NO ENCORE

Last time Zara Hedderman teamed up with Craig for an episode, Garth Brooks: The Road became essential viewing. After this ep, we trust you’ll be rushing to rent Valley Girl starring a young Nicholas Cage. And hopefully get a solid steer on the much-hyped Dry Cleaning album, plus some of the best talk-y bits in musical history to boot. Dave’s away, let’s play.... ACT ONE: Craig and Zara confront Mo...

NO ENCORE returns with the man of the moment David Balfe aka For Those I Love in conversation one week on from the release of his incredible debut album, mere hours after his down-to-the-wire chart battle with Justin Bieber was decided. On the agenda; finally releasing the album and the reaction to it, how and why the record went offline two years ago and what led to its return, selling out the Ol...

GOOD Friday, great episode. Yes, we’ve finally done it, and it only took a crucifixion to convince us. To honour this episode’s release day, we’re focusing our Top 5 on the show’s patron saint, Kanye West (sorry Frank). But before that main event, we tackle big news from the My Bloody Valentine camp, somehow round-up all the latest non-fungible controversy and discuss the somewhat miraculous retur...

The NO ENCORE album breakdown series returns with the great Micheál Quinn ; drummer for Enemies, Meltybrains? and Dermot Kennedy, now an accomplished solo artist in his own right thanks to his soulful, adventurous electronica debut Colours . A man of many stories and experiences, Micheál takes us through the entire record on this episode, taking in his time playing with those aforementioned acts a...

Dave Hanratty and Craig Fitzpatrick are reunited once more. NO ENCORE is complete, and completely in tune when it comes to the thorny subject of music's most intimate staple... the duet. A strong Top 5 in its honour this week. Before that, Lana Del Rey is back with a brand new album. It's all happening! ACT ONE: Technical difficulties strike early but we recover in time to preview our next Track X...

Céad míle fáilte! NO ENCORE goes all patriotic in the shadow of St. Patrick's Day as Dave Hanratty and guest co-host Zara Hedderman combine to reveal the very best and most jaw-droppingly dreadful songs about Ireland in this week's Top 5. Before that, a rundown of music's biggest night – the Grammys! Did you watch it? Do you care? Should you? What about the involvement of Fontaines D.C. this year?...

NO ENCORE 's movies-and-music side project returns with a film that is definitely not a David Bowie biopic, honest. 1998 cult sensation Velvet Goldmine is up for discussion! What's with Ewan McGregor's accent? What kind of career has Jonathan Rhys Meyers had? Is there an actual point to this film? Are the tunes any use? All that and more up for debate on this glitter-drenched episode... ACT ONE: A...

In which our two semi-cocooned heroes recall some very recent (and very raw) emotional rollercoasters they’ve experienced when venturing outside (quite the preamble), before they dive into a busy week of musical goodness. It’s the eternally non-fungible, one and only NO ENCORE! ACT ONE: Dave gets caught in a storm (is it hailing? he hadn’t noticed) and Craig (that be me) one-ups a furry nemesis. A...

It's the most wonderful time of the year – NO ENCORE reviews the RTÉ Choice Music Prize~! Not a lot of ceremony this year for obvious reasons but a great story to celebrate in the form of Denise Chaila's victory. Dave Hanratty and Craig Fitzpatrick are joined by Nialler9 Podcast co-host Andrea Cleary to discuss the event. There's also a controversy-themed Top 5 to run down, the return of Nick Cave...

Pour out a can of motor oil, Daft Punk are no more. That's the lead news story on a busy episode that takes in the new album from Mogwai, an emotional reaction to that work, and a spotlight on instrumental music. It's Dave Hanratty. It's Craig Fitzpatrick. It's NO ENCORE ~! ACT ONE (4:46): News! Daft Punk RIP, Kim and Kanye call it a day, a major European festival gets the go-ahead, Robbie William...

Back at it with the TRACK X TRACK album breakdown episode focus. This time around, Dave Hanratty is joined by Dublin singer-songwriter A. Smyth as he takes us through every song on just-released debut album Last Animals . We get into Smyth's past as frontman of Vann Music and why that experience ultimately soured him on making music altogether, how he picked up the pieces and decided to go out on...

Greetings and salutations. Dave Hanratty and Craig Fitzpatrick fly like trapped digital birds, bringing you a busy week in music news and a raucous Top 5 that examines the golden and the grotesque of the Irish Singles Chart over the past 20-and-a-bit years. It's NO ENCORE, baby! ACT ONE: A teaser of our first TRACK X TRACK episode of 2021. ACT TWO (8:40): Thoughts on the Framing Britney Spears doc...

