Nai Harvest - Hairball AA

April Album

Another month, another shed load of great albums. The interesting thing this time is the variety of genre. It seemed to be jumping all over the place with every new album that was released. Other great albums this month come from: Waxahatchee, San Cisco, Turbo Fruits, The Wombats, Tyler Parr and many more. Nai Harvest stole the lead because of their honest, straight forward, no messing, rock and roll music. No frills and extravagance just meat and potatoes or more particularly good drums and good guitar. Thats all I need for a good time and all this album needs to hook me in and keep me loving it for the foreseeable. Great band and I look forward to hearing more. Listen to a single below!

Oh Honey - Sugar, You YTV

28/04/15 YouTube Video

The perfect blend of folk pop that is this latest track from Oh Honey. It has a really modern sound and brings the acoustic guitar sound up into this century. The boy/girl vocals also works really nicely and I particularly find the females voice supplied by Danielle Bouchard spectacular. The video may be cheesy and overly censoring with a bit of brand placement thrown in but thankfully it doesn't detract from the song. Enjoy!

Wolf Alice - Bros SCS

SoundCloud Song

This track is a bit a change from the Wolf Alice I am used to nd I for one am fully embracing it. It is not as harsh and in your face a song as some of their previous releases. It has more of a pop vibe with the gentle vocals and downplayed lo-fi instrumentation. I like both sides of Wolf Alice but what I like even more is that they push the boundaries of their "sound". Another album in the waiting that I can't wait to sink my teeth into.

Du Blonde - Black Flag YTV

21/04/15 YouTube

The uni deadline is getting closer and closer. The pressure is mounting and one of the main things that is getting me through, is tunes like this. Du Blonde was a new artist to me when I heard this track and I hadnt heard her music under her previous professional name of Beth Jeans Houghton but I really didn't need to. This song is enough of a foot stomping, head nodding good time that no one could resist tapping along to the beat.

As for the video, it features Beth in a Baywatch on mild drugs kind of world with some mesmerizing what looks like reversed dancing that randomly compliments the song nicely. Enjoy!

Stew Mac DOTM

Design Of The Month

My design, or more specifically design company for this month is Stewart-MacDonald. Through my project at Uni all I seem to be thinking about is guitars, guitars, guitars and more guitars so this company has been burned into my brain. They are based in the US and seem to produce every tool under the sun that can help luthiers produce excellent guitars.

Most recently I have been looking at some of their guitar jigs that aim to make doing certain tasks easier and give greater control to the builder such as the Tuner Pin Drill Jig (below) which makes lining up the tuner screws a cinch. I also bought a set of pickup templates from them recently and they are very high quality and should last a few decades fingers crossed.

The delivery of products from the US to the UK may be extortionate but when getting a job lot of goodies like I am going to do in the near future, it is well worth it.

Circa Waves cover Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do YTV

14/04/15 YouTube Video




Off to see Circa Waves tonight in Birmingham and boy am I pumped. Their debut album that was released in March, Young Chasers is all killer, no filler and I am looking forward to hearing some of the newer tracks this evening alongside the classic singles.


Regarding the video below. I randomly tuned in to Radio 1 whilst out driving recently which was a bit out of the blue for me but I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Circa Waves were doing a Live Lounge performance. The thing that makes this song great is that it is so far removed from the original version and it sounds like it would perfectly fit on the Circa Waves album. I highly doubt it but I would totally be up for it if they were to crack this one out tonight. Enjoy!

Tiffany Page - Suburbia SCS

SoundCloud Song

5 years since her last EP, Tiffany Page has released new music! I first heard her with her single Walk Away Slow way back in 2010 which then took me to the corresponding EP release. This track has got the same steady grunge-tinged guitar style as her previous but I think her vocals have become more gritty and some of the poppy gloss has been removed which makes for even more of an enjoyable listen. Despite the loopholes of signing up to a website to get exclusive first listen to this track, it was well worth it to have new Tiffany Page tunes back in the world. Enjoy!

Best Coast - Heaven Sent YTV

07/04/15 YouTube Video

May the 5th can not come soon enough. After hearing this new track from Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno (who are the duo that make up Best Coast) my heart pumped a little bit faster and yes my mind slightly expanded at the sheer joy I have for listening to this track. Heaven Sent is the first single to come off of the California Nights album that is out in (yes you guessed it) the 5th of May.

I first fell in love with B.C. on their 2012 The Only Place album and then went back to listen to their debut Crazy For You which had their unique sound but you can really tell how they have grown and changed throughout their musical life. I am high on anticipation for their future releases. Enjoy!

Brandi Carlile - The Firewatcher's Daughter MA

March Album

This month has had so many great country/folk music album releases, it made it really hard for me not to pick one as my album on the month. Other great albums came from Noel Gallagher, The Shires, Tobias Jesso Jr., Courtney Barnett, The Staves, Circa Waves and Laura Marling just to name a small portion out of all the brilliant releases.

