Dark Room Notes

Ruairi sings and plays in DRN, one of my favourite new bands, and having added to the great music I heard this year with their fine Dead Start Program EP, he was kind enough to write a little about what he listened to in 2007.

There's a delicate juggling act to be maintained between the love of music, the guilt that prevents you from illegally downloading music, and the penury that comes with being in a band. Trying to keep these three balls/skittles/fiery batons in the air for the past 12 months has proven difficult, and my consumption of new music has probably suffered as a result. However, through judicious use of the internet, knowledgeable friends, and less so the printed word, it has been possible to just about keep abreast with 2007.

The first piece of music to spring to mind, and probably my song of the year, is Midlake's Roscoe. First heard in Erol Alkan remix form in a Berlin club, it was instantly one of those songs that you'd chew your own arm off to have written, and remains so. It was inevitably the highlight of the Van Occupanther album, and probably overshadowed many of their other fine songs. Another find, though like Midlake not debutantes by any means, were Of Montreal, whose Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? led me to seek them out on both the occasions they visited Dublin. Unfortunately an inappropriate venue and an over-talkative audience respectively took the shine off these performances and I have yet to see Kevin Barnes and co at their best, though I have seen him in fetching hot pants. Other album highlights of the year included Pantha du Prince, LCD Soundsystem, Underworld, Benjy Ferree, Iron and Wine, Bruce Springsteen, (and the more I think of, the deeper I delve into 2006).

The remastering of Prefab Sprout's classic Steve McQueen led me to rediscovering the mastery of Paddy McAloon. His acoustic renderings of songs such as Faron Young, Bonny and Desire As showing that what he has lost in terms of productivity, he has more than made up for in performance. Another 80s classic that reappeared on my radar this year, this time thanks to a Sunday newspaper, was Talking Heads Stop Making Sense. Having four musical older brothers meant that this was a permanent fixture in my house 20-odd years ago, and though my six-year-old ears were unfortunately deaf to its magic, it obviously struck a deep subconscious chord, as it was watched three time in a row, and remains a fixture on my car stereo. Songs simply don't get better than 'Girlfriend is Better' and This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)'.

A disappointing (but thankfully free) day at the Oxegen Festival was more than offset by a fabulously enjoyable Electric Picnic. Highlights included Spilly Walker, !!! and Bat For Lashes, though the Body and Soul area deserves a special mention as a bastion of quality, with a live set by The Egg proving to be the highlight of highlights – where did they come from, and where have they gone?!

DRN-wise, A Month of Sundays in Galway and Other Voices in Dingle/An Daingean proved to be two highest points of a very busy year, though neither can compare to the surrealness of serenading Pat Kenny live on air in a cavernous studio in Donnybrook. More of the same please..."


Dark Room Notes - Love Like Nicotine
Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime (video)
Midlake - Balloon Maker
Of Montreal - Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse