An Officer And A Sister

Officer John is from Dublin, a mysterious solo outfit (expanding to four for gigs) led by Niall Rogers, recording for the equally mysterious Dublin label Wah Wah Wino. Information is scarce and it feels like that's the way Officer John likes it. I was tipped off by a conversation at the Golden Lion recently and then a post at Ban Ban Ton Ton. The most recent release is a June 2025 song called Handle which drifts in on a bed of FX and then a nicely early 90s shuffly drum break. A fluid guitar line drizzles down and then a softly sung vocal. Psyche- Balearica anyone?

Over at Bandcamp there are a handful of other tracks. Stay kicks in with a beautifully distorted guitar and rattly drums and a Spacemen 3 level sleepy vocal. Pass is led by thumping drums, another cool guitar riff and some FX. The vocal sounds like the singer has been woken just a few minutes before the Record button was pressed. Blissed out indie dance from Dublin suddenly seems like a very good idea. There's more here plus dates for a tour in April which includes a stop off at the Castle on Oldham Street. 

From Dublin to Muscle Shoals- Sister Ray Davies make shoegaze/ guitar dream pop, a duo from Alabama who released an album last year themed around Holy Island, Northumbria. Alabaman shoegaze based around 6th century Celtic Christianity is pretty rare on the ground and I really liked it- and then in the way that often happens in an accelerated internet culture I forgot about it. Last week Sister Ray Davies announced a new EP, Holy Island Baby which will come with two Pye Corner Audio remixes among its five tracks. It also has this one, Iona (Portside Dub), a shimmering, motorik, cosmische/ Balearic creation with dream state whispered vocals and a Spacemen 3 style fuzz guitar riff. 

Iona (Portside Dub) is out now, the Holy Island Baby EP next month. Get both at Bandcamp. They're also touring in April with dates in both Todmorden and Yes in Manchester. 

Holy Island

Sister Ray Davies are a duo from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, who have both played as session musicians in the kind of bands you'd imagine might inhabit Muscle Shoals. The music they make as Sister Ray Davies sounds nothing like that and the album they've just released was inspired by Holy Island, Lindisfarne, Northumbria, a place that is a very long way from Muscle Shoals in all sorts of ways. 

The Sister Ray Davies sound takes early 90s shoegaze and FX pedal psychedelia as its starting point, early Ride, Spacemen 3, Slowdive... the single Aidan  is a beauty, all shimmer, haze and slow burning guitar melodies, and a tribute to St. Aidan, the Irish monk who converted the Anglo- Saxons of Northumbria to Christianity and who died in 651 AD.

Big Ships, Viking ships presumably, followed, layers of sound, a shoegaze wall of guitars but with a driving rhythm pushing it on...

The album, Holy Island, is out now on Sonic Cathedral and you can get it at Bandcamp.