FIVE FAVOURITES: Kira McSpice

Finding strength in vulnerability is something that multi-instrumentalist Kira McSpice has been carefully leaning into, on both an artistic and personal level. Her beautifully titled new album, The Compartmentalization of Decay, is a poignant reflection on trauma and life after sexual assault, which she personifies through the natural protective and healing mechanisms of plants, in particular, the maple tree. Her exquisite voice and dynamic string arrangements make for striking and hypnotic listening.

Plant pathologist and biologist Alex L. Shigo writes: “Animals heal, but trees compartmentalize. They endure a lifetime of injury and infection by setting boundaries that resist the spread of the invading microorganisms.” Kira McSpice draws on this natural phenomenon on her latest record, slowly becoming more resilient in the process.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Kira to ask about her “Five Favourites” – five tracks that have inspired her songwriting techniques. Check out her choices below and scroll down to watch the video for Kira’s latest single ‘Knife like a Spile‘ at the end of this post…

 

1. Kate Bush – ‘Hello Earth’
Kate Bush is my very favorite. When I was 19 I got her album, The Kick Inside, on CD and drove around blasting it and trying to hit all the high notes. I can’t really explain how much her music means to me. She taught me how to sing. Before I found her I thought I was supposed to have this kind of low vocal fry thing going on with my voice but once I found her I realized I was supposed to go higher and weirder and it felt like I had discovered who I was. This song ‘Hello Earth’ makes me crazy. It’s part of her album, Hounds of Love, and within the album there’s this 7 song story about a person lost at sea. It’s such a beautiful concept and basically ‘Hello Earth’ is when she’s floating away and losing consciousness and becoming detached from the world. She’s drowning and there are these huge waves in the song that come over and over as she’s drifting farther away and it’s just so powerful and emotional.

2. Joanna Newsom – ‘Only Skin’
Probably the most beautiful song ever. Every time I hear it I discover something new. I feel like it’s one of those songs that will be with me all my life and mean different things to me as I get older. Sometimes when I need a good cry I’ll listen to it and when she gets to that part about 6 minutes in I let loose. It destroys me. I think it’s the melody that does it during that part. Her melodies and the instrumentation and the lyrics… I just love it all so much. Also these lyrics: “While down in the lowlands the crops are all coming; We have everything/ Life is thundering blissful towards death/ In a stampede of his fumbling green gentleness” those lyrics… are insane. Her lyrics changed the way I thought about lyrics. I really take them seriously because of her.

3. Elgar – ‘Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85’ (played by Jacqueline du Pré)
I started playing the cello when I was really young and Jacqueline du Pré was (and will forever be) my favorite cellist. Her performance of the Elgar cello concerto is her most famous and the concerto breaks my heart every time. When I was growing up, I would move around in a really dramatic way while playing the cello – she was famous for her dramatic movements and I thought that one day I’d be just like her. There was a movie about her and her sister called Hilary and Jackie, and in the movie she wears a shiny green dress while performing, so I wore a shiny green dress for my performance of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star when I was 4. The way she plays the cello is unlike any other. Her performances were full of so much emotion and energy, so much drama and sadness. She taught me that emotion is essential in performance.

4. Stravinsky – ‘Firebird Suite’
I played Stravinsky for the first time in high school with the symphony I was in. It was insane. We ended up touring with it in Europe and got to play this piece every night. ‘The Firebird’ changed me and how I thought about orchestral music. I hadn’t been introduced to the cool composers yet and when I finally got to play him it was a door into a very exciting realm for me. It felt like my world had expanded/shifted, like I realized the symphony could be used in a crazy way. It was the beginning of my discovery of more modern composers and more experimental music. I’ll always remember playing the very beginning of the piece. It’s so brooding and evil sounding. I fell in love immediately and wanted to recreate that feeling in different ways. I think I like Stravinsky because he does a lot of weird stuff but it doesn’t feel distracting, it feels like it has a purpose.

5. Talk Talk – ‘New Grass’
I chose this song because I always come back to it. I think it left an impression on me because of how sad it feels while still also feeling hopeful. I’m always drawn to music like that. It’s also got this cyclical structure that goes on and on. I remember when I first heard it I was hypnotized and didn’t want it to stop. Didn’t want to leave the world it created. I also hear little secret sounds? Loops? Tremelo strings? going on underneath everything and I think that’s genius. Those details create such a wild landscape that the songs live in. There’s so much existing in it, making it feel so full but at the same time it feels spacious. I don’t know how they do it. I’m always striving for that I feel like. I want to produce a record that feels like that.

