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Ash – Command (Single Review)

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, Single Review with tags , , , , , , on February 14, 2010 by Tickets There

Happy Valentines all. Tickets There was passing no heed of the day until Ash made it extra special by generously releasing single J from the A – Z Series a day Early.

After the highs of Space Shot, Ichiban, Pripyat and Neon, we were half thinking single J would be a disappointment. I mean seriously, how long can any band keep releasing one brilliant single after another for? Well, we can’t answer the last question but fortunately for Ash fans, it still doesn’t look like there’s any stopping them.

Command, the eleventh release of the series, is awesome. No dance beats, no grand piano melodies and no holding back. This is possibly the closest thing to their old sound they’ve released in years. The guitars are loud, heavy and unstoppable. The bass thunders through the track with an incredible crunchiness and Tim’s voice is back to its hard edged style. The chorus, as always, is as catchy as they come and the boys just cut loose on some good old fashioned alt/pop rock.

It may not have the mass appeal of Space Shot but fans will love this one. It’s heavy, fast and hard as nails. It’s very different from any of the other songs in the series and goes back to basics and the lads certainly haven’t lost their talent for writing a rockin’ number when they choose. Tickets There loves this band and every two weeks they’re reminding everyone why we love them so much.

Last week, the band announced they were in the studio recording the second half of the singles for release and the first set (A – M) will be released on CD this April.

See Ash-Official.com for more news and to hear Command (plus all the other tracks released so far)

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Review: The Aftermath – Live @ The Academy (12th Feb, 2010)

Posted in Gig Review, IRISH NOISE!, Music with tags , , , on February 14, 2010 by Tickets There

Tickets There has never been good at arriving on time for anything. We’re so bad at it, people have actually stopped talking to us on different occasions because we’re so damn unreliable at turning up for nights out, days out and anything that involves being somewhere at a certain time. Despite heading straight into town after work to ensure a good two/three hours to get from Tara Station to the Academy, we still only manage to arrive at the venue just as The Aftermath were taking the stage at nine thirty. As TT standards go, that’s not bad.

From the start, The Aftermath are on fire. Johnny, Mick and the boys deliver their hits at rapid speed to ensure they squeeze in as much material as possible before the ten thirty curfew kills the joy. Opening with the classic Are You Not Wanting Me Yet, the lads play a set comprised of material from their highly acclaimed debut, Friendlier Up Here, aswell as tracks from their second album, which the guys are currently recording.

Considering it’s been a couple of years since the album first came out and almost a year since the band last played Dublin, there’s a pretty strong crowd in the Academy tonight and Wish My Love Would Die, Hollywood Remake and Northern Lingerie all help remind people what it is we love so much about this band. After opening with some of their hits, the band lash out some of the newer songs which go over extremely well before blasting into one of their biggest singles, All I Want Is For You To Be Happy which evokes it’s traditional sing along before One Is Fun ends the main half of the set.

Without going through the motions of leaving the stage, the band use every minute they have to play as much material as possible. They kick off their encore with the stomping, heaving weekend anthem, Six Days to Saturday before inviting a friend onstage to perform The Clash’s classic, I Fought The Law (and do a ridiculously good job of it). Before calling it a night, the band finishes things of with a storming rendition of Song of a Graveyard.

It may have been short but the band played a stunning set, thrilling all in attendance. After a very quiet 2009, Tickets There has officially ended it’s gig drought and what better way to do it than see one of Ireland’s most entertaining live acts at the top of their game. Judging by the new material, the lads have a great second album in store for us and hopefully it’s release will see the band get the attention they deserve from Irish people.

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MySpace Review – Swanee River

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , , , , , , on February 12, 2010 by Tickets There

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Friday! Anyone love the fact that this day just never gets’s old? Tickets There always associates Friday with hard rock because it just seems like the perfect day to enjoy the sounds of hard, electric riffs, dirty swaggering vocals and intensity. Like the anticipation for the night to come or something, hard rock just defines the possibilities awaiting you, if you choose to dive in head first.

To celebrate the greatest day of the week, Tickets There has decided to finally review a band we found (with the help of the Soni Festival line-up announcement) a few days ago, The Swanee River. Formed in 2004, the guys are based in Derry and ever since hitting the scene they seem to have picked up a considerable amount of positive press form publications such as Hotpress & Classic Rock (easily the greatest music magazine on the market – except for the fact they’ve gone all ultra-sleek and a tad over photo-shopped and bland) and once again Tickets There is shocked we haven’t heard of them before, really need to start reading about newer bands rather than just focusing on Def Leppard. Anyways, we’re here now and after a hesitant start, it didn’t take long for first song, Take Me Away to, well – take us away (see what we did there?)

As usual, we haven’t seen the band live or heard their record.

After the full frontal rock attack Million$Reload carried out on our ear drums, the opening of Take Me Away didn’t exactly smack us in the face. We’ll happily admit that we were in a total hard rock buzz but fortunately we stuck through and carried on listening, Only forty three seconds later we were hit with one of the best hard rock choruses out there. The verse is stripped back, filled with bass melodies and guitars thrown into the background but once that chorus jumps in, its full speed ahead as the band pile drive ‘s through your speakers. Half way through, the structure changes and the song becomes a much bigger monster than you could have imagined. Rather the repeat the chorus ten times which would have been acceptable, the band break off into swooping gusts of classic rock riffs, guitars solo’s and vocal harmonies. This one goes on the play list.  

