Dublin three piece The Minutes will play Whelan’s on December 3rd, where they had a year long residency in 2009. Their stock has risen considerably since then, with their debut album release, Marcata, in 2011, the same year they performed at Other Voices. Try and catch their current single Gold, which has been receiving a lot of air time recently on Irish radio.

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The Minutes are the latest band to announce a performance at the Live at Leopardstown series, slated to play on July 26th, along with The Dead School. The Dublin rock act have long been regarded as as trio worth keeping an eye on, and having just finished a European tour, will be seen on the festival circuit this summer.

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The line up for this August’s Tennent’s Vital festival in Belfast has been announced, with Other Voices performers The Minutes and Florence and the Machine having been named so far, in a line up that also includes heavyweights The Foo Fighters, The Stone Roses and the Black Keys. More acts will be announced in the coming weeks.

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We Cut Corners and The Minutes will play the Button Factory in Temple Bar on May 18th. Delorentos will also perform on the night, and the three Dublin bands will be supported by The Black Belles. The Minutes are currently playing around Europe, and have some slots lined up for the festival circuit this summer, while We Cut Corners are on a mini tour of sorts around Ireland, having already played Dublin and Galway this month, with appearances in Cork and Sligo upcoming.

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The final gig of the regular nights of Other Voices in the church and there was certainly a feeling amongst the 55 crew that the end was within sight. They still had to take stage, lighting and sound rig out of the church and there are eight Irish bands recording in McCarthy’s the next day, but the main event was nearly done.

Five artists took to the Church last night. 18 played in that small space in total over four days. The first artist on night four is one of the strongest. Marina & The Diamonds proves why she has magnetised pop over the course of the last two years. Exuding an absolute superstar quality, she was the only performer this series to acknowledge and play to the camera. This is a TV show after all. ‘I Am Not A Robot’, ‘Obsessions’ and solo piano versions of ‘Shampain’ and ‘Numb’ are notably different from those on The Family Jewels album. Her stripped back set removes the electronic elements of her songs and is a perfect vehicle for her voice.

O Emperor play vintage-sounding music which belies their youth. It’s not often you get a bunch of Cork guys immersed in ’70s soft rock and with the clothes to back it up with guitarist in particular rocking a wispy tache, a flowery-looking shirt and some check pants. It was interesting to see the dynamic of the band’s debut Hither, Thither in a live setting. Paul Savage and Philip Christie share vocals duties while in terms of instrumentation, slide guitar and piano melodies dominate.

It was all short sets on day 4 so it’s on with The Minutes. The Dublin three-piece arrived in Dingle after a long journey from touring in Germany. The Minutes are straight-up no messing classic garage rock. The best kind. Just rock ‘n’ roll tunes, no pretense. The band, who also win the award for most sweat expired all week are also the first band to break the fourth wall and physically get off stage during their last song in the set. Watch out for their long overdue debut album in February.

Other Voices’ floor manager Paddy McPoland took the time in between setting up to tell the audience that there was a newly-wed couple in the front row, who had just happened to be staying in Dingle for the honeymoon and found themselves in the church. It was one of those nice things that happens at Other Voices, much like the tried and tested method of keeping the audience sweet between performances by passing around a big box of chocolates amongst the pews.

From busker to television in less than a year, Ryan Sheridan has had a superb 2010 and his fast-paced acoustic singer-songwriter music is well-received on the night. Monaghan-born Sheridan is flanked by a cájon player (a box which you hit percussively) and his face-gurning rhythmic hits on the instrument and an array of cymbals surrounding him was the highlight of the set.

And so our final act in the church, the latest addition to Other Voices having only been confirmed less than a week before, Steve Mason. The ex-Beta Band member has been through various guises over the last 10 years since with Black Affair, King Biscuit Time before settling on his own name. It’s a sign that Mason has accepted himself as an individual and artist, and that his documented battle with depression is at bay. Despite that, his acoustic set of songs from his latest album Boys Outside had a personal and cathartic feel in which songs like ‘Boys Outside’, ‘Am I Just A Man and heartbreaking ‘I Let Her In’ all featuring darkness of the mind as their dominant theme. That didn’t stop the self-confessed “whingey Scot” covering Madonna’s ‘Borderline’ however.

Other Voices presenter Annie Mac