There’s loads of decent bands in Belfast at the moment. One of them that seems to be catching the ear of local music fans is the Panama Kings. I talked to them after their set at the ASIWYFA gig.

image by Kathy.84

I know I’m not the only one guilty of this, but there are far too many bands in my iTunes library that I haven’t listened to in “too long” - a duration which varies from artist to artist. Nada Surf haven’t escaped my headphones since their last album, “The Weight Is a Gift”, back in 2005 - but have returned to grace us with their fifth LP, entitled “Lucky”.

The album includes a hefty number of guest musicians and vocalists - most notably including Juliana Hatfield and Ben Gibbard, and is a solid statement of what Nada Surf do best. The album was released a few weeks back in the UK - iTunes will likely be more than happy to serve you with a full, legitimate copy.

Nada Surf - Imaginary Friends

Nada Surf - Blankest Year

Nada Surf play The Village, Dublin on May 10th - 21 yoyos’ a pop.

The next few days are jam packed with some essential gigs to go to.

So, lets have a bit of a recap.

As previously mentioned, Islands are playing in the Speakeasy on Tuesday.

Wednesday night in The Limelight brings you the delightful And So I Watch You From Afar, supported by Derry boys Fighting With Wire and local act Panama Kings (who just cant stop gigging at the moment…)

And if you aren’t skint by the end of that, then head down to Two Step in the Limelight again on Thursday night and recuperate with Tracer AMC, Boathouse and Three Tales.

ASIWYFA - And The Voiceless

Tracer AMC - Concorde

Mucho Danke met up with Oppenheimer before they escape for America once again. Topics included Dungannon, kissing girls at roller discos and salvaging plate reverbs - give it a listen!

I’m not sure how exactly I came across MGMT, but I’m sure glad I did. Hearing ‘Time to Pretend’ prompted a hunt for more material - and after downloading the album only an hour or two ago, it’s been stuck on repeat and I can already predict with great certainty that it’s going to be there for some time. Music speaks louder than words, so I’ve attached two examples of head-shaking, toe-tapping bliss - stick ‘yer headphones on and enjoy!

MGMT - Electric Feel

MGMT - Time to Pretend

An early heads up on this one so you can be excited for as extended a period as possible, Angus & Julia Stone have a support slot lined up with dreaded pop-folkster Newton “hasn’t Duke Special already got this covered” Faulkner, playing St. George’s Market on the 9th of March. It’ll be the first time in Belfast for the Australian duo, and with a venue as interesting as the Market, you’ve no excuse to not get down!

Angus & Julia Stone - Paper Aeroplane

Angus & Julia Stone - The Beast

Cold wet days can be instantly forgiven if you are listening to anything by Au. And no, I’m not talking about the indie hipster paperback AU, but of Luke Wyland, a Portland musician who sounds one part Panda Bear, two parts lovely…

Songs like Boute have the ability to transport you from the stuffy innards of an 8a bus at 7.47 in the morning, to a rocky outcrop overlooking a majestic fjord in Norway, or was it the Cavehill?

This album offers escapism for those of us that are losing the will to live in this turgid weather. So try it out, close your eyes and think of somewhere you’d rather be. For me, it would have to be Butlins…

Au - Boute

Au - Sum

Yes, yes, we’ll get to the new, experimental, off-the-wall stuff that the kids are listening to in good time. But after explaining I was seeing Okkervil River to most of the people I spoke to yesterday only to be met with bemused looks and furrowed brows, I’ve decided to cover a few more obvious bands - consider these entries like those catch-up classes you reluctantly sit through at the end of the semester, only to realize they’re actually pretty useful because it turns out you knew nothing all along …

Born from the ashes of The Unicorns, Islands effectively continue where they left off - expect more of the same screeching, screaming and tortured electronics - rough around the edges and yet surprisingly twee. You can catch up with them in the Speakeasy Bar, Queen’s Students Union on the 19th of February for the beggarly (*cringe*) fee of £9.

Islands - Rough Gem

The Unicorns - Les Os

Lovely girls have been the recent order of the day as I continue to stumble upon interesting music. First on the cards today, chirpy Australian songstress Sarah Blasko.

Sarah Blasko - Planet New Year

Emily Loizeau’s debut “L’autre Bout Du Monde” (The Other End of the World) is chock-full of beautiful melodies spawned from a life of piano playing, overlaid with swoon-worthy French vocals. The album finally sees a UK release in a couple of weeks, and includes some interesting collaborations, most nobably a duet with Andrew Bird.

Emily Loizeau - L’autre Bout Du Monde

And to round off proceedings heres Laura Veirs - who rather sneakily played The Black Box here in Belfast last night with very little mention. Making a fair few Top Album lists last year with “Saltbreakers”, heres another title track as a taster …

Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers

And as a bonus, heres Feist playing with a load of fireworks and a big branch.

Enon are playing Auntie Annie’s on the 12th of February along with Lafaro and Two Door Cinema Club. Recent album Grass Geysers… Carbon Clouds has been met with much of praise in the music world and I have to say I’m loving the single Mirror On You.

Coincidently, I’ve been listening to a lot of Holy Fuck this week, who just happen to share drummer Matt Schulz with Enon. Holy Fuck - LP is their second release and they’ve definitely come a long way. Reminds me of Caribou and Ratatat, except with a bit more tempo.

Enon - Mirror On You

Holy Fuck - The Pulse

Holy Fuck - Lovely Allen

Update (4th Feb): Radar presents — HOLY FUCK — Wed 9th April — Speakeasy @ The Union — £8.00

(it’s like i’m some sort of tasty fortune cookie….)