Nobody puts NO POPCORN in a corner. 1987's Dirty Dancing comes into focus as Dave Hanratty, David Higgins and Norma Howard reunite on Valentine's Day to discuss the revered and rhythmic Patrick Swayze/Jennifer Grey romance.  Is this one of the great soundtracks? Does it have more to say than your average love-themed adventure? Is there enough dancing? And what does it have in common with The Irish...

In the spirit of platonic love, Dave and Craig hand Sonic Architect Adam a live microphone (okay, it's his own microphone) for this week's musical smackdown. We've got a busy news week to contend with, the new Foo Fighters album and a Top 5 all about FRIENDSHIP. Exciting! ACT ONE (2:47): The Weeknd does his Super Bowl thing, The Boss runs afoul of the law, Phoebe Bridgers breaks the Internet, The...

Dave Hanratty and Craig Fitzpatrick return with another possibly irreverent look at the world in music right now, with a busy, difficult week in news, a buzzworthy new album and a tricky top five in the form of the best and worst - that latter focus with a notable twist - debut singles to ever do it. NO ENCORE is on Patreon if you'd like to support the show: patreon.com/noencore ACT ONE (3:27): Ne...

Let's get existential. Dave Hanratty, David Higgins and Norma Howard discuss Pixar's mortality-themed life lesson Soul . Is this really a kid's film? What's the music like? Was that an Under the Skin reference? Is that ending a massive copout? All this and much more on this episode. ACT ONE: What We've Been Watching. ACT TWO (21:00): Soul . Every episode of NO POPCORN is right here: http://spoti.f...

January is almost dust but there's still time for a music podcast to throw its scalding hot takes around. Dave Hanratty and Craig Fitzpatrick mine Top 5 gold this week as the best one-and-done albums come into focus. Before that, we chat with Elaine Mai and MayKay as they release the stomping pandemic antidote that is 'No Forever' – WARNING: Not strictly an antidote, just a great song that helps y...

Quick disclaimer – Dave's audio turned out a little hotter than expected, sincere apologies for any listening inconvenience and we'll fix it for next week. The boys are back with the first Top 5 rundown of 2021, running the Best & Worst rule over what happens when an act leaves a successful band to go it alone. Where do Zayn and his third studio album fit in? Only one way to find out, dearest...

It's time for the NO POPCORN 2020 jamboree spectacular in which Dave Hanratty, David Higgins and Norma Howard cast their collective eyes over the cinematic landscape of the past 12 months, doling out awards aplenty. Who had the most bizarre failure of a performance? What film boasted the best needle drop? What was the most obnoxious 'Give me the Oscar!' moment? What film simply didn't need to exis...

Let's get down to quizness. It's the NO ENCORE Quiz of 2020! Six rounds of music-related brain teasers for you to ponder over as you live vicariously through fierce combatants Craig Fitzpatrick and special guest Fionnuala Jones of Bandwagons fame. Dave Hanratty is YOUR quizmaster on an episode that gets rather tense indeed. ACT ONE (5:20): Respects are paid to the late, great hip hop icon that is...

Happy New Year! NO ENCORE returns for 2021 with a preview of the upcoming RTÉ Choice Music Prize, where the best Irish album of 2020 will be officially crowned. Things are a little different this year, though, from both the judging process to the ceremony itself. Dave Hanratty hit up Choice chairman Jim Carroll to get the lowdown on just about everything. NO ENCORE is on Patreon if you'd like to t...

Looks like we made it. The final episode of 2020. The very best albums of the year. Dave Hanratty, Craig Fitzpatrick and Zara Hedderman combine and clash over the standout long-players of a strange 12 months. Thank you so much for lending us your ears this year. If you enjoy the show and would like to help support us, please consider hitting up patreon.com/noencore . A little goes an awful long wa...

Tis! The! Season! Dave Hanratty, Dave Higgins and Norma Howard celebrate this most festive time of year the only way they know how; by reviewing a pretty wretched yuletide romantic comedy in the form of the completely deranged LAST CHRISTMAS. You caught that twist as early as we did, right? ACT ONE: What We've Been Watching including Netflix sensation MANK.  ACT TWO (23:40): 'Last Christmas' sure...

LISTMAS is NOW~! Dave Hanratty and Craig Fitzpatrick are joined by Zara Hedderman as they run down the NO ENCORE 20 Best Songs of 2020, complete with a good old-fashioned debate to decide the order of the Top 5. Will they still be friends by the end? You just never know. Don't miss part one of our Listener Q&A episode over on patreon.com/noencore right now. Part two lands on Christmas Day. Hos...

Ace newsman Richard Chambers joins Dave Hanratty in the NO ENCORE co-host hot seat, making his long, long-awaited return to the show. On the agenda for the last regular episode of the year? Plenty. Will the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines mean a safe return to gigs in 2021? Has time run out on the career of Chance The Rapper? And are we really doing a wrestling-themed Top 5?  ACT ONE: Preamble and a...