bás in éirinn
on the search for home in Irish music and the spectre of death behind its shoulder: "dead towns" and "dying cities"; what's next for RÓIS and For Those I Love and my favourite Irish album of the year so far, Ithaca by Lullahush
the rooms I've been in lately
highlights of the year so far featuring Cold Summit, Peter O'Sullivan, Rita Lynn, OUCH™, and the many gigs that I wish I covered sooner
Nialler9 Podcast: "I was duped by an AI Musician" with Fourth Best
A follow-up to my recent exploration of the world of AI generated music
music is what we want for our children – the fourth best view on ai
featuring: chats with AI artist "Kawaii Hoe" and the journalist who felt "duped" by them! north kerry noise! a björk quote! a niche trading card game! indonesian tiktoks! the choice music prize! techbro scum! over 8,000 words! charli xcx! 14% of all recorded music in history! JPEGMAFIA! father ted!
guest post: ‘one thousand one hundred and one’ by Matthew Xavier Corrigan
In the first guest post for the site, Matthew Xavier Corrigan reflects on five entire years of cataloguing the music he listened to, tracing an outline of the life he lived.
jarjarjr's Catch the Dusk is the Fourth Best album of 2024
How far would you go to create a total work of art, when the world wants you to be something else? Catch The Dusk twists the rules of music's zero-sum game – we must not let it be punished as a result.
fuckin’ ‘diddly-diddly-aye’: assorted notes on Irish music at the end of 2024
Getting through some writer's block with a good old-fashioned rant about an interview from 2019... although it's a weirdly optimistic one. With praise for new music by Pippa Molony and RÓIS, among others.
"I'm a silly-wave advocate. There's beauty in the absurd." – a conversation with Ahmed, With Love.
Meeting at the launch of the rapper's mixtape "COMMA, FULLSTOP.", we caught up about pro wrestling, Four Loko, the Irish Hash Mafia, dissing Jamiroquai, Brazillian influences, and more.
avhlive1(Dm104) | Live at River Runs Round
AVH is a new live-focused electronic project by Jack Corrigan and Drew Linehan of Hausu Records. Fourth Best caught their first live set on video at the River Runs Round festival.
fourth best talks #1 | Future of Irish Music Journalism with Dylan Murphy at River Runs Round
In front of a live audience in Plugd Records at the River Runs Round festival in Cork earlier this month, I checked in with Dylan from Mabfield as he prepares to re-launch the beloved Irish music platform. We talk about Irish music media and how to make Johnny Giles stop answering your calls.
all of this unreal time – Féile Na Gréine & the type of festival we deserve
Thoughts on the festivals I love, including last weekend's phenomenal Féile na Gréine, and why I've gotten involved in the mammoth task of trying to build a new one.
some new essential music videos with jarjarjr, Princ€ss & Ahmed, With Love
Two wildly different Irish hip-hop cuts and a performance by one of the country's most fascinating experimental groups. All they have in common is that I think they're class.