Thanks to Kira for sharing her favourites with us!

Watch the video for her single ‘Knife like a Spile’ below

Follow Kira McSpice on bandcamp, Spotify, Youtube, Facebook & Instagram

 

Photo Credit: David Weindorf

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FIVE FAVOURITES: Holly Munro

Intricately blending electronic elements with folk-pop sensibilities, Irish songwriter Holly Munro crafts tender, deeply intuitive music. Her debut EP, Up Against Your Nature, is a gentle exploration of the power of self-love and the healing and guiding qualities of nature; themes which she explores further on her recent single ‘Dead Ends’.

“I wrote this song after finishing a meditation that involved seeing my footprints in the sand from above,'” Holly comments about the track. “It got me thinking about my life as one big journey with all these powerful detours along the way – some paths you start on but never continue, just as some parts of yourself remain unexplored. It’s about questioning the choices you make and reflecting on how they shape your future in ways you can’t always predict or control.”

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Holly to ask about her “Five Favourites” – and she picked five Irish artists who have inspired her songwriting techniques. Check out her choices below and scroll down to watch the video for Holly’s latest single ‘Dead Ends‘ at the end of this post…

 

1. Rachel Lavelle – ‘Eat Clean’
‘Eat Clean’ stands out as my favorite track from Rachel Lavelle’s debut album, Big Dreams. Witnessing her perform live is an experience like no other – her stage presence is hypnotic. She has a real talent for world-building, and I’m excited to see her artistic journey unfold.

2. Maria Somerville – ‘This Way’
Maria Somerville’s album, All My People, is one I go back to. I first listened to this when I moved back to Ireland after studying abroad, I remember being so impressed it was an Irish person haha (I was not in touch with the music scene here then). I just love the record, it really takes you somewhere else. She’s someone I really wanna see play live!

3. EFÉ – ‘Truth Truth’
This is a new find for me that came up on my TikTok for you page. All I can say is I’m in x

4. Coolgirl – ‘Gaussian Blur’
Coolgirl aka Lizzie Fitzpatrick is an amazing musician and person. I’ve had the honour of playing with her in the past. She has so many musical projects on the go. She was in Bitch Falcon, now Coolgirl, 7of9 and a new band called Dose – it’s all so good – follow her!

5. Saint Sister – ‘Irish Hour’
I loved the Saint Sister record, Where Should I End, released in 2021, it’s a beautiful listen. I’ve also had the pleasure of hearing some of Morgana’s solo music recently, and can’t wait for that to be released!

Thanks to Holly for sharing her favourites with us.

Watch the video for her latest single ‘Dead Ends’ below.

Follow Holly Munro on bandcamp, Spotify, X, Instagram, TikTok & Facebook

Photo Credit: Kate Lawlor

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FIVE FAVOURITES: Softcult

Formed of twin siblings Phoenix and Mercedes Arn Horn, Canadian duo Softcult have had a busy few years touring extensively with the likes of Incubus, Movements and MUSE, as well as releasing a trio of excellent EPs: Year Of The Rat (2021), Year Of The Snake (2022), and See You In The Dark (2023). Now, the pair are gearing up to release a new collection of songs, titled Heaven, which they’ll be sharing on 24th May via Easy Life.

With their shimmering guitar tones, swirling FX and atmospheric dual vocals, Softcult provide their listeners with welcome moments of respite from the pressures of everyday life. With tracks that touch on issues of body image and self esteem, to anthems that advocate for gender equality and anti-capitalism, the duo’s musical ethos is rooted in a desire for a better world than the one we currently exist in. This is the thread that connects the tracks on their upcoming EP, Heaven.

We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with guitarist and vocalist Mercedes to ask about her “Five Favourites” – five tracks that have inspired Softcult’s songwriting techniques. Check out her choices below and scroll down to listen to Softcult’s latest single ‘Spiralling Out‘ at the end of this post…

 

1. Radiohead – In Rainbows
I can’t say enough about how much this album has influenced me. Since I first heard it I fell in love with Johnny Greenwood’s guitar work, Colin Greenwood’s basslines, and of course Thom Yorke’s hauntingly beautiful vocals and lyrics. It changed the way I think about groove, opening new possibilities on how melodic instruments interact with percussion, and creating melodies that stand alone yet fit together like the intricate pieces of a puzzle. Easily one of my favourite records of all time.

