I look back to life a year ago, and the world seems different. I had just endured a car crash breakup, hit accelerate on a summer backpacking tour of South East Asia, and, most crushingly, had written my last column for PearShaped Exeter. I think an English degree happened somewhere around that point too. Today, friends that still remember what it feels like to be chucked out of Arena for public indecency have started paying towards their pensions. Remember that bloke you had a deep chat with that one time whilst getting cheesy chips at 2am? He now cycles to work on a tax-free bicycle scheme to save money. The girl who first introduced you to Aphex Twin after a heavy one out at Timepiece? She’s just moved in with her boyfriend to afford to live in a room with mice in South London. And me? Somehow, inexplicably, I’ve just completed a year working as a paid Marketing Intern at RCA Label Group UK, a flagship recording label of Sony Music UK. The intern life at a major label isn’t easy. It’s a full time job, where you learn about the music industry for the first time whilst navigating a constant series of storms and near-misses. Yes, there are perks. Committing to memory what Nicole Scherzinger orders anonymously from Nando’s may be one of them. And you’ll never forget how many sugars’ need to go into Dame Shirley Bassey’s decaffeinated coffee. But the tea round is a myth, or occasionally, a choice. You’re thrust right into the center of life at a label: complex budgets, impatient suppliers, frantic phone calls from management. You’re a part of the team, and the work you do is crucial to keeping that team above water. It’s challenging, but exhilarating. If you want to learn more about the music industry, don’t read the latest Thom Yorke thinkpiece blasting major labels for giving up on artists. Get involved. You’re the person the music industry needs, especially at a moment in history where it’s changing faster than ever before.
Let’s quickly clear something up. The music business is just that, a business. Yes, this is stating the painstakingly obvious. I can hear you groaning in the back. But approaching the industry for the first time as a fan, as a romantic, it can be a surprisingly alien fact to navigate. To pay people to be a part of it as a livelihood, records need to be sold. And in 2015, that job is harder than ever. The emergence of streaming platforms as major players has meant that consumers are less likely than ever to part ways with their cash for the music that they love. Unless you’re Adele, fewer and fewer albums are being sold every single year, and digital downloads will keep shrinking until streaming takes over completely. In terms of the market, this could be good news. If somebody who buys only one or two CDs a year is now paying £120 annually for a music subscription, then this is all new money. Piracy is down, and people are just investing in different ways. But in terms of the artist, it makes it harder than ever to break a new act. Your £120 is going to Spotify, with a fraction of that going to the label, and even less going directly to the artist. If people are listening, then the artist will get paid, but as a result, you’re investing less in the artist as an individually emotional proposition. You’re listening to more of the music you like, but discovering less of the music you love. Which essentially means the label, as the street vendor, the flogger, the ones getting the track played on your radio or written about in your newspaper, have an incredibly hard job to do.
But the industry has never been more exciting. Everything is changing, and power is shifting to new places. In the past year alone, we’ve seen the launch of Apple Music loaded with millions of marketing spend. We’ve seen Beats1 steal Zane Lowe from Radio 1 in the infamous “Apple Crumble” of BBC talent. Spotify has accrued over half a billion dollars in investment to compete, whilst everybody from Amazon to BitTorrent are setting up pay gates to gain some ground in the streaming war. Even Jay-Z has cried for his A- List Avengers to assemble around a posh boardroom table to proclaim that although the gloves are off, we will never see Daft Punk remove their helmets. We’ve witnessed NME go free, Adele break all the records she’d already set for herself, and, against all the odds, even Justin Bieber has become cool. See? Nothing is off the table. And there’s never been a better time to pull up a chair. Major labels notoriously get bad press, but nobody seems to write about the blood and sweat that the people behind the labels pour into every artist they sign. I’m talking about real music fans, laying their sanity on high-speed train tracks every single day to get great bands a big break. The new Everything Everything album Get To Heaven, possibly one of the best releases of 2015, was marketed by a woman who studies a Fine Art degree in a her spare time. The Nothing But Thieves project was led by a guy who, at 30, has just started learning to skateboard this year. Pharrell Williams is product managed by a woman who once swam in bloodied water with sharks without a cage, for the kicks, whilst Billie Marten and WHITE are two fascinating emerging artists that are looked after by a girl who collects vinyl disco records off the clock. If these projects excite you, then that’s a good start. But it’s the people that make the projects worth working. There’s no “soft boiled eggs in shirts and ties” at major labels. Just passionate people working on powerful projects. It could be you. Nobody knows what the future of the music industry holds. If the streaming model breaks down, then everybody loses. If the BBC faces service cuts, then new music will be the first to fall. Everything is uncertain, but guess what? New rules will replace the old. The world is consuming music more than ever before in history, but in a way that’s obliterated all precedent. For us, social media is now a second language. The new world is founded on ideas that come easy to those who never knew anything different. And if you’re willing to work your arse off, if you’re open to learn new skills in a challenging environment, if you stumble on a few lucky breaks, and if you really, truly, live for art and innovation, then the music industry is yours for the taking.
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The list of achievements racked up by A. G. Cook and his sonic stormtroopers is already vast. We've seen PC Music have its own stage at SXSW in Texas. Diplo has waded in, remixing the canonical 'Hey QT'. And GFOTY is apparently big enough now to have her own racism scandal. However the biggest coup of all, as of today, is that PC Music have announced a ground breaking collaboration with Columbia Records, a major flagship label of the enormous Sony Music. With a post on their Facebook page (below), they've warned the world to expect "A NEW, HIGHLY ADVANCED POP WEAPON" (sic). Sound terrifying? At least it'll be better than weaponising the NHS. But will such a weapon of mass production be able to conquer the universe?
