A review of the album 'As Day Follows Night' by Sarah Blasko Review Snapshot: Aussie songstress Sarah Blasko's third album, but her first to be released in Europe. An album e...

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Ever wondered what happened to Fred Mascherino formerly of Taking Back Sunday? Well, if so, wonder no more! The last I heard of him was when he left the band and was focusing on his solo project The Colour Fred, but recently I found out about the current band he’s in called Terrible Things.

While their track ‘Revolution’ sounds like it wouldn’t be out of place on Taking Back Sunday album it’s still an impressive track. ‘The Hills of Birmingham’ is an engaging track which begins acoustically but swiftly descends into electric guitars and a stronger sound. To have a listen yourself, which I highly recommend, their MySpace is here and is only a click away!

Two weeks ago former Stereophonics drummer Stuart Cable passed away in his home in Wales. I’m not going to start professing to being their biggest fan, but it must be said they did release some brilliant songs. My favourite Stereophonics song, in which Stuart Cable played, is ‘Vegas Two Times’. Whatever anyone says, it can’t be denied that he was an excellent drummer, and I'm certain this this song shows it.

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Paul McCartney (live in the RDS, Dublin) Review Snapshot: 165 minutes, of 36 songs ranging from The Beatles, Wings, The Fireman and McCartney's solo material, throw in a fireworks display...

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Joanna Newsom (live in La Villette, Paris, 31 May 2010) Review Snapshot: An excellent album takes flight as a sensational live show. With careful arrangements, the indie harpist and her band ...

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A review of the album 'Flo' by Ann Scott Review Snapshot: Ann Scott returns with her remarkable new album 'Flo', a collection of songs that will enthrall and disquiet in equal...

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Since my last blog post I’ve been acquainting myself with the music of Pearl and the Puppets. Her latest single ‘Because I Do’ is catchy but not too dissimilar to the sound of Feist. Still some quality songs to be heard on her MySpace here, and I'm in no doubt that she's definitely one to watch.

And, as I’m sure you’ll be interested to know the most mundane (but in my case terrifying) eventuality of getting a tooth taken out caused me to ponder about what would be a good play list for while you’re in the dentist’s chair. Well, that and minimising my sugar intake. And, as your ever intrepid blogger, I compiled this list:

• Nick Drake - Sunday (A nice instrumental song to almost relax you before your teeth begin being drilled in to)
• Blur - Trimm Trabb (A mellow but somewhat euphoric track is always a necessity in such a situation)
• The Courteeners - Will It Be This Way Forever? (Nothing like listening to a song about naivety and adolescence  to distract you for a bit)
• Elbow - Not A Job (Depending on how loud the drilling/pliers are, can be quite effective for making your mind wander)
• The Cure - Forest (Vivid imagery, Robert Smith’s eerie voice - need I say more?)
• The Beatles - Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite (Instantly effective, sing along if you’d like to show off your vocal skills/snap a tooth)
• Arcade Fire - Windowsill (Can make you feel more depressed than scared, you’ll be like Tommy Tiernan when Radiohead started playing on the bus from Craggy Island. So when your teeth are being hacked at, you won’t notice a thing!)                  

No, you don’t have to thank me, thank your teeth the next time they decide to start warring each other. And while we’re on the subject of tooth extractions here’s Green Day’s video for 'Geek Stink Breath'. (Best not to look at this video if you’re of a nervous disposition/are about to have a tooth taken out!)

 

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With blood pouring from her face, a girl stumbles into the surging crowd at a Christmas light’s fundraiser in a dingy pub in Ireland. Yes, that’s right. A fundraiser for Christmas lights. ...

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Give us a bit of background to The Ambience Affair to this point. We met two years ago in a music shop in Dublin. I had been playing solo for about a year previous to that.I felt there was a need ...

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Keith Murray and Chris Cain of US indie-rockers We Are Scientists often don’t take interviews all that seriously. It may have something to do with their way-out sense of humour (check out their ...

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Your correspondent predicts that from next week French electronica will have yet another global star. His name will be Arnaud Bernard, his first name reversed to give the nom de pop of Onra.

How do we know this? Well, because next Monday (24 May) Onra will release his new album, 'Long Distance'. It's brilliant, and it should make him very popular indeed.

Truth be told, Onra (right) isn't a complete unknown. He became something of a cult hero on the blogosphere with his 2007 album 'Chinoiseries'. The title is a French-ism that suggests 'Chinese stuff' but actually means 'bureaucratic red tape', and the music was inspired by old Oriental pop records he picked up while visiting Vietnam, his father's homeland.

Now back in Paris, Onra's attention has turned from east to west. 'Long Distance' is drenched in the old-school dancefloor sounds of Detroit and New York. One track, 'WeeOut', starts with a burst of good old-fashioned scratching before laying down some très '80s beats and synths. Other tracks are more soulful, like 'Oper8tor', 'High Hopes' and the title track. And the whole thing fizzes with electronica. To say it's certain to be the best French album of 2010 feels like we're damning Onra with faint praise.

As it happens, the record is coming out on Dublin label All City Records, so we can make an adopted Irish artist of him. He's even launching the album in Dublin, with a show at Twisted Pepper on Abbey Street next Friday (28 May). G'wan Oirland!

On a related note, the Irish-speakers among you will have noticed that 'Onra' sounds exactly like 'anraith', the word as Gaeilge for 'soup' (hence the title pun). Wouldn't it be gas, right, if he was doing a show in the Gaeltacht and he went for dinner beforehand, and for his starter he asks for the soup, because he's Onra and the soup is anraith and that's him and... Oh wait: this presupposes that he'd be ordering in Irish. And what if he decides to have the salad instead? Well, maybe because he doesn't speak Irish he thinks the server is asking his name instead of his order and he says 'Onra' and instead he gets soup! Wouldn't it be wild? Or what if-

CLUAS gaffer: Just post the link and the tune, you eejit!

Um, right. To prepare for the album launch in Dublin next Friday you can hear some of 'Long Distance' on Onra's MySpace page. Here's 'High Hopes'. Twenty-five seconds in, what does that keyboard riff remind you of?

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