an irish-american music journo and editor reporting on all alternative music.


my work.

Metal Injection •

The 5 Rising Metal Artists From Ireland You Need to Know

As any Irish person on the planet will tell you, there is more to Ireland and its music scene than U2, Bono, and The Cranberries—though the latter deserves far more respect than the former. A third-world country until the '80s, the Emerald Isle experienced some of the most rapid economic growth in history, and with fast development comes extreme inequality. Council flats and social welfare became instrumental in helping the Irish public survive as the country saw unprecedented levels of growth,...
Metal Injection •

We've Hit Peak Goth Girl Fetishization Thanks to DRAKE

When Canadian rapper Drake was prompted by a young goth woman, content creator Lin Lamar, to bark for her on his recently streamed dating show, 20 v 1, he did so, without hesitation. If you haven't seen the footage, good for you. Your life is sick. For the rest of us, this somehow feels like both event-horizon for Instagram goth girl fetishization and another reminder that Drake is a world-class cornball.In a livestream that was funded by crypto-gambling company Stake, who loves giving Drake mon...
New Noise Magazine •

Interview: Gottlieb Vocalist Andrew Pescara Talks 'The Far Fallen Fruit'

Andrew Pescara has always been a writer, regardless of the medium, starting with short stories, then pursuing film and television school, before entering the industry as a writer and writer’s assistant for various scripts, to writing songs about the collapse of a creative medium that he had always loved. He was in the industry for only a handful of years before it seemed to collapse in on him.
New Noise Magazine •

Interview: Broadside Vocalist Oliver Baxxter Talks 'Nowhere, At Last'

Oliver Baxxter grew up in love with stories. He fell in love with their ability to make one think, to make one feel, and to articulate emotions and turmoil he wasn’t quite sure how to express himself, another world that someone can jump into for hours and hours. Fiction wasn’t just a manner of escapism; it was a world of endless possibility.  
“Four albums in, I don’t need to tell my story anymore. Like, OK, I grew up in a trailer park. I’m poor. Blah blah blah. I’ve expressed all of that.”
Metal Injection •

BLOODYWOOD Are Making Their Mark: "I Want To Know What Can Happen If You Intentionally Think, ‘This Music Will Have An Impact On The World,’ And See How Far You Can Take It"

The name Bloodywood is pretty spot-on for an Indian nu-metal band, a descriptive phrase that isn’t used often as it should be. Bloodywood clean vocalist Raoul Kerr says it himself, “India doesn't have a metal scene – as in, it has a metal scene but I'm talking about 10,000 metalheads in a country of a billion.”
Metal Injection •

HUNTER YOUNG of MOODRING: "When I Get That Low, I'm Like, ‘Oh F*ck, What If I Don't Come Out Of This?’"

Lambgoat, Kerrang!, Rock Sound, Revolver, and many, many more have nodded towards Hunter Young's solo endeavour, Moodring and the forthcoming record, glowing commentary surrounding the singles that rip deep into the reality of chronic illness, praising both the musicality and content. But, the general public haven’t seen much of the project’s frontman Hunter Young. And for good reason… for the very reason he wrote death fetish. Young is sick. Pretty fuckin’ sick. And he won’t get better. “I have...
New Noise Magazine •

In Depth With: I Prevail

I Prevail don’t just grow or evolve with time—they experience a kind of metamorphosis, but not quite like butterflies. There’s nothing delicate to the band’s pumelling sound or ruthless form—a monstrous, vicious, and relentless growl that dictates how it feels to be human. Their sound mirrors who they are, that merciless pursuit of giving back what they received, no matter each adversity is hurled at them. But trauma, addiction, tumultuous interpersonal relationships, and loss have haunted the b...
DIY •

Panic Shack: Young Hearts Run Free

For anyone who’s ever seen Welsh party-starters Panic Shack, performing on stage seems to just make sense for them. And yet, the quartet didn’t grow up thinking that music would be on the cards as a career. “I didn’t ever think I would play music myself,” confides guitarist Meg Fretwell, before vocalist Sarah Harvey quickly agrees: “I also didn’t think I’d ever get to be in a band, but I always wanted to be.”“It’s almost like a dream… but, now that I’m older, I’ve realised not everyone has that...
DIY •

Wishy: “These songs are more delicate and intimate”

Familiar with one another, they were soon united by the idea of listening to a track and thinking, ‘This is cool, but it should go like this.’ And so, they found themselves face-to-face with a new idea back in 2019 at Kevin’s suggestion: a twee-pop band. “I remember getting a text with the simple statement: ‘I want to start a twee-pop band,’” reflects Nina.For Kevin, it had to happen - “the way Nina writes songs [being] similar” to the exact sound he’d originally been chasing. The duo soon began...
Clash Magazine •

"There Are No Rules" L.S. Dunes Interviewed

There’s a certain mystical nature to frontman Anthony Green as he expresses the feeling of magic he experiences in Ireland, as guitarist Frank Iero watches one of his closest friends with a bemused fondness, popping in with observations of his own. But, Iero laughs quietly, in a knowing way, as Green’s mind begins to wander, “Ireland has a magical, mystical thing going on. There are fairies here. There’s fucking legit magical shit. Traditional Irish music has some of the craziest storytelling, c...
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