NO ENCORE

The long weekend descends as your NO ENCORE duo head underground for one of their deepest and oddest of Top 5 dives yet. We also turn our critical gaze upon a talked-about trio from Limerick to see if their chilly post-punk will soundtrack our summer. 
ACT ONE: Craig dials in from a land with no water supply, Dave’s winningly lubricated… it’s our weekly catch-up. 
ACT TWO [2:42]: Gigs are returning to Ireland! But you need a car! And a tolerance for sensitive yet anthemic indie pop! Gavin James explains how he’s healing the nation, as Craig and Dave throw some spitballs from the back of the classroom. Then it’s off to a haunted castle in Germany to catch up with a stranded Bolivian orchestra. Elsewhere, the (separate) Taylor Swift and Brian May news section sagas rumble on…
ACT THREE [23:43]: … And rumbling into view, it’s Bleeding Heart Pigeons with their sophomore effort, Stir. A week on from dissecting The 1975’s ginormous new LP, we're on the big New Romantic, ‘80s vibes yet again. Quite a number of tunes as well. Question is: are they a band out of time or an act so striking that they’ll drag this guitar sound back into the spotlight?
ACT FOUR [36:13]: Our Top 5 main event finds us exploring the weirdest (and most oddly beguiling) subgenres we’ve ever encountered in our respective years in the music journalism game. There’s buried treasure here, for sure, alongside stuff that’s borderline unlistenable – join us on this wild ride.
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Let them fight. Welcome back to NO ENCORE's movies-and-music hybrid as Dave Hanratty, David Higgins and Norma Howard reunite remotely for another exciting NO POPCORN.
It's a mammoth episode, this one - all hail Sonic Architect Adam and his unerring patience - as we compare and contrast two epic titans from 2007 in the form of There Will Be Blood and, deep breath, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
So much to discuss here, from Daniel Day-Lewis and Brad Pitt's towering performances to how these films look, and, but of course, how they sound with Jonny Greenwood, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis pulling the respective musical strings.
ACT ONE: Letterboxd expectations versus Letterboxd reality, an attempt to see the world from the comfort of the couch, a handful of intriguing TV options and a very blunt assessment of Tom Hardy's Capone.
ACT TWO [23:30]: The main event as our chosen films come into lengthy, elegiac focus. 
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It's the goddamn weekend and NO ENCORE is here to tap you on the shoulder in a socially-distant fashion and ask if you want to talk about music. You do? Awesome, let's go! 
This week, Dave and Craig review the brand new album from pop titans The 1975, make the case for pop songs they think should have been number one the world over, and rejoice at Spotify's newest addition...
ACT ONE: High drama and a shocking announcement.
ACT TWO [8:46]: It's the news as a classic song turns 30, Lana Del Rey pisses just about everyone off, Eddie Vedder and Dennis Rodman go to a gig, Lorde sends us all a gushing email and Roger Waters has some Internet issues.
ACT THREE [28:26]: 80 minutes, 22 tracks and Notes on a Conditional Form  - The 1975 are back. In response, the boys spend half an hour dissecting one of the more major album releases of the year. 
ACT FOUR [57:37]: Our Top 5 main event steals in as pop bangers that deserve a great deal more love go dance beneath a glittering spotlight. 
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Another week of lockdown crawls to an end as the NO ENCORE boys signal the weekend. Rejoice.
This week, Dave and Craig scrape the bottom of the written word barrel as they line up their shouts for worst lyrics in the latest top five face-off. There's a busy news section, too, not to mention a legitimately unique album review.
Support NO ENCORE on Patreon: patreon.com/noencore 
ACT ONE [3:13]: Little Richard RIP, further major festivals down, Dave Grohl hails the live music experience (as NO ENCORE Dave questions it), Irish legends clash and Bono gets lucky on his 60th. 
ACT TWO [28:36]: Opposing shouts for the album review leads the boys to meet in the middle and explore what the kids are supposedly listening to these days.
ACT THREE [41:11]: TOP 5 WORST LYRICS~! Horrific yet cathartic.

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Full disclosure: annoyingly, the headline ‘Brian May Hospitalised After Tearing Buttock Muscles While Gardening’  broke after we recorded. Who’s to say whether we would have mentioned it, right?Fuller disclosure: we temporarily drop a show section… but pick up a beloved special guest!Fullest disclosure: Craig’s cheery prediction that “maybe this episode will come in at about 45 minutes” proved extremely incorrect…
ACT ONE: You could probably guess a meaty ep was in store from the preamble, which includes detours into boomer shopping etiquette, Craig’s cat leading a double life and some ferocious David Crosby support for our long-running Doors-based vitriol.
ACT TWO: To far sadder matters, as we lose two giants of music this week. We look back at the diverging but equally towering legacies of Afrobeat legend Tony Allen and Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider. Elsewhere, life finds a way. We congratulate Grimes and Elon Musk on the arrival of X Æ A-12 (really isn’t meant to read sarcastically). Then use it as a jumping-off point for a ‘Guess The Musician’s Kid’s Name’ game. Shout out to Jermajesty Jackson, as always.There’s also talk of drive-in gigs, the live music situation in general, the possibility of a Bohemian Rhapsody sequel and plenty more.
ACT THREE: Our duelling Top 5s: Best Album Openers. Another one where the choices were plentiful and the shortlists not so short. Lots of mutual rhapsodising over excellent sounds this week – although it does kick off with one particular Dave choice being hugely (if inadvertently) undermined by his co-host from the get-go.
Finally, our glorious patrons will know this already, but if you’re at all able to show some support over at patreon.com/noencore, we’re now posting full Top 5 write-ups each week. Hopefully just the start of extra bits and bobs for patrons’ eyes/ears only! Much love, stay safe.