PC Music is back in the blogs. But it needs a face, a voice that will carry it's imperialist agenda into the charts. It might have found one. Last night, Charlie XCX took over Julie Adenuga's show on Beats1, and premiered a hotly anticipated new track called 'Vroom Vroom' (below), a partnership announced months ago with big time PC Music producer Sophie. Despite never actually associating with the label itself, he is umbilically coupled with the scene after the release of the weird and wondrous 'Lemonade' (also below) last year.. And it's everything that makes PC Music so interesting - it's divisive. Whilst I'm bellowing "all my life I've been waiting for a good time" in my kitchen with my 12 week old Labradoodle galloping around my feet with indeterminable glee, there's another human being who is wondering how musical culture has let itself reach such a pinnacle of opaque vapidity. Take, for example, Hazel, a 20 year old pop fan from Newcastle: "I never want to hear that again." - Hazel Cooley, Newcastle
Clearly, it's marmite music. Or rather, marmite culture. But we live in a world where the absurd can explode into normality. In a world where Nicki Minaj can erupt from authentic underground hip hop into Brand Anaconda. A world where Justin Bieber can evolve from the dusty cocoon of a controversial DUI charge to emerge fully flowered as, and it's not easy to type this, cool. Today is also #BackToTheFutureDay, and it begs the question of what exactly we expect from the next thirty years of pop music. Back when Marty McFly first flew out of 1989, the UK had four Jason Donovan records reach # 1 within six months. Four. Now, the charts are ruled by men with portable computers, while pop stars are put together by dynamite marketing maestros in expensive boardrooms. Perhaps PC Music conquering the future is not so far fetched after all?
Beyond the music, there's a strong argument to be made that innovation sells. Even when it does sound like you're raving at the Willy Wonka Christmas Party with all the Oompa Loompa's high on acid. This July, Sophie's 'Lemonade' was given a huge sync deal with an American McDonalds ad. Furthermore, QT has allegedly begun production on DrinkQT, an energy drink "manufactured to contribute to upward shine, vertical connectivity and personal growth". And you can't deny that the energy of PC Music does sound a little bit like the bestselling beat from Iggy's 'Fancy'. But what next? A brand partnership with Google Glass or Apple Watch? A soundtrack album to the Kanye West 2020 Presidential Campaign? A cameo for Hannah Diamond in the next Star Wars film? You can't say the sky's the limit when Will.I.Am has had his music played on Mars.
The first release from PC Music X Columbia Records will be an EP from Danny L Harle called 'Broken Flowers'. You can listen to the first track from that below, also released today. Say hello to the new leaders of the free world. It doesn't look like they're going anywhere.
No, that's not Clean Bandit. Sure, it might sound, look, and feel like Clean Bandit, but, honestly, it's not. In fact, it's real proof that vocalists who once began as a featured artist on somebody else's track can actually break through a music industry that has recently become a crowded graveyard for solo singers.
Jess Glynne had two #1 hits with Clean Bandit and Route 94 before going on to top the charts herself with 'Hold My Hand' this year. Sam Smith, who has shared both success and a sore throat with Glynne recently, enjoyed triumph as a feature with Disclosure and Naughty Boy before that album dropped. Wait, you haven't heard it yet? Lies. Now, Smith has won more trophies in a year than Arsene Wenger has managed in ten.
Clearly, getting your hands on a toasty feature can do wonders for a development artist tasting the charts for the first time. But who's the next big thing? Here's my countdown to the exciting voices whispering behind the tracks that you've been trying to ignore on your car radio recently.
But outside of Beatport, Kimberly Anne is a superb singer-songwriter. Before the Sam Feldt breakthrough, she had released a track called 'Liar', that you can check out through the loop-driven VEVO DSCVR piece below she did last year. It used to be on her Soundcloud, but her label presumably took it down to build it up to be her next proper single. Clearly, they're starting to get excited about her. There's also a lovely Simon & Garfunkel cover you can find on her Soundcloud profile from a Huw Stephens R1 session last year. Watch this space. And, if this space gets a bit vacuous, then just stare at that wonderful haircut for a while. Delightful.
#4 Charlie Puth
Puth was born from YouTube, in the 'covers' generation that followed Justin Bieber, who, interestingly, has reverted back to features to try and reclaim some vestige of credibility. Now, Puth is on his first solo single, bringing in cutesy pop royal Queen Meghan Trainor to help out with a track that sounds remarkably similar to 'Dear Future Husband'. Which, in turn, sounds exceptionally akin to 'Dance With Me Tonight'. It's now picking up heat at BBC Radio 1's B List, where my cousin first heard the track in the car. Although she proclaimed it to be 'unlistenable pop shite', the YouTube hits don't lie: just under 30 million at time of writing. It's called 'Marvin Gaye'. Just don't tell the Gaye family, I'm sure they wouldn't be thrilled to hear about it.
#3: Parson James
You know Kygo. No, no, that's Diplo. Same Pied Piper hook in the chorus, but very different bloke. This is Kygo: the Norwegian producer that is wanted dead or alive for mercilessly slaughtering the UK charts this year with the massive tropical house hits 'Firestone' and 'Stole The Show', the latter of which features our hero of the tale, Parson James, pictured right. Again, the fella on the right is not Kygo.