I chose Brandi Carliles The Firewatchers Daughter because of the emotional ride the album as a whole took me through. She has moments when she is singing a proper uptempo, happy foot stompers of a track and on the turn of a dime she is singing about heartbreak and the transition is the magical thing. Brandi makes it so smooth and effortless, the songs just flow naturally and makes for such an exciting listen. With its ups and downs throughout, it really makes for a classic storytelling album. One of the singles from the album (below) shows how much you don't need a fancy production in a music video, just a good amount of passion and a cracking voice. My stand out track from the album has to be Blood Muscle Skin & Bone. It has a slight different musical direction compared to the rest of the tracks without sounding out of place in the middle of the album and is a nice twist up at the mid point, and having the same Brandi Carlile vocals really makes it a proper ear worm that will make you listen to it on repeat.

Easter Break

Today I am away on a small Easter trip up in Manchester. Upon arrival, the internet isn't as ideal as I first expected so there won't be the regular content today. The proceedings will return to normal on Thursday with my March Album. I hope everyone's break is going well.

Sheer Mag - Button Up SCS

SoundCloud Song

Scuzzy guitar lines seem to be my order of the day. After seeing what SXSW acts other popular music news outlets championed, Sheer Mag definitely shone out as one of the best. I have been listening to this track on repeat since the first time it infiltrated my eardrums. It is a potent mixture of hooky drum beats with snappy lyrics that is sung with a screechy (without being annoying) vocal. Great band and look forward to hearing more.

Kacey Musgraves - Biscuits YTV

24/03/15 YouTube Video

Fresh new track from Kacey Musgraves. This month has been chock full of absolutely jammy Country tracks much like this one. This song has much of the same feel/sound as that of her previous album release with bouncy, cheery songs including a moral/message sung in such a way that you don't quite realise what she is singing about till the end and by that time the chorus is well and truly in your head. Enjoy!

The Preatures - Planet Blue Eyes SCS

SoundCloud Song

I went to Nottingham last week to see The Preatures at The Bodega. It was my first visit to the venue (even the city, for gig related excursions) and I hope it won't be my last because it was fantastic. The venue is a great size for intimate performances by equally great bands such as The Preatures. They really wowed the audience and me with their music skills and they are awesome people on top of that. I chatted to them a bit after the gig and they are really nice and friendly. It is for these reasons and many more that I chose their whole debut for my SoundCloud Songs of this week. I hope you appreciate their talent as much as I do.

Made Violent - Two Tone Hair YTV

17/03/15 YouTube Video

Nothing like a bit of scuzzy pop rock to start off the week. I heard this track through the round table show that Steve Lamacq presents during the week. At first listen I didn't catch the name of the band, or the song title but I just knew that I had to hear it again and again. After a few more repeats of the podcast it was obvious to me that this song is an absolute cracker. Enjoy!

JayBird BlueBuds X Headphones DOTM

Design Of The Month

So for the past few months I have been using on ear bluetooth headphones which I ended up buying because I got so frustrated with how easily the cable on normal corded headphones can bend and lose wiring connection at the jack end. I don't know how many headphones I went through before I bought a bluetooth set, I guess lots. The first and current set I bought were from the brand Outdoor Tech and they are relatively comfortable and fairly strong sound quality despite touch controls being temperamental as hell. Anyway, I recently looked into in-ear bluetooth headphones and fell in love with these JayBird BlueBuds X headphones. From all the reviews I have read I found that the sound quality is excellent, they are lightweight, great value for money, stylish and fit so securely that they won't drop out even during vigorous movement. These may well be my next headphone purchase. One review that shows all the details of the product is shown below. Thanks.

Darlia - Queen Of Hearts YTV

10/03/15 YouTube Video

Fresh off of their latest release is Queen Of Hearts from the ever great Darlia. I have been a big fan of this band for a while now and think their Petals album/EP has so many excellent tracks it was hard for me to choose just one for this blog post. I recently bought a ticket to see them perform live in May and hearing songs like this have built my excitement up to a fever pitch. That gig night can not come soon enough. Enjoy!

Eternal Summers - Together Or Alone SCS

SoundCloud Song

This is the first track in quite a while that has totally shocked me and where I have been totally immersed in the music and had the lyrics take more of a back seat. I don't know what it is, maybe the constant driving drum beat and catchy guitar line that seems to go on forever in my head. I can't quite put my finger on why I love this track so much but I do. I hope you enjoy it at least half as much as me.

Screaming Females - Noisey Specials YTV

03/03/15 YouTube Video

This video is the first part of a series from the guys at Noisey about the great band Screaming Females. They talk about life on the road, the process of writing and creating their latest album Rose Mountain and much more. They are a band that have been around for coming up to 10 years now and I think they are under rated to a certain extent for the awesome music that they produce. I'm definitely looking forward to the next part of the documentary. Enjoy!

Peace - Happy People FA

February Album




Again February has been another great month for new album releases from many artists such as Crushed Beaks, Carl Barat And The Jackals, Marika Hackman and plenty more. But my favourite album  has to be Peace's sophomore album Happy People and man does it put me in good spirits. I have been listening to the deluxe edition with which the 18 tracks come through at over an hour but because the tracks are so joyous and catchy, the time seems to fly by. And also I maybe opposed to popular opinion but I much prefer this to their first heavily loved album. If you haven't heard any of the songs yet, enjoy the brilliant I'm A Girl below.

Brit Award Predictions

So the Brit Awards are this evening and even though there is a lot of pop acts nominated, there are a few acts that I think deserve an award and below is my choices to win 3 of the awards.


International Male Solo Artist:

Jack White

International Female Solo Artist:

St Vincent

International Group:

Foo Fighters