The Novus Release Brexit Fuelled Track ‘Break’ and give a real opinion!
I think this new track by The Novus symbolises an under pressure Government, trying to keep its head above water in a post-Brexit society. And we as a country are to scared to speak up, previously and to this very day. All I know is there’s Talk of a deal, or no deal UK. And I can’t help wonder if we need to give Noel Edmonds a phone call, get deal or no deal back on the TV? Featuring Teresa May as a special guest, picking our kids and grand kids futures from 22 boxes at random, which will be filled with pros and cons. The banker will be the European Union Headquarters, offering us imported French wine on the cheap, in exchange for Boris Johnson’s resignation letter as she progresses through the game. And so on and so forth.
Some one give the government a better idea ? Now as you’ve probably gathered, I’m not a Brexit enthusiast. I’m a music fan. This song is electric from the start, and as the vocalist sang “left hand is held high, la la la la la la laaa” I instinctively raised my left hand and sang along. I was in that mad mosh pit without physically being there.
The song was a time machine, transporting me back to the 80’s. When the Smiths burst on the scene, and Morrissey spilled lyrics without a care, conveying controversy and standing by his beliefs. As did the sex pistols. this song paints that exact picture. With the lyrics ‘We’re scared to speak out, about those men who walk those carpet halls’. And I can’t help agree, and make this song one of the best I’ve heard in sometime in that context. The vocals have some mega phone effect, it’s regal, and you’ll hear it from outside as well as you would right up the front of their gig. Like the ring leader of a protest, only in dynamic, political punk-rock style.
Bedroom Synth-Artist Pizzagirl release New Track ‘Highschool’
Bedroom Music Makers are one of the most interesting when it comes to listening to new music, because a lot of the time they’re completely alone when making a new track. So they know no boundaries, and each idea they have isn’t contested so you get to hear the purest form of the artist.
Pizzagirl took this route when releasing his new synth orientated track ‘Highschool’, which sounds like its been picked directly out the 80’s and on the way caught a bit of the 00’s on it’s back legs.
Listen Below:
The slow and smooth the track works it’s way over the three minute mark, giving you a solid slice of synth-pop action. The vocals are completely soaked in reverb and slightly lost in the beaming synth which raged throughout the track.
For the majority of the song the pace sits at the same tempo, which heightens its cool and overall suave feel. It sounds as if he written the song from the perspective of John Hughes out of the Brat Pack film, as he frets about losing his cool.
This has been released ahead of his sophomore EP Season 2 which will be released this November!
Ben Howard once again evolves his music on ‘Noonday Dream’
Ben Howard is back with his third album Noonday Dream. I’ve crowned him the king of mournful optimism. Not something I would pick up from my local record store, I was generally whelmed at being given the task to review his latest album. Scarred by my many years on the local live music scene, I’ve had my fill of blokes playing acoustic guitars whilst straining something, something, broken heart, something, something, too late…down the mic. So, perhaps because my expectations of this album were lowered, it has ended up far exceeding my expectations. Dear lord, this is my favourite album of the year so far. Noonday Dream is beautifully crafted, multi-layered, interesting, thoughtful, melodic, catchy yet brooding, accessible, yet unpretentious.
Opening track ‘Nica Libres at Dusk’ sounds remarkably influenced by Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool. Not to say that it’s purely derivative. A compliment in fact. This is one of the stand out tracks of the album, starting with bare percussions, dancing with monotonous, syncopated lyrics. Howard has a real knack for writing the most beautiful and complimentary choruses. They’re a real stab of warmth and comfort nestled between quite adventurous verses. By the time the track has built up its layers of instruments it gives me that sunny Morcheeba vibe. Connan Mockasin, he ain’t but you do get more than you expect for with this male solo-artist with a guitar. The corresponding music video encapsulates the sound perfectly: dusty, arid, hot. Steel brushes on the drums swirl like the wind whipping up some tumbleweed.
‘Towing The Line’ has a river cruise vibe, reminds me of The Doozer. Abstract lyrics, a deceptively simple track. ‘A Boat To An Island On The Wall’ is the first single to be released from this album. It carries with the water theme. Moaning synths ebb and flow from ear to ear behind quiet sounds. Out of the noise, comes chugging the verse like a river boat approaching. Close your eyes and you could be the Lady of Shalott floating through marshes. Vocals pitch around like a lighthouse lamp revolving over a hazy sea.
