“Tell me something beautiful and really make me feel it“. That haunting refrain at the heart of ‘Tomato Song’ is something that meka achieves within mere heartbeats of first hearing her resplendent vocals. A charming vignette of a little house in a canyon, vividly painted by an achingly gorgeous voice reminiscent of the golden age of singer/songwriters – safe to say I was hooked within the first couple of lines. The bittersweet balladry that follows only served to deepen the love instilled in me by that bewitching opening. Interweaving fond memories of her mother gardening with more abstract flashes of introspective melancholy, the track feels like a rumination on how the darkness swirling within and the beauty around us can overlap and leave a mark on each other. How an idyllic moment may have sadness hiding in its shadows, and how even the deepest depths of brooding may still allow light to shine in through the cracks. In the nostalgic, sepia-toned sounds of ‘Tomato Song’, meka delivers an ode to the hazy border between dreams and reality, beauty and sorrow, meaning and emptiness, and rarely has the in-between sounded quite this entrancing.
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Top Tracks: Monotronic – Looking Away
Watching the sublime, sun-kissed music video for ‘Looking Away’ hits different in a cold grey February. Those azure skies and golden sands feel like a glimpse into paradise, with Monotronic’s anthemic synth driven indie sound bringing a boatload of Killers energy to boot; the kind that makes it feel like the sky is the limit. What I’d give to be cruising through Joshua Tree in a classic car right about now. Shimmering synths, at max volume, echoing across the landscape. It feels so far removed from where I am right now, so unattainable, that it barely feels real. Like a dream of a dream. Yet I find myself daydreaming about it all the same, imagining it’s me under that sun – much as the video’s central character can’t help but dwell on thoughts of unrequited love. There’s a spark of joy in the wildest of fantasies that no amount of good sense and logic can extinguish. It’s all too easy to be disheartened by reality, but this track by indie outfit Monotronic reminds me how that little far-fetched oasis containing your heart’s desire, the one that lingers in the back of your mind, is a secret slice of paradise that no one can take away.
Top Tracks: FangSlinger – Blood Curse
If a song exists, I can all but guarantee there is a metal version of it on YouTube somewhere. Everything from Drake to Disney has had this treatment at some point in time. Take X and make it heavy. Yet much as I love a bit of metal, nine times out of ten these experiments don’t work for me. Most of the time it feels like a superficial veneer that just doesn’t fit the tone of the song; the two constituent parts just too far disconnected to truly work together in harmony. Up and coming trio FangSlinger aren’t the first to try and fuse the disparate worlds of country and heavy metal, but they just might be one of the best. After all, what better common ground to explore between the two styles than a story about a deal with the devil? An inspired choice! The way ‘Blood Curse’ commits to the theatricality of its tale of an undead outlaw, weaving the same gothic western splendour into both of its converging musical bloodlines, is one of its greatest strengths. From its dark country twang and menacing riffs, to its vivid storytelling and gritty Chris Cornell-esque vocals, this is just the song you never knew you needed.
Top Tracks: OK Go – A Stone Only Rolls Downhill
We’ve not even escaped the clutches of January yet, but our award for best video of 2025 may as well be set in stone at this point. Such is the power of OK Go. Their creativity and determination when crafting enthralling, joyous, mind-boggling visuals is unmatched. They have this uncanny knack for taking an outside-the-box idea, one that seems simple at first glance, and then pushing it to an extreme that requires a level of patience and logistical effort that would drive most people mad. In the case of ‘A Stone Only Rolls Downhill’, the first single the band’s forthcoming fifth studio album And the Adjacent Possible, it takes the form of a mosaic of videos playing across multiple phone screens, each piece working in harmony toward the bigger picture. As it constantly builds in complexity, I’m left baffled as to how long it took them to even storyboard the whole affair, let alone recording the dozens of one-takes and ensuring they all lined up on time. When it comes to music videos, OK Go just operate on a higher plane of existence, and they deserve every accolade going for their boundless ingenuity.
Album Review: Morganway – Kill The Silence
Top Tracks: Hannah Grace – I Grow Up All Over Again
It’s that time of year when many of us are making resolutions and aiming to become better versions of ourselves in the year ahead. Trying to get fit, have a better work/life balance, save money, and just generally get our lives together. It always feels like everyone else already has everything figured out, while you’re out of your depth and struggling to keep up. Still having those moments where you feel like you need an adult’s help, only to realise that you are the adult. It’s just a phase, it’ll pass, one day you’ll have it all figured out… right? The gorgeous new single from Belwood favourite Hannah Grace is the perfect balm for all the anxious thoughts that flow all too naturally this time of year. ‘I Grow Up All Over Again’ is a comforting reminder that you’ve overcome every obstacle on the road that lead to where you are now. Every daunting decision, every challenge you didn’t feel ready for, each period of change and upheaval, you have emerged out of a little older and wiser. Figuring your life out is something that happens day by day, piece by piece, not all at once, and every little victory you achieve along that journey is one worth celebrating.
Belwood Music Awards 2024
You join us for a very special 10th anniversary edition of our annual Belwood Music Awards. As of today the site has championing music for a whole decade, with 2024 being our most record breaking year yet! The most heartfelt of thanks to everyone that has supported the site over the years, from all the gifted artists creating the music we cover to our regular readers doing their bit to support up and coming talent. There’s much to raise a glass to today – to 10 years of Belwood, to the new year, and to the best musical moments of 2024. Continue reading
Top Ten Albums of 2024
It’s time for the grand finale of this year’s Listmas celebrations, and as ever we’ve saved the best for last. When we think back on 2024, it will be these records that will be forefront in our minds. These are the records that soundtracked all the ups and downs of the past twelve months. That provided companionship on quiet nights and offered a safe haven when the world got a bit too hectic. So let’s dive right in to the main event: Belwood’s best albums of 2024. Continue reading
Top Ten EPs of 2024
While our Listmas celebrations as a whole aim to reflect on what the past year has given us, our annual EP list is often more about looking forward into the years ahead. It’s about the promise heard in these collections, and the excitement they instil in us for what the road ahead may have in store from the acts which crafted them. Listening to a great EP often feels like a fateful first meeting, hearing your next favourite artist before you even realise it. Perhaps your next fav is just waiting to be discovered in this very list, so let’s dive right in to the best EPs that 2024 had to offer. Continue reading
Top Ten Songs of 2024
You join us now as we kick this year’s Listmas celebrations up a gear by delving into our favourite songs of 2024. Be they chart topping singles or overlooked deep cuts, these are the tracks that had me coming back time after time. The songs that have been on repeat in my head for months on end. The tracks with the most astonishing “wow” moments which left me speechless, as well as those that had me singing along the loudest. Without further ado, let’s look back on the best songs that soundtracked 2024. Continue reading
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