Personally I’ve always found solace in insignificance. Thinking about how we are but a tiny speck in an incomprehensibly large universe always seems to put my own problems into perspective. It’s easy to say that with your feet firmly on the ground, but I can imagine it can feel very different witnessing it all first hand. This new track from introspective folk duo takes a look at the other side of it all. The aptly named ‘Space Blues’ explores the loneliness and isolation of a life in space, and the feeling of looking out at an endless expanse and wondering if there’s any meaning in it all. Not only is a refreshingly unique subject for a song, but the duo have also executed it perfectly. With softly spoken vocals, mournful strings and eerie woodwinds offering a mystical feel, it’s the kind of song that makes the whole world seem to stand still and listen with you.
top tracks
Top Tracks: Sun K – High In The City
Sat here on a bitterly cold night in January, snuggling close to a hot water bottle to try to keep the chills at bay, ‘High In The City’ is just the song I needed. A song to remind me that the summer sun, and the carefree adventures it brings, aren’t all that far away, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. Canadian band Sun K have loaded this track with gritty vocals and vintage guitar tones in this superb slice of old-school no-nonsense rock’n’roll. The band aren’t reinventing the wheel here, but then again if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Wheels are very much still in use and that classic rock sound is just as potent as it ever was. Everything about this song, from the throwback vibes to the nostalgic visuals, aims to recall the summers of the past. But there’s something inexplicable about it that makes me want to go out, have adventures and make new memories… when the weather warms up that is.
Top Tracks: Marlene Oak – Come Home
I’ve never heard another voice quite like this. In Swedish singer/songwriter Marlene Oak I can hear hints of Jeff Buckley, a fair bit of Dolores O’Riordan, and a whole heap of old school soul, all blending together into a pretty unique concoction. Vocals that are equal parts forceful and fragile, which end up being the perfect match for a song like ‘Come Home’. Taken from her upcoming EP Silver Moon, out 15th February, it’s a track all about finding your soulmate. Finding an all-encompassing love that fills an empty space inside that you perhaps never even knew was there. A love so deep feels much like Marlene’s vocals on this track. Something so powerful that it consumes your entire being, that you forget all else exists, and yet in turn leaving you so open and vulnerable, quivering on the edge of breaking point. They say that love is giving someone the power to destroy you and trusting them not to, and Marlene imbues that same raw emotion into this song.
Top Tracks: Natalie Shay – Yesterday
Up and coming singer/songwriter Natalie Shay was one of the new acts that impressed us most last year, and she’s already making waves in 2019 with her new single ‘Yesterday’. The addictive indie pop offering shows another new facet to her talents and features her best vocals and most infectious hooks to date. All about moving on from a one-sided relationship, and falling for someone who was never as committed as you, the track does a great job of wrapping up its honest and meaningful lyricism in an impeccable pop sheen. It’s the kind of song where you can draw what you want from it. Whether you’re looking for a break-up anthem or a new bop to get you up and dancing, it just depends on what mood you’re in. It varies from listen to listen, but you’ll have plenty of chance to explore both sides as I guarantee you’ll have it on repeat.
Top Tracks: Andrew Leahey – Airwaves
Americana and nostalgia are always a winning combination, you need look no further than this track for proof. ‘Airwaves’ is a layered love letter to the days when radio ruled the world, the days when the M in MTV stood for music and not miscellaneous. It’s a celebration of the sounds that became an important foundation for so many people growing up, and a sad reflection on how future generations will never know what they’re missing out on. More than that, it’s a view into a more personal connection with the music. Singer/songwriter Andrew Leahey underwent an operation that risked not only his hearing, but his life. An experience like that is sure to make someone appreciate the little things in life all the more, like hearing a song on the radio that just awakens something inside you. ‘Airwaves’ is a message: take it from someone in the know, seize the day and cherish the music that made you.
Top Tracks: Distant Days – Wrap Your Arms Around The Light
The latest track from Swedish band Distant Days plays like a nights sleep. Its softer moments drift by like a dream, notes falling soft like snowflakes in the magical winters you remember from your youth. The sweeping strings and gorgeous piano offer such a comforting atmosphere, like the song is an old lullaby half remembered from childhood. In the darker moments however the song takes a more sinister turn, as the dream shifts into more nightmarish territory. It offers an unsettling edge which keeps you guessing as you wait for the sweetness to return, and it just makes it feel all the more rewarding when it does. There’s just something heartwarmingly familiar about this song as a whole that I can’t quite put my finger on. ‘Wrap Your Arms Around The Light’ may wear its influences on its sleeve, recalling the likes of Nick Cave, Lou Reed and David Bowie, but it wears them well and does them justice.
Top Ten Songs of 2018
Though this past year has had it’s fair share of ups and downs, 2018 has consistently delivered some killer songs. In previous years my number one song of the year was obvious, it would spark something within me, ignite a fire that would keep burning all year. This time round I’ve had that same feeling about half the songs on my list! Continue reading
Top Tracks: Michael McArthur – Elaine
“Love is all you need”. Besides the obvious Beatles connotation, it’s a sentiment that has been attempted to be expressed in countless ways. The trouble is in trying to sum up a love so potent in mere words, or in the same chords that make up every song under the sun. Neither can really do it justice. True love is beautiful and baffling. It can weather the fiercest storms and only gets stronger with time while all others crumble and fade. This track from Florida’s Michael McArthur doesn’t capture that indescribable feeling, but it comes closer than almost any song I can think of. ‘Elaine’, taken from his debut album Ever Green, Ever Rain out 25th January, reminds me what it’s like to fall deeply and completely in love. That warm glow that outshines all else, that feeling that you could almost just close your eyes and float away.
Top Tracks: Skip Curtis – Wild Love
The debut single from Welsh singer/songwriter Skip Curtis is imbued with the spirit of adventure. ‘Wild Love’ is the kind of track that makes you want to shed all your responsibilities, leave your fears and insecurities behind, and just take off running. There’s an energy to it that compels you to keep seeking the next horizon in the hope that there’s a better place awaiting you on the other side. As much as the song calls out to you to get away from everything that’s holding you back, it manages to provide its own escape with its driving bass, emphatic chorus and infectious energy. ‘Wild Love’ whisks you away and reminds you that you can’t let a particular place or person to define who you are, sometimes you just have to take the plunge into the unknown and see where it leads.
Top Tracks: Averly – Patient
Belwood favourite Jonny Carroll has teamed up with producer extraordinaire Jon Class for new indie pop project Averly. It’s always rewarding to hear an artist you know exploring new ground and experimenting with new ideas, and there’s no better way to do that than collaborating with another artist. This duo has brought two different worlds together and each side injects their own ideas and idiosyncrasies into their debut single ‘Patient’. Detailing that familiar disheartening frustration when you feel as though you’re not making as much progress towards your personal goals as you’d hoped, ‘Patient’ dances with shimmering melodies. It’s rooted in an organic indie sound, occasionally reminiscent of Manchester Orchestra, albeit cloaked in an air of electropop that knows all the right buttons to push. It delivers all it promises and more, and certainly marks an assured first step for this new partnership.
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