Brian Brannigan (A Lazarus Soul) – A Year in Music – 2025
by Killian Laher
How has your year been?
Early in the year, I had the amazing experience of doing a song workshop with the prisoners in Castlerea prison in Roscommon. A day filled with great poetry & fantastic voices. Singing the Auld Triangle with the lads was a highlight of the year.
The Stay Human Collective have been this inspirational organisation that started a school in Jabalia, Palestine, over the past 2 years, to try to give children, traumatised by genocide & mass displacement, at least some semblance of learning & a daily routine. Started by a group of people in Berlin, Ireland & Palestine, they’ve raised much-needed funds to help families by organising gigs, selling t-shirts, stalls at markets, etc. A lot of musicians, artists & organisers came together & held some beautiful events. I was honoured to be invited to play some of these Whelan’s events throughout ’25 & got to do some gigs with Tony & Sid Barrett, Finglas legends from the Brilliant Trees. One very special evening was me & Tony playing in Ernesto’s Cafe with the shamanic Liam Ó Maonlaí. Liam played an incredible show & we were thrilled to perform with him. Big shout out to Jonathon & the Ernesto’s team for all the great charity work they do.
Stefan Murphy recorded a great ballad, Prayer for Palestine & I’m very excited that 10 Speed Racer are releasing their first single in 21 years, all in aid of Stay Human Collective. Please support them.
Stefan Murphy & the Darklands Collective – Prayer for Palestinian People
On the A Lazarus Soul front, we were delighted to get a Choice nomination for No Flowers & we had one of our best gigs ever, in Vicar Street in April, with an incredibly animated audience, singing their hearts out.
Dave & Raymond Bell gave us a great surprise when they invited me & Joe to join one of Ireland’s greatest playwrights, Marina Carr, for the always fascinating, All Curious Minds stage at ATN. Knowing I was a huge fan of her work, they curated an event where we were interviewed by Fiachna Ó Braonáin, Marina read passages from her plays & we sang a few songs. The Flower I Flung was inspired by her play, By the Bog of Cats, so it was the most surreal experience to sing it with Marina sitting next to us. I was high with excitement, but Fiachna brought a beautiful calm to the occasion. The full band played our main ATN set in torrential rain & despite being up against Primal Scream, a dedicated crowd of legends braved the elements to watch us play & made it a very special performance for us.
What albums have you enjoyed most this year?
The Last Sound – All That’s Missed:
Barry Murphy is one of my favourite music makers Ireland has ever produced, with consistently spectacular solo releases as The Last Sound & collaboratively as The Whirling Hall of Knives & Uous.
His corroded psychedelic pop is utterly unlike anything I’ve ever heard & bar a hunch that he records on disintegrating tape procured from William Basinski, I’ve no clue how he achieves such beautiful weirdness. This, his most complete & accessible release since his 2016 gem, Rainbow Xplodes, really has me buzzed. Our Story, Can’t Erase & Planetary Focus are some of the most far out pieces of brilliance of 2025.
Joseph Shabason, Nicolas Krgovich & Tenniscoats – WAO:
Recorded in 48 hours, this is a delicate, meditative record with sparse organic & wonky instrumentation, almost childlike spectral harmonies alternating between Japanese & English. I stumbled upon their acoustic cover of MBV’s Lose My Breath & slowly succumbed to its very odd charm. Repeated listens will reveal it’s a real treasure of 2025.
Stereolab – Instant Holograms on Metal Film
Stereolab’s 11th LP, their first in 15 years, is the most uplifting record of the year. It’s an instantly recognisable, comfort blanket of a sound, but it feels like a band revitalised. Several tracks feature the brilliant multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar Gay, who is also one of the stars of The Notwist’s Vertigo Days. The album I turned to most in 2025 & never failed to fill me with joy. It may be their finest, I’ve a front row seat reserved for the NCH in Feb.
The Next New Low – The Unreachable:
Great music has been pouring out of Brian Mooney in recent times, but he rarely makes a physical release. Clocking in at 21 minutes, this is a homemade classic with Hurt, Dick, Nature & Stars & Seagulls being some of the best songs I’ve heard all year. Brian invited me to go on a mischievous road trip with his Erratic Keyboard Collective to Levi’s corner on release day, my first time to a place I’d heard so much about. This collective includes the uber talented Lizzy Murtough, Daniel Luke & Kevin Murphy, they are like a brilliant scene all of themselves & it really was a trip. I highly recommend checking them out when they play next.
