Tag: Albums

Some albums I’ve listened to that I have really enjoyed

Melodrama by Lorde

Melodrama by Lorde is an album I have been waiting for with baited breath, being one of my favourite artists over the past ten years.

I was a little worried by the sound of the album’s first single ‘Green Light’.  I liked the song well enough, however, it didn’t seem to me to have that idiosyncratic sound of Lorde’s. When compared, for example, with Tennis Court from her first album.

That was my initial thought. However, now I have come to listen to the entirety of Melodrama, every song on it is growing on me.

I loved how on this new album she seems to be bringing in a wider array of sounds and styles into her music. It feels somewhat lighter this time around, with the songs feeling much more unified across the album – feeling like a complete arrangement start to finish.

Even on first listening, some songs jumped straight up at me. ‘Writer in the Dark’ is as bare and as beautiful as they come. Her voice climbs higher than I had previously been used to hearing from her and it is glorious. She seemed to me to be channeling the essence of Kate Bush at times in this song.

I think with the huge popularity of ‘Pure Heroine’, her first album, it was always going to be a tough one to follow. There was a worry for me that she would end up pigeonholing herself into the niche that she created. She could have either given us more of the same – playing it safe and giving her fans what they loved, or tried out new things and expanded the boundaries of her sound even further. Her choosing the latter made me very happy and very relieved.

Melodrama has the hallmarks of an instant classic for me. She has taken her signature sound and style, and moved up a level; pushing her sound and our perception of what she is capable of.

You can buy Lorde’s new album on Amazon today.

Truth is a beautiful thing by London Grammar

London Grammar’s latest album, ‘Truth is a beautiful thing’ is an absolutely stunning journey of emotion and sweeping scores. I enjoyed their debut too, but this album has just completely got its hooks in me.

Hannah Reid’s voice is simply stunning as she powers through the songs, at times with an air of Florence Welch to her. That, along with the atmospheric music behind her, cause me to almost lose track of time when I’m listening. Sometimes it seems like so much time has passed when in fact only two or three songs have.

The song that hooked me definitely has to be ‘Hell to the liars’. Words can’t describe it’s beauty and the affect it continues to have on me as I keep replaying it. I’ll link a video below as well as a link to buy the album.

London Grammar have quickly become one of my favourite bands in recent days and have been added to my current list of obsessions.

Buy ‘Truth is a beautiful thing’.

Between hope and danger by Hante

Hante’s music is always a dark, dreamy escape that I am addicted to getting lost into. As soon as I learned of her new release, ‘Between Hope and Danger’, I immediately had to listen to it.

Hante’s music is always a dark, dreamy escape that I am addicted to getting lost into. As soon as I learned of her new release, ‘Between Hope and Danger’, I immediately had to listen to it. From the get go it contained everything I love about her music – mystery-entrenched soundscapes of unapologetic synth. That and her haunting, echo chamber style vocals.

The opening, “Le Point de Non-Retour”, was a dark choice with a Gothic choir accompaniment and a buzzsaw-style style. Characteristic of a relatively new style of music I’ve discovered called “Witch House”.

“Lies // Light” sounds like she’s experimenting with a typical Synthwave / Outrun style, but still in keeping with her own aesthetic. At times this song has sounds that remind me of old-skool Sega MegaDrive games. This is only going to be a good thing.

To my ears, she is at her darkest during the song “Eternite”. A sweeping, eerie synth is met by a devil’s organ and married by her wistful voice.

In the titular song, “Between hope and danger”, I might be mad, but I can hear references to both John Carpenter – who is par for the course in modern electronic music – and Angelo Badalamenti. For those who aren’t familiar with Angelo, he is the man responsible for many of David Lynch’s film scores. “Between hope and Danger” had echoes for me back to his main theme for Mulholland Drive.

All in all this album is a terrific addition to an already impressive body of work.

P.S. If you’d like to get to know the lady behind this great music, you can read my interview with Hante.

Welcome Back To Milk by Du Blonde

Welcome back to milk by Du Blonde is fierce, bold and packs a huge punch in its 36 minutes. Du Blonde, real name Beth Jeans Houghton takes us to many different places in this album. I’m excited to introduce you to it.

From the very opening crunching guitar riff of ‘Black Flag’, this album will wake you from any slumber. There’s no half-assed listening to her music with one earbud in. This album demands your full attention and I think you’ll be giving it.

‘Chips to go’ keeps the energy high with her occasional screaming and the super catchy guitar riff. As does the frantic assault on the senses from the later song ‘Mr Hyde’.

