{"id":2398009,"date":"2026-05-01T17:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T17:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2398009"},"modified":"2026-05-01T17:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T17:14:10","slug":"add-to-playlist-the-snarling-irish-folk-of-madra-salach-and-the-weeks-best-new-tracks-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/add-to-playlist-the-snarling-irish-folk-of-madra-salach-and-the-weeks-best-new-tracks-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Add to playlist: the snarling Irish folk of Madra Salach and the week\u2019s best new tracks | Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

From<\/strong> Dublin
Recommended if you like<\/strong> <\/strong>Lankum, the Mary Wallopers, the Pogues
Up next<\/strong> Debut EP It\u2019s a Hell of an Age out now, playing festivals this summer and touring the UK in autumn<\/p>\n

Madra Salach means \u201cdirty dog\u201d in Irish, which feels about right for a group of lads bringing a feral, snarling energy to the country\u2019s latest folk revival. Their sound builds ably on some of the architects of that resurgence \u2013 the eerie shruti box droning and carefully layered instrumentation of Lankum, the shimmering wails of Lisa O\u2019Neill. Add a hint of Liam Gallagher to the mix \u2013 frontman Paul Banks\u2019s voice has an astonishing force and clarity, and he affects a tempestuous, attack-and-withdraw relationship with the microphone \u2013 and you\u2019ve got a very exciting package indeed.<\/p>\n

January\u2019s debut EP It\u2019s a Hell of an Age demonstrates an understanding of that great asset shared between traditional Irish music, house, techno, and drum\u2019n\u2019bass: the long and quiet ascent which suddenly becomes very steep and loud and then careers off a cliff and takes a listener\u2019s inhibitions with it. Their covers of canonical Irish songs Spancil Hill and Murphy Can Never Go Home, as well as being impressive in their own right, serve to highlight just how evergreen original tracks such as Blue & Gold and The Man Who Seeks Pleasure already feel \u2013 new flows seamlessly into the old and back again.<\/p>\n

As-yet-unreleased songs on their live setlist suggest the imminent arrival of some punkish antagonism and pace to temper the mournful balladry more present on the EP. It makes for a great evolution of a venerable genre, an unexpected and beguiling alloy of purity, poison and potency. Killian Faith-Kelly<\/em><\/p>\n

This week\u2019s best new tracks<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/picture><\/div>
<\/svg><\/span>Yu Su.<\/span> Photograph: Peter Foster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yu Su \u2013 Cul de Sac<\/strong>
The Chinese musician releases her beautiful new album, Foundry, today, which walks a desire line through techno, ambient, downtempo and shoegaze. This track pulses like a lightship in fog. BBT<\/em><\/p>\n

Loathe \u2013 Revenant (ft Nowhere2run)<\/strong>
Ether-splinteringly loud metalcore from the returning Liverpudlians, assisted by ex-members of Code Orange: the time signature changes evoke the feeling of being jostled in a circle pit. BBT<\/em><\/p>\n

Hekt \u2013 Forever (ft Smerz)<\/strong>
The Danish producer brings out an unusually sentimental side in his acerbic countrywomen, who contemplate eternity with a lover to puckish trance as Hekt gradually turns the thumbscrews. LS<\/em><\/p>\n

Jura \u2013 You Make a Fire, You Make a Camp<\/strong>
Another Copenhagen murderers\u2019 row. Jura splices the voices of ML Buch, Clarissa Connelly, Ydegirl and Helene Norup Due into this fragmented beauty: a little Talk Talk, a little Peter Gabriel. LS<\/em><\/p>\n

Citizen \u2013 Highs and Lows<\/strong>
Brawny yet poppy midwest emo with a rhythm section that flexes on the balls of its Vans-clad feet, as frontman Mat Kerekes howls his way towards some kind of emotional clarity. BBT<\/em><\/p>\n

Ceebo \u2013 Parable of a Skinnyman<\/strong>
His 2025 Blair Babies LP showed he is one of the UK\u2019s smartest, most charismatic MCs, though it was a little overlooked. Ceebo now confronts that baffling state of affairs, trumpeting his greatness while wryly calling out the industry. BBT<\/em><\/p>\n

Kalia Vandever \u2013 <\/strong>H<\/strong>ubbard Road<\/strong>
There\u2019s a rain-on-window stillness to the Brooklyn-based trombonist\u2019s debut for acclaimed jazz label International Anthem, their ruminative, searching notes paired with steady, melancholic piano. LS<\/em><\/p>\n

Subscribe to the Guardian\u2019s rolling Add to Playlist selections on Spotify \u2013 or transfer it to Apple<\/a>, Tidal<\/a> or other services<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n