You know those tracks you have to listen to for a good 30 seconds before you properly get into it? Viola Beach, ‘Cherry Vimto’ is not one of those tracks. From the start, the distorted and delayed, jittery and jumpy guitar riff draws listeners in and continues to hold the whole piece together, over softly muted drums and understated vocals. The simplicity of the vocal pattern and lyrics works well to keep the song catchy and relatively upbeat, whilst the guitar melody beneath carries much of the emotion and soul. The instrumental breakdown about 2 minutes exemplifies this perfectly as the drum beat slows to allow space as the guitar whines and groans with plenty of feedback and distortion. It’s certainly comes across as a more serious and mature piece than the poppy, summery ‘Swings and Waterfalls’, which came out on Spotify and Itunes in August. Viola Beach are showing themselves to be very diverse and flexible in what they can produce, who knows what will come next! Check out both tracks on Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/viola-beach and if you really really like what you here, you can see Viola Beach live at KOKO Camden on the 29th of January as part Club NME vs BBC Introducing night.
Courtney Barnett – Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go To the Party
It’s biti recently. From Harrow Road to Haggerston, Courtney Barnett’s advertising campaign for this new single has really put those damn trendies in their place, with their parties and their indecision, one day they’ll be the death of us all! No but really this song is a total blinder and Courtney has made rippleeen difficult to avoid the enormous, child-like scrawls that add to London’s usual background of graffs that far outstretch the trendy folk of East London with upcoming dates at The Forum and critically acclaimed performances over the summer at Glastonbury and of course outside Camden Town tube station. Her combination of groovy garage rock and dead-pan, witty humour err or the side of pretentiousness but fall down firmly on the side brilliance with the help of her likeable and playful persona, down to earth smile and exhilarating live performances. She’s clever and she’s funny but she’s certainly not smug and I’m sure that if she did go to the party then she’d probably be like a breath of fresh air.
It looks like Birmingham 5-piece have taken a big step up from their fashionable but forgettable debut, ‘Where the Heaven are we’. This single, the fifth to be released from their upcoming record ‘Mothers’, talks of Birmingham but sounds more like LA with enormous and striking production value. The band have compared the record to ‘Yezus’ and Fleetwood Mac’s classic ‘Rumours’, some pretty massive benchmarks, but in terms of influence this single has a lot more to do with the soul and Motown revivals of the 80’s and their new romantic counterparts. The track kicks off with synths lines that could have been horns on a Stevie Wonder record followed by a solid backbeat drum groove. It’s undoubtedly catchy and stunningly well produced but lacks the lyrical quality to be a truly brilliant pop single. Unlike earlier release ‘One Great Song and I Could Change the World’, this is far more than Tame Impala-lite but whether it will be good enough to launch them beyond the chains of being a trendy indie band is yet to be seen.
The fourth single to be taken from everyone’s favourite hardcore frontman turned popular troubadour, Glorious You, carries a similar torch to much of his earlier work. Recording the album with songwriter and producer Butch Walker, Frank and the Sleeping Souls have directly tried to create the most fresh and ‘debut’ sounding record possible. Aside from the massively professional sound of this single and extraordinarily tight band performing on it, I believe he’s succeeded in doing just that. Musically, this single is simple and intense, featuring the singalong choruses that characterised earlier singles such as ‘Photosynthesis’ but lyrically has a directness that demands true confidence in a songwriter. While many young lyricists avoid possible clichés like ‘I can see you hurting behind your new red dress,’ when Frank sings these lines sound refreshingly honest, especially at the side of more oblique fashionable song writing currently occupying the alternative universe. This single and the others that accompany it sound more like what a debut should be. Raw, refreshing and simple with an emotional energy that is yet to withstand years of wear and tear.
Let me introduce to you the brilliant Irish folky brother duo that is Cry Monster Cry. With deep, emotional vocals and seemingly minimal instrumental backing this song is one of my favorite sounds to relax to. The classic, golden colour tone of their music video (featured) highlights this as a mood they wish to convey too. Cry Monster Cry provide a refreshing, uniquely grand, hollow sound to the scene.
I keep wanting to compare ‘Atlas’ to the well-known charted song, ‘Counting Stars’ by One Republic and, after a long think as to why, I have come to a conclusion. This is a more personal, less industrially manufactured production with a similar tempo. I know which final out come I prefer.
