Sometimes I really struggle to find what to say about a piece of music. Usually it’s either a case of having difficulty deciding how I feel about it in the first place, or finding the right words to articulate those feelings. When it comes to ‘Sunshine’ however, I find myself just too absorbed by the song to think. I sit down with every intention of penning something witty and insightful, but that notion almost immediately flies out of the window in the face of such infectious feel-good energy. Channelling the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire and KC & The Sunshine Band, Philly funk outfit Snacktime have an uncanny gift for getting me up on my feet and emptying my head of all but the groove. I can just about subdue my dancing long enough to type out these few sentences, but by the time the sax breakdown kicks in I’m jamming too hard to form coherent thoughts. Thankfully such unabashed joy as this requires no input or explanation, merely an open heart.
top tracks
Top Tracks: Tom Seth Johnson – Runaway Girl
The phrase Fight or Flight sure makes it seem like those are two equally weighted options. In reality our gut reaction is almost always to run away rather than confront our problems. Some primal survival instinct, hardwired into our core being, urging you to keep your distance from danger – but what about when the things that scare you most lie within your own head. ‘Runaway Girl’ is a song about someone spiralling in their own uncertainty, running from thoughts and emotions they’d rather not acknowledge, shutting everyone else out in the process. This indie pop anthem from Tom Seth Johnson every phase of that flight in superb slow-burning splendour. Building up from an airy and atmospheric opening, echoing those first faint whispers of doubt, it slowly throws breezy melodic riffs into the mix to up the urgency. It all leads to a fantastic climax of frenetic pounding drums and crashing cymbals, with a darkness and venom seeping its way into the guitar work. You can’t help but feel swept up in the energy and emotion woven into this story of inner conflict and desperate escape.
Top Tracks: Rebecca Haviland and Whiskey Heart – Late Nights and Early Mornings
There’s something bewitching about the small hours. Maybe it’s the quiet, the stillness, maybe it’s because it’s a rare piece of time that’s all your own, with nothing demanding your attention. Whatever the reason, it leaves a devil on your shoulder whispering “just a couple more hours, then we’ll turn in” while the rest of the world around you is already fast asleep. While I’m liable to waste the night away down some YouTube rabbit hole or binge-watching a new show, for acts that live and breathe rock and roll these are the hours where their world comes alive. ‘Late Nights and Early Mornings’ is a love letter to that sensation; riding a euphoric high after stepping off the stage, feeling invincible as you walk the deserted streets, until the first rays of dawn break the spell. There’s an undeniable electricity in the air, and you can feel the band embody it here in this old-school rocker. Rebecca Haviland drawing from the fire and soul of Janis Joplin, while Whiskey Heart captures the likes of The Black Crowes at their bluesy best. The result is an electrifying anthem for the small hours, made to be played loud – shattering the stillness and inevitably waking the neighbours.
Top Tracks: Mason Via – Melt in the Sun
No matter how eclectic our tastes, we all have our blind spots. Ordinarily I’m not one to shine a light on the world of country and bluegrass, it exists well outside my bailiwick, but upon hearing ‘Melt in the Sun’ for the first time, I soon resolved to make an exception. It’s rare enough you find a song that feels like it embodies the very spirit of music itself, I certainly wasn’t about to let this one pass me by. A sound doesn’t need to be within your wheelhouse for you to recognise that you’re hearing a master craftsman at work. This track from singer/songwriter Mason Via shines so brightly that to turn away would be like denying the beauty of a sunrise. On ‘Melt in the Sun’ Mason speaks with the words and voice of a true storyteller. The violin soars with the grace of a bird in flight, the furious virtuoso mandolin solo offering a dazzling display of musicianship. Every strum, every syllable, conjures up the call to adventure that can only come from an Appalachian mountain road winding ever upward towards a crisp, clear sky. You can feel the heart poured into the song, the identity, community and sense of tradition which it carries and breathes new life into. This is American roots music at its finest, and one of my favourite discoveries of the year so far.
Top Tracks: Emily James – Suburbia
We all experience the world around us differently. We could look at the same sky and see different shades of blue, hear the same birds singing two distinct tunes, or both walk away from a conversation with two completely disparate interpretations of what was said. Naturally we tend to get bogged down in our own version of reality, and rarely spare much thought for how another version of the world may differ. ‘Suburbia’ reflects on one of the few times where those alternate realities manage to consume our thoughts – reflecting on what went wrong in the wake of a break-up. When it all falls apart you begin to wonder whether all those cherished memories carry the same weight for the other person. If all the small moments that made your heart sing will be something they too hold dear, or whether they will even remember them. Wondering at what point they began seeing a dead end while you still felt like you were looking at forever. This wistful break-up ballad from New York based singer/songwriter Emily James, taken from her upcoming EP Summer Nostalgia out 15th August, brings a wealth of Taylor Swift energy to the table, as it reflects on how far the rose tinted past you remember may stray from what truly happened.
