Rising stars and egoeccentric favourites Story of Hair play Upstairs at Whelan's tomorrow night, giving folk a chance to hear one of the best albums of last year live.

Here's a sample direct from my albums of the year list:
Story of Hair - Unsteady

Story of Hair on myspace

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It's end-of-year-list time again, and this year it's been particularly tough to round up a top ten. There were plenty of great albums out there, but there also seemed to be a big gulf between the few truly amazing records and the far more populated category of 'pretty good'. Find out what's made the cut in the readmore.

10. Simon Bookish - Everything/Everything

This year saw classical composer-come pop genius Leo Chadburn release his most accomplished album to date under the Simon Bookish moniker. Everything/Everything is elaborately & impeccably orchestrated, while at the same time being lyrically fantastic. It the kind of album that's strongest point is how damned interesting it is- strange arrangements will come out of nowhere, making you sit up and take notice. That said, at the end of the day it is a pop record, so all that aside, the songs are still enjoyable as hell.

Listen:

Simon Bookish - The Flood


9. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

The second album from canuck supergroup Wolf Parade is a thoughtful, rich affair. A fine follow-up to 2005's 'Apologies to the Queen Mary', it has shades of everything from Britpop to Bonnie Prince Billy. All made nice'n'hooky by the distinctive guitar of former Hot Hot Heat mastermind Dante DeCaro.

Listen:
Wolf Parade - Soldier's Grin



8. Santogold - Santogold

Fusing hip-hop, punk rock, and a whole lot more, Santogold's debut is nicely bold in the realm of pop. LES Artistes was one of the songs of the year for me, and the album contains a handful more gems. Expect huge success in the next year.


Listen:
Santogold - I'm A Lady


7. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Another indie debut made good, this album soundtracked the summer as MGMT went stellar. Though marred slightly with a bit of filler, you can't argue with awesome singles like Kids, Time To Pretend & Electric Feel.

Listen:
MGMT - Kids



6. The Faint - Fasciinatiion


I love The Faint. This is fairly clear. So with their return after a four year absence I was pretty happy to say the least. Fasciinatiion is a touch more dancy & electro than the band's previous offerings, and has all the class that made them one of my favourite bands in the first place. One of the highlights of my musical year was when I first got hold of 'The Geeks Were Right', the first track released off the album. There was a touch of ceremony about going to a quiet room, getting 'the good headphones' and sitting down to really listen to it. It didn't disappoint.

Listen:
The Faint - Forever Growing Centipedes.


5. Story of Hair - Cheap Rate

In a year which had a crazy amount of quality Irish albums (in fairness, we could probably populate this whole list with Irish acts), this one stands out for me. Being a fan of the Hair's live show, a lot was expected of this debut LP, and I was by no means let down. From maniacally happy to reassuringly pensive, the band barely put a foot wrong in these fourteen tracks. Being the pop-whore that I am, getting an album with as many shamelessly feelgood tracks as this feels like heaven. It's also great to see a set of quality tracks actually being realised impeccably on record. It sounds like a simple thing to do, just put a mic up and press record, but it doesn't always work out that way and something gets lost (for me, this is the reason the excellent Fight Like Apes aren't quite making this list). The song below is also undoubtedly one of the songs of the year.

Listen:
Story of Hair - Unsteady


4. Why? - Alopecia

I am a relatively recent convert to Why? (thanks, Ste), but this album wholly converted me. On paper it really shouldn't work. Alt-rap, folk-hop, whatever you want to call it... it seems like a fusion doomed to failure. But it works. It hella works. Alopecia is one of those albums which stayed in my stereo for months, each and every song growing on me in turn. It's got so many elements in it that there's something for everyone- and for all that quality hip-hop to suddenly break into an metal-sounding guitar riff is something so insane it's brilliant.

Listen:
Why - The Hollows


(This is where it gets very hard. I've spent weeks trying to separate these top three entries, and have decided it's just impossible. So first place is a three-way tie).


=1. Jape - Ritual

This was another much anticipated album, one which any attendee of Jape's legendary live shows will have been expecting to be filled with greatness. And it was. Taking indie electro by the horns Richie Egan & Co. got everyone dancing, and grounded the party with what are some undeniably great songs. From the frenetic I Was A Man to the now legendary ode to Phil Lynott, every track on the album is fantastic. It makes me want to buy a synth or two. And possibly grow a moustache.

Listen:
Jape - Strike Me Down


=1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

This is one of those out-of-the-blue masterpieces that so perfectly defines the musical year. Justin Vernon's tale of woe and redemption through music plays out in magnificent lo-fi, and it couldn't have worked better any other way. The album's circumstance has already become the stuff of legend, with the story behind it's conception becoming almost as enduring as the music itself. As for the songs- with only nine tracks there's not much room for filler, and every song justifies it's place completely (OK, with the exception of Team, which I'm assuming is merely an extension of Creature Fear). I've always been a fan of the ol' acoustic album, and this is by far the best of it's kind in many a year.

