Last Days of 1984

Last Days Of 1984’s kaleidoscopic dance beats make for a unique melding of genres, ricocheting between surfer-chic, afro-cool, and frantic disco. Fast climbing the ladder in their field, they’ve played at renowned events like Berlin Festival, along with the like of Beirut and Tune-Yards. Their new single River’s Edge is set for an early May release, closely followed by a set at the notorious Camden Crawl. They dropped us a line to give us an idea of the people behind that name, those keyboards, and that razor-sharp beat.

Is there any special significance behind your band name?
Most people assume that it is a reference to George Orwell, in fact it is another literary reference - to Douglas Coupland. We also really like the popular culture and subculture of that time.
Your music has so many layers – what’s the process behind putting it all together?
The basis of a song will usually begin with a synth part. Other layers of synth, percussion, bass, vocals and additional instruments are then added as the song comes to life and develops it’s own character.
Who would you most like to share a stage with?
We have discussed this a few times ourselves. Tony Allen doing live percussion for us would be amazing.
You performed in Dublin on Record Store Day. What made you decide to take part in that?
Sadly, in the last couple of years most of the independent record stores in Dublin started to be shut down. An awesome new record store called Elastic Witch opened last year. We performed there on Record Store Day and it was great to see so many people turn up to celebrate the day.
There has been a huge resurgence in vinyl recently. We are living in an age of convenience, a time where music can often by quite disposable. People have huge digital music collections and can shuffle through numerous artists when listening to music. Vinyl brings back a form of ceremony to the listening of an album, which I think is why so many music lovers in this generation are embracing vinyl once more.
Vinyl is a tangible thing - you get a physical copy of the album and can admire the artwork as it was intended. Most vinyl releases nowadays come with download codes also. Finally as independent record stores are such a hugely important outlet for emerging local bands; stores in turn, receive a lot of love back from musicians.

What’s the most bizarre venue you’ve performed at?
We played in an amazing venue in Bielefeld called Bunker Ulmenwall on our recent European tour. It is a former World War II bomb shelter that has been transformed into a venue. The stage is in the centre of the room, so you are surrounded by the audience on three sides. We loved it.
What’s your creative process? Do you do anything for inspiration?
We both really love film, so movies sometimes act as inspiration.
What’s the guiltiest pleasure on your iPods?
Probably something like N-Trance, Set You Free… Amazing!
Where you would most like to play live?
ATP or Primavera would be amazing.

For more, check lastdaysof1984.bandcamp.com

Words by Dylan B Jones - 1883

Last Days Of 1984’s kaleidoscopic dance beats make for a unique melding of genres, ricocheting between surfer-chic, afro-cool, and frantic disco. Fast climbing the ladder in their field, they’ve played at renowned events like Berlin Festival, along with the like of Beirut and Tune-Yards. Their new single River’s Edge is set for an early May release, closely followed by a set at the notorious Camden Crawl. They dropped us a line to give us an idea of the people behind that name, those keyboards, and that razor-sharp beat.

Is there any special significance behind your band name?
Most people assume that it is a reference to George Orwell, in fact it is another literary reference - to Douglas Coupland. We also really like the popular culture and subculture of that time.
Your music has so many layers – what’s the process behind putting it all together?
The basis of a song will usually begin with a synth part. Other layers of synth, percussion, bass, vocals and additional instruments are then added as the song comes to life and develops it’s own character.
Who would you most like to share a stage with?
We have discussed this a few times ourselves. Tony Allen doing live percussion for us would be amazing.
You performed in Dublin on Record Store Day. What made you decide to take part in that?
Sadly, in the last couple of years most of the independent record stores in Dublin started to be shut down. An awesome new record store called Elastic Witch opened last year. We performed there on Record Store Day and it was great to see so many people turn up to celebrate the day.
There has been a huge resurgence in vinyl recently. We are living in an age of convenience, a time where music can often by quite disposable. People have huge digital music collections and can shuffle through numerous artists when listening to music. Vinyl brings back a form of ceremony to the listening of an album, which I think is why so many music lovers in this generation are embracing vinyl once more.
Vinyl is a tangible thing - you get a physical copy of the album and can admire the artwork as it was intended. Most vinyl releases nowadays come with download codes also. Finally as independent record stores are such a hugely important outlet for emerging local bands; stores in turn, receive a lot of love back from musicians.

What’s the most bizarre venue you’ve performed at?
We played in an amazing venue in Bielefeld called Bunker Ulmenwall on our recent European tour. It is a former World War II bomb shelter that has been transformed into a venue. The stage is in the centre of the room, so you are surrounded by the audience on three sides. We loved it.
What’s your creative process? Do you do anything for inspiration?
We both really love film, so movies sometimes act as inspiration.
What’s the guiltiest pleasure on your iPods?
Probably something like N-Trance, Set You Free… Amazing!
Where you would most like to play live?
ATP or Primavera would be amazing.

