lafaro LaFaro (digipak CD, £10.75)

LaFaro are a band, LaFaro play rock music, LaFaro are from Northern Ireland. From the first show in 2004, it was clear that this band were not going to compromise. They played louder, harder and more viscerally than any of their contemporaries in the burgeoning Irish music scene, but not at the expense of intelligent musicianship and wry humour. It’s the Irish way. Drawing on a wide range of influences, LaFaro have a raucous and relentless sound that at times has been likened to Sonic Youth, Mclusky and The Jesus Lizard. They wasted no time in recording a load of tunes, making them available cheaply for what was quickly becoming a truly loyal fanbase, and getting out on several extensive tours of the U.K. and Ireland, playing in every shithole, basement, pub and attic. The tours got bigger, longer and more widespread, culminating in a 2009 American tour and a slot at the prestigious SXSW festival in Texas. LaFaro have racked up a lot of gigs, met some good people and shared a stage with a range of very diverse artists from the entire spectrum of the music industry, including Mike Watt, Future of the Left, Peaches, Blood Red Shoes, the White Stripes, Don Caballero, The Pogues, New York Dolls, Fight Like Apes, Lovvers, Fighting with Wire, Ann Arbor, Murder of Rosa Luxembourg, Part Chimp, Minus the Bear, Public Relations Exercise, The Liars, Graham Coxon, Ash and Optimo. 2007 saw the recording of their first eponymous EP, released through Field Records. The Irish press lavished rave reviews upon it, to coincide with the already brilliant live reviews. BBC Radio named opening track Tuppenny Nudger single of the year TWO YEARS RUNNING! And when Alternative Ulster magazine did a poll of the Top 50 Northern Irish tracks of the last five years in 2008, it was publicly voted No. 1 in the face of some very established opposition. In 2009 LaFaro hit the road with Fighting With Wire, playing shows around Ireland and the UK before hooking up with And So I Watch You From Afar for a further string of UK dates. As soon as the band finished these tours they played an exclusive BBC show in Belfast's prestigious Ulster Hall before entering the studio to record their debut album, hammering out the record mostly live in just 5 days. Once that was in the can our intrepid rockers set about getting shows and tours booked for the rest of 2009 culminating in the band's biggest Belfast headline show to date in November and the release of a newly recorded limited single in December. 2010 has seen LaFaro complete six weeks of riff-filled, blistering shows in the UK before the release of the debut album in May. "LaFaro are old school post hardcore sounds with just drums, guitars and big chunky distorted bass and Jonny Black mangling his vocals like he’s got a mouth full of drill bits, believe me, its a good thing." - Alternative Ulster Magazine. Tracklisting: 1. Tuppenny Nudger 2. Chopper is a Fuckin Tout 3. Mr Heskey 4. Girl is a Drummer 5. Lenningrad 6. Not a Song 7. The Ballad of Burnt Dave 8. Great Conversations Remembered No. 36 - Jeff Hinton 9. Cold Dog Soup 10. Party Hardy Marty!