Chris Westwood takes his first steps going Solo and grabs Single of the Week
Sunday can only mean one thing, it’s Single of the Week. This is used to feature artists that you may not know about who have released something new this week, and the cream of the crop this time around is Birmingham Singer Songwriter Chris Westwood. After hanging up his electric guitar and leaving his previous band Dirty Little Lies, Chris has started his solo career which all starts with this release!
Chris takes to the piano for his single ‘Love and War’, which leans towards the more softer side of his musical talents. He delicately works his way around the keys to create a beautiful song.
It has some very soulful moments with the way the vocals are delivered, you can hear a hint of Paul Weller just when he started solo, a very strict voice which can reach those higher notes.
The tune is gentle and uplifting, something that Chris is able to take to another place with his vocals. The production of the track is also very well done, with the subtle strings which come in after the chorus, really softening it up.
This is only the beginning for Chris, as he still has big things he wants to accomplish. With a dedicated management behind him in Strawberry Moon Records, we will be hearing a lot more of his music going forward!
That’s it for this week, you think you have a Single of the Week get in touch over twitter by messaging @WFMBlog or email: wordsformusicblog@gmail.com
Birmingham Band FAITH Release ‘1992′ Ahead of EP Two
After having a quiet period in the studio working on their second EP entitled Two, FAITH have released another teaser into what we can expect from their second EP. ‘1992′ is the second track the band have released on the lead up to the EP, with ‘Honey‘ being the first, and it looks as though the band have firmly fell on their feet and found their sound.
Watch Below:
The slow, soft intro (which was recorded on Garageband), bares no resemblance to what the track turns into as a funky drum beat eases you in. The track has a very Stone Roses ‘Fools Gold’ type feel with wah-wah guitar sounds being a prominent feature, along with quick shifting drums.
The lyrics are something to note as they have a different style to previous FAITH tracks, with the song very much being a reflection on where the band are now, and where they want to be. The song is packed full with lyrics and they’re delivered in a rapid fire style, giving the track an upbeat, pacy energy.
One thing you can count on FAITH for is a good solo, and they deliver that here. The solo lasts over a minute closing out the song, and is something marvel at. It’s well thought out and put together as it holds your attention while it works around the guitar.
It’s great to hear that the band are ready to release their second EP and play it to live crowds. Keep an eye out for the EP which will be released in September, cannot wait to seem them live!
That’s it for this week, you think you have a Single of the Week get in touch over twitter by messaging @WFMBlog or email: wordsformusicblog@gmail.com
Birmingham Band King Krab Release New EP ‘Hard Tide’
It’s always nice to be covering a local band every once in a while, this time around it’s old School Rock Band King Krab with their new EP ‘Hard Tide’. With the band taking influences from a number of bands including Pearl Jam, AC/DC and Black Sabbath, you can take a clever guess at what that might be, and you’d be right. King Krab have a very heavy rock sound, with quick, over driven riffs going head to head with energy fueled drums.
You get a taste for the band straight from the off, when you hear the whirring guitar building up steam in the background being met by those thunderous drums. ‘Couldn’t’ is an ideal EP opener purely because the energy and the lyrics exclaiming that they’re excited, it very much feels like an opener.
The EP rolls through a forest of chaos as the band don’t let you rest with the following tracks ‘Dengue’ and ‘Beat The Rat’ launching an attack on peace and quiet. The drum and guitar work on this EP is flawless and these tracks are where it’s highlighted the most. From the solos, to the neat work behind the vocals you can hear that they’ve left no room for compromise in the songs.
The final track is a personal favourite of mine off the EP, the tunnel contained drums along with the layers of guitar is impressive. ‘Bleed Us’, offers a slightly different side to King Krab as they slow it down slightly giving more room for the song to breath and the listener to connect with the vocals. This also has to be some of the best vocals on the EP, as they’re very isolated at times but manage to stand alone quite well. Worth a listen.
Whether you like or don’t like their genre of music, you have to appreciate how talented these musicians are. Throughout the EP they’re playing to a level that only some people could hope to reach some day, and every song is a constant reminder of that. The band still have a lot to offer, as they clearly show on the EP that they haven’t run out of steam yet as they looks to close out the year with even more shows. Now with the EP released, you can guarantee the band will be flaunting each track any chance they get.
For some us the day we’ve been waiting for for almost two years has arrived, as indie fun-lovers Bad Sounds release their highly anticipated debut album and oh boy has it been worth waiting for.
If you’re unfamiliar with Bad Sounds then here’s a brief introduction: Get Better is part of the zany world of brothers Ewan and Callum Merrett, who along with Sam, Charlie, and Olivia make funky indie hip-hop inspired tunes with lyrics occasionally so strange you wonder if they’ve just played a game of Scrabble and read the board out. After the success of previous E.P releases PHRESSSH (which is currently tragically digital only) and Mixtape One, Get Better features some of the cream of the Bad Sounds crop, as well as some equally pleasing new tracks.
