Andy's Choices:
Holly y Su banda - Benji Muji Mau
Not a normal genre that I would go for but just something fun and delightful and a bit different.
Johnny Flynn - The Landlord - English folk meets the blues. An interesting combination and not quite as folky as much of his other stuff but I think it's my favourite track off his latest album.
Pearl Love - Shuddering Trains
This is a local (to me anyway) young lady who has a delightfully delicate touch. She has been dabbling with music for a while but this is her first proper release. A great demonstration of how streaming allows new artists to get their music out there in an unhindered way.
Josh Doyle - Solarstorm
I saw Josh live a few months ago as the support act at a tiny venue and was really taken with his laid back approach. His career has gone through peaks and troughs over time but he just keeps going doing what he enjoys and seems to be somewhat ambivalent to how much commercial success.
Amy Wadge - One last dance
Amy who? She's a Grammy award winner - still not heard of her but I guarantee you know her songs. Most notably she frequently co writes with Ed Sheeran including "thinking out loud"
She is a prolific song writer and if you get the chance to see her perform (and she doesn't do very many live dates) she is very entertaining. Many of her songs come about from events in her life - this was one that she wrote about her ninety something year old Grandparents who passed away within a few months of each other.
John's Choices:
To start off with I've got lots of old names that have been around a good while and will be familiar to you all but are their new tracks?
Geronimo - Stereophonics
Stereophonics seems to hit patches of form and then can come up with a dud album or two. Their latest offering certainly seems to be the former, with another strong single from the album.
The Next Time We Wed - The Fratellis
I think The Fratellis are underrated or maybe it's just me who has underrated them? I absolutely love Me And The Devil from their 2016 album and this track is up there again. Don't be like me and pass them by. You'll regret it.
Run It Wild - Robbie Williams
I don't listen to commercial radio, so maybe Robbie is getting a lot of air time there but I certainly haven't heard him half as much as I normally would expect. I'm really enjoying his latest material yet on the radio this morning they were playing one of his old tracks. That's WWWTM all over!
Always Ascending - Franz Ferdinand
You can't miss the distinctive vocals, so it's always going to sound like Franz Ferdinand but the track itself has got an 80s feel to it, maybe even a bit of ELO...
Nothing To Live Down - Shed Seven
I had to put another Shed Seven track on, their latest album is getting loads of coverage and great feedback from critics and fans alike. This track has been on the 6 Music playlist. People Will Talk remains my favourite track off the album. Well worth listening to for those who bother reading this blurb to go with the tracks.
Permanent Vacation - The Academic
The Academic are a band from Ireland that have more of an American sunshine band sound to them.
Love You So Bad - Ezra Furman
Probably my favourite of the playlist but it seems not to everyone's taste. It's definitely worth checking out.
Holly Wood - Will Joseph Cook
Miami - Baxter Dury
I found Baxter through a recommendation on Twitter by Reverend and the Makers. He's not one to play in front of the kids but really has something to his music.
Golden Slumbers - Elbow
You can't fail to have heard this over Christmas, the cover version of The Beatles track has gone down a storm, even in my Elbow-hating-office.
Out of Her Mind - Cassia
More Vampire Weekend inspired music, seems they really hit a note with some bands.
New Year - Catholic Action
There's only one time to release this track isn't there.
Me & You - George Ezra
This original track written especially for the Channel 4 adaptation of the popular book We're Going on a Bear Hunt by George Ezra. It's a lovely, catchy song played at the end of the film.
Lemon to a Knife Fight - The Wombats
The Wombats were featured in the early days of this blog so it would be rude not to mention they're touring again and have this song out.
Happy New Year - Big Moon
Cold Cold Cold - Cage The Elephant
CTE are such a hit a miss band for me. It takes a lot of energy to listen to all their tracks. When I saw this track was on someone's most listened to track of 2017 I had to check it out. It's another winner.
Ophelia - The Lumineers
As above, I discovered this track from someone showing their most played tracks on Spotify via Twitter.
I Can't Quit - The Vaccines
The new single from this band that I've followed ever since my good friend Neil introduced me to them. I hope the rest of the album is this good.
Anyone Knows What Love Is - Irma Thomas
This features on a Black Mirror episode and really brought the whole plot together at the end. The excellent 15 Million Merits is another great track from this episode but sadly it's not on Spotify. It's by Stephen Merits if anyone wants to hunt it down.
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor - Anton Du Beke
Those music snobs out there can move along straight away. However if you like a bit of Richard Cheese or Mike Flowers Pops you may appreciate this swing version of The Arctic Monkeys.