ALBUM LAUNCH REVIEW: Kagoule at Rough Trade East - ‘Urth’
As the cool evening sun shone through Rough Trade’s tall glass windows a familiar scene begins to emerge. The in-store gig is always an unusual one for touring bands; ‘I bought my copy of Remain in Light from that guy behind the counter a few years ago’ could possibly be the internal monologue of many a musician at such events. As various band members, tour managers and punters linger (pretending to flick through soul 12”s), the shop begins to fill.
Without anything in the way of an introduction the band hoped on stage and kicked things off with a slow-jam instrumental. For me it was the only weak part of a set that continued to get better and better as the band became acclimatized to a rather awkward crowd of Shorditch. As is often the case with in-store gigs, bands struggle play with the intensity of venue or festival dates and on a sunny Friday afternoon in East London, very few folks are in the mood to get sweaty between the hours of 7.30 and 8 (except a tall chap next to me who was really going for it, nice one, man). Regardless of the audience’s lethargy, drummer Lawrence got the right idea with some exuberant head banging, working brilliantly alongside Lucy’s thousand yard stare as an awkwardly funny visual touch. Musically, Kagoule have their take on grunge nailed and infuse elements of angular krautrock on tracks such as ‘Damp Sand’ which to me stood out for its Talking Heads-esque spike.
With a refreshing honesty that stood in place of exuberant showmanship the band have been winning the hearts of grunge and alternative fans in the last few months and no doubt will continue to with playlist spots on BBC 6 Music and a special mention by Lauren Laverne. This band, despite some excellent song writing, have a very self-deprecating sense of humour that makes them both nostalgic of 90’s alternative acts but more importantly makes seeing them live a genuinely refreshing experience. The band will next be in London on the 24th September in support of East India Youth at which they’ll probably be a bit louder.
Following on from the review of Affairs track, ‘Blood Science’ a couple of weeks ago, here’s a beautiful and smooth live session of the track they uploaded today! Also, read more for Holly’s Croft’s interview with the band at their gig at Proud Camden on the 10th of March!
Holly: You met at Hull University, tell me the story about how that happened. And perhaps you might have some advice for any bands who are still at uni and want to pursue this seriously?
James: The boys were already together to be honest. Dan and Jack formed the band in their halls in first year. Dan knew Liam from Huddersfield uni but Liam was local to the Hull area. They decided as a three to start writing some music together. They put an advert out for a drummer, and that’s where this beautiful man to my left Michael Bradnam answered. After that, I think a few people tried out as vocalists before me, thankfully for me none of them were successful. And yeah! So they saw me singing at an acoustic night in Hull with a mate and I was actually singing Daniel by Bat for Lashes which is this gentleman’s name to my right, so I think it was kind of meant to be really wasn't it?
Dan: That’s how the story goes! Yeah we saw James singing Daniel by Bat for Lashes, thought he was good, asked if he wanted to get involved, he didn't turn up to the first two practices and then he turned up after then and then yeah we got him on board and everything went well after then.
Holly: What about any advice for bands who are at uni now and want to go the same route as you?
Dan: It’s one of those things where you've got to want to do it, and if you want to do it then don’t be afraid to network and talk to people and ask do you play a musical instrument. Because I did a music degree and so did Mike, but Jack and James didn't, so it was finding people that don’t necessarily do music courses but still play instruments and they are out there, you've just got to talk to people and meet people.
Jack: Seek out as many different shows and contacts as you can.
Dan: Get instruments, all the normal stuff!
James: I think I’d also say you've got to have patience because it’s not always immediate, not all bands form and then five minutes later, they’re on the radio. You know there are some bands like ourselves who've had to stick at it for a bit and develop our sound and hone it in and find our feet.
Holly: You've supported some quite well know bands such as Circa Waves and Alt-J, what’s the most valuable thing you've learnt from those live experiences?
Jack: I think one of the things we all really took away from it was, watching the kind of professionalism of it and watching how they comes across to an audience. I think it’s one of the things that we've always wanted to do is, we’re always having a bit of a blast on stage and its breaking that kind of wall in a way and trying to get others involved as well and they all did it really well. I mean when we spotted Alt- J it was a tiny little venue in Hull, which made it really, really intimate. So rather than being swamped in loads and loads of people, they were there. It was great! So really intimate show and a really nice vibe for it. Circa was really good as well, we spotted them at the Cockpit in Leeds, again really, really small venue in Cockpit three and again quite busy, people were going wild for it so really good really. It’s nice to see how more established bands handle themselves.
Holly: You take a lot of inspiration from 80s culture, can you sum up what you love most about it in three words?
James: 80s culture would be… synths, hair and shoulder pads.