Parson James sounds like what would happen if Olly Murs went with Jake Blues to James Brown's church at the beginning of Blues Brothers and had a religious experience. Here's what you don't know. Parson James left home at 16 to escape a father that was addicted to crack,and a small town in South Carolina that abused him for being mixed race and gay. He left to flip burgers in New York, and, of course, to make the 'conflicted gospel-pop' that you can feel from his debut single 'Sinners Like You' that dropped last month. James bellows with authenticity on the track: "Momma, I sinned again, went to bed with another man'. Authentic, catchy gospel-pop, you say? Preach, brother.
#2: Will Heard
No sign of any solo material just yet unfortunately. I know, I know, I'm disappointed too. But you can tide yourself over with the #SixtyMinutesLive session he did for Mistajam last year on BBC R1Xtra, after another feature he did with Tourist. Sam Smith eat your heart out. Just remember: you Heard him here first.
Sorry. I'll get my coat. #1: MØ
Perhaps MØ is an unfair selection to top this list, since she's the only artist in this list thus far that has released her own album, 'No Mythologies To Follow', which was released to immense critical acclaim last year. Kimberly Anne, Parson James, and Will Heard are still flirting with the idea of their first solo single. But the height of her potential is beyond galactic, and with an already fascinating back catalogue of solo material steeped in left-of-center electronic influences, she's a hot prospect. New music is on its way. Trust me, I've heard it.
Some thinking will almost definitely be happening soon. I promise.
In a rather surprising turn of events, it seems that finishing my degree did not quite match the picture of fireworks and fist-pumping that I had visualised in my head. I came to realise this depressing fact a couple of weekends ago, as I lay in bed watching the entire One Direction set from BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend. In the crowd, there was a middle aged, grey-haired Glaswegian man singing along to every word of Story Of My Life, and for a brief moment, I envied him. He was clearly having the time of his life, and didn’t care who knew it. Meanwhile, there I was, lying in my bed wondering if my post-Ti-Pi-Fri insides could overcome the challenge of a bacon sandwich. The Glaswegian Directioner was mocking me. And he knew it.
To cheer myself up, as so many do, I turned to the internet. But adorable dog videos were firmly off the table (except for this one: http://bit.ly/S8YsUy). “I seriously need some new music in my life,” I thought to myself. “Something that can get me away from this morbid interest in the wry grin of Harry Styles.” These next couple of songs are the result. Happy hangovers, soon-to-be-graduates (and the rest of you that are sad to be leaving already). 1. Big Boi – Mrs Vandebilt Told Me If faced with the prospect of creating a list of all-time-awesome British music things you like, what names would spring to mind? David Bowie? Keith Richards? Elton John, Pete Townshend, Gary Barlow? Surely, somewhere, you would have to include Paul McCartney. And thanks to Big Boi, you can enjoy his Royal Wingsness on an entirely fresh platform. I endure a love/hate relationship with hip hop. I adored Yeezus, but literally fell asleep when I saw Kanye live. Kendrick Lemar is immensely talented, but I often find him hard to relate to. I regard Outkast as ever-so-slightly-please-don't-hate-me overrated, especially on the evidence of their underwhelming festival headline appearances so far this summer. However, Big Boi, one half of Outkast, has released a pearler here. Mixing in his 2010 hit, Mama Told Me (featuring a vibed-up feature from Kelly Rowland and co-written by Little Dragon), he throws in an infectious acoustic guitar sample and vocal from Paul McCartney’s 1973 album with Wings Band On The Run, a record I’ve just nabbed off my Grandad to add to my 12” collection. The result is delicious. Did I mention that it’s a free download? 2. DZ Deathrays – Reflective Skull Have you ever wondered what the Australian version of Royal Blood might sound like? Of course you have. Enter DZ Deathrays: the thrash-pop duo from Brisbane made up of the surprisingly ordinarily named Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley. The guitar swerves between crashing heavy rock and futuristic flange, whilst remaining melodically addictive. Oddly for their genre, the intro to the song seems to steal the percussion part straight from Dizzee Rascal’s Fix Up Look Sharp. That’s the iconically grime Dizzee, not the pop icon he morphed into just in time for the Olympics. But hey, give me DZ vs Dizzee any day; that was what was catchy about the track to begin with. Their new album, Black Rat, came out at the start of May and the duo have spent a fair proportion of the month since doing gigs around the UK. DZ Deathrays bring immense energy to a rock scene that’s undergone massive revitalisation recently. And they’re not the only Aussies on today’s list! 3. The Griswolds – Beware The Dog Told you. A sun-drenched cross between Vampire Weekend and Circa Waves, the four-piece from Sydney shot to public attention after they posted their first hit Mississippi online, which led to support slots for the likes of Django Django. After releasing their debut EP Heart of a Lion back in 2012, they’re back with a brand new record. Their debut album is being recorded with a similar crowdfunding scheme that found such success with Amanda Palmer, letting the fans get closer to their work whilst getting the creative process moving along nicely. If you want to get involved in the action, then get pledging! In return, you get exclusive access to their drunken recording antics. It’s more fun than it sounds! If you want proof of that, look no further than Beware The Dog. It’s been making the rounds on the Internet, and gaining a lot of blogging love through Hype Machine. According to frontman, Chris Whitehall, the record is about losing somebody they loved through drug abuse. But I can’t help being reminded of an ex-girlfriend as they sing that “she used to suck the fun out of me.” Pity me. 