It’s when we are stuck in one place that we find ourselves yearning to wander, and pondering all the possibilities that await us should we follow where that feeling takes us. It’s this call to adventure that compels us to stay up till the small hours to make the most of a time that is entirely our own, when the rest of the world is sleeping and demanding nothing of us. It’s the call inherent in those long summer nights – all the extra hours of sunlight beckoning you out to make the most of them while they last. It’s the same call that resonated within singer/songwriter Lucy Kitchen as she sat waiting at a set of traffic lights, their red glow mingling with the soft golden hues of sunset, and thought on all the possibilities that an open road and a summer night could lead to. With its charming folk arrangement and soft swells of steel guitar, ‘Red Skies’ positively hums with all the warmth, stillness, and potential of a dusky evening in June. That spark of spontaneity that longs to break away and make memories.
top tracks
Top Tracks: Perception Delta – Haunt You
To my mind bands get several opportunities to make a “first impression”. For your average listener, it’s usually hearing a band’s debut album for the first time. For those with their finger on the pulse, a bit more music industry minded, it’s often a debut EP that puts an act on the map. Yet before all that comes an altogether more personal first step – a debut single. It’s always so interesting to see an act try to distil their identity, sound and ambitions as best they can into a single song before taking that all important first step into the spotlight. How do you sum up who you are in just a few short minutes, where do you even start? For a prime example of a debut single done right look no further than Indian progressive metal outfit Perception Delta. ‘Haunt You’ leads you on a journey through face melting riffs, gut punch grunge bass lines, and clear soaring vocals. Exploring brooding gothic atmospheres reminiscent of Opeth, intricate shifts and drum fills to rival Dream Theater, and as many mighty riffs as they can muster, all while Antara Arvind’s emotionally charged vocals offer their own unique stamp on the sound. If every step that follows is as assured as their first, Perception Delta could be the prog scene’s next big thing.
Top Tracks: Marni – Bee Stings
So much of our music taste as we grow older is build upon the foundations laid by the music of our youth. Though we may still occasionally sample things that are new and outside our comfort zone, for the most part we don’t tend to stray too far from what we already know and love. ‘Bee Stings’, the latest single from LA band Marni, feels like the mean average of every song I obsessed over as a teenager. The first taster of the band’s new EP due later this year, its slacker rock vibes adorned with a sprinkling of impassioned emo are a textbook example of a musical vision being fully and exquisitely realised. The way its brooding shoegaze soundscapes give way to the ferocious roar of garage rock distortion, like a crocodile lunging out of the eddying murk of a river’s edge. In another life this beauty would have had pride of place in every last angsty teenage playlist I ever made. Better late than never I suppose.
Top Tracks: Nadia Kadek – Feeling It All
Adults seem so infallible when you’re a kid; our formative years spent looking up at grown-ups who seem to have all the answers. Your own parents feel especially smart, especially strong, carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, always knowing what’s best. You tell yourself one day you’ll have it all figured out, just like them. ‘Feeling It All’, the stunning debut single from singer/songwriter Nadia Kadek, reckons with how the naïve, idealistic childhood view of adulthood stacks against the reality of growing up. This wonderfully expressive folk number deals with trying to live up to this impossibly high standard you’ve set; acknowledging that no one has their life together the way they thought they would, that a part of you will always look for the the adult in the room for answers. Moreover it touches on how we begin to realise our parental paragons aren’t as perfect as we imagined. They too struggle, make mistakes, do wrong by us, and ultimately fade and pass before we’re ready. The track’s light and airy arrangement leaves ample room for the expressiveness of Nadia’s tender vocals to truly shine. True to its name you can truly feel it all – the frustration and confusion, a sense of loss, of forgiveness and understanding – wrapped up in this beautiful moment of introspection.
Top Tracks: Snacktime – Sunshine
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: 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.
Belwood Music 