Dan: I think we stay away from the shoulder pads, stick with the synths.
Holly: Do you have a favourite song to recommend to anyone listening to the radio?
Jack: Do you want it as a collective or individual?
Holly: Individual?
Dan: As a collective we might have to confer…
Holly: Individual is better!
Michael: I really like Glass Animals at the moment, I like their song ‘Toes’, it’s a nice, cool song. It’s really simple and that's probably my favourite song at the moment.
James: For me it’s ‘A Dream of You and Me’ by Future Islands because his voice just blows me away every time I listen to it.
Dan: There’s quite a current theme with this so I’ll stick with it, I listened to this girl called Joy, she’s Australian, she’s really young but it sounds like really mature and incredible, the bass is like absolutely gorgeous and like the vocals are brilliant as well.
Jack: And again sticking with current, I've just really been digging Caribou at the moment.
The Ninja Tune darlings Portico join forces with Alt J’s Joe Newman for this pulsating and breathy track. A loop quivers and wavers around the echoing drums to form a frame around the soft twang of Newman’s voice; and to give credit to him, he’s definitely tried to tone it down a little as not to distract from the music itself. The song is understated and well produced, introspective without being clinical.
Portico tour Europe this Spring and release their new album, Living Fields, on March 23rd.
Leon Bridges may only be 25, but his smooth and soulful vocals paint an image of sweet nostalgia, warmth and tenderness in the magnificent 'Coming Home'. This dewy eyed sentimentality can be seen across all of his material; from the black and white aesthetic in his videos, to the lovelorn lyrics that this crooner cant help but bring to life. Despite his newcomer status Bridges has already secured a contract with Columbia records and has been compared to Sam Cooke - sure signs that he's one to watch over 2015.
[Posted by Lucy Furneaux]
'Multi Love' is Unknown Mortal Orchestra's most recent offering since their 2013 album 'II'. The song is the title track off their new record (due May 26th) and carries on their classic upbeat and nostalgic fashion, but with less of the lo-fi psychedelic fuzziness that is so prevalent in their previous material. The result is an simple and pleasant homage to tyrannical love - give it a shot.
The beautiful track 'World Without You' is the latest single off Hudson Taylor's debut album, 'Singing for Strangers'. The album is available to pre-order on Itunes and the expected release date is the 30th of March
Read on for Olly Robinson and Holly Croft's interview with the lovely lads at their gig at Shepherds Bush Empire last month!
Olly: Right, so first question-
Harry: Wait, before we start we just need to tell everyone this. Your name is Olly, and your name is Holly right?
Olly & Holly: Yes!
Harry: Me and Alfie (Hudson Taylor) have an older brother called Olly and a younger sister called Holly. It’s too much of a special coincidence not to mention!
Olly: Well there you go! So, you’ve had music featured on the films The Host and Get Santa, and of course on the show Made In Chelsea- have you found syncs useful in getting your music out there?
Harry: It’s helpful but I don’t think it’s a necessity. They don’t tell you with things like Made In Chelsea when they’re going to use your music though, so now my worst fear is that they’ll use one of our songs with a really weird scene- I don’t want people associating it with a death or something! I would say it’s more important to get on YouTube and just go out busking. That’s been invaluable to us. Because our sound is acoustic based we don’t play with tracks so what you see is what you get. We always tell people if they really want understand what we’re about then come and listen to our music live.
Olly: So would you say your album is an attempt to capture a live experience?
Harry: Definitely. We’ve had to record a few of our songs about four times or so because we weren’t happy with them. It can be quite hard to just set up two guys with their guitars and a few microphones and capture a real moment. One day we’ll probably have a live album purely for that reason- that’s what I hope anyway.
Holly: Following on from that- what other changes or challenges have you faced coming from your ‘YouTube days’ to a more commercial environment?
Harry: Signing a record deal obviously changed a lot, in both good and bad ways. If you want to make it in commercial music you can’t just use one platform. Online videos are great but you don’t want to just be ‘that band from YouTube’. Building up a live following has been amazing for us. Your friend’s advice is more valuable than a billboard and word of mouth and watching the crowd grow has been great. I don’t think I ever notice an advert on a website for example, it’s just filtered out. You have to be true to yourself and imagine if you were a punter whether you’d think our advertising was cool or not. I can’t believe that I’m able to do something I love full time like this, it’s very humbling.
Holly: Of course. How do you go about writing a song, and has that changed from releasing single tracks to a whole album?