For more, check lastdaysof1984.bandcamp.com

Words by Dylan B Jones - 1883

This group’s name refers to what some might consider a significant moment in pop music, since the close of said year marked the end of that thrilling five year period of shiny new pop that was eventually trampled to death by Live Aid, opening the doors for all the over-produced, coke-addled bilge that was subsequently released until Acid House saved us all (or so music history goes).
Though, despite name-checking a golden era of pop music in their name, this Dublin duo actually manage the rare feat of being impossible to pigeonhole into a specific era or year. Their music is built on melancholy waves of dreamy electronics, with emotive vocals and mellifluous melodies straddling the insistent (and occasionally Afro-beat) rhythms. The end result is a kaleidoscope of tropical colour which, strangely, feels icily European in places at the same time.
Like Junior Boys gone chillwave, or Rainbow Arabia remixed by Visions Of Trees, their forthcoming debut album ‘Wake Up To The Waves’ is packed with similarly epic and euphoric electronic music. It’s out on Osaka Records on 7 May, whilst the video for ‘River’s Edge’ is up on Vimeo now:
- See more at: http://www.thecmuwebsite.com/article/approved-last-days-of-1984/#sthash.6E423J6s.dpuf - CMU

Last Days of 1984 are a duo from Dublin – Darren Moloney and Brian Rice – who make blissed-out dance music, using swirling, whooshing synths to create a giddy tropical house rush.

You could make comparisons with the percussive offbeats of Tanlines, the euphoric tropicalia of El Guincho, or, at a push, Animal Collective (the latter particularly in the beautifully treated back-of-the-room harmonies). The beaches of Ibiza are never far from the mind on this album, but it’s nothing like a one-dimensional piece of work. Afro-pop guitar flurries wind around the insistent backbeats and there’s also a strong, and very pleasing, hint of shoegaze leanings throughout.

You’ve probably already heard lead track ‘River’s edge’, with its lovely warped, prismatic synth lines. Add to that the gorgeous instrumental wash of ‘Kismat’; the beautiful percussion work on ‘Wavelife’; and the great irrepressible quality of ‘Season’, my own personal favourite, with its air of a rave at the break of dawn.

I have to mention too the closing track ‘Woods’, which has the most beautiful fuzzy breakdown before it cascades off into the distance on a refrain of “watch the sun go down” – it’s a fantastic tune liable to be ringing around your head long after you’ve cleaned the sand out from between your toes.

Over its total 42 minutes there are just seven tracks, meaning that plenty of time is allowed for individual ideas to breathe and unfurl. I like a band not in a hurry. All the better to imagine that Mediterranean glow in the depths of an Irish winter/summer.

I must say too it’s refreshing to hear an Irish (alternative) band make unremittingly upbeat and uplifting music. And good to see a sense of adventure, global curiosity, crossing of genres, fusing of influences (the breadth of the band’s horizons was made clear by the recent Tour Diary they did for us – http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/04/last-days-of-1984-european-tour-diary-marchapril-2012/.

The label is relevant in this. Osaka has built a strong reputation over the last few years for bridging dance and indie, underground and mainstream, through impressive releases by the likes of Thread Pulls, Patrick Kelleher, Hunter-Gatherer and The Last Sound.

This album sits very well in that company – in fact, in any company. It’s guaranteed to make you feel good about being alive. In short, this is glorious pop music. - WE ARE NOISE

Last Days of 1984 are a duo from Dublin – Darren Moloney and Brian Rice – who make blissed-out dance music, using swirling, whooshing synths to create a giddy tropical house rush.

You could make comparisons with the percussive offbeats of Tanlines, the euphoric tropicalia of El Guincho, or, at a push, Animal Collective (the latter particularly in the beautifully treated back-of-the-room harmonies). The beaches of Ibiza are never far from the mind on this album, but it’s nothing like a one-dimensional piece of work. Afro-pop guitar flurries wind around the insistent backbeats and there’s also a strong, and very pleasing, hint of shoegaze leanings throughout.

You’ve probably already heard lead track ‘River’s edge’, with its lovely warped, prismatic synth lines. Add to that the gorgeous instrumental wash of ‘Kismat’; the beautiful percussion work on ‘Wavelife’; and the great irrepressible quality of ‘Season’, my own personal favourite, with its air of a rave at the break of dawn.

I have to mention too the closing track ‘Woods’, which has the most beautiful fuzzy breakdown before it cascades off into the distance on a refrain of “watch the sun go down” – it’s a fantastic tune liable to be ringing around your head long after you’ve cleaned the sand out from between your toes.

Over its total 42 minutes there are just seven tracks, meaning that plenty of time is allowed for individual ideas to breathe and unfurl. I like a band not in a hurry. All the better to imagine that Mediterranean glow in the depths of an Irish winter/summer.

I must say too it’s refreshing to hear an Irish (alternative) band make unremittingly upbeat and uplifting music. And good to see a sense of adventure, global curiosity, crossing of genres, fusing of influences (the breadth of the band’s horizons was made clear by the recent Tour Diary they did for us – http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/04/last-days-of-1984-european-tour-diary-marchapril-2012/.