As well as her high-energy post-punk style music, Du Blonde also slows things down beautifully in one of my favourite songs, ‘Four in the morning’. With just her voice and piano, she sings with a softness, sitting in contrast to the album’s more aggressive songs. It also leads perfectly into what is perhaps the most experimental song on the album, “Mind is on my mind”

‘Mind is on my mind’ is a song of distinct parts, all unique yet working in the most perfect harmony together. It also makes an excellent example of Beth’s musical sensibilities. The best way I can describe this one is by quoting Beth herself:

I was interested at the time in writing songs with no repeating sections, but rather a succession of acts. A couple of months later, Sam and I took a trip out to the desert and came back to LA to make some music. I played him the track and he got in the booth and ad-libbed his lyrics over the instrumentation. He was done in like one or two takes. When I was back in London I’d become obsessed with these Middle Eastern and Greek guitar scales and I added the lead guitar in the outro as a contrast to Sam’s vocals.

‘Isn’t it wild’ is the perfect closing song for this album, after having being dropped into the blistering ‘Black Flag’ opening. Gorgeous strings, piano and voice being given a vintage echo. Listening to this gave me thoughts of floating gently back out of the album from whence I dropped.

Welcome back to milk has absolutely zero skippable songs, with each one holding an air of experimentation to it. Every one of these songs has been lovingly hand-crafted and come together to make an album that is truly greater than the sum of its parts.

Lucid by Scarlett Taylor

Lucid by Scarlett Taylor is a very strong footing from which her career seems to be growing well from. Her unique, almost-derelict sounding aesthetic is something to be enjoyed, with Scarlett never afraid to lay her voice bare against these haunting soundscapes. “Monster Movie” from this debut album is a perfect example of this.

Although she is relatively new, in terms of her music’s exposure to the world, she has already managed to carve a unique niche for herself. It is clear that not only did she find her footing with this album, but she dug both heels in and continues to push forwards into new and interesting musical avenues.

I got mommy issues
Daddy issues
Money Issues
Holes in my shoes

Mommy Issues by Scarlett Taylor

If you are new to Scarlett’s music then this will be a great introduction to what she’s all about. If, like me, you are listening to this album after “Churches“, then you’re already a fan and are in for a treat.

Stand out songs

If you go by SoundCloud listens alone, then “Purple Bones” is clearly the most popular song from this album. I do like that song, however my personal favourite from “Lucid” is the fifth song, “Mommy Issues”. It’s one of the album’s heaviest with its distorted guitar filling this song’s larger-sounding atmosphere. It’s one of the heaviest I remember hearing from Scarlett, which is always welcome.

“Monster Movie” is another favourite, and is closer to the style I think of with Scarlett’s music. Her voice filling the stage while only a very small arrangement accompanies her. This song’s arrangement comes in the form of a melody played on a slightly over-driven electric guitar.

As with “Churches”, this album is music to get lost in and experience. It shouldn’t be put on with the kids yelling or as a communal office affair. This music is a personal statement and deserves to be experienced as such.

You should buy Lucid here.

Virginia Soundtrack by Lyndon Holland

In Virginia the soundtrack is a first-class citizen. It’s not simply just a well-written collection of pieces made for each scene, but additionally is a living, breathing creature itself. It weaves its way through you when listening, conjuring images either from the rural Virginia of the game’s setting, or any other place you care to find your mind wandering through.

Even playing the demo, the title screen alone has such a beautiful score that I was instantly hooked.

Virginia – A brief description of the game

Just to give you some context, the game has absolutely no talking in it whatsoever. You progress the story by investigating the current area, essentially playing through an interactive film. All conversations between characters are handled by well designed scenes; expertly-timed reactions and shows of emotions; and the score which seamlessly takes you by the hand.

The story is about an investigation into a boy’s disappearance, which soon leads to a bigger conspiracy overall. The two protagonists find themselves in a town very similar to Twin Peaks. In fact the aesthetic that the developers went for was Twin Peaks / X-Files / Outer Limits. And they nailed it with both setting and characters. The soundtrack for me however, is the real main character in Virginia.

Also worth mentioning is that this was recorded live by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. It was recorded in the same location as both the ‘Lost Highway’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’ film soundtracks were. ‘Lost Highway’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’, in case you didn’t know, where both made by David Lynch, as was Twin Peaks.

Soundtrack as a character

Like any great character, the soundtrack to Virginia is consistent whilst remaining varied enough to stay interesting throughout. Even though the soundtrack blends seamlessly together, much of it is still distinctive enough to be able to pinpoint the scene of the game I remember it from.

A number of key pieces stand out for me as being particularly memorable. The first piece I remember loving, I actually heard from the demo I played before. This is called “In Dreams” and, as the title suggests, accompanies a dream sequence had by our heroine. It ends in a unique, abrupt way that brings back the feelings of its creepy scene instantly.

“Little Thugs” is different in that it’s probably the most frantic sounding, which fits its scene very well. It’s also one of the few pieces to be diegetic, meaning it is music whose source is actually shown in the film (in this case from a portable stereo owned by some thugs).

