Here we’ve rounded up as many ticket giveaway competitions  tickets as we can find, so if you haven’t got €240 spare maybe lady luck will be on your side. Get entering!

* Updated with some new giveaways *

Drinkaware Weekly Giveaway
Every Friday between now and August 27th, Drinkaware will be giving away a pair of Electric Picnic tickets.

ESB Picnic Power
20 pairs  of tickets up for grabs on their festival website.

Heineken Music
A pair of tickets to giveaway every Friday.

Myhome.ie ‘like’ Competition

Hotpress / Myhome.ie

Phantom

Entertainment.ie Tickets & Pampering

Entertainment.ie Tent

Pigsback.com / Drinkaware.ie

Watch this space for updates – I’ll add new competitions to this list as I find them. Also stay tuned to the radio – there’s loads of giveaways being broadcast that I can’t link to from here!

Here’s their latest track, from Skit I Allt (translation: “fuck all”) which is out next month:

Tickets are onsale at €14.50.

There’s been many fantastic releases – Caribou, Beach House, Holy Fuck and Errors have all been on heavy rotation since their release, while others have been slow burners, creeping into my consciousness and sounding more amazing with every listen… (Liars, Future Islands and Joanna Newsom).

I’ve been pretty disappointed with certain indie staples like The National and Broken Social Scene, despite the acclaim it just feels a bit like they’ve been rehashing the same elements year in year out and I’m just not excited by their latest albums.

It’s not that the songs are bad; they’re fine – but I feel like I’ve heard them so many times before and delivered with more enthusiasm in the past.

I’m not sure if it’s because these bands are getting lazier or if I’m getting more expectant as a fan – I want to be as captivated as I was the first time around and it just isn’t happening for me.

On the other hand, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some acts like Laura Marling and Foals who’ve expanding on their previous accomplishments with new ingredients and in doing so created something that’s as ballsy as it is enjoyable.

Personal Favourites

1. Emeralds – Does It Look Like I’m Here?
2. Liars – Sisterworld
3. Tame Impala – Innerspeaker
4. Caribou – Swim
5. Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
6. Nice Nice – Extra Wow
7. Holy Fuck – Latin
8. Mugstar – Sun, Broken
9. Errors – Come Down With Me
10. Factory Floor – Lying EP
11. Beach House – Teen Dream
12. Mi Ami – Lose Your Face
13. Future Islands – In Evening Air
14. The Redneck Manifesto – Friendship
15. Rangda – False Flag
16. Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me
17. Girls Names – You Should Know By Now EP
18. Foals – Total Life Forever
19. Delorean – Subiza
20. Zola Jesus – Stridulum EP

I’m sure I’ll have plenty to add to this over the next 6 months – the likes of Mount Kimbie and R.S.A.G. are becoming firm favourites at the moment. And for some reason I still haven’t gotten my hands on Flying Lotus’ Cosmogramma.

Great video work as ever by TrigFilms.

Back in early June I caught the debut Irish show of supergroup Rangda in whelans, composed of Chris Corsano, Richard Bishop & Ben Chasny. It was an amazing night of music, mixing eastern influences with classic 70s style free-form rock.

No gimmicks, just three incredibly talented guys and their instruments playing a mix of intense, thrashy noise and slow burning guitar compositions like Sarcophagi.

Finale Plain of Jars was one of the most epic musical moments I’ve seen in ages; a highlight of False Flag, the song ran somewhere beyond 15 minutes in length but I would have happily had it continue forever. Bliss.

Twin Hand Movement is out now on Devendra Banhart’s Gnomonsong label.
http://www.myspace.com/lowerdens

One of the most exciting new bands around at the moment, Belfast’s Girls Names profile continues to rise and rise.

They’ve been described as hot shit, featured on Pitchfork, and they’ve just sold out another run of their second 12” release -You Should Know By Now on Tough Love records.

They’re currently off touring the UK (having played a great gig supporting Dum Dum Girls the other night) – it looks like the 3 piece will have a busy summer ahead.

Here’s one of the highlights:

They’ve put out a couple of 7”s and are set to release their debut album Innerspeaker in a couple of weeks – I’ve a feeling I’ll be listening to this a lot over the coming summer.

Their grasp of prog and classic rock sounds remind me a lot of Dungen, which is no bad thing – lots of wah-drenched guitar, shimmery vocals and rolling drums add up to create a gorgeously lazy summer vibe.

Tame Impala – Runway, Houses, Cities, Clouds

Tame Impala – Solitude of Bliss

Innerspeaker is out on May 21st, you can pre-order it here.

Their mix of classical, folk and glitchy sounds creates a gorgeous musical setting over which they fuck with and bewilder their listeners. Conversational segments, old documentary audio and stream-of-consciousness soundbytes create a synesthesia-like mood that’s as intriguing as it’s inexplicable.

The Books – Beautiful People

New track Beautiful People is pretty straightforward, yet backwards – typical of the sort of Wonka-like behaviour that The Books instill in their songs.

The Books play the Button Factory on May 13th – not to be missed. Their Sugar Club video show a couple of years back was one of the best gigs I’ve seen/heard.