Jenn Champion AS

As of a couple of days ago I had never heard of Jenn Champion, but after listening to one song from her new soon to be released EP posted online by Hardly Art Records (video at bottom) I have been on a slight binge. Under the stage name S, she has produced 4 LPs to date Sadstyle, Puking & Crying, I'm Not As Good At It As You and Cool Choices. And if that wasnt enough, before her solo work she also made another 3 albums under Carissa's Wierd which consisted of her and two guys who went on to form Band Of Horses. At time of writing, I haven't heard any of CW stuff yet but I am looking forward to when that time comes greatly.

As good a starting point as any, I urge you to listen to her first solo LP below (Sadstyle) It gives a initial feel of her sound which includes part indie, part pop, part singer/songwriter and part just straight up alternative goodness. My favourite release of hers so far has to be her third LP INAGAIAY. It is probably the lightest toned release to date and I really enjoy the wide range of instrumentation that is used throughout the LP. It shows off her talent and skill as a musician, song writer and all that other good stuff.

Be sure to keep up to date for her new EP coming out later on this year HERE.

Beach Slang - Punks In A Disco Bar YTV

A bit of a taster from their upcoming second album is the single Punks In A Disco Bar from my boys Beach Slang, (when I say my boys I mean I have never actually met or even talked to any member of the band, safe to say strangers at best).  And this week isn't as much of a video as more of a still image but the music accompanying it is what counts. A brief 2:40 of a song that almost expectantly flies by with punkish charm, PIADB does a damn fine job with the instrumentation levels, not overly prioritising the vocals and truly showing off some sweet ass guitar licks and other great beats for me and you both to enjoy!.  

Wichita Recordings - July Podcast SCS

This initially may seem like a grab bag of tracks and a bit of an easy way out instead of picking just one standout song, but after you listen to this months release of the Wichita Recordings Podcast you will hopefully realise it is so much more. They pack the best of the best tracks from their signed artists like the immense cover of The Night done by Frankie & The Heartstrings, Globelamp, Fidlar and many more plus a great little interview with the talented Meg Bairdwhich inspired me to hear more of her work (incredible). It was also really satisfying to hear a bit of Los Campesinos again before their imminent album release. So if you can spare an hour, give this a listen. Enjoy!

Johnny Foreigner - If You Can't Be Honest, Be Awesome YTV

Recently pop punk seems to be coming back into my audio life, what with the massive Blink album and killer tracks like this one from Johnny Foreigner. Dual vocals that blend together beautifully with simple, strong guitars and drums to back them up. Bands like these guys do a great job keeping the classic punk rock vibes alive and accessible and that is no mean feat (not enough can be said about it in my book). JF have been with us for over a decade now, let's hope for another decade more. Enjoy! 

Frankie Ballard - El Rio JA

June has been a long month, that is for sure. Tiring and at some points a drag but the music has been there time and again to re-energise me and keep me singing along. With great albums from Whitney, Womps, Weaves and many other artists beginning with W there are many reasons to keep smiling. You can check out my full month playlist HERE. Without any further ado here we go with my top 3 picks:

Decorations - Have Fun was my third favourite album of June and it came as a bit of a surprise for me. Having not heard of the band before this release I really had no clue what they were like or how much I was going to love this album. A little bit electro pop, a little bit of indie rock and just the right amount of grandeur for my ears, Have Fun definitely has more sides to it than an a4 sheet of paper and that is a compliment from the bottom of my heart. Enjoy one of the singles 'Promise' below.

Straight out of the gate with this album I knew I was on to a winner when I heard the guttural scream of "Are We Alive". That's right, it is the Augustines third release This Is Your Life. Unlike Decorations, I had known of and listened to a lot of Augustines before this release and it is pretty safe to say I was expecting fairly big things. Thankfully I was not let down in the slightest and they delivered on every aspect. The epic ballads, the more chilled numbers with hints of electronica and the same great vocals from Mr Billy McCarthy. Easily their best work to date but it is almost expected that musicians improve over time as does everybody. Enjoy!

