Irish indie legends Stoat have used the ongoing lockdown to get more philosophical. Like a lot of their last album, ‘Why You Should Give Up On Your Dreams’ is a thoughtful and reflective slice of midlife male psyche delivered with a sprightly tone and a large dose of musical invention. It sounds homemade because it is homemade with Cormac Parle editing together a tune that was “recorded bit by bit in our homes while Ireland was locked down for the COVID-19 pandemic, and painstakingly pieced together”.

Press release is below and it’s well worth watching the video. It’s like an existentialist TED talk.

Ok ok ok ... so the subject matter of this song is quite dear to my heart. The whole "follow your dreams" thing is, IMO, a load of bollocks, and for me at least has led to the waste of a huge amount of time and effort trying to manifest a story I had made up in my head. Instead of, like, actually enjoying my life as it's happening.

Me and John actually spent a couple of years working on a kind of anti-self-help book about this but, naturally, nobody was interested in publishing it, so the book got distilled into this song, plus a 5-minute talk that you can find here

https://stoat.bandcamp.com/track/why-you-should-give-up-on-your-dreams

Our old friend Darren A. Flynn is launching his debut solo single tonight with a live streaming gig over Zoom.

You may remember him from Mongrel State, who featured many times here on Musos' Guide. 

‘Mountain Whiskey’ is a deep-fried nugget of pure Americana. Check out the song here

And tune in for the show at 2000 at this link below

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89403280715?pwd=eitJbWIrUCtvS3ZGSGxpSjVnaXhwUT09

The track, which was produced by renowned Irish producer Rob MacLeod & mastered at Abbey Road Studios, is an energetic tune about a wily old man who makes moonshine half-way up a mountain, and is based on a real life character from Darren's past. Featuring a heady mix of banjo, drums and electric guitar, it's a rocking hoe-down from the getgo.

Darren's sound has been described as a modern take on roots-tinged rock n' roll with Americana and Bluegrass elements & influences such as Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and even the likes of Sturgill Simpson on occasion.

His most recent album, with Mongrel State, produced by Gavin Glass (Billy Bragg, Joe Jackson, John Grant, Paul Brady) had its lead single playlisted on national Irish radio (RTE1). The album was nominated for the Choice Music Award (Irish equivalent of the Mercury music award).

He has performed live & recorded sessions for National Irish TV & Radio and appeared on most local radio stations across the country.

He has performed at several Irish festivals such as The Electric Picnic, Kilkenny Roots Festival, Vantastival, Sligo Live & Doolin Folk Festival, as well as internationally.