The label is relevant in this. Osaka has built a strong reputation over the last few years for bridging dance and indie, underground and mainstream, through impressive releases by the likes of Thread Pulls, Patrick Kelleher, Hunter-Gatherer and The Last Sound.

This album sits very well in that company – in fact, in any company. It’s guaranteed to make you feel good about being alive. In short, this is glorious pop music. - WE ARE NOISE

Ever feel like your existence as a tentacle-faced singer is defined by the numerous exploding vases of flowers that are one of the few material objects inside the black void you live in? Err…yeah, nor us (unless you count our Burning Man experience, maybe) but Last Days of 1984 might be able to relate. The young Irish duo of Brian Rice and Darren Moloney have just released a video for their track ‘River’s Edge’, a lovely slice of tropical-influenced electropop that will leave your mind spinning as they fragment, shatter and reform into a mass of writhing, wormlike limbs. Just another day for these two. Their debut album Wake Up To The Waves is due out this summer on Osaka Records. - See more at: http://www.electronicbeats.net/2012/04/17/eb-video-premier-last-days-of-1984-rivers-edge/#sthash.uXNY7KtI.dpuf - ELECTRONIC BEATS

The Last Days of 1984 are Dublin duo Darren Maloney and Brian Rice. Appeared as if by nowhere with a killer single 'Rivers Edge' and performed live for the first time on the 9th of July, Last Days of 1984 are a twister of excitement. Their synth pop sound is 'so hot right now', it flirts between the playful 'spring-break' sound of Animal Collective and the 80's revivalism of The Horrors material. It's easy to see a swell of interest swallow these guys up, all the finger on the pulse blogs love this sound. It will be interesting to see these guys progression over the next year. Check out their first single River's Edge that we have streaming for you below. - BBC Across The Line

The Last Days of 1984 are Dublin duo Darren Maloney and Brian Rice. Appeared as if by nowhere with a killer single 'Rivers Edge' and performed live for the first time on the 9th of July, Last Days of 1984 are a twister of excitement. Their synth pop sound is 'so hot right now', it flirts between the playful 'spring-break' sound of Animal Collective and the 80's revivalism of The Horrors material. It's easy to see a swell of interest swallow these guys up, all the finger on the pulse blogs love this sound. It will be interesting to see these guys progression over the next year. Check out their first single River's Edge that we have streaming for you below. - BBC Across The Line

Delightful, dream like nostalgia permeates Wake Up To The Waves, Dublin duo Last Days Of 1984’s debut album. Employing similar methods to their more guitar-led counterparts such as Fixers, and much more effectively, the two-piece have created a lush, shimmering heat mirage of an album, wistful and relaxed whilst interesting and inventive.

Mainly combining electronica, chill out and occasional Brian Wilson-style vocals, the record is one deeply rooted in the electronic past; not only bringing to mind the aforementioned artists but also a bygone age of underdeveloped video gaming, ’80s teen movies and cassettes. An engaging effort from start to finish, the record also is genuinely unpredictable and original, with unexpected and eclectic influences (see Wave Life’s Indian motif) cropping up, peppering the record with unusual twists and turns.

The album can be split in two in terms of musicality. One half, including tracks such as River’s Edge, Safari and Wave Life, features more prominent vocals and recalls artists as diverse as Animal Collective, The Beach Boys, The Cocteau Twins and Fleet Foxes. It’s all sweet melody and harmony, melding folk and surf rock with synth pop; creating a hazy and relaxed atmosphere that on occasion is broken by a burst of well-used drum machine and synthesiser. Nowhere is this more evident than on the excellent closer Woods. The initial, pulsing beat gives way to a tropical, dream like vocal that is in turn punctuated by a cold, industrial synth line bringing the listener from the Seychelles to Sheffield with remarkable and seamless ease. Elsewhere Safari recalls Girls’ debut album, reverb soaked acoustic guitars and hand drums back a vocal performance reminiscent of the girl groups made famous by Phil Spector; a stoned, lazy homage to an idealised summer, one in which the sun never went in and September never arrived.

The other songs on the record are pulsing, ’90s electonica; another style that the duo seem to have nailed. The songs, such as Kismat, Francois Truffaut/Event Technologique and Season, throb with Underworld-esque beats that create a vivid feeling of sultry nightlife and hedonism, doing so with excellent results. Intense, irresistible and confident, these tracks evoke the feelings of optimism and excitement that good dance music should. Kismat is truly a marvel; creating a particularly vivid and nostalgic warmth whilst managing to remain mystifying and intense. Meanwhile the excellently titled Francçois Truffaut/Event Technologique has a wonderfully tacky, ’80s-cop-drama-set-in-the-dystopian-future feeling to it; you can almost envisage the dubious performances.