4. Baby Queens – Red Light Moving home after University is going to really suck. Where will my mates predrink now? What will happen to my sense of freedom? When do I have to start paying council tax? What is council tax? It’s barely preferable to the inevitability of selling your soul to the corporate teet, like accepting a life jail sentence over an execution. But there’s one band that are bringing back some positive vibes about that ghastly drive home up the M5. Hailing from my hometown Cardiff, this all-female five-piece is made up of two sisters, two cousins, and one adopted sister. Let’s hope there’s never any creative disputes, because that could be explosive. So have we got another nomination for The Osbournes? Or a new Jackson Five? As Red Lights seems to show, the family connection seems to bring something rather special. It’s soulful hip hop that can really take you over. Harmonies, rap, and a sharply infectious guitar hook with a marching percussion beat. When I first heard it, I thought it was too simplistic, too easy to get into. But in the week since, it’s been the most played track on my Chilled playlist. Signed to Strangetown Records, the label of Cian Ciaran of Super Furry Animals, they are looking to release their debut album next year. Get on it, girls! 5. Parquet Courts – Instant Disassembly Parquet Courts have created something of real beauty here. The latest single from their recently released third studio album, Sunbathing Animal, clocks in at a Zeppelin-esque seven minutes without you even realising. It’s one of those strange tracks that feels just right. I’ve rewritten this paragraph several times over, trying and failing to touch upon what makes this record so gorgeous. Primarily, it’s because it’s so surprising. Parquet Courts have an immense cult following in the DIY scene, making their name with honest punk rock and a lack of intention to commodify. It’s garnered an explosion of online attention since their reissue of Light Up Gold through What’s Your Rupture last year. Not that attention is at all what they’re looking for. It’s all about the art, and that’s exceptionally refreshing. In an interview with the Guide last year, Austin Brown, singer and guitarist of Parquet Courts, had one thing to say about the UK: “We like the regimen of the English breakfast.” This band from Brooklyn deserve all the love in the world for the original sound they continue to create, but don’t expect them to love you back. I have just completed my degree in English Literature. This is another way of saying that I’m finally caught up on Game Of Thrones. In what feels like a totally unspectacular anti-climax, I’m being forced to look towards the future, where imminent graduate unemployment goes hand-in-hand with impending alcoholism and a ravaged bank account. But all hope is not lost, friends! Sure, it’s unlikely David Cameron will be on the phone any time soon asking for an emergency literacy criticism of Hamlet, but the lack of enforced Sparknotes research means that I can finally start doing the things I love once again. Which brings us to this week’s chosen tracks.
As per usual, it’s all brand new stuff from emerging artists. Since you’re probably reading this with the thoughts of Eurovision fresh in the memory, I thought I’d throw a curveball or two in there too. So expect some variety. This week, we’ve featured the saviour of hip-hop, a Japanese one-man-band, and an accountant turned producer who shatters genres as comprehensively as dissertations ruin self-esteem. Apologies to the fantastic new stuff from First Aid Kit, tUnE-yArDs Laurel, LAYLA, and Together Pangea. Better luck next time. And if you’re on the look out for an album, you should definitely give The Amazing Snakehead’s LP, Amphetamine Ballads, a listen; a Glaswegian melting pot of Alex Harvey’s energy and Nick Cave’s lyrical seduction. Also a sincere ‘please try harder’ to the insanely talented Kimbra, whose latest effort unfortunately made me squirm. Let us begin. 1. Raury – Sunshine This kid is going to be huge. In the record that propelled him to global internet attention, God’s Whisper, he claimed to be the saviour of music. He refuses attachment to any definition, refuting that he’s a rapper despite clear similarities to Kendrick Lemar’s early mixtapes. His vocal is soulful, echoing across beats that resonate under sounds that often stem from an acoustic guitar, such as his first uploaded track, Bloom. His latest effort, Sunshine, vibes darkly, almost like something we might expect from Banks. Raury calls out contradictions and claims to be “clever beyond (his) youth”. Full of himself, or sure of his own abilities? Raury has been working on his debut album, Indigo Child, since the age of 14. In his recent Instagram posts, he’s been dressing up for his High School Prom, sporting a chic cowboy hat over the traditional tux. He’s a perfectionist with influences that flirt between Phil Collins and Andre 3000, and with a vision to change the world starting with his stagnated Atlanta community. Something special? I’ll go out there and say most definitely. File under ‘one to watch’. 2. ICHI – Go Gagambo In the words of the newly reunited Monty Python, it is now time for something completely different. Remember that scene in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang where the Dad tries to pull some extra cash together by performing down the circus with his one-man-band costume on? You know the one, where he has the drums on his back and his tail between his legs. Well, ICHI is kind of like that. Except he sings about a giant mosquito, has a tambourine around his neck, and plays a custom-made banjo with only two strings. I’m not that familiar with Japanese music. Obviously, I’m no Avril Lavigne when it comes to understanding and appreciating their culture. But I know ‘truly fricking awesome’ when I see it. Sure, the line between ‘awesome’ and ‘weird’ can occasionally be blurred. But I challenge you to listen to this track without immediately wanting to press play again at least four more times. You can have a listen here. 3. Gengahr – Fill My Gums With Blood Okay, okay, let’s try and be cool again. Gengahr, with absolutely no relation to the Ghost