Much as we love to hear about works of art born in mere minutes in a sudden rush of inspiration, I think there’s a similar romanticism to be found in projects that need fresh perspective from an older, wiser self in order to be fully realised. Maybe the artist needed time to hone their craft before they could realise their vision, or there was some missing piece in need of discovery, or maybe fate was just intent on saving the final form for a special occasion. Sometimes great paintings can go years between brushstrokes, noteworthy novels can go through many drafts before going to print, and in the case of ‘The Collapse’ sometimes bands can breathe new life into old demos. Spellbinding progressive pop trio Exploring Birdsong – reflecting first on where they started, before looking forward toward their debut album – have taken what started life as a piano demo and reimagined it as one of their most heavy and fierce outings to date. With its gut punch bass and towering chorus, the final destination is well worth the journey.
Author: James Fenney
Album Review: The Last Dinner Party – Prelude To Ecstasy
Album Review: The Amazing – Piggies
Why Grassroots Gigs Are Live Music At Its Best
Every music lover has been there. The buzz of finally seeing your favourite band being amplified ten-thousandfold by an arena full of likeminded fans. A sea of people swept up into a frenzy when the music drops, the lights dim, and a flurry of distant motion in the darkness signifies the start of something special. The lights, the crowd, the scale of it all. The masses gathered in a vast cathedral in worship of music itself. There’s an inherent electricity that comes with the grandeur of arena sized gigs, a thrill unlike anything else. And yet, with each passing year, I find myself returning for another hit less and less. These days I get my buzz elsewhere; backrooms of bars, dingy basements, church halls in forgotten backwaters. And you know what?… It’s a change I feel all the better for. Continue reading
Top Tracks: Dover Lynn Fox – Winter Son
The most commonly sited advice for budding authors is to “write what you know”. It’s a good rule of thumb for songwriters too; turn those butterflies in your stomach into a love song, channel heartache into a cathartic break-up ballad etc. But rules are made to be broken, and to my mind ‘Winter Son’ follows a very different philosophy – write what you need. What you yearn for, what you’re missing. Penned in the wake of her father’s cancer diagnosis, Canadian singer/songwriter Dover Lynn Fox’s latest single doesn’t linger on the sadness and fear which comes with such revelations. Instead ‘Winter Son’ is alight with a sense of hope and comfort. The punchy rhythm section driving you forward to take each day as it comes. The breezy earworm melodies and Dover’s warm wistful vocals finding light on the road ahead. Brimming with confidence and polished to a perfect finish, this track manages to turn a time of great uncertainty into something solid and dependable to lean on.
Top Tracks: Kohla – Sweetest Love
There’s something about ‘Sweetest Love’ that feels like listening to a vinyl record for the very first time. Flicking through an old crate full of them until a particular cover catches your eye. Sliding the record from it’s sleeve with a delicate touch, blowing away a fine coating of dust. Dropping the needle, being absorbed by the analogue hum and crackle, before some warm soulful voice spills out of the speakers like witchcraft. The tactile intimacy of the whole ritual. Hearing a piece of music that may have stirred generations of listeners before you, and yet in that moment it’s just you and the song. Between the soft record-like rustle to the production, the hushed romanticism of Kohla’s gossamer vocals, and the austere elegance of the piano arrangement which plays like a lullaby from a cherished music box, ‘Sweetest Love’ has an enamouring air of timeless beauty to it.
Top Tracks: The American Hotel System – Fire
The pen is mightier than the sword. This old adage often gets misinterpreted as just some flowery metaphor, when the truth is far more literal. Words are the most powerful tools mankind has ever created. The right combination strung together could be enough to start or end a war, incite hate or inspire love, change the way others view the world, even echo through the ages long after we’re gone. Most of us might never find the right words to change the world, but such a powerful tool at our disposal can still shape the lives of those around us. It all depends on how you choose to wield them. ‘Fire’ is a reminder of how deep something spoken in anger can cut. How instead of letting our pride, arrogance and frustration light a spark we can’t undo, we can make the conscious decision to use our words to lift up those around us and speak a better world into being. In pairing that heartening message with soaring elegant strings, alongside expressive percussion and anthemic vocals that remind me of Manchester Orchestra, The American Hotel System have said everything right to earn themselves a new fan.
Album Review: Caligula’s Horse – Charcoal Grace
Top Tracks: Amelia Coburn – When The Tide Rolls In
The English language is a marvellous mish-mash of countless tongues and traditions. We’ve inherited words from Romans, Normans, Celts, Saxons, Danes etc., and invented plenty of our own along the way. Kingdoms and empires rise and fall, and yet some part of them still lives in everyday conversation. It’s often said music is a universal language, but there’s a charm to those tracks able to show it as the same kind of diverse and storied mosaic as our mother tongue. ‘When The Tide Rolls In’ is a rich tapestry all its own. There’s a bright airy indie folk vein that weaves its way throughout, soft swells of strings that offer a sweeping cinematic feel, an undercurrent of Celtic romanticism, hypnotic Eastern flourishes bringing a mystical and exotic air, and a heartbeat percussion that echoes something ancient and primal. All that woven together provides a backdrop for Amelia Coburn’s voice, wearing her broad accent proudly and conjuring a wealth of vivid imagery, to stamp her own unique perspective and identity. This first single from her forthcoming debut album Between The Moon and The Milkman, out 8th March, see Amelia speak in a folk music dialect all her own, and I’m left intrigued to hear more.
Belwood Music 