2. The Sundays – Reading, Writing & Arithmetic
This album is so enchanting and captivating for me. I’m drawn in by Harriet Wheeler’s delicate and dreamy vocals and David Gavurin’s shimmering, jangly guitars. Together they create an atmosphere that beautifully captures emotions like ebullience and pensiveness and balances them in such an introspective way. It’s very intelligent music that is also easy to listen to, which is a rare combination. It’s influenced my vocals and melody writing, as well as my guitar style and tone on our dreamier songs.

3. Deftones – Diamond Eyes
Deftones have SO MANY incredible albums, so it’s really hard to choose a favourite, but I think Diamond Eyes is one I keep coming back to because I love the dichotomy of heavy, crushing guitar and atmospheric, heavenly shoegaze ambience. Chino Moreno sings with such angst, yearning, and sort of this agonizing lustiness that I haven’t heard from any other vocals. It’s so expressive. It captures a very specific mood. It definitely has influenced our music in a big way.

4. Cocteau Twins – Head Over Heels
Again, just a huge influence on us in terms of atmosphere, guitar tones, vocals, and overall ambience. This record was so ahead of its time. I think it shaped the sound of dream pop and shoegaze a decade before that scene really bloomed. This record is enchanting and mesmerizing for me. It has a mystery to it. Elizabeth Fraser’s vocal style is a huge influence on me, as well as Robin Guthrie’s guitar style. I don’t think ‘Love Song’ would exist if I’d never been exposed to this album.

5. Bikini Kill – Pussy Whipped
While this album definitely has a different sound than anything Softcult has ever been influenced by musically, I cannot deny that I am deeply inspired by the lyricism and ethos of Kathleen Hanna. Kathleen is the woman who essentially founded the Riot Grrrl movement and zine culture in the feminist punk scene. Her activism through music is what inspired me to be in a band and to use my art to empower people, specifically women, non-binary and trans people.

I honestly try to channel her when I’m on stage, no matter how nervous I might feel. Her ability to channel righteous feminine rage and power into a movement that continues to fight for equality is nothing short of inspiring. We are HEAVILY influenced by Bikini Kill’s fiercely cutting and poignant lyricism as well as the riot grrrl aesthetic and culture that they founded in the 1990s.

Honourable Mention: My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
I feel it would be remiss if I didn’t also include My Bloody Valentine’s album in this list. Sorry, I know we were supposed to only pick five! But this album has so greatly shaped my guitar playing and Phoenix’s production in terms of creating a wall of sound with macerating fuzz into reverb the way Kevin Shields does. I just have to mention it or I couldn’t live with myself.

Thanks to Mercedes for sharing her Five Favourites with us!

Watch the video for Softcult’s latest single ‘Spiralling Out’ below
Pre-order Softcult’s upcoming EP, Heaven, here

Follow Softcult on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Facebook & X

Photo Credit: Kaylene Widdoes

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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FIVE FAVOURITES: NEXT TO NADA

London-based noise makers NEXT TO NADA have been busy cutting their teeth on the city’s live circuit for the past twelve months. Formed of Leah Francesca (L. Francesca) Liddle, Thom (Tom) Oliver (Revitt), Georgie Bogle (Gigi Ruckus) and Jason Davies; together they create grinding, punk-infused anthems that reflect on the pent up frustrations of everyday life.

NEXT TO NADA will be self-releasing their upcoming EP, WHINE // MOTHS, on the 15th March, and they’ll celebrating their new record with gigs at The Finsbury Pub in Manor House on 13th April, and at the Dublin Castle in Camden on 30th May.