‘What The Moon Does’ sounds like Nick Drake has been resurrected. The guitar provides the percussion. Echoing from a wall under Howard’s voice. By the end, it sounds like a dream you’d have whilst asleep in a car. It’s an ethereal and acceptably bizarre experience. ‘Someone In The Doorway’ has that ambient rock vibe, a scantily clad verse contrasts against one of those lovely choruses he’s so good at. It’s like jumping into a bed of feathers, feels good.
‘Defeat’ is another track which I absolutely adore on this album. I promise, it’s going to be your latest earworm. It’s a perfect marriage of that ambient, rock, folk sound he has come to make his own. It encapsulated the whole album in one. It’s simultaneously discordant yet satisfying. It’s probably down to the alternative tunings he uses and being a left-handed guitarist. He’s a mirror image of the conventional dude-with-guitar, but the flip has somehow made him the right way up. It all sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it does. Forget your traditional chord structures, this is a lesson in how to be the other.
JAWS Frontman Connor releases a Song for the Summer
With Summer not too far in the distance now we’re getting ready for those songs that will accompany us on those long nights. JAWS frontman Connor is one step ahead of you with him releasing his latest track ‘Petals’ which is tailor made for that summer sun.
The song has a shoegaze soul which comes out in every aspect, from the distant vocals to the dreamy hooks. Listen down below and see what you make of his latest solo work!
I first came across Camp Cope last year when I stumbled across their self-titled album, and ever since then the album has silently stuck with me. The Lo-Fi production of it all was endearing enough, but the topic of the songs and the emotions that were being conveyed throughout each track were something else. That album was so enjoyable, with it only being 8 tracks long it left you wanting more, and each track felt important to that album. There was no filler, which is a problem in the modern music age of releasing albums.
Fast forward a year and they’ve released their second album ‘How to Socialize and Make Friends’, finally it was time for another Camp Cope fix. Once again the band opt for a sensible amount of songs, as the album features 9 tracks – but there’s no filler, it’s all premium material.
The album opens up with the suitably named ‘The Opener’ and immediately Georgia Maq is opening up her heart and letting it bleed over the record as she begins tells the tale of a shitty relationship and how badly you can be treated sometimes. The stories in the track are so relatable and put across in such a blunt and honest way in the lyrics.
“Tell me that no one knows me like you do
And tell me that my friends don’t tell me the truth
And maybe I’ll come crawling back to you
Like, that was your plan, right?”
The song then quickly takes a turn as Maq sticks a blunt middle finger up the male dominated music industry. She continues to pull from personal experiences, making the song authentic and making the song one of the best on the record.
This is a recurring feature of the album as Maq consistently dives into her library of experiences and morphs them into beautiful songs for people to understand.
The title track also has these qualities as she expresses how difficult it is to fit in and feel a part of something, with the constant feeling of being lost as she sings “I’m riding in the dark/on my bike with no handlebars”. ‘Anna’ is another insightful track where Georgia urges you to “Get it all out/ Write another song”. It’s hard not to think that this her giving advice to anyone who’s struggling or dealing with something, as it’s quite clear this is how Maq thinks things through and starts shifting that weight of her shoulders.
Musically it’s great to hear that the band have stuck with their sound, as it still has that lo-fi gritty sound attached to it. In some respects it could be considered as part 2 of their first album, as there’s not much difference instrumentally – but the songs are individuals due to the topics sewn to them.
The band then work their way through with ‘Sagan-Indiana’ and ‘The Omen’ which are both talent-fuelled. ‘Animal and Real’ really sticks out in the mind due to the vocal performance, which has this desperation clinging onto it, which again lends to the argument that everything Camp Cope do has meaning attached it and isn’t just thrown together for the sake of.
The final track ‘I’ve Got You’ is a circle song which means the chords cycle in the same order, beginning to end. The song is about Georgia’s father Hugh Mcdonald who passed away in 2016, and in isolation, when nothing is going on around you, this song is emotionally very powerful. Georgia throws everything into this track allowing herself to be an open book. She provides lyrics like :
“They said there’s something inside of you / So they tried radiation, chemicals too”
Along with,
“And you said there’s broken links in your brain/ And I said it’s okay, mines exactly the same”
It’s lines like these which make the songs very real and close to home, and for someone to have the ability to craft a song out of times like these should be respected. Not only because the song is a stunning piece of work, but to write about something like this helps so many people who are going through similar struggles in their life.
Personally this album triumphs their last, because it feels like they have become somewhat more refined in their songwriting, and also this albums is capable of emotionally moving you and making you think. Camp Cope have become more of a well-known band over these last two years to due to their solid releases on Bandcamp, however I see this album being their most pivotel and most important to their progression.
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