JD Kelleher + The Brazen + Neon Dolls + Brightlight City

JD Kelleher- Outta Eire a dynamic new wave influenced singer songwriter with full crack band whose debut single, a fab cover of Joy Division‘s classic  ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ topped the Irish charts. With twangy guitar  Chris Izaak/Duane Eddy guitars and some country tinges,  JD, former star of Irish soap Ros na Rún, is now also doing wonderful things to songs by the Ramones alongside his own excellent compositions. The Brazen-  in thrall to the epic end of The Verve and The Music and all that nicely narco enabling Northern monkey widesceen stuff….there’s some genuine quality to the performance, big emoting vocals, strings tweaking those emotions, considered playing and ace arrangements. Elbow meets Oasis at their more serious with a choirester quality to the vocal up front. Good work. Neon Dolls- big beefy take on post Arctic Monkeys scally rock. Lotsa grit and muscular playing. Brightlight City- A showcase of cathartic energy, controlled chaos and ethereal landscapes. A hat tip to bands such as : Idlewild, We Are Scientists, Million Dead, Mogwai, Weezer, Foals, Yourcodenameis:Milo, and At the Drive-In. Also Big Country, though with the bagpipe guitars replaced by a Futureheads-ish twang- singer does sound like Stuart Adamson though- all pop veined boisterous angst.. Great tunes with unexpected hooks.