IT'S time for another mop-up of some of the new music which has plopped through the virtual letterbox at Noise Annoys towers recently: this week's haul includes a clutch of locally released singles and an intriguing album all the way from that London.
:: Rory Nellis – When I Sleep (self-released)
Belfast singer-songwriter Rory Nellis might have had to postpone last week's launch show for his latest single When I Sleep due to a bout of tonsillitis (get well soon, Rory), but this soothing, heartfelt love ballad is still very much out there on all good streaming platforms and very much worthy of your attention – especially for fans of songs which include false starts, a lesser-spotted musical quirk When I Sleep shares with other top tunes including Bob Seger's Old Time Rock N Roll, Hole's Rock Star, the single version of The Wedding Present's Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah and Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others by The Smiths.
With any luck, this song represents a tantalising early taster of Mr Nellis's next full length record, due out sometime in 2020. More details on that and indeed the rescheduled single launch show as and when I have them – but keep checking FB.com/rorynellis in the meantime.
:: Sister Ghost – Fake Friends Run This Country (self-released)
The latest offering from Shannon O'Neill's Sister Ghost is a zippy pop punker inspired by recent/ongoing political shenanigans at home and abroad, a timely tune taking aim at troubling times: "Fake friends block your rights", indeed.
The accompanying video clip features Shannon and her backing Ghosties haunting the attic at Parliament Buildings while surrounded by pictures of political figureheads, eventually breaking free of their collective gaze to pursue a path of progressiveness.
While Fake Friends is hardly going to bring down the Government – Boris and co are doing a better job of that themselves while Stormont is already dormant, Monday's DUP-instigated farce non-withstanding – it's a catchy combo of vented frustration and fast riffing fun which will remind you to party for your right to fight.
Buy it now for a quid at Sisterghost.bandcamp.com.
:: Calling All Horses – Oh Desire (Black Tragick)
Here comes another down and dirty disco-rocker from Martin Corrigan and co to get you in the mood for their impending live engagement supporting the mighty Hot Snakes at The Black Box in Belfast on December 7.
Oh Desire throbs along on a buzzy bassline and features a decent southern rock guitar solo but unfortunately pulls up just as it's starting to get going at just shy of the two minute mark. Perhaps a canny remixer could coax a couple of extra minutes out its funky 'wham, bam, thank-you maam/man' charms, thus making it a more memorable encounter for listeners?
Anyway, get your ears around it now via FB.com/blacktragickrecords and find out what Calling All Horses do to it live at the aforementioned Hot Snakes show, which marks the thrillingly abrasive yet melodic US punk rockers' return to Belfast for the first time in 14 years.
Tickets £15 via Blackboxbelfast.com.
:: Silent Running – Lost Boy (self released)
Remember 1980s Belfast band Silent Running? What do you mean, "no"? They were signed to EMI and then Atlantic Records (allegedly the first band from Ireland to hitch their wagon to the latter Otis, Aretha and Led Zeppelin-endorsed imprint), gradually transforming from the U2/The Alarm/Simple Minds-ish pop rock outfit heard on their 1984 EMI debut LP, Shades of Liberty, to the melodic Springsteen-informed 'working man' rockers who put out another two records on Atlantic, Walk on Fire (1987) and Deep (1989), before calling it quits.
Having reformed for a sold-out show at Voodoo in Belfast earlier this year, the Peter Gamble-fronted band are back once again with a new date at the same venue on November 15 for another victory lap which will come hot on the heels of their first new single in 30 years.
Released today, Lost Boy, is an old school lighters-in-the-air power ballad inspired by Gamble's wife, on which the frontman gets to show off the fact that his 80s rock crooner voice has lost none of its 'Jim Kerr with perfect pitch and an extra lung' poise and power over the past three decades.
You can grab Lost Boy now via iTunes and, if it floats your boat, it's also possible to book a ticket to see the band doing it live at Voodoo in a couple of weeks' time by clicking through to Eventbrite.co.uk.
While their three albums are all long out of print, happily they're all up on You Tube in decent quality for those in the mood for a trip down memory lane and/or a little pre-gig homework.
King Nun – Mass (Dirty Hit)
Finally for this week, words on London indie rock revivalists King Nun, whose debut album Mass is brimming with the kind of gritty, melodic and distinctly English alternative guitar pop which briefly ruled the pages of the NME between the lancing of the Britpop bubble/sore and the coronation of The Strokes.
The rough edges of King Nun's early grungy/garage punk bluesy singles like Tulip and Hung Around have been filed off somewhat in favour of a more considered sonic attack throughout Mass, which runs the gamut from slower burning earworms like A Giant Came Down and Black Tree to punkier but equally catchy moments like Mascara Runs, Transformer and Chinese Medicine.
I hear shades of Placebo, Gene, Crashland, pre-OK Computer Radiohead and early Mansun in this lot's sound (along with the inevitable and unmistakable 'busy drums' tang of 21st century indie touchstones, Bloc Party), but – bizarrely – the bands they remind me of most are another pair of royally monikered guitar-botherers: ill-fated turn of the century glam punkers King Adora and unfairly forgotten early-90s Wonder Stuff wannabes, Kingmaker.
Believe it or not, that's kind of a recommendation in this parish.
While their debut is unlikely to inspire widespread worship, Mass shows enough passion and promise to suggest that King Nun should be able to keep a select congregation royally entertained (boom-boom) for some time to come.
THIS WEEK'S MOST ANNOYING NOISES
Freedom of Choice – Devo
Wind of Change – Scorpions
The Power of Equality – Red Hot Chili Peppers
True Colors – Cyndi Lauper
We Found Love – Rihanna
Big Gay Heart – Lemonheads
Ignore the Ignorant – The Cribs
Take Me – The Wedding Present
A Legal Matter – The Who
I Fought The Law – The Clash