Made In The Shade is more of a typical classic rock album track. It’s upbeat and much more relaxed, mellowed out in comparison to Take Me Away. Although the extreme and ‘change’ elements aren’t there, the song remains really enjoyable and easy to listen to. There’s a lovely chill-axed vide to the band’s sound that would keep any rock fan happy.

Third song, Cold opens with a nice crisp blues riff. Overall it’s pretty similar to Made In The Shade except the style is more bluesy, jammy. Not bad at all but hasn’t managed to keep our attention on anywhere near the same level as Take Me Away. Fear not though, we have several more to go.

Travelin’ Man Superband is a heartfelt sing along, blues rock ballad. As ballads go it’s fine but very formulaic. To pull these tracks off properly, Hard rock bands have to add something extra and special to make them stand out. Swanee River have some nice backing vocals, the music flows well and, like all good ballads, you could see some good looking girl sitting at a piano in a dark, fashionable bar on stage with nothing but a piano, pull it off well. The chorus grows on you throughout the track and they don’t drag the harmonies out to the point of exhaustion.

Oh, we missed one, forth song Baby Better Lady sees the lads getting g back to what they do best, balls to the mother f**kin’wall rock! Now, we may have been less enthusiastic about some of the bands material but that’s really only because we want lots of Baby Better Ladies rather than seventies arena rock. Baby Better Lady is a heart racing, foot stomping heavy anthem. The guitars jump straight back to the front where they belong, the chorus is fist raising catchy fun and once again the band thrown in some nice changes half way though. The solo is one of the best we’ve heard in a good while and the singers vocals just jump from extreme to another. One second they’re cool, Paul Rodgers style and next minute Axl Rose is sticking a mike stand up your ass. Brilliant track!

Don’t Follow Me is second last and it’s an acoustic blues country number. This is actually a song we spent most of Wednesday listening to due to a mixture of trying to remember what it reminded us of and because it’s just a nice, cool song. Stevie Horner’s vocals are just incredible, not just here but on all the tracks. The different styles, notes and speeds he’s able to reform at are a credit and the band’s music perfectly suits his voice. Real easy going song to chill out to.

Richter Scale brings us to the end of our play list and to finish things off, the band perform a melody of Gilbert O’Sullivan hits with pan pipes….do they fu*k. Richter Scale is a toe tappin’, shot drinking slice of Louisiana bourbon, heavy pounding rock n roll. It’s actually a sweet mix of styles like those heard on Baby Better Lady and Made in the Shade. Heavy, fast rock n roll with all the jam, funk and ‘coolness’ of the seventies sound the band play so well.

Listening to these guys will make you happy. If you’re already happy, they’ll make you pumped, make you walk straight out of work, go find a bar, flip off the bar man, stick on a CD, up the volume and rock out for the day. Now ya can’t ask for any more than that on a Friday can ya?

Check out their MySpace now by Clicking Here!

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New Humanzi Album: Due out February 26th!!

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, News with tags , , , , , , on February 11, 2010 by Tickets There


Once again Hotpress out does us, but this time we don’t mind. Tickets There favorites Humanzi are finally set to digitally release their long delayed, long overdue but highly anticipated second album, Kingdom of Ghosts on February 26th.

After spending the last two years recording the album in East Berlin, it looks like we’re finally going to see the return of one of Ireland’s most promising acts. The first single from the album, Bass Balls was released on 7” last August and plans to release the album on a physical format are hopefully in the works.

You can bet your life Tickets There will have more information soon.

**UPDATED – 12 – Feb – 2010**

In a blog posted on the bands MySpace, the band has confirmed that the album will be released worldwide on the 26th through ITunes and, that a CD formatt will be released in Ireland for a limited run. We’ll get more as soon as we can.

Check out Bass Balls, Straight Lines and another new tune on their MySpace.

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MySpace Review – The Black Strands

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 11, 2010 by Tickets There


Last week things were pretty bleak on the review front. With no requests from bands and nothing showing up on the radars, we were saved at the last minute with Million Dollar Reload. Since then the floodgates have opened and we have a list again.

Formed in early 2009, The Black Strands (formally Rotovibe….but not anymore thank god) are a group we’ve been listening to and loving for a few days. After less than a year together, the band have amassed a tidy collection of psychedelic / Alterative rock tracks that resemble a sound you’d imagine Shaun Ryder, The Stone Roses, Oasis and The Velvet Underground would come out with. Although there are elements of all these bands styles, the Black Strands have harnessed them perfectly so they come together to make a very pleasant, unique array of sounds.

As usual, we’ve never seen the band live or heard their album.

Demo’s! Demo’s and samples are generally things we avoid but after one listen to the first track, Here it Comes (All Around You), we were hooked. The vocals are straight out of the Madchester post punk / alt rock scene. The music is like The Stone Roses playing rough doom indie with trimmings of drug inducted splendors coming at you from all angles. It’s dirty, raw and dark. We like it!

Shine Your Light has more of an upbeat tone about it. This is helped by the vocals changing on going down a more Verve/ Richard Ashcroft direct. The added charm of Indian styled instruments worked for The Beatles and always helps this kind of sound become a little more mystical and transcendent. Wholes things topped off by a nice feedback filled ending. Another one we like. The future’s bright, the futures Black!

Before the Light Fades throws another darker sounding style in our path. Musically it’s a mix of both the songs we’ve heard before with a faster pace. Rather than suspended changes and restrained energy, Before the Light Fades is a stomper. It’s fiery and dark with a bleak with a constantly building chorus. Great song but now it’s time for one of the best openings we’ve heard this year. Opening with a snippet of audio from The Wicker Man,   Come Alive (Leave This City) is an upbeat, indie styled track that could, with a little bit of rework, become an anthem. The chorus is infectious; the guitars are on hand to deliver some of those killer driving alt rock riffs and there’s some very basic but perfect indie drumming to round it off. This one’s more along the lines of Joy Division covering Oasis. We love variation and we love this band. Also, the organ adds a nice touch.

