the former soviet republic - i mean everything

I've been listening to this song really closely. I've been parsing away its steady layers of ringing guitar, its semi-National croon, the rhythm that pads along heavily. Sometimes it sounds like that time I stood in my parents' bedroom a few smoky days after it had gone up in flames, a crust of black layered on everything, bedclothes and duvets that would never again be clean collapsed in the shrinking corner. It sounds like being close to something terrible in your past, trying not to see too much of it, but willing to acknowledge that it has affected you.
Then again, sometimes it sounds all slow motion break-ups and beautiful women, New York taxi cabs and the softest rain. It should sound more like Dublin, but maybe Dublin's not big enough for this kind of heartache. Maybe you have to cross oceans just to be able to acknowledge it.

This is from the debut album by The Former Soviet Republic, and it's beautiful. It will be released on August 19th, and launched in Whelan's on August 20th - till then, you can stream it here.

Grand Pocket Orchestra - Ooo La Te Woo

This is buckets of fun. This is like cycling along the promenade by night, with the sun on a bit of rope, shining everything around you. This is when you are so downright happy and possessed by a glorious disposition that you don't even notice you're alone, or that other people aren't brimming with the joy of how beautiful everything is Right Now. When you sing with a silly voice just because you can. When you have no work to do and know exactly where your place is.
This sounds like a bit of a mess, I admit, guitar scars and looping whoops jostling for attention with their handful of chords, but I really wouldn't have it any other way.

This is from GPO's new album, which will be out all of a sudden sometime.

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I have moved my blog onto a less demanding update schedule, and should be able to return to writing something nice and silly at least once a week. Should that not be enough, please note that I will be sharing nice and silly things on Google+ and Twitter between posts. Thank you.