Madra Salach, which translates to "dirty dog" in Irish, is a Dublin band bringing a feral, snarling energy to the country's latest folk revival. Their sound builds on the eerie shruti box droning and carefully layered instrumentation of Lankum, and the shimmering wails of Lisa O'Neill. Frontman Paul Banks delivers with a Liam Gallagher-like growl, his voice possessing astonishing force and clarity, as he tempestuously attacks and withdraws from the microphone.
Debut EP and Musical Style
Their January debut EP, It's a Hell of an Age, showcases an understanding of traditional Irish music's shared asset with house, techno, and drum'n'bass: a long, quiet ascent that suddenly becomes steep and loud, then careers off a cliff, taking the listener's inhibitions along. Covers of canonical Irish songs like Spancil Hill and Murphy Can Never Go Home are impressive, highlighting how original tracks such as Blue & Gold and The Man Who Seeks Pleasure already feel evergreen, seamlessly blending new and old.
Live Performances and Future Releases
As-yet-unreleased songs in their live setlist suggest punkish antagonism and pace to temper the mournful balladry of the EP. This makes for a great evolution of a venerable genre, an unexpected alloy of purity, poison, and potency.
This Week's Best New Tracks
- Yu Su – Cul de Sac: The Chinese musician releases her beautiful new album, Foundry, today, blending techno, ambient, downtempo, and shoegaze. This track pulses like a lightship in fog.
- Loathe – Revenant (ft Nowhere2run): Ether-splinteringly loud metalcore from the returning Liverpudlians, assisted by ex-members of Code Orange, with time signature changes evoking a circle pit.
- Hekt – Forever (ft Smerz): The Danish producer brings out an unusually sentimental side in his acerbic countrywomen, contemplating eternity with a lover to puckish trance.
- Jura – You Make a Fire, You Make a Camp: Another Copenhagen collaboration, splicing voices of ML Buch, Clarissa Connelly, Ydegirl, and Helene Norup Due into fragmented beauty, reminiscent of Talk Talk and Peter Gabriel.
- Citizen – Highs and Lows: Brawny yet poppy midwest emo with a rhythm section that flexes, as frontman Mat Kerekes howls toward emotional clarity.
- Ceebo – Parable of a Skinnyman: His 2025 Blair Babies LP showed he is one of the UK's smartest, most charismatic MCs. Ceebo now confronts being overlooked, trumpeting his greatness while wryly calling out the industry.
- Kalia Vandever – Hubbard Road: Brooklyn-based trombonist's debut for International Anthem features ruminative, searching notes paired with steady, melancholic piano.