Harry: Basically myself and Alfie sit down and just start playing. It’s very lucid and sometimes we’ll start recording ourselves and listen back and a song will be there. Other times it takes longer- there’s a song on our album called Off The Hook- and it took us two years to write. We had half of it written and we used to just play that half live! We like to write with friends and other musicians too- it shows you that there’s loads of different ways to create a song. It hasn’t really changed much we just go with what we’re feeling.
Olly: So what’s up next for Hudson Taylor?
Harry: Hopefully just a continual growth of live music and in twenty years time we’re still doing it. Me and Alfie love music and I can’t see us doing anything else. Maybe settle down and get a studio in the house and record with some other people too.
Olly: Last question now- any advice for people who want to make it in the music business and are playing at small venues or to their mates, but they want to take the next step up from that?
Harry: It can be about favours sometimes so just be friendly to people and stay humble. No one has to see you play so just enjoy yourself and people will ultimately vibe off of that. Try and think out of the box- everyone has a camera nowadays so make something off the beaten track.
I'd often start by writing about how the band have a comparable sound to another band of the same genre. It's kind of impossible to do that with Lost Dawn as their sound is truly unique so I'm a bit stumped. I think NME summed up the band quite well with the description "desert-baked psych". As one of the many interesting and new bands coming out of the Falmouth music scene right now, Lost Dawn are definitely worth a listen with their twangy, tinkling guitars, whispering vocals and pounding percussion. The music video is pretty cool too! Their self-titled debut album is out the 13th of April and their second single 'Count on Me' came out earlier this month so check it out.
Stellar Young sound quite like a more upbeat Kodaline: the vocals are just as expressive but the instrumental is a bit more energetic. Their not your typical Indie-rock band either I wouldn't say as their sound combines a lot of different styles and therefore their songs are kind of like a journey across genres. "Nomad" starts simply with shallow drums, short sharp guitar sounds and soft vocals. Then we get a bit heavier for the catchy chorus with whining, screeching guitar and heavy percussion. Then we hear some tinkling synth melodies and so on, the track is constantly changing and keeping listeners' interest.
Raphaella's music is really current in the way it combines soulful and raw female vocals with a simple synth melody; she'll certainly give the likes of Ella Eyre a run for her money. That being said, 'In the Dark' also has a uniqueness which makes it stand out against the music of other female pop vocalists on the scene. The drums dominate the verses and have a tinny quality, adding to the overall melancholy feel of the song. And although the chorus hits with more energy, with layered vocals and more instrumental sounds, the electronic riff remains ethereal and delicate underneath Raphaella's powerful and emotional voice. The track became available on Itunes on the 31st of January and is definitely worth a listen.
Described by Aaron Phillips from Amazing Radio as 'Electro Pop Morrissey would be proud of'... I think Phillips has summed up Affairs' new track 'Blood Science' quite nicely! The track is produced by Ed Buller, renowned as an ex-member of Psychedelic Furs and producer of music from the likes of Pulp and The Courteeners. It makes sense that he would be involved in the making of this track as it is very reminiscent of the 80s era in the combination of deep, almost operatic vocals and spacey electronic sounds. Affairs' give listeners both a sense of nostalgia and also a view of the future in their heavily synth-based music and are definitely worth a listen. Check them out on Soundcloud and Facebook and the Manchester based Quintet some love!
'Somethin' Somthin' is the latest single off Unkle Frank's debut album, 'SMILES FOR MILES' and it really gives listeners a taste of the eclectic sound the duo has to offer. As an easy listening track, 'Somethin' Somthin' has quite a soft, acoustic and romantic feel and as the video exemplifies, it makes me feel as if I'm fluttering and floating around. The tinkling guitar, breathy vocals and slow percussion gives it this airyness and lightness as a track. The album 'SMILES FOR MILES' is available on Itunes and is really worth a listen to get a sense of the diversity of genres and styles Frank Benbini and Naim Cortazzi incorporate into their music. They're a truly unique and original act. Check out they're Facebook page to find out more about them and they're upcoming Coffee House Sessions taking place across the country over the next month! https://www.facebook.com/UncleFrankMusic
There’s enough laid-back space in this track that you fall into it. West London rapper/law grad Incisive can craft lines with such simple clarity that his delivery and the eerie melancholy of the live instrumentation carry them so much further than a lot of other UK urban tracks now. Featuring vocals from Rukhsana Merrise, she binds the track together with something soulful, approaching lilting, in the melody. This is a track with enough hooks to draw you in, quirks throughout that’ll have you hitting replay and the genuine organic flow that’s been killed in other Britsoul or UK urban artists’ work.