One other stand out piece, also seen within the game, is called “Sojourner’s Truth”. I truly don’t know how to emphasise the power of this song within the scene, and indeed in its own right. This piece of music is absolutely dripping with that ‘Twin Peaks Vibe’. If you hadn’t seen Twin Peaks for a few years you could be forgiven for thinking that this is from it. But please don’t think that it’s a poor-person’s Twin Peaks. This song, and indeed the whole soundtrack, comes from a place of huge admiration and respect for those influences, and stands high as the best homage to the previously-mentioned shows I have ever seen or heard.

Debriefing

In short, the soundtrack to Virginia is one of the best I’ve ever heard – and I mean out of all soundtracks; not just games. I have included my favourite scene from the game below, with “Sojourner’s Truth”, but I highly recommend actually playing the game through yourself to experience the whole package first-hand. It’s a short game, clocking in at about and hour and a half for me, but it is one of the best games I’ve ever played.

Who You Selling For by The Pretty Reckless

“Who You Selling For” by The Pretty Reckless sounds to me to be their most ambitious album to date. Their third full album release sees them stepping up their game, incorporating fresh sounding elements while still holding on to that signature “Reckless” sound. Each Pretty Reckless album has been longer than the last, with this one maintaining that tradition, clocking in at just over 50 minutes.

Who You Selling For

This album didn’t quite open like I expected it too. In place of a thumping rock jaunt, there was a calm, soothing piano piece accompanied by Taylor Momsen’s softly-sang words. This soon gave way for the fading in of a, dare i say it, Tool-esque riff. This opening song on the whole felt like they were experimenting with their sound; pushing their boundaries stylistically. On this song alone, I felt the next 11 songs were going to be a new experience; different from what I was used to hearing from them.

Taylor Momsen
Taylor Momsen

The following 2 songs, “Oh My God” and “Take Me Down” take me back to that recognisable ‘Reckless sound’. The latter of the two was the album’s first single, and a great choice it was too. The drums are accompanied by an almost tribal-like bongo sound with a cool guitar rhythm lick. “Take Me Down” got me back on the familiar ground with their signature sound that I’ve come to love.

Momsen’s voice is just as great as it always was too – if anything she sounds stronger vocally. Listening to the song “Already Dead” reminded me why Taylor’s vocals put her up in the top end of her league.

Upping their game

The rest of “Who You Selling For” continues to peak my interest throughout. They could have released another “Light Me Up” and I’d have been happy, but this release shows that they aren’t afraid to try new things and aren’t using their great sound in a cookie-cutter fashion. From the blues-infused “Prisoner”; to the heavy belters “Wild City” and my favourite off the album “Living In The Storm”; to the 3 minutes of breathing space that comes with the titular song. This album has much variety and forces me to pay closer attention to each song – pulling me further into the music.

As surprising as the opening to this album was, the closing was more so. Again, based on previous albums, I was expecting a certain style in the closing song – instead they gave me the super-funky finishing song “Mad Love”, whose opening could have easily have lead into an awesome cover of The Beegees’ “Stayin’ Alive”.

“Who You Selling For” demonstrates The Pretty Reckless at their strongest. A band not content with remaining in known safety, they are stepping up their game whilst still holding on to that signature ‘Reckless aesthetic’.

5 of my favourite debut albums

Buckingham Nicks by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac in 1974 to make its ninth, and most well-known, line up. But just the year before, the two had recorded an album together called “Buckingham Nicks”. As a guitar player I was hugely inspired by Lindsey Buckingham, so when … Continue reading “5 of my favourite debut albums”

Buckingham Nicks by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks

Buckingham Nicks by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks

Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac in 1974 to make its ninth, and most well-known, line up. But just the year before, the two had recorded an album together called “Buckingham Nicks”. As a guitar player I was hugely inspired by Lindsey Buckingham, so when I found out about this album it felt like I’d struck gold.

Some of my favourite songs from them both appear on this album. “Frozen Love” has one of my favourite guitar moments from Lindsey; and Stevie’s Voice sounds so great on “Races are Run” and “Long Distance Winner”.

The harmonies that these two manage to produce together are simply phenomenal. 

Light Me Up by The Pretty Reckless

Light Me Up by The Pretty Reckless

In a time when I was a little bored with the contemporary rock music coming out, and was just discovering Lorde; Lana Del Rey et al, I heard a song on the radio called “Heaven Knows”. The big sound of the band and heavy vocals of Taylor Momsen had me instantly hooked. From that song I immediately sought out the album, “Going To Hell”, which naturally led me to their previous – and debut – album “Light Me Up”.

“Light Me Up” is such a great rock album. It has everything from super-catchy heavy romps to the stripped-back and beautiful closing “You”. This is album would definitely be a desert island disc for me. 

Pure Heroine by Lorde

Pure Heroine by Lorde

Lorde – the lady who absolutely blew everyone away with her powerful tribute to David Bowie following his passing. She is definitely one of the few truly unique artists of recent times. She has a style that is so uniquely her own and her stunning debut “Pure Heroine” is a testiment to that.