Pokemon of a similar name, hails from the DIY scene in merry old London. The video for their debut single, Fill My Gums With Blood, was charmingly directed by nine year old Nico Smith, who starred in the amateur horror too. Minus their prodigal director, they’re currently supporting Wolf Alice on their UK tour. Bookmark them for some really interesting releases in the not-so-distant future. You cannot dislike this song. It’s sweet, catchy, easy listening indie rock that lacks edge but promises much for the future. You can’t criticise them, mainly because they are naturally resistant to ‘normal type’ attacking moves. I’ll get my coat. 4. Sabina – Viva L’Amour I imagine myself listening to this record whilst reading a book and sipping Chai Tea on a New York rooftop. In this fantasy, I’m naked. I don’t entirely know why. I’m chewing absent mindedly on the stem of a rose, as my toes curl around the petals that have fallen to the floor, and I’m pretty sure I’m French. Sabina Sciubba, the frontwoman of the band Brazilian Girls, released her first solo album, Toujours, a couple of months back. Viva L’Amour embodies pretty much everything that is bohemian about Sabina and her music. The strum of the acoustic guitar rarely changes, and the percussion is regular. But Sabina’s melodic vocals and subtle key changes make Viva L’Amour endlessly fascinating. And the short saxophone break is sexy as hell. You haven’t heard anything like it this week. 5. Bobby Tank – Undone Our final track today is a tricky one to write about, from full time accountant turned progressive producer, Bobby Tank. I understand the fundamental principles of EDM, and what sounds belong where, but I can’t classify this one. The closest I can get to some kind of accurate description is that it sounds like something off an old Sonic game on Dreamcast that stumbled into the Virgin Galactica offices. It’s groovy, epic, and unique all at once, and the bass guitar will funk you up beyond legible recognition. True to its name, you might not be able to throw a label on it, but feel free to sort it in your collection next to ‘mind-bending electro space-funk’. Or the more simple ‘play this more than once’ tag. Whatever floats your solar-powered rocket boat. Last week was an incredibly exciting week for new music, a blend of fervent innocence and deft experience that I can’t recall having happened before. We saw beyond outstanding debut albums from Dan Croll and Spring Offensive, as well as incredible, universe-shattering returns from Elbow and Metronomy. Guy Garvey and friends in particular deserve every superlative the dictionary has ever assembled for their UK No. 1 album, The Take Off And Landing Of Everything. It blew me off my feet from the very first listen, and I’m yet to touch the ground.
I absolutely promised myself I wouldn’t talk about the weather this week. But you may have noticed that it’s been pretty lush outside recently. So this week I wanted to pick out five brand new tracks that you can enjoy with your flip flops on. Unless, of course, you’ve been wearing flip flops since September, in which case you’re a bit of a douchebag. Behave yourself. As per usual, there are records that painfully missed the cut. If you’ve got a spare sec, check out the new stuff from The Skints (The Cost Of Living Is Killing Me), JAWS (Think Too Much, Feel Too Little), and the epic Prides (The Seeds You Sow). I could go on all day, but I imagine you’ve got work to pretend to be getting along with. So let us begin. 1. The Kooks – Down There’s a rumour baby… The Kooks are back. Dammit, we’ve missed you! But you must immediately throw your comfort blanket in the fire and burn it, because Down is a very different direction to what we’re used to from these guys. If you can get past the absolutely unintelligible vocal in the first five seconds (I think he’s asking Cher to take him to a town centre of some sort), then we have a surprisingly heroic homecoming. Back in the day of being a deeply uncool 13 year old, I was saved in a baptism of indie rock by their puberty-inducing album Inside In/Inside Out. Alongside The Fratellis and Oasis, these guys were my childhood. But then their next album kind of sucked. As did the one after that. But I will still listen back to Inside In/Inside Out, and remember how anthems of teen optimism like Jackie Big Tits and Matchbox made me dance at the back of the bus on school trips. For me, Down is a really exciting play. Yes, it’s different. Yep, it’s kind of weird. But it works. They’ve hit refresh, and suddenly everything has started working again. Let’s hope this means they’re back to their best, so I can relive my faltering youth once more. 2. Frank Ocean + Mick Jones + Paul Simonon + Diplo – Hero Wait, what? Frank Ocean and Diplo are making music with The Clash? THE CLASH. Like with actual instruments and words and stuff? No way. There is no way anything on the planet could be this cool. First the internet discovers from nowhere, Sherlock-style, a collaboration track between Jay-Z and Daft Punk. Then Kendrick Lemar starts rapping over Tame Impala’s It Feels Like We Only Go Backwards. Then THIS drops. AND THERE ARE CALIFORNIAN SCHOOLKIDS SINGING IN THE CHORUS. Somebody run and tell Kanye West that this is serious, and that Mick Jagger is available after touring Asia and Australia. And it’s a free download. Honestly, I’m not kidding around here. Somebody hold me up straight. 