Overall, the album is excellent; a truly inventive and innovative record for a debut. Generally, albums that play with such a wide range of influences, structures and dynamics run the risk of being unfocused and messy, but this is by no means the case with Wake Up To The Waves; it gels all these aspects together to create a concentrated and succinct collection and is as compelling at its beginning as at its end, with no deviation in between. The Last Days Of 1984 have created a thoroughly intelligent record here, one that deserves to be listened to and used to soundtrack the summer. Unflinchingly and refreshingly good. - MUSIC OMH

Delightful, dream like nostalgia permeates Wake Up To The Waves, Dublin duo Last Days Of 1984’s debut album. Employing similar methods to their more guitar-led counterparts such as Fixers, and much more effectively, the two-piece have created a lush, shimmering heat mirage of an album, wistful and relaxed whilst interesting and inventive.

Mainly combining electronica, chill out and occasional Brian Wilson-style vocals, the record is one deeply rooted in the electronic past; not only bringing to mind the aforementioned artists but also a bygone age of underdeveloped video gaming, ’80s teen movies and cassettes. An engaging effort from start to finish, the record also is genuinely unpredictable and original, with unexpected and eclectic influences (see Wave Life’s Indian motif) cropping up, peppering the record with unusual twists and turns.

The album can be split in two in terms of musicality. One half, including tracks such as River’s Edge, Safari and Wave Life, features more prominent vocals and recalls artists as diverse as Animal Collective, The Beach Boys, The Cocteau Twins and Fleet Foxes. It’s all sweet melody and harmony, melding folk and surf rock with synth pop; creating a hazy and relaxed atmosphere that on occasion is broken by a burst of well-used drum machine and synthesiser. Nowhere is this more evident than on the excellent closer Woods. The initial, pulsing beat gives way to a tropical, dream like vocal that is in turn punctuated by a cold, industrial synth line bringing the listener from the Seychelles to Sheffield with remarkable and seamless ease. Elsewhere Safari recalls Girls’ debut album, reverb soaked acoustic guitars and hand drums back a vocal performance reminiscent of the girl groups made famous by Phil Spector; a stoned, lazy homage to an idealised summer, one in which the sun never went in and September never arrived.

The other songs on the record are pulsing, ’90s electonica; another style that the duo seem to have nailed. The songs, such as Kismat, Francois Truffaut/Event Technologique and Season, throb with Underworld-esque beats that create a vivid feeling of sultry nightlife and hedonism, doing so with excellent results. Intense, irresistible and confident, these tracks evoke the feelings of optimism and excitement that good dance music should. Kismat is truly a marvel; creating a particularly vivid and nostalgic warmth whilst managing to remain mystifying and intense. Meanwhile the excellently titled Francçois Truffaut/Event Technologique has a wonderfully tacky, ’80s-cop-drama-set-in-the-dystopian-future feeling to it; you can almost envisage the dubious performances.

Overall, the album is excellent; a truly inventive and innovative record for a debut. Generally, albums that play with such a wide range of influences, structures and dynamics run the risk of being unfocused and messy, but this is by no means the case with Wake Up To The Waves; it gels all these aspects together to create a concentrated and succinct collection and is as compelling at its beginning as at its end, with no deviation in between. The Last Days Of 1984 have created a thoroughly intelligent record here, one that deserves to be listened to and used to soundtrack the summer. Unflinchingly and refreshingly good. - MUSIC OMH

In the last days of 1984 I was born, so I'm going to go ahead and assume that the band found my wikipedia page and named themselves after that special day. Failing that, I'd like to think that this was the sort of soothing sound that echoed through the halls of the hospital the moments that followed my birth.

Anyway... 'Season' is taken from the bands forthcoming record, Wake Up To The Waves, which is released on May 4th (info here). Rather than listen to my faux egotistical introduction, take the title of the record as an indication as to what you should expect.

Beachy. - THE 405

At the end of the day, human beings are just animals - part of a cycle which exists above and beyond anything we can control.

Creativity is a part of nature, looping endlessly around the days, weeks, years of our lives. At least - that's what I think the new video from The Last Days of 1984 is trying to tell us.

Dublin based eccentrics, the pair's new video is a surreal glimpse of the connection between man and nature. - CLASH

The Last Days of 1984 - Rivers Edge

The Last Days of 1984 are Dublin duo Darren Maloney and Brian Rice. Appeared as if by nowhere with a killer single 'Rivers Edge' and performed live for the first time on the 9th of July, Last Days of 1984 are a twister of excitement. Their synth pop sound is 'so hot right now', it flirts between the playful 'spring-break' sound of Animal Collective and the 80's revivalism of The Horrors material. It's easy to see a swell of interest swallow these guys up, all the finger on the pulse blogs love this sound. It will be interesting to see these guys progression over the next year. Check out their first single River's Edge that we have streaming for you below. - BBC - Across the Line