The biggest hit off the album is undoubtedly “Royals”, which is where I had my first taste. Well, to be more precise it was Weird Al Yankovic’s parody cover “Foil” which led to my looking for the origin of the song.

As soon as I pressed play and heard the absolutely stunner “Tennis Court” I was an immediate fan boy; I was obssessed with the album – to some degree I still am. 

Same Trailer Different Park by Kacey Musgraves

Same Trailer Different Park by Kacey Musgraves

When it comes to country music I am mostly in the dark. Except for my being a big fan of Kris Kristofferson, and of course Johnny Cash, I never really sought out any new country music. That was until I was introduced to Kacey Musgraves by web designer Andy Clarke in his album review.

Since first hearing it I played it every morning on my drive into work. I would even intentionally drive slower so that I could hear the whole album before arriving. The opening, “Silver Lining”, is one of the most welcoming songs I’ve heard on an album.

Every corner of “Same Trailer Different Park” is as genuine a country album we could ever hope to hear.

Atlas by FM-84

Atlas by FM-84

Over the past 12 months I have been diving into a few new genres than what I was used to. There’s been grime; pop; and there’s been synth wave. Synth wave is as cool as it sounds. It’s a style of music with the intentional sound and aesthetics of 80s film / game soundtracks. Think John Carpenter; Tron et al.

The first artist of Synth wave I heard was an artist called ‘FM-84’, real name Colin Bennett. His song “Running In The Night”, co-written with Ollie Wride, absolute blew me away and made me wish I had become self-aware in the 80s. The whole album feels like it was both made in the 80s and is an ultimate tribute to the 80s. Every song on “Atlas” is a complete joy to listen to. 

No Hard Feelings by Hante

Listening to No Hard Feelings by Hante makes me feel a lot more cultured than I am.

Hante is a hugely talented Electronic / Synthwave / Darkwave artist hailing from Paris, France. Her music is darkly melancholic that completely envelopes you when you listen.

I always imagine myself sat in some smokey underground Parisian nightclub when I hear it.

The E.P. has five songs and each one is golden. The first one I heard was actually the second song, “À Contrecoeur”, which Google tells me is French for “Unwillingly”. Everything about this song oozes cool. The opening twangy lick on what I think is an electric guitar; The main awesome synth attack melody that comes in at about the thirty one second mark; Hante’s haunting vocals mixed with the awesome wall of sound that she has created. The song, and indeed the entire E.P., is an amazingly powerful, dark electronic experience.

Nothing’s gonna happen
I’m sinking in a fantasy
If we love each other
Why can’t we be dreaming together?

Living in a French Movie by Hante

“Une Nuit Avec Mon Ennemi”, the third song, has yet more catchy, dark heavy synth melodies arranged with her ghostly delivery. This is how dark synth should be – dark but not depressing.

In “Quiet Violence” Hante seems to push herself further with her vocals. She sounds bigger; more commanding in the delivery and the song is one of the E.P.’s biggest-sounding as a result.

On the whole this music is some of the most interesting I’ve heard in a long while. While I love all the music I write about, “No Hard Feelings” by Hante is in a small collection of exceptional recordings that are completely fresh to my ears.

Anybody looking to broaden their own musical tastes and need a tip on where to look – look no further than Hante.

Please head over to Hante’s Bandcamp page and buy her music.

Lady Wood by Tove Lo

Tove Lo is an artist unafraid to use sexuality in her work. Whether that be in her lyrics; album title; or the album’s accompanying short film, “Fairy Dust”. That sexuality isn’t used for shock or as an empty attempt to gain followers, but is instead part of the deep rooted feelings behind her music.

“Lady Wood” came across to me as Tove Lo’s most consistent piece of work to date. Don’t get me wrong – I love “Queen of the Clouds” – but something about her latest release seemed more consistent; more conceptual. These songs are tied together really well, with every single one of them being an absolute killer that grow with every listen.

A confident, more focused, second album

With the lighting of a single candle, experimental effects and a beautiful-sounding synth, “Fairy Dust (Chapter 1)” ushers us into the world of Tove Lo’s “Lady Wood”. It’s definitely one of my favourite intros to an album this year, and leads really well into the first full-length song, “Influence”.

“Influence” is an infectious steady build for the album and peaks brilliantly at it’s chorus’ awesome deep bass line. I remember the synthesizer’s sound in particular stood out to me, and fit in perfectly with my recent obsession with synthwave music.

Following “Influence” comes the album’s titular song “Lady Wood”, which is also a favourite of mine. Another steady build up with soft, minimal percussion lead to one of my favourite lyrics from the whole album:

I know what people say about you
They say the same about me
I don’t care if it’s all true
I want you hanging with me

Lady Wood by Tove Lo

“Lady Wood”, the song, also comes across as a slightly reined-in club dance hit, which is a nice breather before the absolute belter that comes next, in the shape of “True Disaster”.