Sweet Salvation’s up next and it’s another full on rock icon styled anthem. Very Door’s / velvet underground influenced in its composer but alt rock in its style. It’s a serious song that doesn’t drag on too long and just gets stronger and stronger with each listen. Next song, Last Stand on the other hand is full on country rock. Hank Williams III meets Desperado. No more than Sweet Jane, I’m not sure how these guys came to write songs like this so well. Normally this perfection is held by the American and English musicians that created it based on the life around them. The Black Strands must be immersed in these scenes to be able to pull these tracks off so well. There’s no shortage of new instruments coming into the fray, no shortage of styles and, well – nothing they can’t do it seems.

Demons Gold brings is to the second last track of their extensive playlist. It may only be eight songs but after six you’ll already feel that you’ve listened to a wealth of bands and it just keeps going. Demons Gold is one we haven’t quite placed our finger on yet. It’s similar to structure and style to Shine Your Light Fades and the closest thing to a Stone Roses track they have on MySpace, perhaps the title is even a nod to the Roses, Fools Gold. The riff towards the end harks back to the Manic Street Preachers late-nineties success days. Not a bad song, but not on par with the others. Then again, it’s a demo, not a final cut.

Final song Become closes one of the best MySpace Playlists you’ll find. It’s atmospheric, heavy and filled with more guitars than the other seven combined. Nice, very nice!

 We’ve been very fortunate to find alot of great bands recently and these guys are right up in the top three. If you like any of the bands mentioned then you’re sure to love The Black Strands. Check out their MySpace by Clicking Here!

In the meantime, Tickets There is heading back for more. Until next time, TT out.

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The Aftermath Live @ Academy 2 Tomorrow Night!

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, News with tags , , , , on February 11, 2010 by Tickets There

Mullingar, Longfords and Leeds leading legendary pop rock outfit, The Aftermath are coming to Dublin tomorrow night.

For a measly €12 on the door of The Academy 2, you can experience some of the finest sing along guitar pop classics that this country’s produced since The Stunning. Their 2008 debut album, Friendlier Up Here was chock full of irresistibility catchy, fun anthems and with the lads currently recording their second record, you might get a chance to get a sneak peak at their new material.

Honestly, The Aftermath are a fantastic group and as Friday nights in town go, you’re not going to beat these guys for sher full on entertainment and excellent musicianship. With songs like Are You Not Wanting Me Yet, One if Fun, Hollywood Remake, All I Want Is For You To Be Happy, Northern Lingerie and Joyful Mystery there’ll be no shortage of enjoyment.

Date: 12th February 2010 (Tomorrow!)
Venue: The Academy 2
Tickets: €12

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MySpace Review – The Cold 100

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , , , , , on February 11, 2010 by Tickets There


What is it with brand new, never heard of before bands filling their MySpace players with samples? It gets a tad annoying when ever you find a band that sound pretty decent and the song cuts off just before it gets going. Obviously in their heads they think ‘people will hear this, have to hear more and we’ll be millionaires’. Unfortunately, this may not always have the desired approach. We can’t count (they know – Ed) how many bands we’ve found with samples instead of full songs that we’ve just dismissed from the review series despite their songs showing real quality. We always think to ourselves that we’ll check them out properly when we have the chance but unfortunately, we don’t most of the time.

In the essence of real reviewing and reporting, we’ve decided to fire ahead with one such band that do show real potential to be a major force on the scene, The Cold 100. Three songs, first two are samples but the third is full and well, enchanting.

As usual we’ve never seen the band live or heard their record (and I think we forgot to write that on the Million$Reload article so this covers them aswell)

Formed in 2007 by Simon Delaney and rhythm guitarist Mark Walsh, The Cold 100 play flat out blues rock, simple as. They fuse classic sixties / seventies rock with classic American blues. First song Red Headed Woman sums it all up. Choopy riffs littered with unique lead offshoots. A pronounced funked up bass and some smooth, classic rock styled blues drumming. Si’s vocals suit the style perfectly and they really come to fruition during the chorus and then…..then, the preview ends. Well, it may be just over a minute but it’s more than enough to keep you listening.

Just Want Your Love is similar in many ways to Red Headed Woman. The vocals are less stand out but the bass just blasts off into its own world of belting funk. The psychedelic styled guitar intro is something you’ll want to hear more and more off and hopefully the complete version of the song unveils a little more of their guitarist talent.

Finally we come to the only complete song on the play list. Start Again is a ballad. The opening is similar to several other songs you’ll have heard in your life but to hell with it, they do it well. It’s in this song the singers vocals stand out the most. What ever way they’ve done the mix it’s dropped the singer’s voice in the background a lot but then again, this was true for a lot of blues rock bands and it just works. The chorus is catchy, there’s still blues melodies scattered about the whole song. Overall it’s a pretty relaxed wee rock number that just works exceptionally well.

End result we’re very pleased we didn’t let the samples throw us off The Cold 100. Their stripped back, easy going blues style is extremely pleasing on the ears and any band with this much talent that isn’t trying to write Killers rip offs is fine in our books.

Well worth checking out so visit their MySpace by Clicking Here!