3. Rhodes – Your Soul 'I don’t want to talk about it.' If I truly took these words to heart, it would be bloody difficult to write anything decent about this track. But Rhodes doesn’t have to talk, and right now I don’t really want him to. Because his vocal is just so damn pleasant. Lie back and turn your headphones up. An ambient electric guitar drifts effortlessly over a slow piano part, reminiscent of the sorrowful To Be Frank, and a subtle violin that waves shyly from the background. Then the roof of the stadium opens wide with dramatic, echoing percussion. Rhodes has complete control over this track. It’s kind of beautiful. His debut EP, Raise Your Love, was released at the end of last year. It’s title track is equally stunning. The next release, the Morning EP, is due out on May 11th. An absolute certainty on any chilled playlist, and a dark horse for the summer too. 4. Mr Little Jeans – Good Mistake It’s been a couple of years since Norwegian singer/songwriter Monica Birkenes released new material. But finally, there is good news on the horizon. Good Mistake is part of an EP of her best tracks to date. But it’s also a generous peek into her debut album, Pocketknife (often namechecked in this track), which is due to grace our souls on March 25th. If you enjoyed St. Vincent’s self-titled album released a couple of weeks back, then you’ll dig this. The bassline is beyond addictive, and head-boppingly ferocious. Kind of like a more infectious Digital Witness. It’s what you’ll keep going back for, and hopefully the album delivers a similar vibe. It hits the spot in exactly the right way, and in its own understated manner, creates a dance anthem that’s more educated than elevated. You’ll get it by the time you press play for the eleventh time. 5. Elbow – Honey Sun Usually, I only choose singles for this column. But this track, taken from that album that I’m currently entirely and powerlessly obsessed with, changes the rules. I’m weak to compulsively return to it on a daily basis, and there seems to be very little hope of escape. The lyricism drips poetry that you can relate to, weaving a story, nay, a feeling, that the song was written especially for you. I mean seriously, check this shit out: I live and die by the hot and cold in strangers eyes/ Where danger lies behind the tape across my door/ I know a place were angels lace the lemonade/ And I cannot stay where all the broken plans were made. Then they go onto to use words like “promenade” and “profligate”. I mean, who does that? The University student in me wants to provide in-text citations here to give it the credit it deserves. The melodic electric guitar in the chorus is like an embrace, whilst the harmonic backing vocals make a sound that is darkly perfect. They apostrophise love as if it were divine in a break from the norm akin to New York Morning. And Garvey cups your ear with his hands to almost whisper the verses to you, so that nobody else can hear. I cannot fanboy about this track enough. Mr Garvey, you will never experience broken devotion from me. You had me at ‘hello’. Hello fond readers! It’s been a while. Last time, the column was taken over by PearShaped President, Jack Reid, and it featured some sterling inclusions. Adoration in particular must be paid to the brilliant summer glory of Thumpers and to the bodacious broodiness of Banks. But now I’m back, and we’ve got a lot of catching up to do!
Without deliberately wanting to open on an apology, it pains me that to praise the five best new tracks around this week, so many others forgo mention. So commiserations to Arthur Beatrice, The Acid, Holychild, and The Orwells, who have all just released epic new material that you should definitely go check out. Any track from Sun Structures, the debut album from Temples, could have made the cut too – but alas, it was not meant to be. Hopefully their disappointment at missing out on this week’s Listening Post will be eased with a Mercury Prize nomination. Too early to start throwing such claims about? Most definitely not. But I digress. If you do just one thing this week, listen to the these records. I suppose that makes five things, but go with it. 1. Ages and Ages – Divisionary (Do The Right Thing) So last week I lost the election battle to become the next Exeter Guild President. By the skin of everybody’s teeth, I hasten to add. It’s fine, I’m over it. What followed was a series of empty days where I watched New Girl obsessively and drank the politics away. That is until Ages and Ages, voted the best band in Portland, came and strummed my blues away. To maintain the trend of politics, Barack Obama nicked one of their songs from their debut album, Alright You Restless, on his 2012 campaign trail. I imagine that’s because their positive indie folk-rock vibes put the American people in a happy enough mood to stop them eating, which prompted sufficient optimism to get them voting. Clever old Barrack. The track opens with an infectious vocal hook resonating quietly over simple rhythm guitar. It’s not long however, before everyone starts joining the party. Cue a queue of backing vocalists and instrumentalists waiting to throw their sound into the mixing pot, until we reach a crescendo of choral pop that is just about great enough to pull you out of bed and throw those curtains open. Clap along, heed their advice, and check out their album Divisionary when it’s released in just over a month. As I write this, they are just leaving the UK to continue their European tour. Here’s hoping they come back soon. 2. American Authors – Trouble You may notice a certain leaning towards feel good indie-folk anthems in today’s selections. If you’re looking for a soundtrack to the weather, then this is not the track for you. In all likelihood you’ve heard the debut single from American Authors, Best Day Of My Life, without even realising it. It was launched to the big time on a SuperBowl commercial, and has snuck its way onto a Hyundai advert too. What we have here is the follow up, with a top notch folky chorus and the answer to that ubiquitous question: “Where have Mumford and Sons put their banjo?” This record comes with a bold warning on the packaging. Good people of PearShaped, it looks like we have a hit on our hands. Rush to your social media platforms whilst you still can, so that you can claim to have discovered it first. It surely can’t be too long before American Authors and their reliable banjo start dominating the Western charts. 