Lucy Dacus - No Burden SA

What a month, what a selection. It kicked of with Angel Olsen and Jamie T, ventured through The Head And The Heart and Deap Vally and finished up the month with Public Access T.V. and Wyatt Blair amongst many others. September had some absolute corkers and you can check out my whole playlist HERE.

Kicking off my top 3 is Writing Of Blues And Yellows by Billie Marten. Due to a Google Music cock-up, I initially listened to the deluxe version of the album in a mixed up order and heard the alternative version of Milk & Honey before the released single version and I have to say I think it is better than the original, so now it has a permanent spot starting the introduction to the album. The LP as a whole has quite the mellow vibe with the odd occasion heading to the more haunting side of life. And lest we not forget this is just the debut and I think Billie is going to continue to rise as a great musician and songwriter. Check out the video for simply poetic Bird below.

In the second spot is the man, myth and or legend Mr Jamie T with his 4th release Trick. As a fan of all of his previous work, I was unsure what to expect with this new release but I knew it would be exciting and potentially more experimental that his previous. He did not disappoint that is for sure. Straight from the first track Tinfoil Boy (video below) there is a dark tone which goes throughout the LP with abrasive instrumentation and strong, powerful lyrics that all take from a variety of genres to make an interesting mixture. I was pleased that there were the lighter more cheery tracks in there with the likes of Tescoland and a couple of my personal favourites Robin Hood and the epic Joan Of Arc. If you haven't listened to Trick yet, where have you been!   

My absolute number Juan is No Burden by Lucy Dacus. An LP that flows with an effortless ease, beautifully narrated by Lucy herself. It truly seems like a collection of chapters taken straight out of her journal. Personal, heartfelt and emotional with the right amount of power when the track calls for it, No Burden pushes my personal feelings right to the brink of where they need to be without going too far and even more importantly, without sounding forced or false. Which might I add, can easily ruin an album. And yet another perfect example of a great debut LP with high expectations from me for where she is going to go next. Enjoy the smashing single below!

Jamie T - Zombie YTV

12/08/14 YouTube Video

This new track is AWESOME!!! As much a I liked the previously released track from his new album, this one has more of the sound that I have got used to from Jamie T. The video has a fun sense of humour (which I really appreciate) as through out the song, the band members slowly turn into zombies in-front of a completely uninterested standard daytime pub crowd with a bit of slap stick thrown in for good measure. The sound of the lyrics is also reminiscent of previous albums with clever hooky chorus and his talking/singing vocal style. Overall a pretty damn great song. Enjoy!

Isle Of Wighttt + More

As a few festivals line ups have been released, I figured I would take a look and see which festivals line up sounds the best, and what's going on.

Straight away initially you can see some names that are clearly doing the rounds this summer: Ben Howard, Jake Bugg, The Vaccines, Emelie Sande and Alt-J to name but a few. Obviously not all of them I'm interested in or I think would make particularly good live performers but I would definitely love to see The Vaccines on a main stage and I think Jake Bugg would be brilliant in like a larger tent for a more intimate feel.

It does seem a thing this summer so far for a big female as one of the headliners, seeing as T In The Park have got Rihanna on the bill along with The Killers and Mumford & Sons, and V Fest has Beyonce with Kings of Leon. Reading and Leeds have only released a handful of artists but it will be interesting to see who they put in the headlining slots. There is so much hype for who is going to be headlining Glasto, quite a few huge names have been thrown around but as of yet no confirmed artists. I really wished I managed to pick up tickets :( stupid popularity. Another festival worth a mention is Boardmasters. A slightly smaller fest than most but is awesome with The Vaccines, Everything Everything and Cosmo Jarvis playing. And in such a beautiful location right by the sea. Awesome!

My favourite festival line up so far happens to be the same as last year, which was surprise surprise Isle Of Wight.For a start, they've got your big names: The Stone Roses & The Killers, they've got the older crowd draw with Bon Jovi, Boomtown Rats and Blondie (which is fuckin' awesome) and fresh newish bands like Palma Violets, Everything Everything and Bastille. Plus loads of other bands, check it out!!!!: www.isleofwightfestival.com/

I've also been listening to the General Fiasco album Unfaithfully Yours pretty much non stop for the past week. Great album by a great band, for sure worth a listen.