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IRISH NOISE! – Lluther: In the Dollhouse / King of Nothing (Single Reviews)

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, Single Review with tags , , , , , , , on February 10, 2010 by Tickets There


Three years since the release of their debut album, Lluther are back! After a long quiet period, the band are ready to reemerge with a hard hittin’, heavy rock second album, Rise of the Reptile King. Today the band release the second single from the album, King of Nothing. Their first single, In The Dollhouse came out last month and much to Tickets There’s dismay We only heard about it today from our old rivals (who we’re beating in the hits war by the way. Push it guys – Ed) Hotpress. After fierce negotiations, some sackings and knee delivered apologies, Tickets There has decided to review both songs and save face,

In The Dollhouse is a terrific, building piece of rock music. Imagine Monster Magnet, Marilyn Manson and Scott Weiland writing a song and you’ll get close. There are so many different styles as the song moves from sustained melodies and echoing vocals to hard edged guitars and explosive changes. Each listen brings new love for the song and as first singles go, this is a pretty good sign of things to come.

King of Nothing is a totally different monster altogether. It’s like hard rock meets funk as synth/guitar riffs build the bridges while vocals intertwine throughout leaving the drums do their best to let you know what direction the foot stomping, C.A.F. (Catchy as F**k) chorus is going in. The guitars are nastier, the vocals are clearer, the production, playing, writing everything is just brilliant. While In The Dollhouse may take one or two listens to really warm up to, King of Nothing will drill straight into your playlist and stay there until you nuke the damn thing out.

Although there’s only a sample of the next two singles, Rise of the Reptile King and Femme Fatale up, they both sound like they’d rock the bollocks of a mammoth so expect a follow up review as soon as we have the album and/or when the songs come out.

Jez, after the amazing stuff we heard from Million$Reload, Tickets There didn’t think anyone else could come close but by God there’s some savage stuff going on in the  Lluther camp. This will be an album well worth picking up and loving.

Catch them when they play Dublin’s, The Button Factory on March 27th

Check out these songs and more at the bands MySpace by Clicking Here.

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MySpace Review – Million Dollar Reload

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 10, 2010 by Tickets There


Finally, Tickets There has found the band we’ve been looking for. After 76 MySpace Reviews, multiply that by 10 for the number of bands we’ve actually checked out as review candidates and the countless others we’ve come across in our seven or eight years as fans of Irish music. Million$Reload, in our opinion, are possibly the best Irish hard rock band that’s emerged from the emerald isle since Thin Lizzy. That might be actually be pushing it but right now, Tickets There is hard pushed to think of any other band that comes this close to perfecting one of the most exciting, hard edged sounds in modern music.

Hailing from Co. Tyrone, Million Dollar Reload formed in 2005 and released their debut album, Anthems of a Degeneration in 2007. The record seems to have received massive amounts of praise from major music publishers and critics from all across the U.K. and Ireland. They’ve toured with the likes of Alice Cooper and Gilby Clarke and some of the members were apparently involved with legendary Guns N Roses tribute band, Gunz N Rozes. This may help explain the bands incredible talent at writing four (and hopefully alot more) of the best hard rock anthems we’ve heard in many a year. Even Scottish hard rock act Wired Desire would have trouble competing with the sher perfection displayed by M$D.

Kicking things off is Livin’ In The City. What can you say? Blistering, assaulting, catchy, savage, cutting, riffage fueled monster? All the terms we’ve used before fail in the task of describing how kick ass this song is. It swaggers like Stephen Tyler in the seventies and hits harder than Lemmy would in a brawl. The song is just so full on and full of guitars and gritty street rock vocals. All this considered, it’s possibly the weakest song on the playlist. It begins!

Goodnight NewYork is everything Livin’ In The City was and more. The guitars are like something handpicked from an AC/DC anthem. The riffs are unrelenting in their power and the changes, hooks, choruses, bridges everything are just fantastic. The vocals on the chorus just pull the song up so many notches you’d swear you were in the Himalayas…the Himalayas of rock! (Jesus, seriously TT? ‘The Himalayas of rock’! Pity your writing doesn’t match the bands – Ed)

When we first ran through the tracks, third song – The Last Icon sounded a little dodgy. There’s always some element of reeking cheese with bands that try to write this sort of a song, but fear not as the band pull it off with exceptional style. The Last icon is a tribute to fallen rock legends such as Bon Scott (AC/DC), Elvis Presley (The King – Bitches!) and John Lennon (Hippie).  The intro is compiled from recordings of news reports from the days of Presley and Lennon’s deaths and the song starts off far more melodic and stripped back than the previous numbers. Before you think ‘here comes another Nickelback’, the band spice things up and some added riffage and attitude turn the song from Swiss Approved Product to thoroughly enjoyable, respectable slice of hard rock balladry.

Last but certainly not least, is the hard stomping, heart beating, fist belting anthem, show closer, curtain stopped, encore bound Fire Your Guns. Gritty, dirty, nasty vocals delivered with incredible force. Singer Phil possibly has the best hard rock voice of any band Ireland’s ever produced but the talent doesn’t stop there. Bam and Andy’s guitars give the song that razor slicing edge all good hard rock bands need. Their solo’s, riffs, melodies agh, everything is just amazing. The drums are just constantly smashing the hell out of everything and a pumped up bass completes Tickets There’s current favorite Irish hard rock group’s lineup. Fire Your Guns is just so incredibly full on and as catchy as Hell’s express train. Highway to hell? More like Armageddon marching hordes on the Autobahn to hell’s centre.  

Final opinion? Well, they’re alright. I mean, if you want to hear some of the best hard rock songs that have ever come out of Ireland, possibility the world, then I guess you could check them out. Every second their album isn’t in our hands we become more and more depressed. The more we realize we haven’t seen this band in their five years together we become depressed. This is a band worth checking out, loving, praising, financing, following and hyping up. Hell, these guys are so good they’re worth you heading out and building your own venue just so you can see book them.