I'm incredibly glad that these guys are back. They'll be new to many of you who are reading this, so I'll keep it brief: Last Days of 1984 are a Dublin-based electro duo who captured my heart with their debut album last year, Wake Up to the Waves. Since then, they've moved on in a rather impressive manner, with new track 'Lost Hearts' giving their sound a darker edge, but their melodic prowess is undiminished; the new song features an excellent synth hook and chiming guitars setting the scene in the background, before a pounding 4/4 beat enters and things kick off, Darren Moloney's braitone vocals lending a sense of gravitas to the whole thing and managing to keep it grounded - until the chorus hits and the track takes flight. It's a very busy-sounding track, but its sonic adventurousness is never in doubt. It's unclear where 'Lost Hearts' will end up yet, but here's hoping the pair have more in store. - THE 405

Dublin’s Last Days of 1984 play psyched out electro pop. On last year’s debut, “Wake Up to the Waves”, they managed to craft infectious dance jams out of squalling guitars and buzz saw synths (see the ridiculously good single, “Woods”). It made for a rewarding listening experience, but one that was a bit of a sleeper as it didn’t gain the notice that it surely deserved. The duo is back now with a new track that doesn’t shift the sound so much, as the energy. On “Lost Hearts”, the band is doing what they do best, but this time around there’s a bit of a melancholic tinge that grounds the ringing guitar lines and pulsing electro beat firmly on the dance floor and that lonely dance groove makes the track all the more interesting. The soaring psych noise of previous work is less soaring and more a haunting atmospheric texture that gives weight to the dance floor heartbreak. It’s a killer track that should appeal to fans who’ve wondered what a three way collaboration between Hot Chip, Big Pink, and Animal Collective might sound like. You can actually download the track for free, for the time being, from the band’s Soundcloud page. Get on it and play it loud. Maybe this will the year Last Days of 1984 break big. - PERFECT MIDNIGHT WORLD

Dublin’s Last Days of 1984 play psyched out electro pop. On last year’s debut, “Wake Up to the Waves”, they managed to craft infectious dance jams out of squalling guitars and buzz saw synths (see the ridiculously good single, “Woods”). It made for a rewarding listening experience, but one that was a bit of a sleeper as it didn’t gain the notice that it surely deserved. The duo is back now with a new track that doesn’t shift the sound so much, as the energy. On “Lost Hearts”, the band is doing what they do best, but this time around there’s a bit of a melancholic tinge that grounds the ringing guitar lines and pulsing electro beat firmly on the dance floor and that lonely dance groove makes the track all the more interesting. The soaring psych noise of previous work is less soaring and more a haunting atmospheric texture that gives weight to the dance floor heartbreak. It’s a killer track that should appeal to fans who’ve wondered what a three way collaboration between Hot Chip, Big Pink, and Animal Collective might sound like. You can actually download the track for free, for the time being, from the band’s Soundcloud page. Get on it and play it loud. Maybe this will the year Last Days of 1984 break big. - PERFECT MIDNIGHT WORLD

After last week’s stunning collab with Young Wonder, Darragh Nolan aka Sacred Animals is back at it again, teaming up with the tropical electronic duo Darren Moloney and Brian Brian Rice of Last Days Of 1984 for ‘Aaja’, a gauzy electronic track with mangled vocal effects, 8-bit synth touches and digital percussion. The track is a free download. Last Days of 1984 play Liverpool Sound City on Saturday May 4th alongside Darkstar & Mount Kimbie. - NiALLER9

After last week’s stunning collab with Young Wonder, Darragh Nolan aka Sacred Animals is back at it again, teaming up with the tropical electronic duo Darren Moloney and Brian Brian Rice of Last Days Of 1984 for ‘Aaja’, a gauzy electronic track with mangled vocal effects, 8-bit synth touches and digital percussion. The track is a free download. Last Days of 1984 play Liverpool Sound City on Saturday May 4th alongside Darkstar & Mount Kimbie. - NiALLER9

The psychedelic, shoegaze-squalling dance that Dublin-based duo Last Days of 1984 crafted on their 2012 debut Wake Up the Waves possessed shades of Strawberry Jam-era Animal Collective, but their latest single “Lost Hearts” nudges those sunny, drug-addled vibes into a dirgey and paranoid parallel dimension. Vapor-trail guitar riffs spiral into reverb-shattering chaos, while grimey synth lines and skittering percussion rumble and burp under Darren Maloney’s disaffected howl. It’s unsettling and exhilirating how small tweaks to their alchemy-- the glob-like effects of the keyboard, the ominous chime of the guitars-- can quickly transform the duo’s brand of spaced-out dance music from daydream to nightmare. - PITCHFORK

The psychedelic, shoegaze-squalling dance that Dublin-based duo Last Days of 1984 crafted on their 2012 debut Wake Up the Waves possessed shades of Strawberry Jam-era Animal Collective, but their latest single “Lost Hearts” nudges those sunny, drug-addled vibes into a dirgey and paranoid parallel dimension. Vapor-trail guitar riffs spiral into reverb-shattering chaos, while grimey synth lines and skittering percussion rumble and burp under Darren Maloney’s disaffected howl. It’s unsettling and exhilirating how small tweaks to their alchemy-- the glob-like effects of the keyboard, the ominous chime of the guitars-- can quickly transform the duo’s brand of spaced-out dance music from daydream to nightmare. - PITCHFORK

When Darren Moloney and Brian Rice debuted their Last Days Of 1984 project with ‘River’s Edge’ and ‘Woods’ last year, comparisons were easily made to Animal Collective’s sunny side up psychedelia that they mastered on Merriweather Post Pavilion. Indeed, the duo invited comparisons to dance music that conjured up golden sand and rays with their self-description of their music as “beach house”.

