If you’re looking for the perfect archetype of a modern rock hit, you’d struggle to find a better fit, or a more well-rounded track, than the new song from LA band Island Apollo. Their new single ‘Hold It Down’ kicks off with some Arctic Monkeys style riffs and a dash of Blossoms brand indie synths, before bringing it all back together for the layered vocal harmonies and slick pop production of its infectious chorus. It’s one of those tracks that can make your dreary walk down the street feel like a total badass surveying their kingdom, the whole world at your feet. Island Apollo are definitely one to watch, with tracks like this it won’t be long until they are on every indie hits playlist worth listening to.
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Stop the solo concert shame
I will admit, I was a bit of a late bloomer when it came to live music. I didn’t attend my first proper gig until I was in university and it wasn’t until many many more down the line that I discovered that there is a stigma attached to going to concerts on your own. A great many more concerts later, both solo and with friends, and I still must profess that I don’t understand what the problem is. I think it’s high time people grow up and embrace the idea of going solo to live music events. Continue reading
Top Tracks: Cameron Jones – Call It Off
I’m a big lover of complex music that pushes the boundaries. But no matter how talented you are, it doesn’t mean anything without heart. It usually ends up being the simplest of songs that create the deepest connections with their audience. That is just the case with up-and-coming singer/songwriter Cameron Jones. His latest track ‘Call It Off’ follows a dark and simple folky path, but there is a palpable sense of emotion in his lyrics and their delivery. Honest and sincere, with just the right level of production to let the track truly flourish, Cameron has done everything right. It’s the kind of song that people will be racing to use as the perfect emotive soundtrack for big blockbuster dramas. Mark my words, you haven’t heard the last of Cameron Jones.
Album Review: Keston Cobblers Club – Almost Home
Keston Cobblers Club – Almost HomeAlbum Review: Anna Coogan – The Lonely Cry of Space & Time
Anna Coogan – The Lonely Cry of Space & TimeInterview: The Glass Child
Every so often an artist comes along that completely takes your breath away. That was the reaction I had upon first hearing Swedish singer/songwriter Charlotte Eriksson, better known as The Glass Child. Her music is both hauntingly beautiful and heart-wrenchingly raw and vulnerable, like the songs of some lost angel, with broken wings and a longing to fly. I was lucky enough to speak to Charlotte about her two new singles, her most recent album, and her upcoming EP: Continue reading
Album Review: The Chairman Dances – Time Without Measure
The Chairman Dances – Time Without MeasureTop Tracks: Jack Cheshire – Join The Dots
Like the musical lovechild of Syd Barrett and Nick Drake, the latest psychedelic folk single from Jack Cheshire is delightfully quirky and quintessentially English. ‘Join The Dots’, taken from his upcoming fourth album Black Light Theatre released 7th April, begins with a trippy and off-kilter pastoral shuffle, before building towards a gorgeous climax of soaring strings and airy harmonies. Based around the idea of the worlds we create for ourselves in order to avoid unfaceable truths, this track is a unique and memorable listen. If you are looking for sonic equivalent of some masterful impressionist painting then you won’t get much closer than this. A truly beautiful single, and surely a sign of a stunning album on the horizon.
Top Tracks: Order of Voices – Long For Air
Alternative rockers Order of Voices are at their most passionate and purposeful with this new single from their latest album Constancy. ‘Long For Air’ takes a step back from the Sheffield quintet’s more proggy side, and instead delivers a no-nonsense wall of sound that demands your full attention. Much like the furious fighting and training of the accompanying music video, the track is a real tour de force when it comes to the sheer drive and raw energy at work, but never once falters when it comes to the technical side of the music. This song, a full-blooded rock anthem about battling through adversity, really delivers on what it promises and makes it clear for all to see that the band are a force to be reckoned with.
Top Tracks: Simian Ghost – Stop Moving
I’ve never known a song so incorrectly titled, as I don’t believe there’s anyone in the world that can resist the urge to dance when this track plays. Swedish band Simian Ghost have produced the most infectiously upbeat track of the year thus far with their new single ‘Stop Moving’, taken from their upcoming eponymous album. It combines bright indie riffs, funky bass lines and a throwback feel-good disco atmosphere. Imagine a collaboration between Vampire Weekend and Nile Rodgers of Chic and you won’t be far off the vibe that this track creates. It’s rare to find a song with such universal appeal, and rarer still for it to be such a shimmering beacon of positive energy. Give in to temptation, surrender to the song, and start grooving to ‘Stop Moving’.
Belwood Music 