I think in the wrong hands ‘All The Time’ might have been very different. This fangirl anthem, detailing an intensely passionate celebrity crush, could easily have veered into more obsessive and parasocial territory. But in the capable hands of Belwood favourite Natalie Shay (who at this point has rattled off more big effervescent bops than I’ve had hot dinners!) this spirited new single instead feels like the sweetest daydream. An unrequited love for some artist oblivious to your existence, but whose music seems to know you better that you know yourself. It plays like some glorious fusion of Taylor Swift’s ‘You Belong With Me’ and Phoebe Bridger’s ‘Punisher’ – equal parts confidence in the connection, and perceived compatibility, that you’ve built up in your mind, and terror at the thought of meeting them, being lost for words, and watching the dream shatter before your eyes. With the way this story of longing interweaves with Natalie’s uncanny knack for crafting infectious indie pop melodies, you can’t help but root for her pipe dream coming true.
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Album Review: Novo Amor – Collapse List
Top Tracks: The Greatest Endangered Thing – One Day
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.
Album Review: The Staves – All Now
Album Review: Maggie Rogers – Don’t Forget Me
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.
Album Review: Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us
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.
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