music

Top Tracks: Picture Parlour – Face in the Picture

/ James Fenney

At first I didn’t get the hype behind Picture Parlour, but all that changed upon seeing these rising stars live. Seeing their style, energy and stage presence in the flesh, it suddenly made all the sense in the world why they were generating such buzz on the live circuit. Somehow that intensity didn’t quite get captured on their first couple of singles. ‘Face in the Picture’ is the first time that a studio recording has been able to show the quartet at the height of their powers. This title track from their debut EP, out 14th June, effortlessly outdoes the Arctic Monkeys at their own game. Katherine Parlour’s unique croon is bursting with soul, Ella Risi’s earth shaking guitar dances around cinematic orchestration; the whole damn affair feels like an event. All about how the echoes of the past, and the wounds once thought healed, continue to haunt us, ‘Face in the Picture’ feels like a ready-made Bond theme. The ideal track for a suave secret agent struggling to outrun their past, or for making the rest of us feel like we can take on the whole world.

Top Tracks: Luvcat – Matador

/ James Fenney

The romantics among us hold firm to their faith that the sheer force of love can move mountains. We know our own hearts, we know how deep the well of devotion and passion inside runs. Yet not all hearts are created equal, and some will remain closed and empty despite all our best efforts to spark something within. ‘Matador’ plays as a cautionary tale about how hoping your love will be enough to fix or change someone will only lead to you getting hurt by their games. Instead of smoothing away the rough edges of a person that isn’t right for you, like a river eroding stone, those sharp edges just keep cutting deeper the harder you try to hold on. This stunning debut single from Luvcat, the new project from Belwood favourite Sophie Morgan, pairs plaintive soulful romanticism with a dash of Nick Cave-esque gothic macabre. With an off kilter beat that reminds me a little of ‘Stagger Lee’, ‘Matador’ superbly uses its evocative lyricism and Sophie’s ever alluring vocals to weave a graphic tragedy about a love gone to waste.

Interview: The Greatest Endangered Thing

/ James Fenney

There’s beauty in new beginnings. In nurturing new life to grow from the ashes of what came before. While we may wish that all our endeavours work out first time, all that really matters is that they work out in the end. All the road blocks and wrong turns we encounter on the way to get there, while frustrating at the time, make for a good story in the end. All the best stories have plenty of twists and turns after all. There are few storytellers more deserving of turning their new beginning into a happy ending than our favourite Transatlantic duo Samuel James Taylor and Rebecca Van Cleave. Sheffield based Americana outfit The Greatest Endangered Thing (f.k.a. Ophelia) – having taken the time to slow down and reflect on both the way forward and the road behind – feel as though they’ve hit their stride once again with the tender, bittersweet folk of their new EP Phosphenes Vol.1. We were lucky enough to have the pair play our tenth anniversary show, and luckier still to chat to them all about the new music they’ve been creating. Continue reading →

Top Tracks: The Howl & The Hum – Same Mistake Twice

/ James Fenney

If you could relive your life, what parts would you change? I’m sure we’d all love to take back our missteps, forge a new path, and live out the idea of our best life. Thing is, that wouldn’t be your life, and it wouldn’t be you leading it. Not really. Our mistakes define us just as much as our triumphs. They both give us the push we need to learn and grow, and help us determine our resolute lines in the sand. ‘Same Mistake Twice’ feels like a journey to accept the necessity of the messy parts of life, even as they’re still in the process of falling down around you. The latest single from The Howl & The Hum, now a solo project for singer/songwriter Sam Griffiths, is home to the same heady cocktail of devastating introspection and biting wit that we’ve been missing since 2020’s Human Contact. The title track from the forthcoming album, out 6th of September, ‘Same Mistake Twice’ delivers a non-stop barrage of tattoo worthy lyrics as the energy builds towards a triumphant Springsteen-esque climax. Feeling somewhere between a wake to mourn the perfect faultless life that never was, and the freeing absurdity that comes with accepting the emotional bombsite that exists in its place, the song’s unique approach encapsulates everything I love about The Howl & The Hum.

Top Tracks: Fiona-Lee – Mother

/ James Fenney

The best art offers a window into the artist. Some insight into how they see the world, what drives them, or into all the pain, or joy, or what have you, swirling just beneath the surface that gets channelled into the art they create. And much as a window may appear as a small portal containing an entire world beyond, occasionally you come across a song that manages to feel somehow bigger on the inside. With her debut single ‘Mother’, Fiona-Lee not only offers a glimpse directly into a towering tumultuous hurricane of frustration, fear, anger and defiance, but also corrals it into shape in order to capture a entire story within the fleeting runtime. Inspired by her experiences with a dubious and controlling former manager, the track begins as a wavering cry for help, a sense of helplessness and isolation, before the driving beat kicks in as the pain and frustration begins to boil over. The energy and passion continue to build, empowered by white hot ire, all culminating in a raw and cathartic climax reminiscent of Sam Fender at his best. In pouring so much of her heart and her experiences into the track, this incandescent debut single shows a clear picture of Fiona-Lee; a fiercely talented artist with a bright future ahead.