As I mentioned earlier there is an accompanying short film to this album called “Fairy Dust”. One of the stand out parts of that film was in the performance of “True Disaster” – all in one continuous take by the look of it. It was seeing that performance that made this song in particular stand out the more as being one of my favourites. Like many of the songs here, it builds up really well and peaks with an absolutely banging chorus.

Featured Artists

“Lady Wood” includes some interesting featured artists across a couple of the songs, none of which I’d heard of before. In particular the album’s mid-way song, “Vibes”, features a chap called Joe Janiak and has one of the most interesting chorus deliveries of the album. “Vibes” almost comes out of left field, in that its opening is performed on an acoustic finger-picked guitar. It gives the album a stylistic change to the music contained up till this point.

No, let’s not put a label on it
Let’s keep it fun
We don’t put a label on it
So we can run free, yeah
I wanna be free like you

Cool Girl by Tove Lo

The rest of the album’s second half follows suit by blasting out great song after great song. There is a great use of electronic samples and synthesizers throughout this album that just serve to increase my addiction to it.

Not one of the songs made me want to skip forward – if you’re going to listen to this album, then you will listen to it. Just listen through the first minute of “Keep it Simple” and tell me the synth drop doesn’t kick ass.

A Sprinkling of Fairy Dust

As well as listening to “Lady Wood”, I also strongly urge you to take half an hour to watch Tove’s film “Fairy Dust” – and probably not at work either. Watching this film really gave me an extra depth when listening to the album after. I’m not going to pretend I understood the story 100% or that I got all the metaphors etc, but as a piece of art and an album accompaniment, it’s first class. Just watch Tove Lo’s performance in the opening scene and you’re sure to be pulled in immediately.

You can buy Tove Lo’s “Lady Wood” on Amazon today.

Border Lord by Kris Kristofferson

Border Lord by Kris Kristofferson was my first taste of country music. In fact I think when I bought this album it was the first time I had stepped out of my musical bubble of that time. It has a slightly darker flavour than what I thought country was till then.

As I remember it I was on my way home from my early shift in a local warehouse when I passed by a charity shop in the town. In the window I saw a bunch of albums and Border Lord was one of them. I think it was the cover that initially drew me to it and at only about £1.50, how could I say no?

When I first listened to this album I was immediately drawn in – I hadn’t heard anything like it before. I had been brought up on a healthy diet of Fleetwood Mac, Meat Loaf and Supertramp; so it was a refreshing addition to my music range. In retrospect I think this was the album that made me start actively searching out different types of music.

Border Lord

The album opens with the song “Josie” which, as best as I can work out from the lyrics, is a song about a man finding himself experiencing his first love with a woman of the night. When I say “as best as I can work out”, I just mean that most of the album’s lyrics are open to interpretation. I tend to see the literal meanings first, as opposed to any metaphor attached. I think it speaks volumes for the album that I can hear it ten years later and still find new things within it.

The next song, “Burden of Freedom”, is a song directed to God by the singer, about either adjusting to life outside of a prison and what it has done to him, or about him taking his own life. This, along with the third song, “Stagger Mountain Tragedy”, are brilliant examples of the fully formed worlds within Kris’ songs that are expertly crafted with these sometimes-cryptic lyrics.

I was born on Stagger Mountain in the sunshine and the snow.
And leavin’ was the first mistake I made;
But I hungered for the shadows in the valley down below.
And the girl that danced the tune the devil played.
Her smile was like the blindin’ light of sunshine on the snow
And the flashin’ of her hair was black as sin.
And her body set the smokes of hell a-boilin’ in my skull.
When the fiddle of the devil made her spin.

opening lyrics from “Stagger Mountain Tragedy”

The rest of the song takes a dark turn that I will let you discover for yourself.

The stand-out song on “Border Lord” for me, is the start of the album’s second half, “Little Girl Lost”. This, like some previous songs, comes across as being from a darker side of love. The song also has one of my favourite tempo changes I’ve ever heard.

“Smokey put the sweat on me” is a great driving song and gives “Border Lord” greater variety. Not that the album gets boring at all, it just gives it a breeze of cool air. It sounds like it would be a great live concert closer too. If you can listen to this song through without either bobbing your head or your feet, or both, then you’re in much more control of your body than I am.

I have shook Kris Kristofferson’s hand

Every album of Kris Kristofferson’s I’ve heard since “Border Lord” I’ve loved. I think my favourite is actually his eponymous debut, but this will always have a special place on my shelf.

Also, on the strength of this album, I travelled up to Edinburgh, from Birmingham, to see him live. He still knows how to command a stage, twang them strings and I even got to shake his hand.

You Know What It’s Like by Carla dal Forno

Since I first heard the song “Fast Moving Cars“, the album “You Know What It’s Like” by Carla Dal Forno has been on my radar ever since. When the album was released on October 15th, it both was and wasn’t what I was expecting.

It was, insofar as it being rooted in a consistent feeling of ambience that I came to expect from “Fast Moving Cars”, and the second single “What You Gonna Do Now”.