After a year of live shows in which we got to hear the other songs in their collection and now, the debut album Wake Up To The Waves, the sound of trippy reverbed harmony-led dance music swirling in and over the tracks is all over on the seven-track LP. But that’s not the full story. In conversations with Moloney in particular, he’s revealed to be a seeker of foreign sounds, particularly of African origin and there’s a lovely streak of the music that has appeared on independent compilations and blogs from that continent, particularly in the swing of guitar rhythms and the percussive afro-beat strikes (‘Wave Life’ is a good example of this). Elsewhere, tropical influences from the steel pans to tribal drum hits recall Tanlines, another duo who are synthesis of global sounds and dance music. - NIALLER9

Dublin dance duo Last Days Of 1984 have created a Neapolitan mix of hands in the air electro and gentle blissed up indie comedowns, on their seven track debut album Wake Up To The Waves. Brian Rice and Darren Moloney create lush joyous soundscapes which echo Brian Eno and Can whilst simultaneously embracing the instantaneousness of '90s dance and '80s guitar synth pop bands. The influence of world cinema also peppers the album.

Opening track 'Francois Truffaut-Event Sociologique's title refers to actor, director, and French new wave cinema forefather Francois Truffaut. Director of Fahrenheit 451, best known as an actor for his role in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It's hardly standard fare for inspiring electro hooks, but Last Days Of 1984 do it with ease. In a seven minute plus opus of heady electro groves and afro beat drums blended with calypso guitar lines. 'River's Edge' was an obvious single choice it's less intense than the album’s opener, but just as potent. Driven by a 1-2-3 bass line-it's a rhythm figure which the band deploy with great skill throughout the album-its light and airy verses build through a memorable chorus and instrumental sections. Delivering a nice slice of radio friendly electro.

Low-fi reverb drenched guitar ballad 'Safari' takes things down a notch offering light relief from the electro beats. 'Safari' has a blissed out '60s feel and proves without a doubt that Last Days Of 1984's vocal prowess is equal to their musicianship. 'Kismat', meaning destiny or faith in Hindi puts the band in more familiar territory on this instrumental electro track. 'Season' has the feel of a Doves song being remixed by a major dance act like Underworld. An excellent fusion of Last Days Of 1984's two principle styles as blissed out indie guitars and vocals merge with uplifting synth thrills and afro drums. This unique fusion of styles continues on the remaining tracks of the album. Standout track and probable single 'Wave Life' displays hints of Talk Talk and the flippy floppy guitar lines of Talking Heads combined with more uplifting world music percussion and throaty synth motifs which make for one of the album’s most memorable tracks.

'Woods' finishes the album on a foot stomping high with an impressive mix of jaunty synth pop mixed with some powerful Gary Numan-esque synth stabs. Add to this a singalong chorus and it all combines to create one of the best indie electro tracks ever produced in Ireland. With a debut of this quality Last Days Of 1984 have secured a place at the top table of Irish indie-electro and laid down a marker for other bands to follow. - HIGH BROWSE

In the last days of 1984 I was born, so I'm going to go ahead and assume that the band found my wikipedia page and named themselves after that special day. Failing that, I'd like to think that this was the sort of soothing sound that echoed through the halls of the hospital the moments that followed my birth.

Anyway... 'Season' is taken from the bands forthcoming record, Wake Up To The Waves, which is released on May 4th (info here). Rather than listen to my faux egotistical introduction, take the title of the record as an indication as to what you should expect.

Beachy. - THE 405

At the end of the day, human beings are just animals - part of a cycle which exists above and beyond anything we can control.

Creativity is a part of nature, looping endlessly around the days, weeks, years of our lives. At least - that's what I think the new video from The Last Days of 1984 is trying to tell us.

Dublin based eccentrics, the pair's new video is a surreal glimpse of the connection between man and nature. - CLASH

Delightful, dream like nostalgia permeates Wake Up To The Waves, Dublin duo Last Days Of 1984’s debut album. Employing similar methods to their more guitar-led counterparts such as Fixers, and much more effectively, the two-piece have created a lush, shimmering heat mirage of an album, wistful and relaxed whilst interesting and inventive.

