We have but one life to spend on this Earth. Only so much time to see all we long to see, experience all we can of what life has to offer, and only so many days to share with those we love. But the life we long to lead and the one we end up leading are rarely one and the same. Life has a habit of getting in the way of living; the daily grind taking precedent over the adventures we always dreamed of. The soft folk arrangement that opens ‘One Day’, the latest track from The Greatest Endangered Thing, has a wistfully bittersweet quality to it. Speaking of adventures to be shared and time spent together as some fading ambition slipping away like sand between your fingers. The last vestige of a romantic yearning just barely clinging on. But then that bright hopeful piano tone kicks in, followed soon after by the comforting swell of strings, and suddenly the whole atmosphere of the track transforms. What began as a distant dream now feels like a promise, a heartfelt vow that the “one day” you’ve both been holding out for is closer than you think. That life you long to share, the memories you long to make together, it’s all there for the taking.
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Top Tracks: Jon Muq – One You Love
Every so often I need something to remind me why I do this, why I spend my time and energy shouting into the void about music. I need the kind of song that ignites my passion the same way those that inspired me to start this blog in the first place all those years ago. That sensation of hearing a song that seems to peer straight into your soul and understand what you’re feeling better than you do. That urge to shout into the void comes from wanting others to share the same listening experience, a yearning to unite people with the power of music. Reading Jon Muq’s story is enough to rekindle anyone’s belief in the unifying nature of music. Starting life in a far flung slum in Uganda, his unwavering passion and dedication to his craft led him on an extraordinary journey, culminating in him crafting songs like ‘One You Love’ in Austin Texas with acclaimed songwriter and producer Dan Auerbach. To think that there’s another life in which Jon’s plaintive soulful balladry went unheard by the wider world. ‘One You Love’ isn’t just a piece of music I adore, it’s a piece that reminds me why I adore music.
Top Tracks: Yoshika Colwell – It’s Getting Late
I can’t deny, I’m the kind of person who shuts down and zones out when overwhelmed. When there’s a dozen things that I should be doing I will end up doing none of them. While that does nothing to shorten my to-do list, somewhat counterintuitively when you’re at your busiest is when you’re most in need of a break. To my mind, ‘It’s Getting Late’ follows a similar philosophy. When thoughts dwell on the unrelenting passage of time, how the days of our lives pass like grains of sand between your fingers, the way to soothe your spirit is not to frantically try to make every second count, but to dream the day away. Capturing the lush reflective reverie of acts like Flyte and Billie Marten, the debut single from Yoshika Colwell sees her delight in the pastoral beauty of her surroundings. Afternoons spent basking in the sun, watching birds flit between branches, the contentment of simply being; those moments are every bit as fleeting as the hustle and bustle we stress over, and far more worthy of cherishing. A day devoted listening to ‘It’s Getting Late’ on repeat, watching the world pass by, sounds like time well spent in my book.
Top Tracks: Julia Logan – Top of the World
One of the surest signs of great songwriting is when a track works on any level. You can strip it back to its barest essentials, down to its most sparse and intimate incarnation, and it is still every bit as compelling. Likewise a talented songwriter is able to build upon a strong foundation, expanding the scope and ambition of the arrangement, without reaching too far and losing sight of the great idea that started it all. Within the dreamy folk pop of ‘Top of the World’, Swedish artist Julia Logan is able to exemplify both ends of the spectrum. Adding and removing layers on a whim from a gorgeous central framework, creating a captivating rise and fall in the process. At its most intimate it’s just the rich piano tone, the sweetness of Julia’s Carole King-esque vocals, and a melody that recalls ‘Crosses’ by José González. Yet at its highest peaks it rises with the kind of lush groovy warmth of Fleetwood Mac. The stunningly expressive rhythm section managing to somehow feel intricate and understated in equal measure.
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Top Tracks: Dover Lynn Fox – When Youth Was Wasted
There’s something special about songs that hold that certain cinematic quality. How you can close your eyes and vividly picture a movie scene playing out before you. Some tracks just seem tailor made for setting the tone and eliciting emotion in film. But to me, there’s something about ‘When Youth Was Wasted’ that goes a level deeper. It makes me think of movies that feature fictional bands, with their own in-universe hits; think Almost Famous, O Brother, Where Are Thou?, or That Thing You Do!. Sometimes the musicians making the soundtracks nail their assignment so perfectly, that it’s hard to believe that these weren’t the hit songs they pretend to be. You can so easily imagine a world where people grew up listening to these songs, playing them on jukeboxes, dancing to them at weddings. ‘When Youth Was Wasted’ to me doesn’t just sound like the perfect song to soundtrack a film scene, it feels like a hit song from one of these other worlds that has had pride of place in countless playlists and movies scenes over the years. The bright folk intro, the hopeful piano tone, the expressive rhythm section, that uplifting build towards the big brass climax, the irresistible melody of its titular refrain. Somehow it’s so easy to slip into the belief that there’s a world out there where this was a classic song I grew up loving.
Top Tracks: Club Kuru – Gone Like A Flower
How long does it take for a song to truly grab you? Sometimes it takes a few spins for a chorus to bury its way into your brain and take residence there. Sometimes it only takes a single listen for it to dawn on you that you just heard something special. With ‘Gone Like A Flower’, all it took was a single note, that first Gilmour-esque bend, for me to know that a truly mesmerising track lay ahead of me. Club Kuru delivers on that promise with every note that follows. The spaced out Pink Floyd-ian guitar tone growing to integrate a sense of warmth and soulfulness to its melodic expanse, in a way that’s reminiscent of Michael Kiwanuka’s ‘Cold Little Heart’. The dreamy wistful vocals, the rich refined drum work, production about as close to perfection as human minds can muster; all culminating in an emotional and evocative solo channelling a slice of the spirit of Funkadelic’s mind-bending ‘Maggot Brain’. Such an exquisitely crafted journey from the first note to the last.
Top Tracks: Durry – Teenagers Forever
When do we grow up? At what point in our lives does everything fall into place? At what age will we finally feel settled, feel that we have things figured out? For many of us the answer may be never. Many of us will never be able to afford a house, or raise a family. The way the world is now, there’s a whole generation that will never know that kind of peace and security, never able to put down roots of their own. ‘Teenagers Forever’, the latest angsty anthem from sibling duo Durry, captures the sense of aimless frustration that many of us know all too well. The feeling that the people around you were the lucky ones who managed to escape, while you’re still walking a path that leads to a dead end. Stuck in that liminal space where you’re still clinging to the hobbies and dreams of youth to give your life some joy and meaning, while pretending you have it all figured out, pretending that the happy ending you were promised truly exists. This hard hitting new single reins in the duo’s wry self-deprecating wit in favour of a more unflinching dose of reality, offering some small silver lining in that at least there are many of us stuck in the same boat together.
Belwood Music 