Flying On Clipped Wings

(Originally published on The Odyssey at  https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-songs-get-you-into-post-hardcore?utm_expid=.cZCE7oX8QCubI-ziFLsOXg.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theodysseyonline.com%2Fuser%2F%40mal-andintheway)   Post-hardcore is a rather vague genre label, initially referring to bands that took the hardcore punk framework and twisted it into strange new shapes, now just a bracket for bands too heavy to be pop punk and not aggro enough to be metalcore. However it is a genre that’s produced many brilliant records and many brilliant bands, and I’d like to give ye all a brief wee overview with ten songs to show you just what this little subgenre can do at its best. 1: Big Black: Bad Penny Steve Albini is notable for having produced a number of brilliant albums, In Utero needing no introduction. Before that however, he was a member of Chicago’s Big Black, a band that took the anger of hardcore, the invention of post-punk and created some of the most evi

Ah yes, Placebo. Of all the bands to emerge from the British rock scene in the 1990s, they’re one of the most unique and indeed long lasting. Their sound was unlike the Blur and Oasis acolytes surrounding them, combining the abrasion of the American underground with a European sophistication. The secret ingredient is a gritty, darkly sexual touch that had a long and storied history in British music, from glam rock to Soft Cell and Depeche Mode but was almost forgotten at that stage. They’ve 7 studio albums recorded, covering a variety of sounds and styles, but still unmistakably them. Though their influence is widely observable, from the dramatics of the goth leaning punk of AFI and My Chemical Romance to a number of the post punk revival acts, there is still no band out there quite like them. (Originally published https://www.theodysseyonline.com/placebo-discography-guide)   Studio Albums    Placebo (1996) Their debut album is their scrappiest album, it’s very much a c

(Originally submitted to the Odyssey, link to be added when that goes up.) Ah November. The first official month of winter, where everything fades and turns to grey, a time of remembrance in the Catholic tradition, too far away from Christmas yet just off the heels of the spooky delights of Halloween. It's a grim time, and thus requires some grim tunes to embrace that overall grimness. If October was plastic fangs and cat ears, this is a month for horn rimmed glasses, big coats and looking to the gloomy side of goth. Gorillaz: November Has Come (feat. MF Doom) Chosen more for the title and it being a flat out banger than real gloom, nonetheless it is a quite grim track, taking on dissatisfaction with the current state of hip hop among the litany of sources of ire and discomfort on  Demon Days . It's a quite minimal number, leaning on the trip hop of their debut album, a simple beat, moody guitar line, Damon giving us a sorrowful hook, and rap's premier supervilla

I’ve loved music since a fairly young age, though perhaps a good arbitrary starting point is the age I first got my mam’s Walkman, yes the one that plays cassettes, and there was a mixtape made of all the songs I loved at the time, some Green Day, some punk, a lot of The Smiths and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!. My music tastes have gone through various iterations throughout my life, from getting into all the indie and punk my parents loved growing up, to becoming a proper metalhead in secondary school, to diving into hip hop thanks to Odd Future, NWA, Lil B, Chief Keef and Gucci Mane, diving back into indie when I wanted to be able to talk about music I liked to people I knew, and the weird collision of various conflicting sounds at my current age. Here are my 10 favourite albums, all listened to at various stages throughout my life, all great records. 1: Counterparts: The Difference Between Hell And Home I first heard Counterparts on a compilation CD when I was a tender 17 yea

(tw: mental illness, suicide, self harm) For as long as I can remember i've always dragged my feet when it came to different things, but in the end I'd always come through. Giving out about doing a farm job but still trekking up the fields in my wellies. Fucking around getting drunk most weekends out of the month during sixth year until the gravity of the situation set in and I went on to crush my Leaving Cert, a pretty crass boast at 21 in final year of college but fuck it, I tried to kill myself that April, I thought scraping arts would be lucky, but I pulled through when shit got rough. It's something I like about myself, and it's something that's held me back from getting proper help for a good long while. Well, that and the fact that mental illness fucks over your cognitive abilities, energy, all the shit you need to get better. The fact I've seen and heard enough to leave me deeply cynical towards the medical services and not want to put myself throu