Belfast based Tom McShane and Escape Act, having just put the finishing touches on their split 7', have hit the road for an Irish tour which will see them swing by the Quad on Friday, July 11. Tom's partnership with the world-class Start Together studios in Belfast's new artistic hub, The Oh Yeah Centre, and his close relationship with producer Rocky O'Reilly served as a lens to bring Tom's studied melodic sensibilities into focus. Combined with a stand-out performance by Rea Curran (Duke Special) on trumpet, 'Fighter' is said to be a 'bejewelled and brassy confessional of a life lost'.

On the flip-side, 'God Says' is the butterfly-sting intro to indie-rock trio Escape Act's 2 minutes and 34 seconds of spectrum-filling urgency, which brims over with big hooks and melodies. Andy Miller, engineer at Glasgow's fabled Chem19 Studios, and who brought Mogwai's latest record to fruition as well as Sons & Daughters and The Fratellis, helped out on production as well as on the band's upcoming full length, Loosely Based on Fiction.

McShane's songwriting ability was first noticed after his debut lo-fi release, 2003's Songs Are Sad, a quietly confident "underground" hit - Belfast's indie-darlings Oppenheimer covered Tom's 'Don't Call Me' from that record and put it on their debut for Bar None Records. Escape Act have drawn similar attention but for different reasons. Each member of the trio had been successful in their own right before finding their way to Escape Act - songwriter and frontman Chris was with Tug Boat Record's Desert Hearts, bass player Rich Dale had partnered with former Joyrider frontman Phil Woolsey (they of 'Rush Hour' fame, the single earning them a spot on A&M's roster) to support The Thrills, Steven Malkmus and Gomez as part of the band Roque Junior.

They're joined on the Cork date by Ennis born Vertigo Smyth, who himself is set to release his debut EP Future Happiness. Comparisons to the likes of Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright are frequent, while the man himself quotes Elliott Smith, Velvet Underground, Nick Cave, and Beck as some as his major influences.

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