Having caught the attention of music fans across the globe thanks to his stunning cover of Hozier’s ‘Work Song’, multi-instrumentalist Jake Davis is set to follow with his first EP The Valley. Lead single ‘Saying it Right’ is a perfect summer anthem. It plays around with the addictive electro pop mentality, an infectious R&B rhythm and ends on a high with a striking indie pop guitar solo. It’s the kind of airy and upbeat pop that can almost summon a glorious blue sky with it’s catching carefree energy. However beneath the light hearted melodies the lyrics deal with insecurity and struggling to connect, albeit in a cool and collected way. ‘Saying it Right’ displays a level of production and musicianship above what you would expect for such a shamelessly addictive pop song.
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Album Review: Lowtide – Lowtide
Lowtide – LowtideThe Maccabees are breaking up
London based indie band The Maccabees have announced that they are breaking up after 4 albums and 14 years together. They were one of the most prominent bands in London’s indie scene and earned a nomination for the 2012 Mercury Prize for their album Given to the Wild. In the band’s parting message to their fans they stated that they were parting on good terms and that there would be farewell shows in the near future.
Album Review: Blossoms – Blossoms
Blossoms – BlossomsMercury Prize 2016 shortlist announced
The most prestigious prize in British music has released it’s shortlist for album of the year. The list includes a posthumous nomination for David Bowie for his final album Blackstar, as well for Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool making them the most nominated act in the award’s history. The final awards show will take place on 15th September where the list will be whittled down to a final 6 albums before the overall winner will be announced. For the first time the prize will include a public vote to decide one of the finalists. This year’s nominations are:
Anohni – Hopelessness
Bat For Lashes – The Bride
David Bowie – Blackstar
Jamie Woon – Making Time
Kano – Made in the Manor
Laura Mvula – The Dreaming Room
Michael Kiwanuka – Love & Hate
Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
Savages – Adore Life
Skepta – Konnichiwa
The 1975 – I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it
The Comet Is Coming – Channel the Spirits
Spotlight!: The Skeleton Keys
Nothing excites me more than a band that pushes themselves to their creative limits, joyfully embarking on sonic adventures with reckless abandon. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, The Skeleton Keys are just such a band. Though they have grown from indie roots, their music has blossomed into a multifarious marvel. ‘Cannonball’ features elements of funk, a dash of Noel Gallagher and some heavy alternative riffs. Tracks like the light and shade of ‘Blue Sky Believer’ and the effervescent ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’ boast colourful melodies that are sure to leave a smile on your face, but also contain plenty of complexity to showcase the band’s superb musicianship. To top it all off their debut EP is adorned with some simply gorgeous artwork, which is always a plus! The Skeleton Keys have hit the sweet spot, the perfect mix between innovation and entertainment, and if their first release is anything to go by then we could have an award winning album in store one day.
Fans of Biffy Clyro, Queens of the Stone Age, Twin Atlantic and The Libertines should check out their debut EP Danger Island.
Album Review: Viola Beach – Viola Beach
Viola Beach – Viola BeachJack White plays the first vinyl record in space
Space …the vinyl frontier. Musical mad scientist Jack White has completed his mission to play the first ever vinyl record in space. A gold plated 12-inch master of Carl Sagan’s ‘A Glorious Dawn’ was played by the specially designed Icarus Craft, which consisted of a specially engineered turntable attached to a high altitude balloon to take it to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere. The world first came about thanks to former NASA member Kevin Carrico and the SATINS program who worked in collaboration with Jack White’s innovative label Third Man Records
The first Glastonbury live album announced
The world’s most famous festival has announced that it will be releasing it’s first ever companion live album entitled Stand As One. The compilation of performances from the 2016 festival is dedicated to the memory of the late Jo Cox MP and proceeds will go to Oxfam’s Refugee Crisis Appeal. It will be released digitally on 5th August, as a hard copy on 19th August and is available to pre-order now. The tracklisting is as follows:
- Coldplay – Birds
- Foals – What Went Down
- The Last Shadow Puppets – The Dream Synopsis
- Jeff Lynne’s ELO – Showdown
- Chvrches – Bury It
- New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle
- Years & Years – Eyes Shut
- Jess Glynne – Right Here
- Muse – Starlight
- Wolf Alice – Giant Peach
- Editors – Munich
- Sigur Rós- Sæglópur
- John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
- Richard Hawley – Tonight the Streets Are Ours
- Jack Garratt – Worry
- Laura Mvula – People
- Madness – My Girl
- Baaba Maal – Fulani Rock
- Jamie Lawson – Someone For Everyone
The Amazing – Ambulance
Belwood Music 