It wasn’t, in that I had half-expected the album to be samey throughout. However I am happy to say that the album had enough variety within, without becoming disjointed.

One thing is certain; with “You Know What It’s Like” you will be taken on a journey around some of the darker reaches of music.

You can buy “You Know What It’s Like” from Bandcamp.

Carla walks us into the void

Carla brings an eeriness to music that for me, has many distant echos back to albums like “The Marble Index” by Nico.

The opening song, an instrumental called “Italian Cinema” is possibly the strangest album intro I’ve heard in a long time. The title “Italian Cinema” is apt, being that it made me conjure up images of old Italian Giallo films. It starts with a strange warbling effect and merges into what I could only imagine as a demonic playground melody.

Four flies on grey velvet

Following “Italian Cinema” was the now-familiar crack of thunder, ushering in one of my favourite songs of the year, “Fast Moving Cars”. The song doesn’t seem to really go anywhere as such. It’s almost like a Wican chant set to a repeated base tone and minimal synthesizer. But that is precisely what I love about Carla Dal Forno’s music – her ethereal, often haunting, aesthetics.

“DB Rip” steps in as the third song on the album and brings a slightly more aggressive edge. With its punchier beat and sharper synths, it will either shake you free from the album’s trace-inducing charm, or take you deeper. I was taken deeper, so it was only fitting that the next song’s lyrics opened with the following:

What you gonna do now,
that the night’s come and it surrounds you?
What you gonna do now,
that the night’s come and it surrounds you?
You could wait for the day,
Though I don’t think it’ll make a difference

What you gonna do now by Carla Dal Forno

Seduced by the darkness

This album has a darkness to it that is inviting, not off-putting. I can only liken it to the feelings I got during the end of this years film “The Witch”. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it, but let me just say it involves an inevitable pull into the comforting arms of darkness.

Out of the album’s eight songs, the division of instrumental and vocal-led songs is evenly spilt. At first seeing that the album clocked in at only 29 minutes, I can’t pretend that I wasn’t disappointed. However, now that I have listened to “You Know What It’s Like” a few times, this now actually seems like a perfect length. And the fact that half of the album is instrumental – and experimentally so – gives the album a diversity that stops you getting bored from it’s surreal soundscapes.

This is an album I will be listening to either in bed or on the train when I want to zone out for my morning commute.

Integrity by JME

Two years ago, If you’d have told me that one of my favourite ever albums would end up being a rap album, i’d have probably laughed. However that is just what Integrity by JME has become.

I should mention early on that I don’t really have any knowledge of rap music in general; only what I’ve picked up over my past 12 months or so of listening to it. But it really has grown on me, and JME’s latest album was a real gateway drug.

Some of the cleverest lyrics I’ve ever heard

The first thing that stood out to me about JME was his interesting ways of writing and forming rhymes. He has a real talent for writing with clever, and sometimes even humorous, lines. The album’s second track, “96 Fuckries” has one of my favourite verses in:

I roll with Aaron and Aaron
Frequently I get stopped by the gammon
Because my whip looks like it should be owned by Jeremy Clarkson or Richard Hammond
Feds pull me like I’m a drug baron
Chatting bare shit, can’t understand ’em
In the stereo I got Krept & Konan
In the boot I got my creps and my Canon
I don’t own a BlackBerry
Ask for my pin and get slapped heavy
Call me a rude kid or a maniac but beats?
I ain’t sharing ’em like Teddy

from 96 Fuckries by JME

Just to point out one of the cleverest parts of that song above, specifically in the last two lines: “Call me a rude kid or a maniac but beats? I ain’t sharing ’em like Teddy”. A mate at work explained to me: Teddy Sheringham is a football player (I aint “Sheringham” liked Teddy). Get it? Such clever word play and the album Integrity is littered with clever word play like that.

For example, in one of the album’s later songs “Don’t @ Me”, featured guest – and JME’s brother – Skepta raps the following:

Hi hater
Why you wanna diss man online then say “hi” later
I already said don’t waste my time
Now I’ve gotta tell ’em don’t waste my data
I don’t wanna write a diss track for an MC
Nah, I don’t wanna waste my paper

from Don’t @ Me

In fact every line on this album is expertly written and performed by both JME and the guests featured throughout.

Wide range of talented guest artists

“Integrity” also has featured a host of other great rappers from the same grime scene. Jammer; D Double E; Big Narstie; Skepta and Giggs to name a few.

Arguably the album’s biggest song was the one that Giggs features on – “Man Don’t Care”. I say featured, but I think the split is pretty much 50/50 between the two of them. I actually heard JME speak in an interview recently about how “Man Don’t Care” came to be finished. I find it interesting hearing about how great songs and albums came to be.

Skepta, as mentioned before, is actually featured on two of the album’s songs, “Don’t @ me”, as mentioned above, and “Amen”. And he kills it on both.