Listen:
Bon Iver - The Wolves (Acts I & II)


=1. TV On The Radio - Dear Science


I'll admit straight off that I have a tendency to get very excited about certain bands, and in the process heap so much praise upon them that it could be considered by some as somewhat of an exaggeration. That said... TV On The Radio are probably the greatest band in the world today. Dear Science is another stage in evolution for a band that had already completely won me over, and with this stage they flex their pop muscles while still maintaining their distinctive production and powerful energy. At times during Dear Science one would be forgiven for thinking that the band are channeling the souls of some of Motown's greatest stars. Guitar licks like those on lead singles Dancing Choose & Golden Age are made for dancing, and dancing with soul. The album's masterstroke, however, comes with the understated Love Dog, which is an astonishing recording where not a single note is wasted, and every subtlety is hugely effective. There's so much to enjoy here, and given that at this stage TVOTR have officially 'lived up to the hype', there's so much to be excited about the future for.

Listen:
TV On The Radio - Love Dog

Honorable Mentions:

First one has to go to Passion Pit, who's Chunk of Change EP is one of the bast things I've heard all year, and would have made it very, very high up this list if only it had had a couple of more tracks on it and actually qualified as an album. I can imagine they will probably be featuring on this list next year.

As for the others... Hot Chip's 'Made In The Dark' ('Shake a Fist' was definitely one of the songs of the year)... Tokyo Police Club's 'Elephant Shell'... Elbow's 'Seldom Seen Kid'... Department of Eagles - In Ear Park... The Most Serene Republic - Population... Irish favourites included Adebisi Shank, Fight Like Apes & Queen Kong/ You're Only Massive...

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The super-awesome Story of Hair are back with a vengeance, and tonight sees them debut their first album with a live show at Whelans. The album is entitled Cheap Rate, and promises to be one of the Irish releases of the year (and this in a particularly good year for Irish music).

The Hairs' live shows are notoriously quirky, poppy, noisey and great... so tonight will feature all of those qualities turned up to eleven as it's the band's biggest headline show yet. Providing support will the the excellent So Cow, and egoeccentric favorites Hoovers & Sledgehammers. Doors are at 8, with tickets going for 8 euros a pop. With the night that's in it, tis no surprise that Halloween dress is essential.

Check out the Hairs' new website which is all fancified and spanking new to tie in with the album release. And have a wander over to Sinead's Musical Rooms blog to get a peek into where the band write & practice.

So what does the new album sound like? For a clue, check out the readmore, where you can watch the video for Nanny Natch, the first single from Cheap Rate.

Tis yummy.

Nanny Natch:

Story of Hair - Nanny Natch from storyofhair on Vimeo.

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This Saturday night offers a host of live music options in Dublin city, one of which is the launch of Big Melt, the new single from Story of Hair.

The Hairs will be treating us to material from their forthcoming album, Cheap Rate, which judging by previous live shows is bound to be excellent. Support on the night will be provided by the excellent Zing, and our very own Clockwork Noise. As you can see from the poster, admission is a mere 5 euro.

Here's a track from Story of Hair's 2007 Ep, The Ho Ho Stamp, which is available to download free from their website.

Story of Hair- RTE


Click for mp3

More Hair-tunes and a bit of video in the readmore.


Another track from The Ho Ho Stamp, Shoes is a live favorite, and nicely demented.

Story of Hair- Shoes


Click for mp3

A couple of months back Story of Hair provided us with our first Off The Cuff Recording. Here's a reminder of that session:

Story of Hair- Unsteady


Story of Hair- Cheap Rate


Hairs on web

Hairs on myspace

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After a prolonged delay, here's part two of our Off The Cuff session with the amazing Story of Hair.

This is off the cuff recording 1/b: Story of Hair - Cheap Rate:



Recorded immediately after our fire escape excursion, we shot this performance in a random nook/cranny behind the Trinity residents' buildings. It was fairly dark (hence the funny color scheme), but as far away from the populated area of the college as we could get.

Ger put his improvised drumkit to great use, as the band treated us to a track which will surely feature on Hair's forthcoming album. Cheap Rate is pop bliss, and has been stuck in my head on a regular basis since I first heard it here. I guarantee you'll soon know what I'm talking about.

Enjoy!

More Off the Cuffs on their way very soon...

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This one's particularly for students of Dun Laoghaire IADT, but I guess is valid for anyone who'll be in the Deans Grange-y area tonight and wants to ring out their Thursday in style.