Perhaps a slightly surprising number one pick, perhaps not. One thing is for sure, Frankie Ballards El Rio is a absolute banger. Released in the earlier end of June, ER is packed full of 'Country Foot Stompers' that kept me smiling ear to ear all month long. His personality has a charm that comes through in the music and lyrics that I feel if another artist were to sing the same songs, they would come across as cheesy and out dated. He definitely has all the songs about the usual tropes: cigarettes, alcohol and girls but he puts a personal spin on the standard that any regular old Joe could come up with and has made a truly fresh and brilliant album. Summer afternoons in the park I hear you calling. Enjoy!

Ian Sweet - If You're Crying YTV

I'm back! Yes I took a weeks gap between posts mainly due to being busy with work and partly due to the extremely nerdy fact of obsessively playing a new video game that I have been hooked on. Anyhoo back to normality, well as close as possible as we can all be. Its Tuesday officially for just under 4 hours now so I call that perfect time for my YouTube Video post. 

As I am sure I have stated somewhere in a previous post, I am a big Hardly Art Records fan and their current roster of artists is full of heavy hitters, with one of the newer signed bands being IAN SWEET and I am loving this track from said band 'If You're Crying' off of their recently released self titled EP. Chill indie at a strong 12/10, these guys know how to craft a song. Mellow guitar lines and drum beats with vocals that soothingly touch your ears and the occasional peak dotted around for added excitement. The record seems to be dialled back just enough to keep the emotion of the lyrics and instrumentation without being in your face or screeching. Great track and am looking forward to September for the LP. Enjoy!

Drowners - Cruel Ways ILIYLI

Wesley Fuller - Melvista SCS

Following the relaunch of 1965 Records last year, they have quite the selection of talent on their roster, amongst others: Coves, Black Peaches and one Mr Wesley Fuller. His track Melvista may not be the newest of the new music (a few months old or something) but it is a damn fine song and that is why I have chosen to share it. Straight outta Melbourne, Wesley has made a crackin' pop rock single which I think shows signs of great quality music to come. Make sure to check his Soundcloud on the regular for updates. Enjoy!

Frankie Ballard - Journey To Sonic Ranch YTV

With the recent release of Frankie Ballards third album El Rio, he has made the video below discussing the making of said record. What I found interesting about the story was why he chose to record in El Paso as opposed to the popular and some would say over-saturated Nashville.  Taking a relaxed pace whilst recording records can 9 times out of 10 be a positive thing, it just helps refine and relieve pressure of strict deadlines and improves the quality of the record and gives it an overall chilled vibe. Frankie and the band also stopped off at some legendary studios enroute to bang out some tunes. Really interesting thing. Enjoy!

Kyle Craft KEXP ILIYLI

General Fiasco AS

This months Artist Showcase is a bit of a throw back to the early 10's which (to my grand realisation when researching this piece) right now is well over half a decade ago, boy do I feel old, it truly seems like last week. So the band in question is General Fiasco, a Northern Irish four piece consisting of the brothers Owen and Enda Strathern, Stephen Leacock and Stuart Bell. 

My first experience with them is when I was but a boy and I went to see One Night Only live at a small cramped little venue in Birmingham and who would have thought that ONOs supporting band would have been so good, some would even say they overshadowed the headliner but that's just crazy talk. They did a shortish set of the big tunes as you do and something special stuck with me and I couldn't get them out of my head. They are are still in there bouncing around to this day. 

To date they have only released two albums and boy oh boy what albums they are. Buildings was their first release in 2010 and this was one of those LPs that seemingly never left my CD player. 10 songs of absolute joy and if you hunt around a bit on the internet there is a fantastic acoustic version of Sinking Ships out there. 

Unfaithfully Yours was their second LP released in 2012 and I remember first going into it not knowing what to expect. I should not have been worried because the boys did not disappoint, more of the same quality rock songs with the added bonuses of the occasionally heavier tune. Check out The Age You Start Losing Friends video below. Happy days all round. Lets just hope they come back out of their hiatus soon.

You can stay up to date with the bands goings on HERE so far they seem to post a couple of times a year.

