Originally published in The Irish Times, April 20th 2012. THE FIRST THING you think of is Freud. Then, noticing the relaxed posture, Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra, or perhaps a painting by some Renaissance artist. It’s not quite clear whether Rufus Wainwright is waiting to be psycho-analysed or adored, but stretched out on a sofa in [...]
Archive for the ‘Features’ Category
16 Mar
ONE DIRECTION: THIS WAY UP
Originally published in The Irish Times, January 20th 2012. LIAM PAYNE looks confused, possibly even a little disappointed. “Yeah, there were none outside today,” he tells me, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t think they know we’re in here.” Screaming girls. They have become a fixture in Payne’s life, as well as the lives of the [...]
30 Aug
GILLIAN WELCH: “TWO VOICES, TWO GUITARS”
Originally published in The Irish Times, June 29th 2011 TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, you could say that Gillian Welch has been away for eight years. But then again, she hasn’t really been away at all.
20 Jul
FLEET FOXES: IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Originally published in The Irish Times, June 24th 2011 ROBIN PECKNOLD is a hard man to pin down. At one point, it seemed that an interview with Charlie Sheen would be easier to arrange than one with the Fleet Foxes frontman, but when your band is as in-demand as his is right now, it’s to [...]
5 Jul
PATRICK WOLF: WHO’S AFRAID?
Originally published in The Irish Times, June 10th 2011. THE CRY of the wolf is a lonely howl, a shriek that pierces the night sky and sends small animals scurrying under the nearest rock. Patrick Wolf, however, is an entirely different proposition. Although the singer is lithe and gangly-limbed, the comparisons end there. Big Bad [...]
23 Jun
MERCURY REV: DESERTER’S RETURN
Originally published in The Irish Times, May 13th 2011 HOW DO you define a ‘modern classic’? The criteria for such an accolade is so wide-ranging and subjective that it’s rare for records to be conferred with such an esteemed label. Jonathan Donahue certainly doesn’t have the answer, but that won’t stop the mild-mannered Mercury Rev [...]
18 Apr
LCMDF: THIS IS HARD CORPS
Originally published in The Irish Times, February 18th 2011 IF APPEARANCES really count for something, then Emma Kemppainen should be a right moody sort. Her band, LCMDF (who were briefly known as Le Corps Mince de Françoise before abbreviating), make music that treads a thin line between ultra-trendy pop and the more obscure end of [...]
23 Feb
CEE LO GREEN: FORGET-YOU-NOT
Originally published in AU Magazine, November 2010 IT’S NOT every day that you get to hurl the phrase ‘fuck you’ with gusto down a phone line to a celebrity. It’s even less likely that the object of your outburst will respond with friendly enthusiasm. Then again, it’s not every day that you get to talk [...]
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