The excellent Grand Pocket Orchestra & the always amazing Story of Hair play an early show this evening in Bakers Corner. Live DJs will be following up the bands to take the event into the night. Things are kicking off at seven, so it's a good opportunity to start drinking early. Yay!

It's all for a good cause too, as the voluntary contribution of three euro for admission goes to the Irish Cancer Society. See you there...

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We've been busy folk here at egoeccentric.

Having mused for some time on the creation of a series of live videos akin to the great work being done by the like of Le Blogotheque, and The Black Cab Sessions, us as egoeccentric & them at Sugarlips Gigs have decided to bring a similar series to Ireland.

Which leads me to...


Last week Off The Cuff Recordings was born, and through it we shall endeavor to provide you with some interesting performances by some excellent bands- on a basis as regular as we can.

Things have started off swimmingly, with the amazing Story of Hair performing two songs for our first broadcast. Part one of this session is up on the Off The Cuff page now, and part two shall be posted in the next few days.

You can check out the Off The Cuff Recordings page here.

For those who just can't wait, I'll conveniently post the video here after the jump.


Enjoy:



Kudos are due to Oz for filming, Dylan for the sound equipment, and Story of Hair for being generally amazing.

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Woo Hoo!

To tie in with the Off The Cuff posting which you've probably just read, we're gonna run a competition, because everyone likes free stuff.

Story of Hair have been nice enough to hook us up with a few tickets to their performance at the Murphys Live event on Thursday, which also features Ham Sandwich & Stagger Lee.

The show is in Crawdaddy, and rumor has it there'll be free Murphys going, so you'd be crazy to miss it!

To bag some passes, all you have to do is drop us an email with 'Story of Hair' in the subject line to egoeccentric@live.com

We'll pull a few names out of a hat or whatever we can find that resembles a hat, and notify the winners by email.

So good luck, and get emailing!

In other Story of Hair news, the band will be appearing on Edel Coffey's Access All Areas show on Phantom FM this Wednesday. Check em out!

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Bad news in the land of SugarLips- we've just received word that last night the Boom Boom Room was shut down by the Police for alleged naughtiness which I shant repeat here. Because of this, the venue will remain closed all weekend, thus leaving the SugarLips show homeless.


The fact that getting a replacement venue at this late hour is beyond impossible has left us no option but to call off the show.

The bands involved, Hybrasil, Story of Hair & Sarsparilla, all being as nice as apple pie, have all agreed to rescheduling, so hopefully we'll have news on that front very soon.

So apologies to those who were planning to come along tonight. We at egoeccentric & SugarLips recommend that if you're determined to go to a kickass show tonight you check out Super Extra Bonus Party who are promoting their new Ep (below) in Whelans. Tickets cost 10 euro and support comes from Captain Moonlight & Nouveaunoise.


SugarLips Will Return!!

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Story Of Hair are a band who make quite extravagant claims, such as their ability to cure male pattern baldness, but one thing that cannot be doubted is their ability to write a hell of a song. Their quirky blend alt-rock, with a touch of shoegazer (see, I can use that word now) has served them well, while shows with the likes of Delorentos & Hooray For Humans have established them as a force to be reckoned with on the Irish music scene.

The four piece have just released their excellent debut EP, 'The Ho! Ho! Ho! Stamp', and are already planning to unleash a second offering which is being recorded in February. Even industry types are already a-knocking, with the band having been selected to play the Murphy's Live show in Crawdaddy on March 6th.

All is happening in Hair-land. So check em out. Particularly if you have issues with your hairline

Here's Story Of Hair's bitchin debut single, 'Without Sound':



Click to Check out Story Of Hair on myspace

Or click here to visit their delightful website

Story Of Hair play SugarLips @ The Boom Boom Room on Parnell Street this Saturday night- February 9th.

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SugarLips 2 has been confirmed, and we can now finally announce details of its next musical extravaganza.

For those not yet in the know (or those who haven't read the little blurb on the left of this page), the SugarLips Gigs are a series of shows in the Dublin area which showcase established as well as up-and-coming live acts.

The gigs are moving to a more central location, and we're excited to announce that we've found our new home in the Boom Boom Room on Dublin's Parnell St.

The next show will take place on Saturday February 9th, with a fantastic lineup that boasts electro-rock geniuses Hybrasil and quirky post-rockers Story of Hair.

Admission is 8 euros, or 6 with a flyer, many which will be whored liberally around town in the next couple of weeks.

Keep checking back for updates etc, as there may yet be additions to the lineup (hint, hint.. ahem).

Check out Hybrasil on myspace here
Check out Story of Hair on myspace here
Or visit SugarLips on myspace here

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