While I don’t approve of throwing vinyl around like in the beginning of the music video, I do very much approve of this sun-drenched new song. ‘Waiting For The Sunrise’, the first single from Brooklyn based artist Alec Gaston’s forthcoming debut album, is a masterclass in laid-back psychedelica. The kaleidoscopic soundscape simply screams summer. It shimmers bewitchingly like some heat haze in the distance, and when you sit back and really listen to this track you can practically feel the sun on your face as you soak it all in. Alec’s excellent vocals here are as versatile as they are compelling, drawing as much from funk and soul as they do from the classic trippy 60s sound. This is the kind of song you play to make the most of those rare lazy days, where you can just lie back and bask in great music all day long.
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Top Tracks: The Mason District – Lose Your Mind
Channelling Kings Of Leon at their very best, indie trio The Mason District – hailing from Cleveland, Ohio – have hit it out of the park with their infectious new single. ‘Lose Your Mind’, taken from their new EP The Blue Room pt.1 out now, is packed to the rafters with positive energy. A real understated highlight for me occurs in the breakdown around the two-minute mark, as each member is given their time to shine. Tom Tobias shares a simply sublime guitar lick, Colin Nutter offers a great little drum flourish, and Maria Petti rounds it out with a fantastic bass run. It shows that they adhere to the age-old law of musical trios; each member needs to carry their weight or it all collapses. There’s no danger of that happening here, The Mason District have worked in perfect harmony to create a track that would be the perfect addition to any feel-good indie playlist.
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Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel & CasinoInterview: AVEC
It seems there’s no rest for the wicked… wickedly talented that is. Following the success of her debut album What If We Never Forget earlier this year, Austrian singer/songwriter AVEC is already gearing up to release a new record this autumn. Heaven / Hell promises to expand on the ethereal folk soundscapes and therapeutic lyricism that made the debut so spellbinding, as well as secure her place as one of the best new acts to emerge in 2018. I caught her ahead of her first UK appearance at The Great Escape to ask about the new record. Continue reading
Top Tracks: Sam Valdez – Farther Away
After a few years of running a music blog, you begin to pick up on trends and take note of what genres and styles most frequently appear in your inbox. Much to my delight a plethora of great Americana and dream pop tracks end up being sent my way, but it is rare indeed to find a song that so perfectly balances both styles. Inspired by the likes of Sufjan Stevens and The War On Drugs, the new single from Sam Valdez ‘Farther Away’ boasts blissful shimmering soundscapes paired with honest heartland folk vibes. Sam’s dreamy vocals are the kind that you can just get lost in. Having grown up on the edge of the Nevada desert, it’s not hard to see the effect it had on Sam’s songwriting. ‘Father Away’ radiates warmth like the desert sun itself, all the while dancing like a mirage on the horizon and luring you deeper under its spell.
Top Tracks: The New Pacific – Get Away
This fantastically frenetic new track from LA based alt rock band The New Pacific is the perfect song to get you all fired up. The intro does its best to ease you in, but it only prolongs the inevitable as you’re soon consumed by the unrelenting opening guitar. The more subdued chorus lures you into a false sense of security with its hypnotic drums and mesmeric melodic vocals, but those high-octane riffs soon jump back into action to pull you in to an adrenaline fuelled thrill ride. A track all about spiralling out of control, both on a personal level and looking out at the state of the world, ‘Get Away’ fits the theme well by imbuing a sense of barely restrained chaos in the song’s more tempestuous moments. It’s the kind of song that makes you feel invincible, like you can weather whatever the world throws at you.
Top Tracks: Luke Sital-Singh – Weight Of Love
Sometimes the best way to get a little perspective on your problems and escape the monotony of the daily grind is to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Ditch the hustle and bustle of the city and take a moment to feel the breeze, listen to the birds singing, and remind yourself that we’re all a part of this magnificent living thing we call Earth. It’s can be such a humbling and revitalising experience, and that sensation is portrayed brilliantly in the title track from Luke Sital-Singh’s latest EP Weight Of Love. It boasts rich lyrical imagery, and Luke’s voice contains such heartfelt passion that it sounds as though he’s pleading to the heavens from atop a cliff edge. It’s such a real and honest performance, one of those rare songs recorded to capture its subtle imperfections, giving it character in such a way that you could never replicate the magic of the moment.
Top Tracks: The Honest Heart Collective – Separate Ways
Music is a wonderful means of expression, but it often seems like that potential goes to waste. There are millions of songs out there about love, or heartbreak, or just having a crazy night out, but there are so many other feelings and situations that affect countless people that don’t make anywhere near as many song appearances as they should. Take the new single from Canada’s own Honest Heart Collective. Channelling The Gaslight Anthem with their Americana inspired indie hit ‘Separate Ways’, the band discuss the sadness, confusion, and misplaced guilt of living in a broken home. This impassioned track deals with seeing the two people you love most drift apart, and battling the thought that something you did had a part to play in driving a wedge between them. It’s a powerful and heartfelt performance whose message is sure to be profoundly important for so many people. Maybe you don’t need lots of songs on a subject after all, when one song can get it all as spot on as this.
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