Jordan Worland, from local music website Slate the Disco, gives his top live music picks for the month ahead
The past couple of years have seen Dublin emerge as the epicentre for a new crop of exciting, gritty guitar bands. This new era of bands, including Girl Band, Fontaines DC and Just Mustard, has featured several stylistic trends, overlapping garage rock, punk, indie and post-punk, but all united by a nonchalance and unabashed nature. The Murder Capital are the latest addition to this raft of Irish bands, and this month sees the five-piece release their much-anticipated debut album. With a bolshy, cacophonous sound and unstintingly honest lyrics, The Murder Capital’s show at The Portland Arms on the 15th is our must-see gig of the month.
LA duo Girl Pool (10th) are near impossible to pin down to a genre. Their most recent album is their most expansive yet, and flutters between indie-rock, dream pop and grungier sounds. The duo’s Portland Arms show is one of only three in the UK this summer, so definitely not to be missed. Bringing more noise to The Portland is Part Chimp (4th); expect heavy, fuzz-laden seismic rock. Support on the night comes from Newts, plus Cambridge outfit The Furious Sleep. Our final Portland Arms tip is The Catenary Wires (pictured), who bring their emotive indie sounds on the 17th.
We have a trio of recommendations at the Blue Moon this month. There’s a night of psych and garage featuring Moonstrips on the 19th, charismatic folk punk singer Jake Martin plays on the 26th, while Cambridge’s best indie-pop exports, Mammoth Penguins, gear up for festival season with a show on the 23rd. The Penguins’ recent album was released in the spring and is a cathartic and joyous listen.
For nearly a decade, Sharon Van Etten has been treasured as an artist whose songs flow with a rare and honest vulnerability and courage. Her recent album, Remind Me Tomorrow is both brooding and brave, and considered by many as her best record. She plays Cambridge Junction on 2 July.
The same venue hosts returning heroes Bombay Bicycle Club (27th) as they resurface from a four-year hiatus. On another plane of the jazz spectrum sit legendary New Orleans outfit, The Hot 8 Brass Band, who have been blowing for more than 20 years. They are among the best exponents of big brass jazz, blending classic covers with new and funk-fuelled original tunes, and they return to the Cambridge Junction on the 15th.