Big Narstie is always great to listen to, whether giving advice as Uncle Pain or killing it on Fire in the booth. On “Integrity” he features on the track “Break You Down” and he doesn’t disappoint. He gives it the gusto that any fan of Narstie’s would expect from him.

I can lip-sync Integrity

The closing song, which is also the title track, “Integrity” is my favourite song on the album. This song is as great an introduction as any to JME’s music – you’ll be introduced to his skill as a writer, rapper, producer and his ability to weave his sense of humour through his lyrics. The guy absolutely nails it on every song I hear him on and I’ve heard the song “Integrity” so many times now that I can almost lip-sync it perfectly.

Hazy (A Desert Opera) by Roslyn Moore

Like people who remember where they were when JFK was killed, or Princess Diana, I remember exactly where and when I first heard Hazy (A Desert Opera) by Roslyn Moore.

I was in that midway state of consciousness between awake and asleep, listening to this album. I was enjoying it as an overall experience as my dozing in and out hindered my ability to latch on to the songs. That was until one song in particular stood up and smacked me in the face. That song was “Drama Queen”. It is fucking awesome. In fact I tweeted that exact thought right out then and there.

A manifesto for love’s losers

I imagine that this album was very cathartic for Roslyn to make. I know nothing about her personally, but the music comes across so personally and emotionally that it just has to come from somewhere real.

When I listen to the songs here I don’t feel down at all. I mean, I can imagine people listening to this music in completely different frames of mind. Perhaps you need music to enhance your depression; perhaps to need comfort to remind you that you’re not alone. For me, I see the beauty that has come out of pain and made something that the world needs – real, honest, art.

Hazy is a brutal manifesto for loves losers. That person willing to take a bullet for passion. At its best, Hazy is ride off the cliff hand in hand music.

Hazy (A Desert Opera) described on SoundCloud

Each song on Hazy (A Desert Opera) is completely unique to me. No one song bleeds into another and every song has its own idiosyncrasy that makes it stand out from the next.

“Malibu” is as great an album introduction as they come. It’s hard to talk about sadcore without somehow thinking of Lana Del Rey, but I got that sort of vibe in this song. But I also got reminded slightly of the singer from a band I used to listen to called Jack Off Jill.

When presented with a new artist I often can’t help but draw initial comparisons to other artists I like. But if I grow to like that new artist the comparison soon goes away. Before the end of Malibu the comparison was gone – I was officially a fan of Roslyn Moore.

Roslyn Moore

The next song, “The Burbs”, is where I fell in love with the album. While writing this post, I focused in on the words of this song and found I could vividly picture the song’s story in my mind’s eye. I couldn’t help but see the scenes play out in a Twin Peaks-esque town. A picture perfect idealistic town with a dark underbelly of taboo hidden just beneath the surface.

Or am I just thinking about it too much? – I don’t think so. The great thing about music, and art in general, is that every receiver’s opinion is valid.

I love the lyrics to the next song, “XO”:

someone cool like you
who tastes like you and smells like you
and fucks like you
someone who talks like you
and kisses like you and smiles like you
I really really need someone cool like you
who moves like you and plays guitar like you
and looks like you
someone cool like you
someone cool like you

XO by Roslyn Moore

I couldn’t mention a couple of songs with mentioning “Drama Queen”. The flow of this song just blows me away every time I hear it. The transitions between the song’s sections are so greatly done. How her voice and the accompaniment come together perfectly in the following passage just grabs me:

every time I close my eyes
I can see you in my dreams
I can see you through the lines
telling me baby, you’re such a drama queen

Drama Queen by Roslyn Moore

Curtain Call

Like many of the emerging artists of today, Roslyn has her music on SoundCloud where you can listen to your heart’s content.

I urge you strongly to get on SoundCloud, turn the lights off, and enter into Roslyn’s highly-emotive world of Hazy (A Desert Opera).

Churches by Scarlett Taylor

On my first hearing of Scarlett Taylor’s music I was reminded of Lana Del Rey and Chrysta Bell – both being artists I adore. But now I have listened to Scarlett’s second album “Churches” a few times, I now enjoy it on its own merits, no longer drawing comparisons to other artists.

Churches is tagged as being “Sadcore” on Soundcloud and I had to research exactly what that was. Wikipedia’s definition states:

… [Sadcore] characterised by bleak lyrics, downbeat melodies and slower tempos. The term is an example of use of the suffix “-core”. It is a loose definition and does not describe a specific movement or scene.

Wikipedia definition of Sadcore

That seems like an accurate stylistic description, but the resulting feelings I get from the music, especially Scarlett’s, is anything but bleak or downbeat. I find nearly all music gives me a lift of some sort, and this includes “Churches”. From out of the darkness and delivery, the music uplifts and creates in me, the feeling of reflection.