Go check them out right now and don’t let them slip by your life for another second. CLICK HERE FOR PARADISE CITY!

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And So I Watch You From Afar – Letters EP (Out Today)

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, News with tags , , , , , , on February 8, 2010 by Tickets There


To help break the Monday blues, the latest EP from northern instrumental metal giants ASIWYFA is out today. Although the ‘Add to Basket’ Button hasnt been activated yet, it should be up and running shortly so pop over to Small Town America Records to order yours when it’s all go.

The Letters EP features four brand new tracks (one of which, S is for Salamander, can be heard over at the bands MySpace. The full track listing can be viewed below.

  1.  S Is For Salamander
  2. D Is For Django The Bastard
  3. B Is For B-Side
  4. K Is For Killing Spree (Ode To)

The bands self-titled debut album is currently in the running to pick up this year’s Choice Music Prize. The Winner will be announced in March. Catch ASIWYFA when they play the following Irish shows in Feb / Mar.

11th Feb – Bakers Place, Limerick
12th Feb – Crane Lane Theatre, Cork
13th Feb – Electric Ave, Waterford
15th Feb – HMV Instore, Belfast

2nd Mar – Tower Records Instore, Dublin
26th Mar – Andrews lane, Dublin

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Oliver Cole’s Debut Album Release Date Confirmed

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, News with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 5, 2010 by Tickets There


Ex-Turn legend Oliver Cole will finally release his debut album, We Albatri on March 26th.

In a quick, non disclosing statement on his facebook page, Ollie has confirmed this is the date we’ll finally get to hear what he’s been up to since Turn disbanded in July 2006.  

Recorded in Germany and Ireland, the record’s set to included contributions from Therapy legend Graham Hopkins and Bell X1 main man Paul Noonan as well as others. The first single from the album, What Will ya Do? Was released in October 2009 and according to artwork Ollie’s posted on his official face book page, it looks like a second single entitled Oh My Girl will be released shortly. Tickets There has heard the track many times and we think ye’ll like it.

Finally, Ollie has also updated his MySpace Player with a couple of new tracks entitled Oh What A Girl You Could Be and The Shadow Of The Empire.

Tickets There will let ye know as soon as the albums Artwork and track listing have been confirmed.

Possible songs might include: Oh My Girl, What Will Ya Do? Drug Song, Wide Open, Holding Your Heart, We Albatri, Oh What A Girl You Could Be, The Shadow Of The Empire, Close Your Eyes (New Version), Too Many People and Life’s Great Advice.

Special Thanks to dougmiestergen for bringing this to TT’s attention. Damn leg has our radar all messed up :(.

Check Out the following links to find out more…but not much, that’s pretty much all there is for the moment.

Oliver Cole – Official MySpace
Oliver Cole – Official Facebook

More Articles about Oliver Cole on Tickets There

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MySpace Review – Sirocco

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , , , , , , , , on February 4, 2010 by Tickets There


It’s been far too long since we got a chance to do one of these. Managed to sprain, twist and dislocate things since the last time we checked in but all’s well and we’ve got a new found respect for the enduring people of Cambodia, aswell as picking up an in-depth history of the presidents box in Ford’s Theatre, Washington and finally, we’ve started a quest into researching the career of one of America’s most notorious politicians, Richard M. Nixon.

Anywho, Tickets There’s premier band search / TT bio series is back and we’re spicing things up with some Metal \,,/. After finding Waterford Celtic / Thrash metal  legends, Sirocco, we decided it was time to revive the greatest, sexiest, most entertaining and most respectable Music series currency being written anywhere in the entire country, The MySpace Review.

As usual (We don’t say almost anymore, been a long time since we used bias) we haven’t heard their album or seen them live.

I’m surprised we haven’t seen them live or even heard of them before. Sirocco formed in 2003 and they’re deadly, full stop!. Opening song God’s Salvation is like something Brian Robertson and Metallica could have penned in 1984. It’s a blistering, grinding slice of old school thrash metal mixed with some Irish styles and played with a restrained composer that very few Irish bands can pull off.

Second track Abyss is a complete turnaround in styles. Rather than giving you a brooding, dark beating like God’s Salvation, they deliver a pristine Celtic metal odyssey. No lyrics and no stopping it! Great Thin Lizzy / Iron Maiden styled dual lead guitars. Third track Blood and Soil goes back to the harder style of God’s Salvation. Some parts sound like a grunge song, others sound like Ozzy Osbourne’s singing. Other’s sound like Metallica, Megadeth…..you name it basically. A brilliant mix of styles and changes and a singer with one of the best metal voices in the country. You can’t really ask for a whole pile more can ya? Oh, did we mention riffage yet? Plenty of it, not to worry.

An Triu Creathan is another instrumental and believe it or not, it’s even better than Abyss. The guitars are heavier; the riff is piercing and the overall impacts far more powerful. Another great song.

Forsaken Shores brings us to the end and it’s just eight minutes of metal guitar mayhem, mystical (but not very convincing) lyrics about warriors and clans..etc, solos, kick drums and riffs. After a few goes, this one still isn’t sticking. It’s got alot for guitars nuts but there just isn’t a whole pile else and it seems far to drawn out. The fret solo towards the end is pretty sweet and some of the changes are great but the middle droops far too much. Saying that, nine minute opuses can’t really be properly judges after two listens so Tickets There is going back for more.