Album opener ‘Wages’ is a welcome into the tongue-in-cheek world of the Merrett brothers as lyricists. usually the hyper chant of “When you gonna pay my wages, my patience is paper thin?” can be heard at the end of one of Bad Sounds’ excellent gigs but here it provides a triumphant fanfare ready to drop you into what else the band have to offer. It flows straight into the familiar “Bang! Hit it Joe” catchphrase at the beginning of their breakout single ‘Avalanch” which has a fresh mix to it, sounding just as fantastic and singalong today as it did 2 years ago. Breezy new track ‘How You Gonna Lose’ is the perfect summery indie-track that you absolutely must play in the sunshine, while previously released single Couldn’t Give It Away gifts us more of the real-life phrase inspired lyrics that the brothers are known for, but with an out-there and almost space-like theme. Previously unreleased (except on a difficult to get hold of Flying Vinyl exclusive) track ‘Banger ‘ is exactly as the title describes; a tune that it would be criminal not to play on repeat and that makes you want to dance and feel better. The latter part of the album sees more of the laid-back tones seen on their previous EPs, particularly via tracks ‘Another Man’ and ‘No Luck’, while the previously released singles ‘Evil Powers’ and ‘Honestly’ stand-out as excellent poppy tracks that make you want to move.
As with any great indie band, Bad Sounds stand above the crowd by experimenting with multiple different sound-styles and for an album whose title and theme is Get Better”you certainly feel better after playing this through.
Slaves Deliver with their Third Album as their Originality Takes Over Again!
Every orifice of Slaves sweats the punk fever: wild eyes; knuckles white; words dripping in malice spat through clenched teeth, it’s an unmistakable diagnosis. The rapid release of their LPs Are You Satisfied? and Take Control firmly established their reputation as rabble rousers, with their vitriolic instrumentals and lyrics that – at the surface – scorned at the suburban status quo. The fundamental ingredients for the punk genre were there. These boxes ticked, Slaves were making punk palatable. Their catchiness, with earworm tracks that sounded nasty while still being something you wouldn’t be too ashamed to show your mother, had us blindly content that this was punk in its purest, sterling form. Slaves are not punk musicians – not punk, in that there is no provocation, nothing that can deeply disturb you to the point where every cell in your body wants to revolt against it, or revolt with it. They are pseudo-punk, warping the genre to their own ends. The spirit of punk felt absent. Their latest album ‘Acts of Fear and Love’ is the fulfilment of their statement of intent. Finally, it feels as if Slaves are not being angry for anger’s sake, but have produced a valid critique of the modern times. This time, they mean it.
The album opens with ‘The Lives They Wished They Had’, a tannoy-wielding mockery of the vapidity of today’s generation: “When you put your latest purchases on public display? / Is it praise you’re after? Or is it something more? / Like a desperate need for acceptance that you just can’t ignore?”. The guitarwork is sneering, culminating in a flare up of noise and fury, with Issac screaming “SLAVES! SLAVES!” over and over as the instrumental is in its death throes. This, you’ll think, this is what I came for.
‘Cut and Run’, the single that garnered the most interest before the release of the album, is sonically inferior. There is a very conscious stride away from their usual tantrum trope in this track, but it’s clear that their darts are missing the board. The sing-song bridges, cacophonous screeching and repetition of ‘Cut and Run’ is, quite frankly, exhausting to listen to. ‘Bugs’ is cut from the same cloth. “Another let-down generation”, Isaac complains; another let-down stock punk phrase.
For ‘Magnolia’, Slaves sharpen their knives for an attack on conformity: “Did you know, that 65% of UK homes contain at least one magnolia wall?” The magnolia wall is a metaphor for the nightmarish, bourgeois status quo. They force the image down your throat until the sight of a magnolia wall is enough to make you wretch. Their aptitude for taking something mundane and distorting it into a horror is one of the greatest merits of Acts of Fear and Love.
Midway through the album is perhaps the most disconcerting track on it, ‘Daddy’ – but not for the reason you might expect. It’s the furthest thing from the typical stream of bile jetting out of the depths of their guts. It’s quiet; more than that, it’s deeply sad, causing you to jolt not from wrath, but from how utterly off-guard it catches you because it is so unlike anything you’d come to expect from Slaves. The guitar is still recognisable as the one you heard only a few tracks before, the medium for thrashing, youthful rebellion, yet here it is, tamed. It’s as if someone sat them down, and asked “Why are you so angry? Where did this come from?”. It’s a deep breath out; it’s a sigh of relief. A short lamentation of a father through the eyes of a child: “Wasted again on these late nights with strange men / Spending like it’s nothing ‘cause he don’t know how to make friends / But he’s trying so hard”.
‘Photo Opportunity’ is similarly out-of-kilter for their conventional repertoire. An acoustic guitar, playing an uncomfortable vaudevillian rhythm accompanies Isaac, bashfully stepping forward, asking quietly, “Hello, what are you trying to do to me?” It’s the obligatory attack on the media vultures that encircle the famous; every artist, beyond a certain point, feels the need to retaliate against them. Like a macabre carousel, round and round you go, until the chorus hits like a torrential downpour, the speed throws you from your horse, and Slaves, the ringmaster of this circus, is screaming bloody murder in your face.