Mainly combining electronica, chill out and occasional Brian Wilson-style vocals, the record is one deeply rooted in the electronic past; not only bringing to mind the aforementioned artists but also a bygone age of underdeveloped video gaming, '80s teen movies and cassettes. An engaging effort from start to finish, the record also is genuinely unpredictable and original, with unexpected and eclectic influences (see Wave Life’s Indian motif) cropping up, peppering the record with unusual twists and turns.

The album can be split in two in terms of musicality. One half, including tracks such as River’s Edge, Safari and Wave Life, features more prominent vocals and recalls artists as diverse as Animal Collective, The Beach Boys, The Cocteau Twins and Fleet Foxes. It’s all sweet melody and harmony, melding folk and surf rock with synth pop; creating a hazy and relaxed atmosphere that on occasion is broken by a burst of well-used drum machine and synthesiser. Nowhere is this more evident than on the excellent closer Woods. The initial, pulsing beat gives way to a tropical, dream like vocal that is in turn punctuated by a cold, industrial synth line bringing the listener from the Seychelles to Sheffield with remarkable and seamless ease. Elsewhere Safari recalls Girls’ debut album, reverb soaked acoustic guitars and hand drums back a vocal performance reminiscent of the girl groups made famous by Phil Spector; a stoned, lazy homage to an idealised summer, one in which the sun never went in and September never arrived.

The other songs on the record are pulsing, '90s electonica; another style that the duo seem to have nailed. The songs, such as Kismat, Francois Truffaut/Event Technologique and Season, throb with Underworld-esque beats that create a vivid feeling of sultry nightlife and hedonism, doing so with excellent results. Intense, irresistible and confident, these tracks evoke the feelings of optimism and excitement that good dance music should. Kismat is truly a marvel; creating a particularly vivid and nostalgic warmth whilst managing to remain mystifying and intense. Meanwhile the excellently titled Francçois Truffaut/Event Technologique has a wonderfully tacky, '80s-cop-drama-set-in-the-dystopian-future feeling to it; you can almost envisage the dubious performances.

Overall, the album is excellent; a truly inventive and innovative record for a debut. Generally, albums that play with such a wide range of influences, structures and dynamics run the risk of being unfocused and messy, but this is by no means the case with Wake Up To The Waves; it gels all these aspects together to create a concentrated and succinct collection and is as compelling at its beginning as at its end, with no deviation in between. The Last Days Of 1984 have created a thoroughly intelligent record here, one that deserves to be listened to and used to soundtrack the summer. Unflinchingly and refreshingly good. - MUSICOMH

Last Days of 1984 are a duo from Dublin – Darren Moloney and Brian Rice – who make blissed-out dance music, using swirling, whooshing synths to create a giddy tropical house rush.

You could make comparisons with the percussive offbeats of Tanlines, the euphoric tropicalia of El Guincho, or, at a push, Animal Collective (the latter particularly in the beautifully treated back-of-the-room harmonies). The beaches of Ibiza are never far from the mind on this album, but it’s nothing like a one-dimensional piece of work. Afro-pop guitar flurries wind around the insistent backbeats and there’s also a strong, and very pleasing, hint of shoegaze leanings throughout.

You’ve probably already heard lead track ‘River’s edge’, with its lovely warped, prismatic synth lines. Add to that the gorgeous instrumental wash of ‘Kismat’; the beautiful percussion work on ‘Wavelife’; and the great irrepressible quality of ‘Season’, my own personal favourite, with its air of a rave at the break of dawn.

I have to mention too the closing track ‘Woods’, which has the most beautiful fuzzy breakdown before it cascades off into the distance on a refrain of “watch the sun go down” – it’s a fantastic tune liable to be ringing around your head long after you’ve cleaned the sand out from between your toes.

Over its total 42 minutes there are just seven tracks, meaning that plenty of time is allowed for individual ideas to breathe and unfurl. I like a band not in a hurry. All the better to imagine that Mediterranean glow in the depths of an Irish winter/summer.

I must say too it’s refreshing to hear an Irish (alternative) band make unremittingly upbeat and uplifting music. And good to see a sense of adventure, global curiosity, crossing of genres, fusing of influences (the breadth of the band’s horizons was made clear by the recent Tour Diary they did for us – http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/04/last-days-of-1984-european-tour-diary-marchapril-2012/.

The label is relevant in this. Osaka has built a strong reputation over the last few years for bridging dance and indie, underground and mainstream, through impressive releases by the likes of Thread Pulls, Patrick Kelleher, Hunter-Gatherer and The Last Sound.

