Angela Macari-O’Looney of Irish Unsigned wrote a comprehensive review of the Bank of Ireland National Student Music Award 2008 final at The Village. I cannot link directly to the article so have reproduced it here. Be sure to head over to the website to check out the original post and have a good nose around: the IU guys are amongst the most supportive patrons of emerging Irish music and would love to see you…

As I walked into my favourite gig venue in Dublin, a great sense of pride enveloped me, at the thought that I’d been invited to such a great Irish music event. There was already a good many people there milling around and it was only a little after eight. So grabbing a drink at the bar I spotted one seat. Great! Somewhere to sit, take in my surroundings and prepare myself for what I envisaged to be ONE GREAT NIGHT. And it was!

A pretty blonde MC [Jacqui] took to the stage to introduce the show and announce the bands who would be taking part. I had acquired a list of my own and had familiarised myself with each band prior to this. I felt a rush of excitement at the thought of seeing these wonderful bands all on the one night, each with such a great portfolio of gigs, recordings and competitions already behind them as they would now be vying for this prestigious award.

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Who strung tenterhooks across The Village ceiling? Following the Bank of Ireland National Student Music Award since the get-go meant a real investment in the outcome: of six incomparably different bands, who would triumph? Philtre, Ladydoll or The Dirty 9s, who just won Deis Roc?
Winning a high-profile television competition is a pretty big accolade to land slap bang in the middle of the search for Ireland’s most talented student band. Scoffing at baby-faced boys singing about real life is easy but there’s no doubting the 9s have their act down pat with a handle on pleasant melodies set to upbeat, poppy tempos with enough variation to catch you on the shy. Songs for radio. Songs for van drivers to serenade to. There’s no swaggering bravado but they do wheel and smile. You get the sense that they see a spotlight as a source of illumination rather than a chance of exposure. They seem a solid, grounded young band who’ll stick around for some time to come. The maturation of their musical ethos will be a pleasant one to witness.

Ladydoll and Philtre, chosen from the Cork heat at Cyprus Avenue, were not my favourites to win. Hugely different in style, neither grabbed me as outstanding or bold. I appreciate the energy of Philtre, the frantic ogmygodwe’vegotasongandwe’vegottasingitNOW! grimace works well for Biffy Clyro but Philtre, named after a love potion, are more like the new Superjiminez.
Progression and a tentatively experimental nature give Ladydoll a good grounding to build on. It’s great to see bands tinker with machinations of music whether it’s strange basslines or keyboards or random pauses. Ladydoll just didn’t invigorate or stir me from their place on the stage and I was right up front on my own. Look lively lads!
Jerome’s Law now, certainly thought themselves deserving: tuned up a notch from the qualifying heat at UCD, heads higher, jumps jauntier, you could tell this buzz was their biggest yet. Lush and light-headed pop keys over ambitious guitars, all this band need are a few years of kicking up their heels. Let the fun begin!
When it comes to checking off a list of rock band cliches, Floyd Soul and the Wolf are so high on points they’re almost ground-breaking. Brooding frontman prone to microphone seizures? Check. Classic rock backing from a bemused band? Check. Blistering tattoos and songs about booze? Check-shirts!
Luckily for them, decent people don’t judge so shallowly. Only the band know their full ability and motivations and on that premise, deliver their interpretation of performance art. Entering the competition proved their dedication: what comes now will prove their worth.
Disconnect4 give their vehement all: advanced to Dublin from the NUIG heat with FS&TW, Papa Leon howled into the mic, wild-eyed, feet never still. Scenes must be caused but not without reason: the reason being tight, emotional rock. They’re beautiful, sexy and blissfully self-aware. Disconnect 4 know exactly what kind of band they want to be: the winning band.
Joint honour of runners-up therefore elicits unenthusiastic responses from Disconnect 4 and Jerome’s Law. Boos go out across the venue from the Dublin crowd. Waterford forestry student Floyd Soul and his Wolves are deemed winners of 2008’s National Student Music Award. The Flaws take to the stage to placate the crowd.

Six bands baiting breath and craning their necks, ears straining, hearts bursting guaranteed genuine chaos ensued. This is a competition. This is a result. Each group played their very best and knew the final was a genuine end-of-term assesment of their skill having already made the honour roll. There were no dunces on the night.
I wasn’t surprised to hear FS&TW won. They do electrify and pour experience of life into their songs. Last year’s winners wasted their prize and let slip the chance to further their progress with studio time and a finished product. Floyd Soul should have a very good festival season, they would rock the truckbed of Castle Palooza and Indie-Pendence. A single was sent off for mastering in Nashville a while ago, its release set to coincide with an autumnal tour. Disconnect4 could be playing stadiums before that or the Dirty9s might split. A lot can happen in a few months. Give the kids their summer break : school’s out!

Live photos:

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After a build-up of months, March 27 saw the last regional heat of the Bank Of Ireland National Student Music Awards as four hopefuls fought the final time. First up and athough they didn’t make it to the final stage, winners of sharpest act of the night were Funzo, a collective of like-minded musical souls who band together on an informal basis with frontman Liam McDermott to create a ska-tinged, upbeat medley of songs reflecting times and trials of alternative youth in modern Ireland. All of them attractively suited and booted for an expanded Rat (In-The-Kitchen) Pack aura of cheeky front. The sound is something else: with so many contributors, layers of instruments such as clarinet, sax, harmonica and keyboards mingled with more standard fare of rock-faithful guitar/bass/drums give depth and complexity to the flippancy belying Liam’s lyrics. All this based on the judges’ opinions: your roving reporter mistimed the event and arrived just after the Funzo set….*weep*

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God used foresight when he designed Cork: the sweep of hillside encircling the city was surely erected to save the rest of Ireland from the massive noise levels of Cyprus Avenue on a chilly evening of March madness.
Massive for sure: Sonus strode across the stage shortly after 9pm with jangles in their pockets and songforms so elaborate and meandering they were almost in freefall before springing back to point again. I was seriously impressed and rather glad of the canny twist of fate that saw Sonus perform at all: first choice Silo were apparently evicted from the Cork heat after allegations abounded of clashes with Cyprus Avenue’s CCTV and a clandestine violin. Silo’s frontman Philip Murray swore there was more to the story but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to convince the organisers.
Sonus therefore did not have the lengthy rehearsal timespan of the other competitors but managed a lively set on the night, respect due in large part to Alan Matthew’s animation in the throes of guitar to a slowly-filling venue.
Rough around the edges in the same way coal and crystals are and possibly more appreciable on recording, (EP <-initial demonstration-> hits the shelves this Weds 26 March) Sonus did not make the final cut at the end of this heat but were nonethless delighted to be involved. Watch out for them this summer when they plan to capture every cave and castle in the country.

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