As 2019 begins winding down, and a new year lies just around the corner, my thoughts are already turning to what new albums I have to look forward to in 2020. After finding myself bewitched by their last record Beings way back in 2015, the news that Lanterns On The Lake have a new record on the way puts them right at the top of my list. If lead single ‘Every Atom’ is anything to go by, the new album will be every bit as stunning as the last. The first cut from Spook The Herd, out 21st February, ‘Every Atom’ is a beautifully bittersweet ode to love and loss. Written about the death of a loved one and the struggle to accept that they are gone forever, it sees the band at their lyrical peak. Its chorus of “If I have to split every atom just to find a trace of you, That’s what I’ll do” is as poignant and hard-hitting as any I’ve heard since starting the blog. To hear such rich and inventive lyricism delivered in Hazel Wilde’s dreamy vocals is just the icing on the cake.
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Album Review: Michael Kiwanuka – KIWANUKA
Michael Kiwanuka – KIWANUKATop Tracks: Megan Dixon Hood – The Wishing Tree
When you think about it music has a narrow scope when compared to other media. In books, films, TV etc it’s the norm to delve into complex questions, create compelling stories and dream up imaginative settings, while in music we often dwell on the same inward looking topics like love and heartbreak. While this can be frustrating at times, it makes the inventive and ambitious tracks that break the mould all the more special. ‘The Wishing Tree’ is just such a song. Written from the perspective of a tree venting its ire at the insatiable greed of mankind, it makes for a unique and creative set up for a song, and one that feels all the more meaningful given the recent discourse surrounding climate change. There’s so much depth to this song that can be explored. The fairytale style premise adds a timeless mystical air, while the nuanced electronic flourishes offer something fresh and contemporary. It has all the loss and confusion of a break-up ballad, the indignant defiance of a protest anthem, the cinematic scope of some epic tale, all woven into Megan’s mesmerising powerhouse vocals.
Top Tracks: Ollie Trevers – Stage Of Fools
It’s always a great feeling when you stumble across a song that reminds you of the power that music can have. No matter how you feel, there is a song for it. Someone somewhere has had much the same thoughts running through their head as you, and they managed to find the right words to capture some abstract, indescribable feeling and shared them with the world so that people can find solace in the fact that someone out there understands. London based singer/songwriter is a fine example of this as he channels Jeff Buckley for his latest single ‘Stage Of Fools’. Taken from his new EP Cordelia out 15th November, the track superbly captures the sensation of drifting from one day to the next without purpose, the struggle of finding meaning in life. Ollie’s words acutely convey the languid and hollow sensation of it all, but the music is conversely bright and engaging. His soft soaring vocals spark life where there was none before and seeks to fill the void. Never has a song about emptiness been so fulfilling.
Top Tracks: Martha Bean – Along The Lonely
There are two kinds of loneliness. The first is a deep-rooted need for companionship. Like many animals we are social creatures, we aren’t meant to be alone. We all need someone to talk to, we need to break out of our little bubble and feel someone else’s skin against our own. The first loneliness is a simple need for human contact, the second is something far more profound and spiritual. The second is a longing for a meaningful connection. True love, a soulmate, call it what you will, it’s the person that you feel in perfect harmony with. On her elegant new single ‘Along The Lonely’, taken from her new EP Here Comes The Snowstorm, Martha Bean shares how the two can work against each other. How in our eagerness to fulfil the first, we neglect the second. How our need to have someone to hold close can come before asking if they are the right person.
Album Review: Cattle & Cane – Navigator
Cattle & Cane – NavigatorTop Tracks: Alex Michael – Hear Me
They say you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. It goes much deeper than that however. The connections we make don’t just inform who we are, in many ways they define who we are. We are social creatures, we’re made to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. In the bonds of family, the friendships we forge, and in each new love that blooms, we give a little of ourselves and receive part of someone else in return. We give each other meaning, a reason to keep moving forward. ‘Hear Me’, from up and coming singer/songwriter Alex Michael, revels in the power of these threads that unite us – for better or worse. Spending time with those closest to us is the source of the greatest joy in life, while losing them or drifting apart is the source of the greatest sorrow. We spend each day caught up in our own bubbles when in reality so much depends on others. Our happiness, our purpose, our very identity. It’s both a blessing and a burden that those closest to us hold so much sway over our lives.
Album Review: Leprous – Pitfalls
Leprous – PitfallsAlbum Review: Bent Knee – You Know What They Mean
Bent Knee – You Know What They MeanTop Tracks: Noah Derksen – Lonely in America
I’ve never been able to grasp the fascination with New York. I’ve always seen it as somewhere hostile and unwelcoming, yet it rivals Paris as the most romanticised city in the world. Usually songs about the Big Apple are nothing more than a game of New York cliche bingo, so it’s refreshing to hear a song tackle the darker side of the big city. Canadian born singer/songwriter wonderfully contrasts the coldness of the city with the warm Americana glow of his new track ‘Lonely in America’. The age old adage of “if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere” neglects to mention how isolating and demoralising it can be for the vast swathes of people who risk everything for the city’s promises only to come up short. Noah’s latest golden track from his new album America, Dreaming stands in solidarity with anyone who’s ever felt like a spare part rattling around some vast and unforgiving machine.
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