Sentimental Tourists – Sentimental Tourists/ Living in Smoke Dreams/ Lost Treasures E.P
I was so happy that one of my guitar heroes Paul Page (Whipping Boy) is making music again, with one of Ireland’s finest songwriters, Dave Long (Into Paradise) & Jimmy Eadie (The idiots/ Into Paradise) producing. In an age of self-promotion, Dave is quietly amassing a repertoire of brilliant pop songs & Page hasn’t lost the knack for great fuzzed up melodic hooks. I really hope these e.ps are collected on a vinyl release at some stage as they’d make a great album. Long may they release music together.
The Happy Beatle – https://thesentimentaltourists.bandcamp.com/track/happy-beatle
Miriam ingram – The Strangers Grave
This is a stunning new tune from Miriam Ingram. There’s something very magical about this recording, Part of the Bring Your Own Hammer series where contemporary composers create songs rooted in the work of Irish writers born in the 19th century.
The Stranger’s Grave, written by the poet, novelist and historian, Emily Lawless (1845-1913) & Miriam has breathed a glorious new life into it. I’m mad about the sound of this recording & of course Miriam’s incredible voice.
http://bringyourownhammerpresents.bandcamp.com/track/the-strangers-grave
As it’s Xmas
Arrivalists – O Holy Night
Dedicated to his late Ma, Marie Barrett who would sing this hymn at Xmas midnight mass, Arrivalists carries on the family tradition in style. He got those honey tones from his mother & he’s all soul.
All proceeds for this release will go the DEPAUL IRELAND to support the Home For Christmas fundraising drive.
https://thehedgeschools.bandcamp.com/track/o-holy-night
What’s the most promising new act you’ve heard this year?
I saw Róis playing at the Folk Awards & was mesmerised by her performance. MO LÉAN is such a fascinating record & I’m excited that such an artist has emerged from this island. A voice as beguiling as Liz Fraser, Lisa Gerard or Sinead O’ Connor. We spoke briefly backstage at the Choice Awards & she struck me as someone fiercely independent but very grounded. I’m excited to see what she does next, but MO LÉAN is an extraordinary debut.
Any gig highlights?
Joe Chester & Steve Wickham – Ballymun Axis 12-02-2025
My first gig of 2025 & the launch for Joe’s new album, Au Revoir Tristesse, inspired by Françoise Sagan’s iconic 1954 novel, Bonjour Tristesse (Hello Sadness). Joe wrote 5 majestic bagatelles, instrumentals played on classical guitar, on the theme of embracing sadness as part of the existential experience. To which Steve created 5 equally majestic companion paintings. For the exhibition, you listen to each piece on headphones while you immerse yourself in each respective painting. Not content with being one of the great Irish fiddle players, Steve’s paintings are incredible, but you got to see them up close. It’s unusual to attend a gig where there’s one instrument & no words, but Chester enthralled the audience with his command of the guitar as he introduced us to his master work in full.
The Flaming Lips – Olympia 28-04-2025
Wayne Coyne & Co’s show in Vicar Street when Yoshimi was first released is an experience I still rave about & 20 odd years later I’m up the front of a packed Olympia, with my daughter, for her first Lips gig, Yoshimi to be played in full. Steven Droidz is absent, but still, this is the best I’ve seen them since the 90s.
Never has a crowd been so animated on a Monday night in Dublin, a riotous cacophony of sound & colour, giant balloons, confetti storms & 20ft inflatable gyrating robots. My daughter had the biggest grin I’ve ever seen on her face & I turned to see several levels of Olympia with the same expression, pure unadulterated joy.
Bren Berry x Crash Ensemble –NCH 14-06-2025
Part of the Musictown Festival, this was a heartwarming night, a celebration of family, friends & place. Bren doesn’t do things by half & this was his first gig as a reluctant front man. He rose to the challenge & the Crash Ensemble brought his brilliant album, in Hope Our Stars Align, to new heights with their fine arrangements. Bren has given so much to the Irish music scene & the community was out in full to see him conquer his fear & the NCH.
Sack – The Complex 11-10-2025
Sack returned last year with their best line-up ever & probably their most consistently brilliant record to date, Wake Up People. A clatter of classics, including Tag, Christians, Laughter Lines & Do You Need Love, were enhanced by very clever synced visuals; this was a celebration of a world-class group; this was as great as any of the premier international bands I’ve seen this year.