We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with bassist L. Francesca to ask about their “Five Favourites” – five tracks that have inspired their songwriting techniques. Check out her choices below and scroll down to listen to NEXT TO NADA’S latest single ‘Whine, Lips’ at the end of this post…

1. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – ‘Hiding All Away’
I’ve not been a Catholic for a while, but I’ve got a real thing for songs that make me feel like I’m back in the pews. What actually goes on in Nick Cave’s songs is so straightforwardly rock and roll – angsty, sexy, cocksure – but in execution it sounds like it’s coming straight from Mount Sinai or Golgotha. Gospel choirs and everything! I will never forget hearing that almighty ‘There Is a War Coming’ in the outro for the first time. And yet it’s all rooted in the blues, in the same way The Stooges or Captain Beefheart were, it’s not trying to elevate its genre, just push it to its absolute limits. And for a track that’s so steeped in both high culture and low culture there’s such an intoxicating lack of self-deprecation; there’s no sense that Cave’s worried about coming across as pretentious or preachy. And I find that inspiring, I really do. I’m a melodramatic person, and nobody legitimizes melodrama like Nick Cave.

2. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – ‘Dull Life’
I think it’s funny that “Pop Punk” is a specific genre, but the term could describe so much. I mean, isn’t that what New Wave is? Just taken as adjectives, nothing embodies “Pop Punk” to me like ‘Dull Life’ does. It’s hook after hook, but it’s dangerous and thrilling and it goes about being both in a really clever, imaginative way. They aren’t pop hooks, exactly; they’re written for riffs, not beats, but they manage to do what pop hooks do. I especially love the second verse, where you’ve got Karen O multitracking melodic singing over distant screams of the same lyrics – I want to do that on one of our songs at some point. NEXT TO NADA initially was way more Britpop influenced and got a lot heavier over time, but we still care about hooks and melodies, it’s just about making those work in the context of a heavy rock band. That’s something the Yeah Yeah Yeahs really understand.

3. Joanna Newsom – ‘Sapokanikan’
As far as I’m concerned, Joanna Newsom is the greatest lyricist of all time. Her imagery, her metaphors, even her rhyme-schemes are always so complicated and must box her into so many corners. But she always manages to write her way out of it, and leads the song on this merry chase through so many meanings and implications; I refuse to believe she was aware of all of them when she started writing. It’s so easy as a songwriter to compromise your structure by ignoring it for a bit in order to make sure you’re saying things right, but I think that that’s a mistake, because you discover so much by rising to your own challenges. I also love how geeky ‘Sapokanikan’ is, it’s full of references to American history and geography, and it’s such a great feeling to hear someone sing about something you’ve only ever read about in dry educational contexts and think… oh shit, that can be a metaphor!

4. Fugazi – ‘Bed For the Scraping’
The main way I write basslines is with a trick I call “lines and then coloring”. I start off with a jump of root note to octave to set the chord, and then “colour it in” with a bit of melody before landing back on the root in the next bar. That came from here. I’ve never wanted my bass to be the lead instrument, but I don’t really see myself as rhythm, either, I’m more like the guitars’ backing vocalist; I’m playing a melodic instrument but I have to step lightly with it, because everything I do sets the harmony. And Joe Lally is so good at working within that restriction. He barely ever follows the guitar in ‘Bed for the Scraping’ but as great as the bass hook is, it’s never just for itself. Plus he’s working with two guitarists, like I have to; he knows he can’t add too much on top, but he knows what space in the middle of things he’s been given, and how to use every inch of it. It’s amazing.

5. Hop Along – ‘Sister Cities’
I play in a real loud rock band but I think I have a very singer-songwriter-ish way of writing songs; it starts with lyrics, not riffs. Hop Along’s whole Painted Shut album is such a great reference point for that sort of thing because it sounds like you took an Elliott Smith record and wired it to some jumper cables. It’s a real gnarly album in a lot of places, and ‘Sister Cities’ is a highlight for riffs and solos, but even then they’re never leading the story, they’re just helping tell it. And the sound is so versatile. It could be a Dinosaur Jr song, but there are also songs on the album that feel like Phoebe Bridgers, and they still all sound like Hop Along. Also – Frances Quinlan has the most amazing voice I’ve ever heard. I can’t really say it’s an influence, cause the first year of me learning to sing was mostly spent accepting that I’ll never sound like they do, but covering this song on my old Squier strat during lockdown is where I started with all this.

Thanks to Leah for sharing her favourites with us!
Listen to ‘Whine, Lips’ by NEXT TO NADA below

Follow NEXT TO NADA on Spotify, bandcamp, Facebook & Instagram

Photo Credit: Elspey Photography

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