the Crokers joined him on stage for the last number of the night 'It Beats Me' , Mark requested all the lights in the room be switched off which turned the room into pitch darkness leaving just the flickering candle lights that adorned the tables . He walked out into the middle of the room and was joined by the rest of the crokers (Shane and Myself) to sing the finishing lines over and over as we walked down into the hallway away from the crowd finishing the song out in the hallway to great applause.
That ended a gig that will be hard to forget , Cheers to Mark for an awesome night of music and looking forward already to his return! Go get his new album!