Sum it up you say? ok, ‘A Thrash Metal version of Thin Lizzy’.  Possibly the best Thrash metal band we’ve found so far from Ireland. They sound right, they play well and there’s just some awesome moments in there. Go and check them out for yourself by Clicking Here.

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IRISH NOISE! – Two Tales of Woe (MySpace Review)

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , , , , , , on February 3, 2010 by Tickets There


This series isn’t in danger of becoming metal obsessed….because there is no danger with Metal. After a frustrating hour of listening to Judas Priest’s British Steel and not being able to review it…again, Tickets There decided that more metal was needed. As we’re slowly but surely learning, Ireland has a good share of decent metal so why not check it out?

Two Tales of Woe are one of those bands you hear mentioned alot, especially around Fibber Magee’s and we decided it was time to follow the stench of hype and see why ople are saying they’re so special. We’re on the second run through at the moment and it’s beginning to break our hardened outer shell. If you’ve ever heard and liked Crowbar, then these guys will appeal. Plunging doom metal mixed with occasional outbursts of shredding guitars, booming riffs and slow but powerful drums. First song, Religion? easily pulls of the job of convincing the listener that these guys are genuine.  Some bands who play this style too often fall into the trap of letting the songs drag on for far too long but these guys handle it well.

Serenade of Silence is a much faster, full on wee belter (love that expression). The guitars are faster during the intervals, the riff has more of a classic seventies swagger to it rather than the standard doom metal drool and the singer’s voice stands out way more than it did on the first song. A definite improvement and welcome change. Also, the power of the main riffs becomes even more apparent one the lead guitar bursts into a shredding solo half way though.

City of Doom’s wah-wah / crunchy bass opening is appealing. Nothing nicer in metal than the sound good heavy bass dominating the sound-scape©®™. The song is a mix of very calm, almost grunge like rock and classic doom a hoi hoi metal. After the pace picks up, the guitars begin to stand out properly and the lead ventures of into a spiraling tangent of riffage. Not as full on as Serenade of Silence but just as convincing as Religion?.  

Things finish with smack in the teeth styling’s of A Place In Time. There’s swagger, there’s classic rock rffage, there’s some speed, aggression. There’s militant precession in the drumming and a general mix of all the last songs strong points. Half way in the song descends into a chaotic pit of despair. After screams, slow riffs and an almost collapse of the structure, the song bellows back into action with some Lizzy like gusto and the guitars once again take the reins. Only bad thing I’ll say about this song is it ends too abruptly but perhaps (and hopefully), it’s different on the album/e.p.

Tickets There likes them. Believe the hype and if you’re a fan of Eye’s Closed and the like, check these guys out.

Check out their MySpace by Clicking Here

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Ash – Neon (Single Review)

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, Single Review with tags , , , , , , on February 1, 2010 by Tickets There

Sorry for the lack of updates recently folks. Our editor had a nasty fall last Friday but we’re back on track now and just in time for Ash’s latest release, Neon.

We’re up to the latter I now (single 10 in the A – Z Series inc. Return of White Rabbit). So far the series has been pretty terrific. Tracks such as Space Shot, Arcadia, Ichiban, Tracers, Joy Kicks Darkness and ROWR are  already classics as far as the fans are concerned and they’ve gone a long way in proving that Ash are a band deserving of any and all attention and praise we the people can pile on them. With another seventeen singles to go over the next year, one has to wonder if there’s any stopping the lads in their quest to prove that bands can – work perfectly well outside the classic album format. Judging by Neon, it’s going to be very hard stopping them for making it work.  

Neon is a slightly off beat kind of mesh of sounds heard on the other tracks. Despite the album format disappearing, it’s very obvious that these songs all share a very common tone and structure. I’ve been listening to it since around ten this morning and originally I thought it was one of the weaker tracks like Dead Disciples but nope, proven wrong again. It’s a brilliant track with an oddly catchy chorus. The dark overtones in the verse work so well against the more upbeat direction the chorus takes.

Another winner and it just gets stronger every time you listen to it. Tickets There is back, Ash are back, Ireland get ready…..actually, Ireland, please just don’t slap us for saying something as corny as that.

Click Here to visit Ash-Official.com.

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MySpace Review – Cellar Door

Posted in EP Review, IRISH NOISE!, Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , , on January 22, 2010 by Tickets There

Although three days boozing has made Tickets There a little reluctant to write anything, let alone listen to and review a new band, we’re pressing ahead! There’s a band in Cork that I’m told deserve attention and we felt our EP Review category could use a boost so here it goes.

Cellar Door formed in late 2005 by four lads from Cork. Can’t say for when this EP was released but it was in the last year any who (lads, update your blog or details). There’s just three songs so it’s a nice tidy selection of material.

Opening track, Role Model is a mix of many, many different styles. The tempo of the song is similar to The Killers or Snow Patrol but it’s played with harder edge. The Verse is similar to something the Flaws would write but the chorus is such a restrained burst of Ian Curtis-esqu power. Just as that fades there’s a ripping, shredding awesome guitar solo thrown into the mix. The second half of the track makes much better use of the chorus and leaves you happy enough that these guys have alot to offer.

Warsaw follows and it’s a more Stone Roses-E / darker number. The singer, Dave Barrett’s voice is great. There’s a real low depth that bellows softly over the music adding a great backing all by itself. The songs less upbeat that Role Model and it’s closer to something Snow Patrol would play, especially during the chorus. Role Model had the great chorus, Warsaw has the best verse. The guitars makes another appearance but this time it’s much more toned down and held back and doesn’t contribute have anywhere near the same effect. Not bad but nothing that would get Tickets There excited.