Top Tracks: Slung – Collider
Every so often I come across a song that feels like a perfect storm. The conditions are right, all the necessary elements are there, and it culminates in something with a level of power and presence that feels greater than the sum of its parts. All that remains is to allow this force of nature to sweep you away. ‘Collider’ is just such a song. The dark and brooding psychedelic undertones, Katie Oldham’s bewitching vocals, the way Vlad Matveikov’s bass line perpetually hums with menace, all of it working in unison to craft this intoxicating atmosphere. This sweet and sinister cut from Brighton quartet Slung’s debut album In Ways, out 2nd May, draws deeply from the likes of Alice In Chains and Deftones. Delving into the world of shadowy cults in service of some unknowable eldritch being, ‘Collider’ has a cultlike draw all its own. Its seductive melodies luring you closer, lowering your guard, before the alt rock bombast of the chorus goes straight for the jugular.
Top Tracks: Hunter Metts – Abilene
I’m not normally one to believe in fate, but every now and then it sure does feel like the universe is trying to tell you something. It was just the other week that I stumbled upon Nashville based singer/songwriter Hunter Metts, and heard his gorgeous track ‘Weathervane‘ for the first time. The kind of song that stops you in your tracks, I found myself thinking “what I’d give to find a song this wonderful just waiting for me in my inbox”. Lo and behold, Hunter’s latest single ‘Abilene’ was doing just that. Named for a town in Texas, as a nod to where his grandfather was adopted, this airy folk number is a wistful reflection on the kind of love and support so many of us take for granted. To leave such a mark on people’s lives, to have a song as haunting as this dedicated to you, goes to show that no matter your beginnings, love will still find its way to you if you keep an open heart. For everything to lead to a moment as perfect as this, some unseen hand of fate must be at work.
Top Tracks: Kelcey Ayer – Ghosts of Neighborhood Dogs
The place we call home says a lot about who we are, and it’s amazing how many inconsequential details go into making a place feel like home. That one creaky floorboard in the hallway, the cupboard door that always sits a little crooked, that pesky squirrel that keeps raiding the bird feeders, the pothole out front that all the locals instinctively know to swerve around. Tiny quirks and oddities that give a place character, the kind you never stop to think about but would find yourself strangely nostalgic for if they were no longer there. In the case of ‘Ghosts of Neighborhood Dogs’, the latest solo single from Kelcey Ayer, it’s the barking of a neighbour’s Doberman that had become so familiar that your swear you can still here it echoing even after he’s gone. Taken from Kelcey’s new EP No Sleep, out 18th July, this new single practices what it preaches by leaving its earworm melody echoing in your mind long after the song fades. Between the superb harmonising with guest vocalist Jordana, the airy arrangement reminiscent of Wild Pink, and a central melody so simple and striking that it feels like you’ve known it all your life, it’s safe to say there’s something about this song that feels like home.
Top Tracks: OK Go – Love
The only band capable of knocking OK Go off the top spot for music video of the year, are OK Go themselves, and that’s exactly what they’ve done with this latest mind-boggling visual feast. Following hot on the tails of ‘A Stone Only Rolls Downhill‘, with its intricate interweaving one takes, comes yet another example of the band’s boundless patience and ingenuity. Following a similarly trippy kaleidoscopic ethos, the video for ‘Love’ (the latest single from their new album And the Adjacent Possible) sees the band capture a mesmerising journey through a robotic hall of mirrors, playing with vibrant colours, psychedelic fractals, and freaky shifts in perspective, all as ever captured in one unbroken take. I’m forever awed and baffled by the sheer logistics of these projects – how does one keep that many mirrors so spotless, never mind programming all the robotic arms. One wrong move and that’s about a thousand years of bad luck! There’s something so joyous and life-affirming about OK Go’s limitless creativity, and all the teamwork and dedication that goes into fully realising all their hare-brained schemes.
Top Tracks: Durry – This Movie Sucks
Maybe it’s because I relate so hard to their lyrics about being a messed up kid growing up to become some dead-end loser just barely getting by, or maybe it’s because I love the band’s wry humour, endearing underdog energy, and uncanny knack for great hooks ( …let’s go with the latter!). Whatever the reason, I’ve had Durry’s debut album Suburban Legend on repeat for months now. After every spin it leaves me craving more, but now my prayers are answered, as our favourite sibling duo are back with their latest angsty anthem ‘This Movie Sucks’. The title track of their forthcoming album, out 27th June, it’s a perfect storm of ennui and nostalgia, combatting discontent for a lacklustre existence by finding joy in the little things and not taking life too seriously. The track’s delightful DIY video is Austin and Taryn at their best, delivering a flurry of low budget Be Kind Rewind style recreations of iconic blockbusters. The pair clearly had a blast bringing all these the parodies to life, and that joy just radiates from every frame. To me that’s Durry in a nutshell – a couple of screw-ups with big ideas, ten bucks, and a whole lot of heart, creating something that makes you smile – and you can be damn sure I’ll be in the front row, with popcorn ready, every time.
Belwood Music 