I can’t remember the last time I heard a song that so perfectly captures a feeling the way that ‘Align’ does. The music conjuring out of thin air the very emotion it’s trying to describe. In this case, the wave of bittersweet nostalgia that comes in the aftermath of a break-up. Somehow ‘Align’s expansive electronica embodies not only the warmth and comfort that comes with reminiscing on a happy memory, a precious moment shared that’s rapidly fading into history, but also the cold, detached emptiness that bubbles away within when the time comes to let it go. Sincerely wishing a life well lived to source of your heartache as you close the book on the chapter you once shared. This gorgeous new single from Belwood favourite Ailbhe Reddy sees her revel in the notion that “time makes all things feel alright” in the end. Those photos and keepsakes in a box under the bed, buried away like a time capsule – if left long enough, all the pain they bring now will have softened, all the wounds will have faded into scars. All that will remain is an echo of a happy memory, and gratitude for the brief time your life intertwined with another, even if it wasn’t meant to last.
top tracks
Top Tracks: Lucifers Beard – Loveland
I love when an act is able to change their sound as easily as changing clothes. Able to reach into their musical wardrobe, grab a different style on a whim, put in on, and just make it work. When last I delved into the world of Lucifers Beard, this singular solo project was sporting a Royal Blood style full-blooded rocker sound, with a pinch of southern grit for good measure. ‘Loveland’ is another world entirely. This lush new single, the titular centrepiece of the new EP Welcome to Loveland, takes more of a funky, disco inspired approach. It feels like the work of a completely different ensemble – trading the leather jacket and cowboy hat for a glittery, mirrorball blazer and flared trousers. It’s a pitch perfect love letter to Let’s Dance era Bowie, with a few nods to ELO in its string accompaniment, and with a playful eccentricity that reminds me a little of Belwood Award winning art rockers HMLTD. Bright, grand, and indulgent, with an infectious dance rock groove, Lucifers Beard flaunts this new sound with real flair and panache.
Top Tracks: Cristina Hart – Thank You For Leaving
Absence doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder, sometimes it provides the step back necessary to see everything in perspective. A chance to finally recognise all the pain and manipulation that you’ve put up with for far too long. An opportunity to put yourself first and realise that you deserve to be treated better. With her new single ‘Thank You For Leaving’, Belwood favourite Cristina Hart delivers a break-up anthem that bounces back brighter than ever from the ashes of heartache. Positively buzzing with Olivia Rodrigo vibes, fusing pop earworms with a hefty helping of edge and venom, Cristina’s new single has all the cathartic satisfaction of being the one left standing tall after a break-up. They say that the best revenge is a life well lived, and this pop-rock powerhouse is living her best life right now. After being handpicked to open for One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson in Zurich, and garnering support from Radio 1’s Future Pop show, this first taste of her forthcoming EP could be your last chance to join the hype train before she becomes a household name.
Top Tracks: Emily Popli – Alight
With such an overabundance of new releases all vying for attention, it can be hard to pick out just a few examples to shine a light on for the blog. Often all a track needs to stand out from the crowd is a single wow moment – something that stops you in your tracks and demands your attention. ‘Alight’ delivers on that front in the first few seconds, when that rich, bluesy guitar tone melts your heart as it swirls and intertwines with the subtle strings. That alone was all the wow moment I needed, but this gorgeous duet just keeps piling on more moments that take your breath away. I felt that same rush of endorphins again when I heard Emily Popli’s lush, golden tones ring out. Once more when Matt Giraud’s gritty, soulful voice belted out his verse with the utmost passion and sincerity. All of it culminating in the firework finale that finds their talents combined in a most heavenly harmony. For a song with the opening line “I just want your attention…“, it sure as hell delivers, pulling out all the stops to grab it and never let it go.
Top Tracks: Lucy Kitchen – Red Skies
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: 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.
Belwood Music 