Petter Pot’s finishes things off and this time it’s a ballady number. Some of the lyrics have just been used far too many times before. The music’s nice but bland and it’s just not strong enough to convince us  that it’s from the heart.

Overall not bad. Role Model has its moments, Warsaw has its moments and Petter Pot isn’t good enough to be that famous so it won’t annoy you in the long run. Tickets There thinks the singers voice is too good on the first to tracks to waste it on the same singer songwriter effort every other musician in the country writes.

Check out their MySpace by Clicking Here!

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IRISH NOISE! – Raging Conflict (MySpace)

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , , , , on January 21, 2010 by Tickets There

I’ve been listening to these guys on and off for a good two years now but I’ve never gotten a chance to give them a review or even see them live so here goes, at last.

 Although the Irish Thrash metal scene is quite small, there are some fine acts. Groups like Mass Extinction (Our personal favorites. So good we even got off our arses, went into town and bought their EP), Gama Bomb (Who we’ve just reviewed) and these lads here, Raging Conflict. Unfortunately, due to places like The Voodoo Lounge closing, many of our local acts have no outlet in this country to display themselves. They end up having to head over to Europe or the US to get any sort of recognition, but they keep going.

Whatever the indie bands moan about in terms of sales and gigs, the Thrash lads have it eighty times worse but it fuels their determination, aggression and power making their songs sharper, heavier and more authentic. At the end of the day, Thrash Metal represent s part of California twenty years ago and making that relevant now in this country (Departed – Jack Nicholson voice) is no easy task, especially considering how rigid the guidelines of ‘what constitutes Thrash’ can be.

Opening song Attrition is so densely heavy and aggressive you’d swear it was Slayer covering Black Flag. There’s little catchiness, no melody and not a harmony in sight except the occasional input from the devil. The solo’s are unforgiving in their attack and the guitars form a steel cordon around the rampaging drums and vocals. Bring on the onslaught!

From the word go, second track Lost Generation seems pretty intent on letting you know Raging Conflict are more than capable of playing faster, heavier and angrier. Ah, just had to sit back and soak that one in. The drums at the end sound like they’re about to explode and if they go, you’re going to! Imagine being in sky, in the middle of a thunder storm with a giant demon smashing its fist on you. Suppose you could call that heavy Metal!

Finally we come to our last song, People of the Lie and despite its rather silly title, it’s one of the strongest Thrash metal songs you’ll hear coming out of this country any time soon. The chorus is perfect uppercut, duck and cover styled metal with a sudden bellowing change in the unstoppable riff war machine.

Another band you need to check out. Ireland has alot of heavy metal fans (well, at least we have alot of those little bitchy Emo kids) and they need to realize we also have alot of great heavy metal bands. Don’t just wait for Metallica to play for two hours once a year, go and find some fresh, young original talent near you and encourage them to play. Better than waiting for a bunch of fifty year olds who don’t even have the hair to bang anymore!

Check out their MySpace by Clicking Here!

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IRISH NOISE! – Gama Bomb (MySpace)

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , , on January 21, 2010 by Tickets There

Irish thrash metaler’s Gama Bomb’s name has been flying around for awhile. Tickets There first heard them on the great Irish Thrash Search of 08 along with acts like Mass Extinction, Slave Zero, Municipal Waste and, surprisingly enough, many others. At first we opted to get behind mass Extinction (they’ll have fun with that comment in Bruxelles TT – Ed) but now we’re ready to give the boys their well deserved chance on the TT plains, especially after being inundated with those updates about them on Blabbermouth.

Opening song Slam Anthem is a relentless monster of a track. The riffs, the solo’s, the drums, the screams and the non-stop beating it dishes out are more than enough justification for this country have its own thrash scene. Lyrically it isn’t as powerful as classic era thrash but musically it’s flawless. The styles use bounce from Metallica’s earlier, Kill Em All material to Testament and even Judas Priest. Tickets There likes this.

Skeletron is another monster of a track. The rampaging assault of the guitars is a brutal smack of pure adrenaline. The vocals are much sharper here than the previous track and overall structure is just more complex and layered with guitars rammed into every available orifice in sight. Savage, brutal, sweet!

Final track, New Eliminators of Atlantis BC is back to the same style we heard on Slam Anthem. Overall the style of all the songs is pretty much formula but if Slam Anthem is the best overall track, Skeletron has the best guitars then this one has the best chorus. A stomping beater of a chorus that actually conjures up the power most power/thrash metal groups aim for but rarely reach. A fine effort worthy of the Priest themselves.

Well short n sweet I say. As Thrash goes these guys are pretty good. The music is stellar, the singer…well, you warm up to his style pretty quickly. The only major thing Tickets There found lacking was those dark, solid stand alone riff and drum moments that give the songs pits of power than get unleashed in very small, furious bursts. In all fairness, These songs are simply ‘too busy’ to give that impending feeling of the apocalypse but after hearing them, Tickets There will be downloading their album to see what lies ahead.

Excellent band, highly recommended.

Click Here to see their MySpace and to Download their album For Free!

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MySpace Review – Nakatomi Towers

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , on January 20, 2010 by Tickets There


We’ve had Country, we’ve had dance, we’ve had Rock, Metal, Indie, Punk, Instrumental and now we need some Electronica. Every now and again Tickets There will make a note of bands we’ve heard and liked while prowling through MySpace Profiles but only ones that either didn’t have enough songs to review or just had demo’s, live recordings or previews rather than final recordings. One such band was Naktomi Towers and hearing them now makes us very happy we didn’t press ahead and write up their review for the sake of it.

