A playlist of what music we have just discovered, new or old, that we feel needs sharing. We hope you find a gem or two. Stream on Apple or Spotify as normal. If someone fancies checking the Apple one and letting me know it works, that would be much appreciated.
Chris' Selection:
Beehive – Mark Lanegan Band – Gargoyle 2017
I like Mark Lanegan. His voice is a bit like Iggy Pop turned down a notch. Apparently, he can be a bit dour. This puts me a little in mind of House of Love.
Guns – Broken Witt Rebels – Georgia Pine EP - 2016
Vocally this reminds me a little of Kings of Leon – a great track that skips along nicely. Guitar-based I might add.
Comeback Kid – Kasabian – For Crying Out Loud – 2017
This was in my playlist of the week from Apple Music and very good it is too. I was mainly drawn to it for the title of the album to be honest – ‘For Crying Out Loud’ is a phrase I might well use in exasperation when a stronger phrase would be more apposite. You tend to know what you’re going to get from Kasabian, and this delivers.
Arabian Heights – The Afghan Whigs – In Spades - 2017
I’ve never heard of these but they’ve been around quite a bit. They’re an American group who were around in the late 80s and 90s, but then split up. They reformed in 2011. Anyway, this track sounds very polished. I love the guitar playing in it and the general feel.
Evergreen – The Darling Buds – Evergreen EP - 2107
I used to love The Darling Buds – one of the first indie bands I got into. I saw them play at The Leadmill and remember them coming out and dancing next to us later in the evening. Well this is very much like them – makes me think a little of The Bangles I suppose.
Teardrops In A Hurricane – Jordan Mackampa – Tales From The Broken – EP – 2017
There’s something about this that reminds me of Black and Gold by Sam Sparro. It doesn’t have quite as strong a beat – but it is a steady and consistent beat. Gorgeous vocals – very laid back.
Million Dollar Secret – Lucius – Tales From The Broken – EP – 2017
Also quite laid back. Lucius are a 4-piece from Brooklyn with just a couple of Eps to their name. No drums – no guitars. Ambient synthy sounds.
On Her Journey To The Sun – Rikard Sjöblom’s Gungfly - On Her Journey To The Sun – 2017
Prog rock? Psychedelic pop? Lovely lilting feel and great instrumentalisation with some great solos. Soaring vocals in places.
Delirium Tremendous – Felix Hagan & The Family – Delirium Tremendous – Single – 2017
Would this be classed more as pop? Who knows? It’s very catchy. In places it makes me thing of Rock Lobster. It is very catchy and probably the track I enjoy most amongst my selections this month.
John's Selection:
Better - Matthew Ebel - Cognitive Dissonance
Matthew Ebel is a great talent and Cognitive Dissonance is a good album but he and it doesn't know what it wants to be. One second he's Ben Folds (piano, odd swearing, humour), next second he's Dave Grohl (singing style) and then on some tracks he goes all Daft Punk on us. I urge you to listen to the album just to appreciate his chameleon style. In this track he's just Ben and Dave but you get the picture. Will be interesting to see if my friend Spanners likes the track.
Juliet Knows - Reverend and the Makers
Wisely John McClure has let his pal Joe Carnall (of Milburn fame) sing the lead vocals on this and it lifts it up to the levels it deserves. I'm sure John would admit that he's not the greatest singer out there but what he adds as a front man and lyricist shouldn't be questioned. This is the second single off the forthcoming album that I have already pre-ordered.
T-Shirt Weather - Circa Waves
This track is a few years old and one I've just discovered - or at least it has now come in to my consciousness. The band, from Liverpool, released their second album last year and are well worth checking out.
Imagine Life - Thirteen Senses
Another song from the past that I have just discovered. I actually came across this track on a podcast about cycling. I believe a member of the band are really in to their cycling and allowed the excellent The Cyclist Podcast to use their music. The element that got me was the hook that sounds not dissimilar to Arcade Fire's Wake Up although when listening to the track as a whole it's harder to spot. See if you agree.
Junk Food Forever - The Amazons
Having run out of podcasts and struggling to find anything of quality on my usual radio stations, I turned to Radio 1. Well I was taken back when this quality, guitar based track came on. From Reading and included in the station's "Sound of 2017", they're pretty good!
Desire - Everything Everything
More of the same from Everything Everything, so much so that I had to check it was a new track. Sometimes we just want bands to give us more of what they do best and EE deliver.
Bring You Down - The Real People
1995 / 1996 was my era for music, I inhaled every guitar band I came across and loved every minute. So when I came across a band I'd not heard of from that time I had to learn more. This track is great, how did I miss it? It turns out they were big friends of Oasis as they gave them a scouse helping hand when the Mancunian scene was a little less friendly.
Young Love - The Lottery Winners
This is a pop song that I've had on my playlist for quite sometime, I really need to share it. It's "just" a catchy tune that won't go away. We all know that any song like that isn't "just" anything. Enjoy this earworm.
Wisely John McClure has let his pal Joe Carnall (of Milburn fame) sing the lead vocals on this and it lifts it up to the levels it deserves. I'm sure John would admit that he's not the greatest singer out there but what he adds as a front man and lyricist shouldn't be questioned. This is the second single off the forthcoming album that I have already pre-ordered.
T-Shirt Weather - Circa Waves
This track is a few years old and one I've just discovered - or at least it has now come in to my consciousness. The band, from Liverpool, released their second album last year and are well worth checking out.
Imagine Life - Thirteen Senses
Another song from the past that I have just discovered. I actually came across this track on a podcast about cycling. I believe a member of the band are really in to their cycling and allowed the excellent The Cyclist Podcast to use their music. The element that got me was the hook that sounds not dissimilar to Arcade Fire's Wake Up although when listening to the track as a whole it's harder to spot. See if you agree.
Junk Food Forever - The Amazons
Having run out of podcasts and struggling to find anything of quality on my usual radio stations, I turned to Radio 1. Well I was taken back when this quality, guitar based track came on. From Reading and included in the station's "Sound of 2017", they're pretty good!
Desire - Everything Everything
More of the same from Everything Everything, so much so that I had to check it was a new track. Sometimes we just want bands to give us more of what they do best and EE deliver.
Bring You Down - The Real People
1995 / 1996 was my era for music, I inhaled every guitar band I came across and loved every minute. So when I came across a band I'd not heard of from that time I had to learn more. This track is great, how did I miss it? It turns out they were big friends of Oasis as they gave them a scouse helping hand when the Mancunian scene was a little less friendly.
Young Love - The Lottery Winners
This is a pop song that I've had on my playlist for quite sometime, I really need to share it. It's "just" a catchy tune that won't go away. We all know that any song like that isn't "just" anything. Enjoy this earworm.