Sad that it may have been the last gig I attend at the Complex.
The Congos – Button Factory 24-10-2025
This legendary roots, reggae ensemble were at the top of my list to see live. It was their first Irish headline in 18 years. I was front & centre when the mighty Cedric Mayton collapsed. There was serious concern from the audience for the 78-year-old, not so much from his fellow Congos, who smiled it off, with the faith that Jah would raise him up & put on a show of the year. They were right, of course. Their voices still strong & militant, their harmonies hypnotic. Allegedly, Lee Scratch Perry burnt down his Black Ark studios after recording their legendary, Heart of the Congos as he claimed they let bad spirits in. Scratch was in my head as Fisherman got the sing-along of the night. This generation are the last of the golden age of reggae & it’s an honour to witness them in the flesh. Big up to the Button Factory & Selective Memory for bringing the Rastas to these shores. I dream of seeing Big Youth or Burning Spear next. Hopefully, Jah bestows a few more decades ‘pon these warriors (& me) so I can experience these again in a field, somewhere on a summer’s day.
My Bloody Valentine – The National Stadium 19-10-2025 & 3Arena 22-10-2025
My phone was hopping, but I was unable to answer at work. When I did, I realised that the wonderful Foggy Notions had announced a secret MBV rehearsal & it was sold out, F**K.
Thankfully, my great buddy Colm Kelly saved the day & nabbed me a ticket. Witnessing MBV rehearse is a (magic mushroom-filled) field of dreams & it was the most surreal experience. There were multiple stop/starts, tech issues, killer glances & raised voices, I felt the crowd were uneasy, but for anyone in a band, this is exactly what happens in rehearsals. When they played, it sounded better than anything I’ve ever heard in my 30-odd years of gigs. There are a few times in my life, where I’ve thought, this is the place, this is the best moment happening on earth right now & I’m in the middle of it.
Saturday night in a sold-out 3Arena was a different beast altogether; it was sublime. I consider Kevin Shields, the musical equivalent of Francis Bacon or Francis Ford Coppola, but you could never experience Portrait of Pope Innocent X or Apocalypse Now being recreated live. Tonight, we would witness the masterpieces, Isn’t Anything, MBV & of course, the greatest album of all time (IMHO), Loveless, reimagined, at a volume I’ve not experienced ever before. I left out the earplugs for the full effect, but I’m regretting that decision at 5 a.m. every morning since. From the opening caterwaul of “I Only Said”, it was mesmeric. As other bands age, they tend to lose their edge, but not this psychedelic sonic assault. Soon took off like several fighter jets & could never have sounded more vital than it did in that moment. To Here Knows When was my absolute highlight of highlights. We were in the presence of greatness; we were witnessing our Velvet Underground.
Other great events:
Gavin Friday – Vicar Street
The Cave (Kevin Barry) – The Abbey
The Boy (Marina Carr) – The Abbey
John Cale – Vicar Street
Iggy Pop – In the Meadows Festival RHK
Lankum & Fontaines Guinness Store House
Neil Young – Malahide Castle
Protomartyr – Whelan’s
Can you recommend an album that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves?
The Notwist – Vertigo Days:
The Acher brothers have been making great records for over 3 decades. Best known for their 2002’s exceptional Neon Golden, I’ve really liked but never loved the albums they’ve released since. That is, until I heard the track Exit Strategy to Myself which led me to my album of 2021. Vertigo Days is a work of genius, with subtle complexities that keep revealing themselves after months of listening & where you have a new favourite track every listen. There are not many albums that have a better trilogy of songs than Loose Ends, Into The Ice Age & Oh Sweet Fire. The latter, featuring a rare vocal performance from Ben LaMar Gay, is one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard. Other guests include Japanese musician Saya Uenon of Tenniscoats (these overlaps are completely unintentional).
Twenty years ago, every music fan in the world would know this record, but in the digital age, where everyone curates their own listening experience, it remains a hidden treasure.
Have you anything interesting in the works yourself?
We’re playing St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Jan 24th as part of Tradfest. Then we’re playing our first ever gigs in France, supporting the Divine Comedy for 6 dates in March in spectacular venues.
Wishing you all health & a peaceful 2026 💚
No More Workhorse 