music

Live Review: The Last Dinner Party, The Welly Hull, 15th Oct 2023

/ James Fenney

In some ways I can understand why the term ‘Industry Plant‘ has been thrown around in conversations surrounding The Last Dinner Party. After all, it’s human nature to search for a plausible answer in the face of something that defies explanation. They just seem too good to be true. Releasing an instantly iconic debut single that oozes such effortless charisma, and then exploring new horizons with the tracks that followed while still maintaining that same astonishingly high standard. Their entrancing costume drama aesthetic, the theatricality of their music videos, the wild cathartic revelry of their live performances… hell, even the band’s logo is glorious! I get how someone may listen to their inner cynic before believing that the universe would gift us with a new band who are so assured, engaging and stylish this early into their career. They say seeing is believing, so I felt the need to catch The Last Dinner Party in Hull on their UK tour to see them for myself. Continue reading →

Top Tracks: Manpreet Kundi – Something

/ James Fenney

Often the heaviest burden to bear after a break-up is the sheer weight of all the unknowns and uncertainties. We’re perhaps the most sure of ourselves when we’re in love. We know what’s in our heart, we know the life that we want to build and share, and so it’s understandable to assume that the other person in the relationship would share the same level of conviction and devotion. We’re so focused on the path our own heart leads that we take for granted our faith that the other person is following two steps behind. But when the day comes when we turn around and they’re not there, we have no way of knowing how long they walked that same path with us before their heart wandered elsewhere or turned back, or even if they were ever on the same path at all. The gorgeous new single from singer/songwriter Manpreet Kundi captures that feeling of retracting your steps in search for answers. With the wistful elegance of Lizzy McAlpine, and the haunting melancholy of Lana Del Rey, the tender piano balladry of ‘Something’ is an affecting reflection on what you truly meant to someone who once meant the world to you.

Top Tracks: Sophia Alexa – Stones

/ James Fenney

A great song deserves to have an equally great story behind it, and this latest track from rising singer/songwriter Sophia Alexa does just that. We all have our own burdens to bear, our own emotional baggage to carry. All the doubts and fears, insecurities and regrets, that drag us down like stones in our pockets. Sophia’s uplifting new single ‘Stones’ was born from an interaction with her father that provided a fresh perspective. A moment when she was given a stone and told that it represents the love that others have for her, and that it’s the only stone she need carry. A beautiful exchange, whose sentiment is now immortalised in song. I adore how the frail, delicate folk of ‘Stones’ opening moments gives way to a subtle swell of guitars, Sophia’s most strong and assured melodies, and a propulsive driving drum beat. That surge in energy truly captures the sensation of a weight being lifted, of a helping hand lifting you out of the darkness and pushing you forward towards a brighter tomorrow.

Top Tracks: The Kindest People – The Valley

/ James Fenney

A little perspective can make a world of difference. I know from experience that taking a step back from writer’s block, putting a little distance between you and the problem, is often the best way to reignite a creative spark. For me ‘The Valley’ represents the same idea on a larger scale. When a style or scene becomes stagnant, rehashing old ideas like an ouroboros eating its own tail, sometimes it takes an outsider’s perspective to inject fresh ideas. I feel like I’ve been hearing uninspired photocopies of 90s Britpop for half my life, and yet it took until hearing Tennessee band The Kindest People’s take on the sound to truly rekindle my interest. The hallmarks are there, plenty of hints of Supergrass especially, intentional or otherwise, but the band also brings so much of their own energy and enthusiasm to the table. The effervescent arrangement has such depth to it, the rhythm section always having something worthwhile of their own to say even when the breezy riffs are in the spotlight. The earnestness of the vocals, and the fabulous way they’re layered, delivers such a larger-than life feeling. Given some of the best Americana comes from far outside the US, I suppose having one of their own make some of the best Britpop I’ve heard in years is only fair!

Top Tracks: Sleep Walking Animals – Rossignol

/ James Fenney

I tend to shy away from covering established acts that I’m not familiar with. Context is important, and the time it takes to delve into a band’s back catalogue could be better spent covering up-and-coming talent. I nearly passed on covering this track from Manchester band Sleep Walking Animals for that very reason – everything about it told me this had to be a band several albums into their career. The music video, with its stunning cinematography and imaginative watercolour animation. The faultless precision of its elegant baroque pop, the Bon Iver-esque falsetto backed by an intricate choral arrangement, the climactic soaring guitar solo that could have been plucked straight from The Bends era Radiohead. Even down to the way it integrates snippets of lyrics in Sri Lankan Sinhala. Everything about ‘Rossignol (සිප ගන්නා විට)’ feels like a band at a creative peak that they’ve been working towards for years, yet the story of Sleep Walking Animals is still very much in its infancy. To hear an up-and-coming band so polished, so inventive, so assured in their identity, and at times even surpassing their influences, is a truly thrilling prospect.

Top Tracks: Kohla – Golden

/ James Fenney

I love a song that practices what it preaches. Listening to ‘Golden’, the sensual new single from Scottish singer/songwriter Kohla, it would be all too easy to wax lyrical about the moments where her gossamer vocals soar. There are points where it feels like you’re listening to the most faultless new voice in modern soul. Yet at its heart ‘Golden’ is a song about self-love, body positivity, and holding the highest standards when it comes to love. A longing to connect with someone who isn’t just enamoured with an idea, with the finely tuned façade we try to present to the world, but who’ll trace a finger across your skin and find every line, pore and imperfection as equally worthy of worship. The arrangement here, as lush and tropical as it feels, is often as soft and subtle as a summer breeze, leaving Kohla’s voice exposed for the world to hear. Moments of almost imperceptible breath, the delicate tenderness of her whispers, or the way she almost seems to hang on to certain words to savour them before letting them leave – these are the moments where the song truly shines. The lover-like intimacy of this track asks you to worship and adore every second of it – and the only answer is yes.

Top Tracks: The Amazing – Streetfighter

/ James Fenney

If I had to pin down which artist’s music I have listened to the most over the years, Swedish band The Amazing would certainly be in contention. Their music feels like a whole other world in my pocket that I can escape to in a moment’s notice. A vast swirling ocean of sound so expansive and labyrinthine that you can only guess at its depth. You feel like a tiny speck against the backdrop of an imposing force of nature, and yet it also carries a bittersweet cinematic quality that makes you feel like the main character in a movie scene. What a joy it is to have a new track of theirs to listen to on repeat (likely whilst staring wistfully into the middle distance). What’s more, ‘Streetfighter’ feels like the band at their most bright and playful. While past records often felt like the eerie serenity of city streets at night, this latest single feels like walking those same streets until the sun rises. Seeing life and colour slowly return with the dawn, its warbling guitar lines and radiant vocal harmonies like the first birdsong of morning.