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SOUNDS OF SYSTEM BREAKDOWN

SOUNDS OF SYSTEM BREAKDOWN

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What began in as a solo project later expanded into a full band with an ambitious premise; to take live electronic music out from behind the laptop and truly engage with the audience. A formative period spent playing an abundance underground events and small festivals has paid off for SOSB, resulting in a exhilarating and unique live experience. Meanwhile they received widespread acclaim for their debut self-titled album, were selected for some of Ireland’s most prestigious festivals and trade shows as well as having their music featured and appearing on national TV. Their new EP “Colour” was released on June 10th.

Selected Press:

“Who are they? Dublin-based trio slowly but surely stepping out of the shadows, trading in years of hard work and low profile with more hard work and a great debut album.

The music: Sometimes for Irish bands, electro comes across as an unlikely fit, but SOSB know exactly what to do with beeps, bleeps and gob-smacking grooves. Think hints of crunchy Cabaret Voltaire and touches of frayed-edged Depeche Mode wrapped in a sealed envelope of post-punk.” Tony Clayton-Lea – The Ticket

“Superior electropop beeps and bleeps…” Jim Carroll’s New Music – The Ticket

“…one of the best ‘unsigned’ albums State’s ever been lucky enough to hear. It’s hard not to get overexcited about such an enticing prospect flitting around our own backyard: if the record’s anything to go by, Sounds Of System Breakdown are potential stars.” – state.ie

“Their impressive set comprises a handful of thoroughly catchy tunes, head-thudding riffs, and danceable beats, coming across as a refined and clever combination of technical wizardry and more traditional indie guitar elements” – state.ie

“Dublin’s answer to James Murphy, jack of all musical trades Rob Costello’s Sound Of System Breakdown, expanded to a three-piece last year, are set to release their first material to a city already in love with fellow electro multitasker Jape. If ‘Vinager Joe’ and ‘The Secret’s Out’ – MySpace uploads we’ve constantly returned to over some two years – are anything to go by, expect something quite ambitious indeed.” Padraic Halpin – Ragged Words

“Sounds Of System Breakdown may prove to be one of this year’s surprise packets. Striding confidently into the same territory as the likes of James Murphy’s LCD Soundsystem, and influenced variously by Talking Heads, Blur, Daft Punk, Hot Chip and Soulwax, the Dublin outfit’s eponymous debut album is nothing less than a meticulously-assembled master-class in electro post punk. On this evidence, originator and mainman Rob Costello may well have cracked it. Right from the outset SOSB make a supremely impressive noise, all dramatic synth riffs, ballsy guitars and impressive shuffling funky rhythms. Rather than canceling each other out, the organic and the electronic co-exist here with an ease that amounts to virtuosity. The monumental “Vinegar Joe” is superb, almost six minutes of powerful electro rock that wouldn’t sound out of place on the main stage at Oxegen. Nor are they afraid to be ambitious. There are chanted vocals, trancey instrumental interludes and layers of synth colourings aplenty. But at the heart of it all is a highly evolved feel for the big beat, allied with melodies that insinuate themselves into the cerebral cortex and arrangements that add up to much more than the sum of their parts. “Check The Balance” is superb, and on the brilliantly constructed “Devil’s Son” the three-piece sound like the rightful heirs-apparent to New Order. Few Irish bands have emerged with a sound as fully formed as this and with as obvious a command of the structures of contemporary rock. What’s more, they are operating in a zone where the hits are happening. Impressive stuff.” Hotpress Album Review