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IT'S THE SUMMER~! Get in! Seriously, stay in. 
NO ENCORE returns with a week of mostly no coronavirus-related news items, Car Seat Headrest's vague attempt to leap to the mainstream and a string of summer songs that should - mostly - lift the spirits.
ACT ONE: General chatter. 
ACT TWO [5:55]: News! We've got a high-profile TV firing, talk of a major pop reunion, awkward mix-ups and the future of Daft Punk to discuss.
ACT THREE [30:48]: Car Seat Headrest return with new album Making a Door Less Open. Dave dives in relatively blind while long-term kinda-fan Craig ponders deeply.
ACT FOUR [45:51]: We may not have an idyllic few months ahead but we've got tunes. It's duelling rundown time as the boys select their favourite solar-powered numbers. 
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Oh, brother. It's a big one as the NO POPCORN team of Hanratty, Higgins and Howard re-convene to shine a light on the genuinely incredible BROS: AFTER THE SCREAMING STOPS.
A documentary on par with Metallica: Some Kind of Monster and This Is Spinal Tap sees two brothers warring with each other and their own colossal, bruised egos as a race against time ticks down in the background. Truly jaw-dropping stuff. 
ACT ONE: What We've Been Watching including early Coen Brothers, recent arthouse fare and a ringing endorsement for the deeply compelling Sunderland 'Til I Die.
ACT TWO [20:00]: The main event comes screaming into focus as Matt and Luke Goss take centre stage. Were/are Bros any good? Do you wind up rooting for them here? Have they been stitched up by the filmmakers? Can we possibly pick just one quote to highlight? And the most important question of all; Team Matt or Team Luke? 
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Back at it for another week as Dave and Craig indulge in some highly cathartic critical takedowns of critical gushing. That's right, this week's top five is all about slaying some sacred cows. Figuratively speaking, of course. 
There's also the small - perhaps related? - matter of the new Fiona Apple to consider...
ACT ONE: Your faithful 'Hey, it's barely a preamble anymore!' preamble.
ACT TWO [5.01]: A barren enough news section this week sees mass gatherings take a major hit, an Irish legend disgraced AGAIN and Brandon Flowers' feelings on Steven Patrick Morrissey. 
ACT THREE [17:13]: Fiona Apple returns with Fetch The Bolt Cutters. The world reckons it's a literally perfect album. What do the NO ENCORE boys make of it?
ACT FOUR [41:26]: Most. Overrated. Albums. It's time. Will a decade-long friendship be the same afterwards? 
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Your NO ENCORE listening experience returns following a nice long weekend in which we holidayed to other rooms of the house. Exotic stuff. This week, Craig tries to rein himself in while discussing The Strokes, Dave visits Sweden via the magic of video calling, and there's a top five deep dive with brevity at the forefront...
ACT ONE [5:45]: News, featuring various hot takes on Covid-19, further cancellations and 10 years of "pure mothafuckin' magic".
ACT TWO [25:34] Dave chats with arts and culture journalist Derek Robertson, who managed to go to actual real-life gigs in recent days. 
ACT THREE [36:49]: The Strokes return to usher in The New Abnormal.
ACT FOUR [54:48]: The boys run down their favourite songs that get their business done inside two minutes. Lively, this one.
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The episode in which Dave was like, come on into the realms of studio-quality audio, dear co-host, the high fidelity’s lovely. Yes – Craigy’s got a brand new mic (thanks Patreon peeps!) and he’s back to his velvety best after previous eps chatting into his phone through a pop shield made of old tights.
With your dynamic duo still social distancing but sounding like they’re back in the one room together, there is much to discuss:
Irish music journalist Jim Carroll is onboard for a frank analysis of whether the Electric Picnic music festival could (or even should) realistically go ahead this year, the lads run the rule over the latest Yves Tumor release, and we’ve a Top 5 face-off where the music just gets worse and worse (and then properly appalling).
ACT ONE: Soak up that sonic loveliness as the boys catch-up on another surreal week that also saw a huge number of you supporting the show through our new Patreon. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. ACT TWO [4.12]: The news is once again tinged with sadness as the pandemic claims John Prine and we also lose the legendary Bill Withers. We discuss their unimpeachable twin legacies. 
As for artists thankfully very much still with us… U2 did a very nice thing for Ireland, but did it involve Bono and the boys breaking out the Elevation Jet for some international piracy?! 
And as Drake begs TikTok to help his new song go viral, he also opens up his audacious abode (“The Embassy”) to Architectural Digest. We take a virtual tour of the trumped-up shopping mall, mouths agape.
ACT THREE [19.34]: Dave gets Jim Carroll (RTÉ, Irish Times) on the line to take apart the official Electric Picnic line that organisers are “optimistic” the Stradbally music festival can still go ahead. Carroll reckons that the words of Festival Republic’s Melvin Benn will come back to haunt him…
ACT FOUR [39.43]: The boundary-pushing, enigmatic Yves Tumor takes another big step in from the experimental cold with their second Warp album, Heaven To A Tortured Mind. Having lashed praise on 2018’s Safe In The Hands Of Love, Craig and Dave dissect a follow-up already getting more mainstream attention. But is that a good thing?
ACT FIVE [54.08]: Turning listeners on to great music is all well and good but… it sure is hella entertaining to drag some utter rubbish over the coals. With that in mind, it's time for our Top 5 Worst Cover Songs Of All Time.
From crabcore talk to white English pop aristocrats taking on hip-hop, settle in for two lists teeming with “what were they thinking?” awfulness – but will our hosts see eye-to-eye on every selection?

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