AS MENTIONED in a previous exciting instalment of Noise Annoys, Kilrea-reared troubadour Robyn G Shiels has a new EP out now and an extravagant full-band backed launch gig planned to celebrate the fact.
The show at Belfast's Strand Arts Centre on Thursday November 29 will also feature support from Oisín ó Scolaí & The Virginia Slims, who will no doubt be using the show to celebrate his/their very own new release, the reverb-drenched slow jangle of Holiday Homes.
As for RGS, his new and already available online Death Of The Shadows EP is also coming out as a limited edition 10" vinyl which will be on sale at the launch show.
Turntable equipped fans will be able to enjoy exclusive-to-wax remixes from local stars Therapy?, Arvo Party, exmagician and Robocobra Quartet.
Avoid headlocks by getting yourself an advance ticket now for a mere £10 via Ticketmaster.ie.
On the subject of reworking previously released material, Noise Annoys fave Malojian is releasing a deluxe version of his absolutely class album Let Your Weirdness Carry You Home next week via Belfast independent label Quiet Arch.
Out on November 30, this features the original album plus alternative versions of a few album tracks (the demo take of Damp is particularly cool) and the cracking mash-up Beardness, which combines the music from the album's title track with the vocals of Beard Song to fine psyche-pop effect.
The deluxe version is available in a multitude of formats, from a stand-alone CD to a bumper bundle including the original vinyl release, the new CD and a super duper seven-inch-single Rollercoaster Records pressing of Beardness b/w Ambulance Song (the latter is also available separately), which rather amazingly is actually the first ever Malojian release on this tried and trusted format.
Get online and pre-order whichever one you fancy at Musicglue.com. Stevie is currently playing some shows around the north, so don't miss the chance to see him live at Downpatrick's Down Arts Centre tonight, Ranfurly House in Dungannon on 'release day' next Friday and at Belfast's Crescent Arts Centre on Saturday December 1.
Malojian will be back in Belfast at The Elmwood Hall on December 21 as part of the Quiet Arch fourth birthday festival, also featuring live sets from Quiet Arch lablemates Joshua Burnside (with eight-piece band), Ryan Vail (with Arco String Quartet) and Beauty Sleep (who are no doubt also plotting something extra fabulous for the occasion).
The whole event is being recorded for future release, so if you want your between song cheers immortalised forever you'd best get a ticket now via Tinyurl.com/qafourth, priced £10/£12.
Onwards we march to Belfast-based alternative noisemakers Wynona Bleach, the band formerly known as R51. The young quintet's new mini-album Sugar is a six track release showcasing their uncanny ability to combine grungy, shoegazey, FX-pedal molested indie rock with super poppy hooks/melodies and the strikingly angelic vocals of frontwoman Melyssa Shannon.
Yes, it's pretty much like the early-to-mid 90s never ended round Wynona Bleach's way, as they conjure up dreamy popcore nuggets like the danceable title track and the previously released opener Eyes Burning, both sporting choruses tailor-made for testing your 'jumping up and down while singing along' skills.
Likewise, their Breeders-y number Graves combines both the seasick swells of Kevin Shields' glide guitars and Billy Corgan/Matt Bellamy-esque heavily processed big rock soloing to fine effect (or should that be 'FX'?), while the quiet/loud heartbreak smoulder of the excellent Cherrydream – now there's a dreampop band name just begging to be adopted by some enterprising bunch of pedal stompers – and the blissed-out codeinated hush of climactic ballad Honestly, I'm Fine show off the Wynonas' sensitive side in fine fashion.
Elsewhere, when their wonderfully woozy and swoonsome Say It Now unexpectedly pilfers from Nik Kershaw's 80s classic Wouldn't It Be Good for its lazer-guided lead guitar lick, you can't help but admire the ingenuity/audacity of this 'genius level' steal.
Wynona Bleach will be launching Sugar with a show at The Duke of York in Belfast on Wednesday December 12 – having caught them playing a show in a freezing cold alleyway down the side of Central Library on Culture Night, I can can confirm that the band sound just as good in the flesh as on vinyl.
Indeed, Sugar is available as a limited edition translucent green 12" featuring an exclusive bonus track while stocks last – only 250 copies were pressed, so if you want one you'd best move quickly.
Grab it online at Wynonableach.bandcamp.com or present yourself promptly at their merch table after the imminent Belfast show. Tickets are available in advance via Ticketmaster.ie for £7.
Ferals are another box-fresh Belfast act with a brand new tune for your consideration. The trio's latest single Gone is a brooding indiepop number boasting hugely atmospheric post rock-informed dynamics which builds steadily towards a guitar fireworks finale.
A fine follow-up to their assured debut single Brendan Rogers from earlier this year, you can get Gone now via Spotify and iTunes.
Finally for this week, the peeps at the PRS Foundation (as in 'Performing Right Society') have just announced a new partnership with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Invest NI which will support its Momentum Music Fund (MMF) and International Showcase Fund (ISF).
Musicians based in the north can now apply to the MMF for grants of between £5,000 and £15,000 to help cover the costs of recording, touring, promotion and other essential activities – ie, not your drummer's infamous gambling debts or the guitarist's financially crippling fetish for collecting rare KISS figurines.
All the information you need on Momentum can be had at PRSfoundation.com/funding-support/funding-music-creators/next-steps/momentum-music-fund.
Those with their sights set on world domination will also want to put in for financial support of up to £5,000 through the ISF to help pay for appearances at international music industry showcase events like SXSW, Eurosonic and so on – flights, accommodation and visas don't come cheap you know – and is currently open for applications from bands and artists who have already been invited to SXSW.
However, the deadline is today, so if you're Texas-bound but strapped for cash, point your internet enabled device at PRSfoundation.com/funding-support/funding-music-creators/international without delay.
Tell 'em Noise Annoys sent you.