As usual we’ve never seen them live or heard their album.

Belfast seems to be bursting with some very interesting acts at the moment. We’ve been coming across a fair few of them recently but rather than name them out, we’ll leave you to go and read the other reviews and give us hits. That’s right, it’s all about us and our needs. We’re not very giving music fans.

Anyways back to the point, Nakatomi Towers are a two piece (self described) Indie / Electro / Pop group and all we can say is, they do it well. For one of the first time in our lives, we’re conflicted over which version of first song, Cut Me Out we like most. The original is poppy, upbeat and catchy as hell. The remix is full on dance, break beats and any other dance review cliché you’ve seen on Tickets There before. One great song, two great versions. Tickets There is hooked and Nakatomi Towers, you shall pass.

Second track, Magnetic is less poppy and the dance aspect is toned down. The harmonies during the chorus are well done and overall the song’s quite pleasant but nothing to drive Tickets There over the wall with excitement and it’s certainly not on par with Cut Me Out. Still though, for a band that only formed last June, they’re not doing too badly so far.

What You See brings us to an end of the normal cuts on their MySpace. It’s very relaxed and disconnected. There’s a constant beat going through that song that doesn’t let it drift off as much as the Magnetic and it keeps the chilled out, mellow vive buzz. It also doesn’t follow any strict structure and manages to evolve and change as it progresses. Very nice song, even if you’re not a dance fan it’s worth checking out.

Final track Strait Laces (Seconds Out Remix) is annoying and that’s all I have to say about that right now.

Well, not too bad overall. We’ll need to wait until we hear the album before making the final decision but What You Say and Cut Me Out are very decent tracks and they grew on us very quickly. There’s a very nice, gentle upbeatness about the band and hopefully the fruits of their labors will turn out to be gems in the near future.

Click Here to visit their MySpace!

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BREAKING NEWS: PHANTOM-FM FIRST FRIDAY RETURNS!

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, News with tags , , , , , , , , , on January 20, 2010 by Tickets There

Well, they announced it a week or two ago so I’m not sure how BREAKING it is but hell, caught your attention didn’t it.

Anyways, Phantom First Friday will return to The Academy on February 4th. Headlining the event will be legendary Turn front man, Oliver Cole who’s debut solo album is excepted to come out later this year,

Also on the night you’ll see sets from The Red Labels, Doris and Zealots.

Doors open and eight and It’s free in before 22:00 (that’s 10pm for all you non-military folks out there and Ten in the morning for all the smokers).

We’ll see ye there!

Click Here to see Phantomfm.ie

See more News / Reviews about Oliver Cole by Clicking Here

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MySpace Review – The Whiskey Limbs

Posted in IRISH NOISE!, Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , , , , , on January 20, 2010 by Tickets There

Resisting the temptations of listening to Megadeth, we’ve decided to find another of Ireland’s underground unsung heroes instead. The list is beginning to run dry so we’re hoping a few kind folks and bands out there will get in touch and point us in the right direction. In case you think Tickets There is always about the guitars, the glitz n glamour, the swagger and adrenaline of rock n roll, we’re here to prove you wrong. Tickets There likes all good music…except Ska, we hate Ska. What a totally useless genre exploited by people who can’t get over their Police obsessions.  

Over the last week we’ve had reviews about Hardcore Punk, Dance, Instrumental Heavy metal, psychedelic rock and now we’re turning our focus on country! Dublin five piece, The Whiskey Limbs have been keeping us entertained for the last couple of hours so it’s high time we start this mother, jJust incase our Megadeth inclination returns (can you say that? – Ed).

As usual we’ve never seen the, live or heard their EP/Album.

Eight songs!! MySpace Reviews or always harder to do on the spot when there’s that many tracks but it also gives you a much better idea of what the band is capable of. First track, Dancing on the Fuse is like a mesh of The Waterboys, Bruce Springsteen/E Street Band and Damien Dempsey. It’s got the country, it’s got that blues/rock tempo all topped off nicely with a hint of home brewed country n folk. The chorus, like almost all the songs here, is infectiously catchy. There’s nothing I don’t like about this tune and as first impressions go, this ain’t a bad way to start. Damn this doggy dance floor, damn these heavy shoes, Damn the Smashing Pumpkins for releasing that piece of shit single yesterday!

Second track Pretty Jane is very similar in styles but just as enjoyable and makes good use of their guitar player towards the end. Third track Meantime, sees the first real departure into a more serious, stripped back track. Colm Davis’s vocals at times give hints of a ‘put on’ effort but every time your mind slips in that direction, he pulls you right back and his delivery just improves on every listen.  Backing vocalist Amy Frayne manages to make more of a mark on this number aswell and her harmonies add real depth and soul to the music. Another winner.

Dead Man’s Dream brings the rockier element to the forefront again. It’s upbeat, catchy and as an added bonus, has the best guitar solo we’ve heard so far. The following track, Dare brings things back to the relaxed feeling we heard on Meantime.

Love Song brings is to the second last track of the review. At first it gives the impression of a very slow, very romantic piece before revving up into a full on Celtic country assault. Colms’ vocals suddenly switch to a much harder Irish style and it really works. Love Song is possibly the most upbeat and enjoyable song in the playlist while final song, Half Way Girl is possibly the most bland. It’s a tired style heard too many times in your life. It’s still played well but there isn’t the same energy about it as there is in the others.

Overall, great stuff. This is an album/EP worth buying for anyone looking for a change from the ever growing instrumental / metal / techno / singer song writer acts out there. Tickets There will be watching these guys from now on.

Check out their MySpace by Clicking Here.

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