This album sits very well in that company – in fact, in any company. It’s guaranteed to make you feel good about being alive. In short, this is glorious pop music. - WE ARE NOISE

Well it had to happen some time I suppose, so we should be thankful that when it did it was a goodie. I talk about the proliferation of tropical electronica in the wake of Animal Collective’s rise to prominence and the fact that we now have our own contributor to the genre in the shape of Last Days of 1984 (that’s not strictly their name, they have 2 heavily fonted triangles either side but I couldn’t be arsed trying to get that to work on wordpress). The men behind the new act are Brian Rice and Darren Moloney who used to be in Betamax Format (now defunct, oh the irony). ‘River’s Edge’ is almost 5 minutes long, and lucky too as it only slowly reveals itself, reaching a peak when the vocals climax. It’s all well and good dallying in electro gadgets but it’s the quality of the human parts that distinguish songs of this ilk. On that basis ‘River’s Edge’ is a winner, Orwell in Irish electronica circles it seems - MP3 hUGGER BLOG

Love this song and play it a bit too much! I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to post it, as I actually had dibs on it just when the blog seemed set to fold and in the time between getting back up’n'running, a few other places picked it up instead. Rather than add to that noise and then have to let it go, I figured I’d get a better chance to post it soon, and I was right!

Last Days of 1984 are Darren Moloney and Brian Rice and River’s Edge is the duo’s first single. They call their music ‘Beach House’ as a play on words for the current trend of quirky labels for sub-genres and incorporate nice things like afro, surf, tropical waves and beats into their sound. The plan to bring River’s Edge out as a 7? single on white vinyl in July with a new song called Safari.
Next Saturday 9 July @LastDaysOf1984 will play their first gig upstairs in Whelan’s for the midnight show. If you drop a line to lastdaysof1984 @ gmail . com they’ll put your name down on the guestlist and save you the late-night admission fee into the venue - Harmless Noise blog

Love this song and play it a bit too much! I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to post it, as I actually had dibs on it just when the blog seemed set to fold and in the time between getting back up’n'running, a few other places picked it up instead. Rather than add to that noise and then have to let it go, I figured I’d get a better chance to post it soon, and I was right!

Last Days of 1984 are Darren Moloney and Brian Rice and River’s Edge is the duo’s first single. They call their music ‘Beach House’ as a play on words for the current trend of quirky labels for sub-genres and incorporate nice things like afro, surf, tropical waves and beats into their sound. The plan to bring River’s Edge out as a 7? single on white vinyl in July with a new song called Safari.
Next Saturday 9 July @LastDaysOf1984 will play their first gig upstairs in Whelan’s for the midnight show. If you drop a line to lastdaysof1984 @ gmail . com they’ll put your name down on the guestlist and save you the late-night admission fee into the venue - Harmless Noise blog

I'm afraid I can't tell you much about this band apart from the fact that they are Irish and their debut single is ridiculously good. While I agree with Drop-D that their is a bit of an Animal Collective vibe, I get more of a The Very Best or Yeasayer connotation. Either way LD1984 have taken these influence and crafted a really unique sound. Really looking forward to hearing more. - Soundblob blog

There's a half remembered scene in a mostly forgotten movie. Maybe it's from the eighties; maybe it's Molly Ringwald's face hazy in your mind. But there's a song which stays with you. A melody at once so melancholic yet full of hope that it seems to capture every teenage emotion. That song could be by Last Days Of 1984. They describe their sound as "beach house" - a blend of tropical electronica and 90s beats - but it's the tunes that keep you coming back, just like every teenage boy came back to Molly - The 405

A slightly wilder and more energetic performance followed this with Last Days of 1984. Mix together Crystal Castles and The Beach Boys and you’ll get a sunny sound similar to that of Animal Collective. Darren Moloney and Brian Rice released Rivers Edge in June (to positive reviews, including one from Drop-D’s own Tadgh O’ Connor) which is soon to be followed by the song Woods, expertly played to a Crawdaddy crowd growing with interest in these two Dubliners. - Drop-d blog

Last Days of 1984, or should I say ??L?ST D?YS OF 1984??, Are one of those bands that come from nowhere and sweep everyone off their feet. Well there’s been no feet sweeping yet, but I’d expect there to be. The duo’s debut single River’s Edge is a dreamy synth-pop ballad, chill and breezy. Perfect for the Leaving Cert weather we’re having at the moment.

Straight away comparisons are going to be made to Animal Collective, and you wouldn’t be wrong in doing so, but this isn’t some cheap imitation. It’s not some unsteady foal, it’s sure of itself and picks up it’s own pace quite well. Last year The Cast of Cheers came from virtually nowhere, and cleaned up quite well. Will ??L?ST D?YS OF 1984?? be able to pull the same, it’s not unlikely. - Drop-d blog

Lasts Days Of 1984 debut track ‘Rivers Edge’ received 1987 plays (a fitting number) since it was debuted in August’s global MAP mixtape.

Synchronically, the band made up of Darren Moloney and Brian Rice have debuted their second track ‘Woods’ on Naomi’s Harmless Noise blog as the band play alongside Low Sea, Toby Kaar, VerseChorusVerse and Logikparty / Le Galaxie DJs at Future Bright on Thursday night in Crawdaddy. I caught Last Days Of 1984 live in the Roisin Dubh, Galway last week and was impressed by their post Merriweather Post Pavilion sounds. ‘Woods’ is an ode to “early ’90s dance 12?s”. - Nialler 9 blog