3. Honeyblood – Choker If you cast your mind back to the Best Unheard Singles Of 2013 feature from the end of last year, you might recognise the name Honeyblood. Whilst Royal Blood are rocking the double-act look over in Brighton, this duo from Glasgow are representing the girls with their own blend of succulent, in-your-face indie rock. They’ve been kind enough to schedule their self-entitled debut album for release on my birthday (May 19th if you want to kickstart a MoonPig order), and I’m beyond excited. Based in Scotland, it’s unlikely they will be making the trip down to Exeter anytime soon. It’s a shame, because big things are to come from Honeyblood. However, they did go all the way to Connecticut to record their album, so there is hope for us yet. In Choker, a song barely three days old at time of writing, the girls are obviously pissed about a guy that for some reason isn’t treating them right. What a nutter. But as the record unfolds, it becomes scarily gothic, until it resembles a horror story akin to Blackbeard murdering his wives and hiding them behind locked doors. Don’t write this record off as a girl-versus-boy recounting of an untrusting relationship. What we have here is something distinctly historical, social, and rooted firmly in the dark past of storytelling. Give it the attention it deserves. 4. Circa Waves – Stuck In My My Teeth Circa Waves gave us a lovely early Christmas present with their Get Away/Good For Me release last December, and Stuck In My Teeth is their brand new offering. No word on an immediate album release in the future just yet, but if they keep singing “I’m a little too young with not enough time”, then surely an announcement can’t be too far away. Quite obviously born in a generation that glorified The Strokes, they’re one of the best things to come out of Liverpool in a long time. Dan Croll is right up there too, but it’s worth noting that they’re playing wildly different ball games. Stuck In My Teeth is their second single to be picked up by Zane Lowe as his Hottest Record In The World. Not that it really means much, but it proves that they are certainly getting noticed. Huw Stephens is a fan as well, and has invited them in for a Radio 1 live session next week. They’re just about to shoot off on the NME Awards 2014 Awards Tour too, alongside the brilliant Interpol, Temples, and Royal Blood. Circa Waves are on the right track to success, and judging by the records they’ve released, they deserve every groupie they can get their hands on. 5. Hozier – From Eden Sometimes the Divine Creator, whoever he is, doesn’t distribute the gifts of humanity fairly. Some people are incredibly attractive, but think that Jersey Shore has academic value. Others can rid the world of cancer, yet are incapable of ditching their virginity. Annoyingly, in the case of Andrew Hozier-Bryne, he’s been given some unfair advantages. Let’s be honest, he’s a very good looking man. And his voice. Oh, his voice! Why does nobody ever write a song like this for me? Hozier is old fashioned, and that’s reflected in his soulful voice and succulent blues-y acoustic guitar led sound. Kind of like meeting in the middle between George Ezra and Alabama Shakes, this Irishman is more than just a charmer. You might recognise Take Me To Church released at the business end of last year. We wanted more of the same, and he’s dutifully provided. Check out his new From Eden EP released at the end of March, from which this song is the title track. With any luck it will be more “Shut my eyes and pretend he’s singing to me” kind of stuff. March 31st: save the date! Exams are over! Quickly, throw your hats up in the air and search out those dusty vodka bottles! It’s time to rediscover your inner Keith Moon, that glorious devil whispering on your shoulder, and go absolutely mental.
But no. The weather has been atrocious, and has put a dampener on many a big blowout. But all is not lost! Whether you’re hiding in your headphones or singing in the rain, now is the perfect time to educate yourself on some of the best new music sneaking around without anybody realising. Shut your curtains and ignore the pattering against your window panes. Here’s the five records I’ve been listening to most this week. 1. Ghostpoet ft. Doucoura – Season Change Damon Albarn is BACK. How we’ve missed him. The Blur frontman and Gorillaz pioneer has announced that his first ever solo album, Everyday Robots, is due to be released at the end of April. The lead single has just dropped, and it’s full of haunting licks and overarching violins. But he’s been busy elsewhere too. Albarn has been working on a project called Africa Express, a collaboration of Western and African artists, that has now resulted in an album called Africa Express Presents: Maison Des Jeunes. Chipping in are members of Metronomy, Django Django, Two Inch Punch, and more. And this track embodies the entire process, showing off a marriage of African percussion and British bass featuring the engrossing vocal of Ghostpoet and produced by Albarn himself. Give it a blast. 2. Nick Mulvey – Cucurucu The acoustic guitar has never been hotter. It’s comeback was arguably reinvigorated a couple of years back when Ed Sheeran decided to take over the world, and has since been carried further forward by the immense success enjoyed by The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons. It’s got so cool that even Gary Barlow thought he’d try his hand at it. This is great news for emerging artists, and is being taken full advantage of by a new breed of singer songwriters, embodied in Dan Croll, George Ezra, and Luke Sital-Singh. And Nick Mulvey is leading the pack. The track opens with a lovely excerpt from D. H. Lawrence’s poem Piano, until you hear the familiar strumming sound that has become a Mulvey trademark. The song walks, and never runs. It whispers, and never shouts. But that’s okay, because Zane Lowe is making up the ground by never shutting up about it. Lowe is justified, but there is one criticism. Especially in its latter stages, there are some rather glaring melodic similarities to Nitrous. There’s nothing particularly wrong with that, since Nitrous is a brilliant record. But since I get marked down for plagiarism myself in my degree, then Mulvey should too. Make your own mind up. 3. JAWS – Gold Alright, alright, this song is not technically brand new. This record may be six months old now, but the vibe still feels fresh. JAWS came to the Cavern with Kink Nights recently, and absolutely killed it. Their debut album is still in the works as we speak, and is due for release at some delightful point this year that will go straight into my calendar the moment that it’s announced. If you like Swim Deep and Peace, then these like-minded Brummies may very well be your thing. Try Friend Like You and Toucan Surf if you fancy some more nuggets from these surf rockers. Expect big things in 2014! 