 

WOMPS - Live A Little Less YTV

This week has given me an influx of great new music albums. One of the highlights being the WOMPS LP with the great single Live A Little Less on it. The Scottish two piece has created a perfect piece of garage rock that seems to defy the rules of time by being just under 4 minutes long but in my head it is all over in about a minute. Very fast paced and noisy with the classic combination of drums and guitar, bare bones just how I like it. Enjoy!

Star - Cock Swan SCS

The temperature is rising and the sun is shining here in Manchester and what perfect way to make the situation even better than Cock Swan. Released by Star from what I can only hope is recently (so that I can expect new music on the way) Cock Swan is a fuzzy garage rock little number that shares all the right vibes of bands like Bleached, Tacocat and the like. From what I can gather from the small world of the internet is that their last release was in 2007 and they don't have an official site so I'm going to be keeping one eye on their BandCamp and the other on Saint Maries SoundCloud for any hint of more music. Enjoy!

Beck - Wow YTV

Beck hasn't been away but he is Back! Wow is the new release since the 2014 LP Morning Phase and 'wow' is definitely the word for this tune. A somewhat surprising synthy electronic sound that I am not used to hearing from the main man but I am loving it. I am quite a fan of his previous talented and extremely prolific work and this new single is no different. One of my favourite elements of the song is the lyrics that seem to come in easy and relaxed, with humorous rhymes at times (haha I even did one myself) and despite being a lyric video, it does a great job accentuating the madness. Enjoy!

Twin Peaks - Down In Heaven MA

This is coming only a few days late, but you know what they say 'better late than never'...... Anyways onto the feature. May has yet again been another fantastical month for music as I am sure everyone has grown to expect. Even on the quietest of months great LPs are made. Classics have been released from Spookyland, Nothing, The So So Glos, Outer Spaces and more. You can check out my full May playlist HERE

Kicking things off is my third favourite of the month, one Oscar with his debut Cut And Paste. A bit of a surprise hit for me, I was not sure what to expect when I started to listen to the album but I was pleasantly shocked at how great and high quality the music is. In terms of a first album, or even any album, this is definitely a strong hitter. Check out the absolutely banging single Daffodil Days below.

My second place LP is perhaps unsurprisingly the sophomore from the Catfish & The Bottlemen boys. I am a tremendous fan of their first album from 2014 and The Ride is more of the same. Just top level rock and roll tunes that are made for stadiums as well as the backstreet dive bars. Check out the soon to be club classic 7 below.

My numero uno album has to be Down In Heaven by the awesome Twin Peaks. This was probably the one album I was most hotly anticipating this month since Wild Onion was seared into my brain as an instant classic back in 2014. And boy oh boy I was not disappointed, 13 tracks of pure joy that seemed to flow by my ears with such ease that before I knew it, it had finished so back to the start I went. Below is Butterfly, on of the albums big hitters amongst 12 others. Check it out and go buy the album HERE. 

Dinosaur Jr - Tiny YTV

Fresh out of the gates with a bang is this new track from Dinosaur Jr. Tiny is off of the bands upcoming LP Give A Glimpse of What Yer Not which is out in just over 2 weeks. I have been a big fan of DJ for a few years now and J. Mascis' latest solo album was one of my favourites from 2014. So it is no surprise that I am pleased of the new music from these guys. It is the same great quality that I have grown to expect from their previous work. Enjoy this extremely informative video!

Weaves - Coo Coo SCS

This week so far has been a bit of a fun one for me, a few great shifts at work and last night I had a brilliant time watching Bruce Springsteen on his The River tour with my old papa. It may have rained the entire time but the music shone through (boy that sounds cliché when I hear it) And another layer of icing on the cake is this beauty of a track by Toronto 4 piece Weaves. Coo Coo is about as wacky and crazy as the title suggests, quirky vocals and lyrical content with the controlled madness that is the guitar, drums and other electronic effects. They are coming to the UK in June and supporting Beach Slang in Manchester so definitely check them out if you get the chance, I sure will. Enjoy!