Let us Pray

The album’s opening song, “Fucked Up”, was the first one I heard before knowing about this album. The song found its way into a soundcloud playlist and I found myself skipping back to listen to it again and again. Although I can’t pick out a bad song from the album, that opening song is still a stand out one for me.

“Fucked Up” opens with a drone effect and Scarlett’s voice, which immediately blew me away with both her power and the way she delivers. She manages to weave her voice around a song’s structure, dancing in the darkness of the song’s core, not being held in too tightly to the rhythm.

The second song “Crazy” stays in the same vein as “Fucked Up” and by now I was fully immersed in the world of “Churches”.

“Imprisoned” is the album’s third song and it is actually a remix version that has found it’s way on. The song opens with a passage from rapper Zay, who himself is part of a Minnesota-based rap group, “The Truants”. This gives the album a new flavour and dynamic without straying too far from her signature sound.

At the halfway point of Churches there sits the beautiful ballad “Ignite”. “Ignite” strips away all of the drone effects and electronic backing and presents Scarlett’s voice bare with an accompanying piano. If I was to give you one song to demonstrate her abilities as a singer it would be this one. It’s so great. And its build up towards the end gives the song an equally beautiful climax.

One of the album’s most haunting songs for me was “Christmas Eve”. Her brooding vocals over a string pedal tone. So emotional and seems to pull me into it every time I hear it. It’s dangerous for me to listen to this one when I’m driving. Also it never fails to give me that Twin Peaks vibe.

Scarlett Taylor would sound great at the Roadhouse.

Miss Scarlett in the Ballroom with the haunting voice

Some people hear emotive music like this and immediately say things like “That sounds depressing” or “Is there anything more upbeat?”. These are people I want to slap.

I mean, yes, most people wouldn’t get dressed up to go for a night on the town while listening to an album like this. I probably would, but that’s another topic all together. But to dismiss music like this as depressing is, in my opinion, completely closed minded.

We are lucky to have artists like Scarlett Taylor, who openly bare their souls in their writing and performances; artists who remind us what it is to be human.

Atlas by FM-84

FM-84 is one of the first artists I heard from out of the New Retro Wave genre of music. And his debut album, Atlas, is already a crowning achievement in his relatively new career.

Every song has the perfect feel of 80’s Americana, or at least this Englishman’s idea of what that is. Of course my only real notions of 80’s America come from the films and music I grew up on.

I write sun-soaked 80s inspired cinematic dreamwave and synth pop.FM-84’s Bio from SoundCloud

FM-84’s Bio from SoundCloud

Hearing Atlas by FM-84 is like hearing a soundtrack to the best 80’s film I’ve never seen.

Consistently great feelings track to track

The album opens with what I can only describe as being similar to those expensive keyboard drumbeats I remember experimenting with when I was at school – only a lot more professional sounding. The drum is clean, hefty and has a fever-inducing beat that makes me imagine what it might be like to drive parallel to the ocean in Los Angeles at sunset.

Like the opening song “Everything”, half of the songs on this album are electronic instrumentals. Those that do feature vocals are some of the best soundtracks for my own personal montages when I’m driving around.

Yes I have driven around listening to Atlas, whilst imagining I’m in a similar scene to Rocky Balboa’s flashback montage in Rocky IV.

Pardon the swearing, but “Running In The Night” is one of the best fecking songs I’ve heard this year. It has everything I love in a song – passion in the vocals; awesome instrumentation and arrangement and the ability for me to pretend I’m in a film’s montage. It’s that good. Also the featured vocalist and co-writer on this song, “Ollie Wride“, has the best sounding voice for this style of music that I’ve heard.

“Let’s Talk”, another of the albums vocal-led songs – this time provided by Josh Dally, is so powerfully performed. The singing is delivered with a passion you just have to experience. It feel’s like the end credits song to a John Hughes film.

Each and every one of the songs on Atlas are simply great – they provide a good variety as well as being really well paced. Even the closing song, “Goodbye”, actually sounds like a closing song with it’s slower more reflective words and sound.

As summer fades away
Lost in a cloudless haze
Just hold me and touch a wave
There’s no more we need to say

Yet I don’t want to say goodbye
And I don’t want to see you cry

Goodbye (feat. Clive Farrington) from Atlas by FM-84

It’s obvious when listening to Atlas that FM-84 has a deep appreciation for the era he is harking back to. And it shows with every single second of this Album. There isn’t a single song that begs a skip past – instead every song demands multiple listens, each time louder than the last.

Racing towards the sunset

Atlas by FM-84 was a complete departure from what I had been listening to up till this point. I don’t even know how to explain how I got on without knowing about this whole musical genre, let alone Atlas.

I also want to say a huge thank you to FM-84 for making this whole album available on SoundCloud. However you should also be buying it from one of the retailers listed on this page.

I don’t think we realise just how lucky we are when someone like FM-84 comes along with such a passion for a musical / artistic era, and manages to create something completely fresh and reinvigorating with it. This is both one of my favourite albums of the 80s as well as today.