Last night the editorial team and myself took time out of our busy schedules to take a peek at new monthly music magazine State in the Jameson distillery in Smithfield. It was pretty empty when we got there, and there were piano versions of 90s rock songs emanating from the corner. Bit of a bizarre feeling. The free whiskey floating around helped to quell the shame of being dressed like a badly-dressed student in a room full of formal-casual professionals though, and before long the place filled up.

The magazine itself looked pretty good. Michael Stipe on the cover seems to have split the masses. One side says that having a band approaching their fourth decade on the cover of the first issue of a music magazine is a bad idea. Especially when the magazine was widely assumed to be pitching itself a couple of steps hipper than Hot Press. But hey, Q had Paul McCartney on their first cover, and they’re still selling.

The pragmatic view of the Stipe cover is that REM are popular, and State needs to sell. This makes sense. It’s commendable that they’re making sure every Bally in Ireland gets copies in their local Spar. But it does mean that they’re putting an alternative music magazine into places that don’t have broadband internet or ready access to the stream of indie bands that pass through Camden St and environs.

In general, it’s a good read. It’s beautifully designed, for one thing. It’s way less busy than Hot Press, even if it does include the non-music pages at the back like every magazine ever. Cadence Weapon is a good article, Ham Sandwich was a good idea. It’s worth picking up, definitely.

The trouble is - is it worth €5.50? Decide for yourself, it’s in shops from the morning.

Karl McDonald Generally either listening to music or asleep. Sometimes both simultaneously. Those Geese Were Stupefied
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