Drake White - I Need Real YTV

29/10/15 YouTube Video

This month seems to be never ending, with the final October album release day being tomorrow I am going to wait till next week Thurs to do my favourite release of the month. To keep everyone going I wanted to double up on YouTube videos. And what better choice than this belter by Drake White. An acoustic session of I Need Real in the middle of a field (no better location needed) He has that emotion that I have heard with other artists such as The Tallest Man On Earth. A grit in his vocals that when mixed with heartfelt lyrics, really makes something beautiful. Enjoy!

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Downtown YTV

27/10/15 YouTube Video

Not exactly a underground track is the latest track from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. With currently over 47 million views on YouTube alone, it is now basically a worldwide banger. I am not an avid follower of hip-hop music in general but I do have a few artists that have always appealed to me, The Cool Kids, Chance The Rapper and amongst others Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. They seem to play the line between humour and credibility beautifully. Downtown being a great example. Enjoy!

Animal House - English Girls SCS

SoundCloud Song

I'm really excited to hear new music from Animal House. It has been 6 months since their last SoundCloud release and a year since the classic song Sour, so English Girls has been a new pleasant injection of goodness. The track reminds me of the great 00's rock and roll/indie tracks by artists such as The Cribs, Strokes et al, so they have clearly great influences. If their début album ends up being more of the same style, I will be one happy guy. Enjoy!

Pretenders - Brass In Pocket YTV

20/10/15 YouTube Video

Excellent track this week from the Pretenders. I recently purchased the Chrissie Hynde book and as soon as it came through the door I couldn't put it down (without lack of trying). It documents her life, well the earlier years and I was interested to find out that she spent so much of her life outside of the U.S., travelling to the U.K. and France for substantial periods of her life. I don't know why I presumed she still lived in America but I just thought the bands sound had elements of that New York punk era. After completing the book, I have been listening to the first two Pretenders albums, the first one being where the track below (Brass In Pocket) is taken. A classic track that is still a hit to this day Enjoy!

Flux Guitars - Double Neck DOTM

Design Of The Month

This is the kind of design that I love, creative, attractive and fully functional. Flux Guitars have recently started an IngieGoGo campaign to fund their uber smart Magnetic Double Neck Guitar  (http://igg.me/at/fluxguitars/x) The magnetic locking system they use for connecting the two guitars makes interchanging and playing the guitars for different modes really easy and simple to do. If the main guitar is connected to the amp, no additional connections need to be made to the secondary guitar for amplification as long as the magnetic connection is there.

Another special thing I really appreciate from the designer is that he is offering the option of buying the larger or smaller guitar as a stand alone instrument and also if you want to switch the 12 string to the smaller guitar and make the larger one a 6 six string, all options seem to be open. If that isn't giving the customer what they want, I don't know what is. Enjoy!

Dilly Dally - Purple Rage YTV

13/10/15 YouTube Video

This week I have picked probably my favourite track from Dilly Dallys début album Sore. The video for Purple Rage is equal parts 50's horror movie, and Mighty Boosh character. I think the emotional power of the lyrics fit perfectly with the storyline, especially when the purple creature ends up ending its live due to loneliness and no acceptance in the foreign world. Maybe this video has strong messages, but maybe I am taking it too seriously. End of the day it is a cracking video and track. Enjoy!

Estrons - Make A Man SCS

SoundCloud Song

I have totally fallen for this track Make A Man by Estrons. It is the bands first single released from the soon to drop EP (Whoever she was) which should be available on December the 11th. What I love about this track aside from it having all of the standard great rock'n'roll hooks and pounding guitar/drums is the vocals from lead singer Taliesyn Kallstrom. I am not certain of how old she is but she has a way of singing the lyrics that makes her seem older than her years. Like she has lived a past life and is back to recapture the best bits for us to hear. Really powerful singer. Enjoy!  

The Crookes ft. Misty Miller - Ex-Lovers YTV

06/10/15 YouTube Video

Isn't it beautiful when a couple of great artists come together and make something beautiful. This has been proven with The Crookes and Misty Miller collaborating on Ex-Lovers. It is a bit of an acoustic number with just two voices and a guitar. The Crookes' George Waite and Millers boy/girl vocals seem slightly played down for the first half of the track but they really build up to something really powerful and emotional in the final verses. I truly feel that they are mourning their split. Enjoy!

Stereophonics - Keep The Village Alive SA

September Album

Another month, another great time for music. I have been loving the new releases from FIDLAR, Widowspeak, Motion City Soundtrack, Little Simz and Chvrches to name but a few. But my big hitter this time is the new Stereophonics release Keep The Village Alive. This may be their 9th LP but the Welsh group are as strong with this as anything that they have released before. My favourite parts of the album are the epic ballads such as I Want To Get Lost With You which really shows off Kellys voice and seems to push him to his limits without sounding strained and painful to listen to. Below is the fast paced C'est La Vie, the first single off of the album. Catchy as all hell and the obvious choice to get people to fall in love with the album. Enjoy!