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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FIVE FAVOURITES: The Klittens

Blending buoyant riffs, playful lyrics and infectious melodies together to create their lo-fi indie sounds, Amsterdam five-piece The Klittens are gearing up to release their new EP, Butter, on the 8th March.

Formed of Yaël Dekker (lead vocals), Katja Kahana (guitar & backing vocals), Winnie Conradi (guitar & backing vocals), Michelle Geraerts (bass & backing vocals), and Laurie Zantinge (drums), the band have spent the past few months on the road performing live across the UK, returning to their hometown tonight (March 1st) to play their EP launch show at the Cinetol in Amsterdam.

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 The Klittens to ask about their “Five Favourites” – five albums that have inspired their songwriting techniques. Check out their choices below and scroll down to listen to their latest single ‘Reading Material’ at the end of this post…

 

1. Blonde Redhead – Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons
Winnie Conradi: I remember the first time I heard Blonde Redhead. I was a 20 year old student who had just moved to Amsterdam. Their song ‘In Particular’ appeared in my Discover Weekly and I haven’t stopped listening to it since. Later, I got into Sonic Youth and this sparked an interest in me to listen to the full Blonde Redhead album. I was immediately hooked: the melodies are beautiful and quite dark, the album has a huge dynamic range, and the voices of Kazu and Amedeo are these perfectly imperfect entities. This album ticks all my boxes and there is not one moment where my focus drifts off. Simone, the drummer, is phenomenal and knows exactly how to weave himself into the songs, almost like a melodic instrument. This makes the music incredibly exciting to listen to, I’m always on the edge of my seat or jumping around listening to this. When I think about a future The Klittens album, this is a great inspiration for me because I would love for the debut album to also be dynamic, dark, exciting, emotional and poetic.

2. Stereolab – Switched On
Katja Kahana: One of my favorite albums, or compilations, is Switched On. I have loved it for so long and it still makes me happy. When first discovering the songs, I was so excited that I immediately wanted to share one with Yaël, who was already lying in bed, so instead I sang it to her while she was drifting off to sleep. The atmosphere has something optimistic and encouraging about it. I like the combination of grittiness on one side and warm melodies on the other, and how the consistent rhythm creates room for playfulness. Stereolab always inspires me when writing music.

3. The Prodigy – Music for the Jilted Generation
Yaël Dekker: I suck at these kinds of questions and I guess I don’t listen to albums the way they were “intended” enough. The first time I consciously heard a Prodigy track was when I was 9 and snuck into the movie theater to watch Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, an amazing movie. There’s this scene where Drew Barrymore dropkicks a buff sword-wielding Irish guy in a burning warehouse, underscored by Firestarter. I guess that just really resonates with me as an artist. Recently I came to the conclusion that I listen to this album a whole bunch, every day even, and I won’t stop soon. It’s the best soundtrack while walking through a city, doesn’t give you time to think, bleak enough to match the landscape. Just really good, in an angry and happy way, and also pretty damn funny.

4. Institute – Catharsis
Marrit Meinema: This is one of the few albums that never bores me, and I think that as a newcomer to The Klittens, it also, in surprising ways, ties in with what drew me to the band (and why I’m so happy to play with them). There’s a certain cynicism in Moze’s lyrics that resonates with me, which I also find in the lyrics of The Klittens. While themes may differ, the lyrics evoke a mix of poetry, a sense of banality and debunking preconceived notions of humanity. The drums sound amazing, Adam is a true machine, driving each song with such force and finesse. The gritty, distorted bass, the wailing guitar melodies as well as their upbeat riffs never cease to send shivers down my spine. It’s an amazing punk (rock) album, whatever genre you want to give it (i’m horrible at it), but still something you can dance to. I think it’s this attitude that I also find in The Klittens, which I love and hope to bring to the band as well (together with my distorted bass, naturally).

5. Kraftwerk – Die Mensch-Maschine
Laurie Zantinge: My father is a huge Kraftwerk fan and at home we always had either Kraftwerk or the Smurf House Hits CD on. Although the Smurfs also had a great influence on my taste in music, I think Kraftwerk is a bit more credible. I chose Die Mensch-Maschine because this album is packed with certified pop bangers and it is just true nostalgia to me. I was lucky enough to see Kraftwerk live a couple of times and everytime I see a Kraftwerk show I’m completely blown away. Normally I prefer watching bands where you can see exactly who is playing what instrument and making what sound, but with Kraftwerk I make the exception to enjoy watching four men in lycra suits standing still and turning some knobs. Also the sound at their live shows is always more than amazing, it really gives you the space to completely immerse yourself into the sounds of the pioneers of electronic pop music. Although there’s almost no similarities between Kraftwerk and The Klittens, I think the repetitiveness and drone-like sounds are things that I really like to take with me when writing songs.

Thanks to The Klittens for sharing their favourite albums with us!
Pre-order The Klittens’ upcoming EP, Butter, here

Check out the video for their single ‘Reading Material’ below

Photo Credit: Jade Sastropawiro

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