Just when you think you’ve got Slaves pinned down, in Acts of Fear and Love, they’ve stripped themselves of their platitudes and run brazenly in the opposite direction. A bitter pill to swallow, perhaps, for fans who worship their previously anthemic, but conceptually stunted work; what Acts of Fear and Love lacks in catchiness, it compensates with original design. The final track of the same name profits from Slaves’ innate menace, with spoken-word verses charged with a stealth that is effective two-fold without the need for noise. This record is demonstrative of the fact that Slaves are more than one-trick ponies. They show glorious inconsistency, with almost every track illuminating a new side to the duo that is jarring in just the right way. ‘All talk, no trousers; all bark, no bite’: a perception Slaves have more than seen off – but until their versatility on Acts of Fear and Love melds with the snap of their previous albums, Slaves are far from done.
Peach Club tell it How it is in New Song ‘Boy In A Band’
Since discovering Peach Club at the start of the year I’ve been fan ever since, and kept an eye on what they’ve been upto! Which means I got very excited when they announced their new track ‘Boy In The Band’ was set to be released soon, and it’s finally here!
Their EP Cherry Baby was a stunner, with the amazing vocal performances along with the raucous musicality, read the full review here. After listening to the EP it prompted me to see them live, where they completely brought the EP alive with a beautifully animated performance, full review here.
This track is even more proof that Peach Club are one of the best pieces of evidence that the Rrriot Grrrl movement is still very much alive. The reality they lay out in this track is raw and honest, and should be taken very seriously as they’re speaking from past experiences. To have the ability to put that into a song, and still have it carry that weight of truth is impressive.
Along with that the musicality of the song is completely in your face and unignorable, which is what it needs to be as it supports Kats voice so well. One thing they did so well on the EP was the catchy licks, and they’ve done it here again, being a real feature on the song.
Hope you all enjoyed the track, I cannot wait to see what else they do before the end of the year!
Lions of Dissent create utter chaos in New Track ‘Honey From Hell’
Lions of Dissent are a 7 Piece band (or should I say septet) from Wolverhampton. Since starting out the band have dazzled with their extremely depthy music. This was showcased on the bands debut EP What Would It Feel Like To Be Free, which was released last year (2017).
The band are back with one hell of a track, after premiering on CLASH the song has picked up a lot of steam and it’s not hard to see why.
‘Honey From Hell’ has that chaotic & raw sound, which is fronted by the gritty guitars and underground sounding vocals. With 7 people in the band it gives them capabilities that other bands don’t have, which comes across in this song. The vocals are heavy and dynamic, helped by the fact they have some amazing backing vocals supporting the track. The song has a psychedelic edge to it which is driven by the repetitive riff, and the feeling like you’re always trying to catch up with the song itself.
Since starting out as a solo project Lions of Dissent have come a long way, and it’s clear to see the band has a lot more to offer!
This is one reason why you should be on the constant look out for new music, because you just don’t know what you might stumble upon. Liverpool band Life at the Arcade released their third single ‘Little Lies’ , and it looks as if the great city has another band to flaunt around the UK.
The track boasts slick vocals along with heart pumping bassline and a tasty chorus. The heavy reverb sound of the song along with the little hook gives impressions of Catfish and the Bottlemen, however the band very much have their own stamp with that Liverpool twang.
This has been added to the WFM 2018 Playlist, make sure you follow the Playlist to keep up with all New Music – Playlist Link.
The band have some shows coming up, so if you dig the track and you’re around make sure you’re there!
DATES
August 9th – This Feeling – The Monarch, London
September 22nd – ALTR 2018 – St. John’s Minster, Preston
L.A Duo The Molochs release chilled track ‘Too Lost In Love’
This is the first time L.A duo The Molochs have been featured on WFM, and after this release I don’t think it will be their last
The band have released laid back, guitar strummer ‘Too Lost In Love’ and it’s a song which certainly belongs in the summer. The song has a don’t care attitude with a melody to stay around your head for days. The simple verses and chorus are inviting, making it accessible to sing along with the retro fuelled track.
This has been released ahead of the bands debut LP Flowers In The Spring which will be released September 7th Via L.A Label – Innovitive Leisure. I will be keeping a close eye on the band, and hopefully will get to see them live sometime soon!
As if Brighton didn’t have enough good bands coming out at the moment, with the likes of Gender Roles, Lazybones and Suzi Island – but they also now have Twilight Driving!
Their latest release ‘Between The Sheets’ will really act as a marker for the band as it’s a complete banger. The heavy synth work on the track really is something to enjoy, along with the large driving guitars. The breakdown in the track is euphoric and it must sound satisfactory hearing the whole thing come together live.
This really is starting to feel like Brightons Year for music and we all should just sit back and enjoy it, as another Single of the Week heads down South in the UK!
Hope you enjoyed this weeks single, be sure to check out next week when I will have another one for you!
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