4. MØ – Don’t Wanna Dance You’re immediately lured in to this one with subtly produced brass that hints at the party yet to come. Obviously MØ took notes when she collaborated with Avicii on Dear Boy. Add a kickass hook in the chorus and suddenly we’ve got ourselves a song. After the release of her Bikini Daze EP last year, her debut album, No Mythologies To Follow, has been pushed back to the 10th March. In her own words, Don’t Wanna Dance is about “Being young, free, and independent. Being drunk and happy with your homies.” Despite the unfortunate use of the word “homies”, we can all totally relate. Beware: if you like this as much as I do, you may find yourself shamelessly dancing around your bedroom singing “I don’t want to dance with nobody” at the top of your voice. And you may be caught by your housemate. And you will blush. 5. Elbow – New York Morning Let’s put these guys into perspective. Laura Marling was born in the same year that this band was formed. Guy Garvey himself pointed this out when this track got its exclusive first play on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show a couple of days ago, but age and experience only adds to their palette. Sure, every geezer and his Nan has written a song about New York. But if there was ever a band to take on the Manhattan skyline and get away with it, it’s got to be Elbow. New York Morning is the second single to be released from their new album, The Take Off And Landing Of Everything, after the beautifully understated Fly Boy Blue/ Lunette released a couple of weeks back. I’ll admit, I’m a massive fanboy. I saw them for the first time at my virgin music festival (Reading 2011, if you’re interested), and The Seldom Seen Kid remains one of my favourite albums of all time. Taking Guy Garvey out for a pint will stay at the top of my Bucket List until it’s achieved. So lie back, enjoy the the ambience, and forgive the Yoko Ono references. It’s worth it. A cheeky cigarette. Misdemeanors in the dark. Chocolate. It’s New Year’s, which means a vast influx of pesky promises that we all desperately want to keep. Everybody seems to be giving something up, which begs the question, what can replace it all? Well, we have the answer. Prepare yourself for a New Year’s Revolution! Let us give a fine, applause ridden welcome to the PearShaped Listening Post. Every fortnight of 2014, we will throw five tracks your way that will spice up your day. Mostly brand spanking new, and always relevant, each allowing you to show off your new founded hipsterdom to all your friends. Or keep it as a secret that’s all yours. It’s up to you! Here’s the picks of what I’ve been listening to over the past week. 1. Swim Deep – Sycamore Christmas is over, which thankfully means the mothballing of Wham for another glorious ten-ish months. But this year, the brilliant Swim Deep gave us something to actually be cheery about. Posted as a free download just as Wizzard were getting back into their usual groove, the band that released their groundbreaking debut album this year got my December back on track. If only they could change the word “Christmas” to something less festive, so I could still listen to it without feeling guilty. [Presses play again] 2. Norma Jean Martine – No Gold The New Year is all about starting afresh, and nobody understands that more than Norma Jean Martine, with a song about getting up and leaving her hometown with nothing but hope and a pop vocal to her name. You’re thrown into Martine’s teasing vocals immediately with this track, and it’s a sign of good things to come. With a piano-led vibe that feels like a slightly jazzier Black Keys record, this first effort from the London/New York hybridity is almost impossible to dislike. Last year she supported Tom Odell on tour, and in 2014 she sure has an exciting year ahead of her. 3. Bat And Ball – We Prefer It In The Dark These guys are knocking on your window pane, and you should totally let them in. This song begins with a chilled walk-at-your-own-pace bass-line that quickly jogs into the best run you’ve had all year. It occasionally drops back to its gentler pace, but that doesn’t slow it down. Led by a strong female vocal with a guitar line and male backing vocal that sounds like something off of an xx record, let yourself be taken in by a band that only has 904 likes on Facebook. It’s criminal, I know. 4. The Belle Game – River I’m a big fan of the piercing, pulsating, give-me-more vocal that this Canada-based group throw out here. It’s top notch. They’ve already released a couple of EPs, and River is a single from their much delayed debut album entitled Ritual Tradition Habit, released midway through last year. The dazed, distorted guitar and twinkling piano sound has crept up once more, and it’s here to stay for 2014. 5. The Child Of Lov – Fly Spare a thought for Cole Williams, the Belgium-born and Amsterdam-raised brainchild who created The Child of Lov. After releasing what was undoubtedly one of the most fascinating self-titled albums of last year, including collaborations with Damon Albarn and DOOM, the solo artist died two weeks before Christmas. It’s an awful shame, not just because of his youth (aged just 26), but because his music truly is one of the most interesting things I’ve heard recently. The most accurate way to describe it would be in the words of Williams himself, who tags his genre as “pop for thugs”. Take some ferociously understated bass, add a sexy harpsichord, and mix it up with some brass that could have accompanied Sylvester Stallone up the Rocky steps, and you’ve got yourself a record. If you like this, then try Call Me Up, Heal, and Give Me. They’ll all hit you very hard in different ways. In his own way, Williams bids us farewell, asserting that “this is time for goodbye”. If only we could hear what he might have done next. |
music writing.you could call your mum again. or you could sift through the musical recycling bin of my brain. actually, definitely call your mum. artists
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