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Showing posts from July, 2022

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Glastonbury 2022: Some standout moments

on July 03, 2022

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New release horizon scanner:

3/5 - Ber: Room for you (EP)
3/5 - DEVINE: Get up, kid
3/5 - Jenny Colquitt: Staring at the moon (Album)
10/5 - Josienne Clarke: Parenthesis, I (Album)
10/5 - Georgina Gale: Did you run? (EP)
17/5 - Tess Anderson: Before I come unhinged (Album)
17/5 - Billie Eilish: Hit me hard and soft
4/6 - Sea Girls: Midnight Butterflies (Album)
27/6 - The Felice Brothers: Valley of abandoned songs
12/7 - Jake Xerxes Fussell: When I’m called (Album)

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Plasticine + Comforts + Candar: Signature Brew, London [Live]

Live music has the power to turn a mundane day into an unforgettable, joyful one; to transform your emotions; and to bring a group of strangers together. Making the decision to take a bit of time out, perhaps putting up with some inconvenience to go down to a smaller live venue, could have a bigger effect than you think. On you, as well as the musicians who are taking risks, often travelling a long way at their own expense, and making themselves vulnerable on that stage. On Wednesday I went for the first time to Signature Brew in Haggerston East London, a small capacity venue built under a brick railway arch. I was aiming to see Plasticine , an Edinburgh/Glasgow grunge-revival band who I came across last year. I also had the chance to hang out with them before the set and spend some time putting the world to rights over a few beers (except drummer Ross, who generally doesn’t drink before shows). We discussed Scotland’s off-licensing laws (I had no idea they were so strict) and an unfo

Francis of Delirium: Lighthouse [Album]

I've been mildly (to say the least) obsessed with Francis of Delirium 's songs since I first heard them sometime in 2023, but I’ve never quite got to the point of converting thoughts to text. 'Blue Tuesday', 'Real Love' and 'First Touch' are all fabulous songs, and mean a lot to me. 'Give It Back To Me' was just about edging ahead as my favourite. And then, wonderfully, in March, FoD went and released a whole album, with all those songs on it and seven more, too. Writer and vocalist Jana Bahrich is from Canada but based in Luxembourg and signed in the UK (there's a fabulous recent interview with her on The Line of Best Fit ); something of that worldly-wise, cross-border aesthetic shines through very clearly in all the songs on this record. 'Lighthouse' is the title and it's a great album: rich and evocative; deeply nostalgic; and dwelling on love, in its various phases, with very relatable honesty. From an instrumentation point of

Mae Krell: Discovery [Interview]

Mae Krell exudes a special kind of artistry: her music displays a fragile beauty, but with definite depth. There's seriousness, but a certain lightness, too. As she skirts the boundaries of alternative and folk music, you sense instantly that there's a lot more to her than first meets the ear. I spoke to Mae via Zoom recently, catching up with her at home in New York as she generously spared a few minutes from her "horribly busy" schedule. Like many independent musicians, Mae does other work to help pay the bills, meaning music often has to fit around other commitments. "If making music didn't cost money, I could probably swing it, between random gigs and whatever, but because you need to have money to make records, that's where there's the real necessity for a decent paying job. Otherwise you can't fund making the projects as often as you want to, or at least at the quality you want to," she explained. Mae was relaxed, friendly, and instant

Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department: the Anthology [Album]

This blog focuses on music from smaller, independent artists – but sometimes there are big releases which deserve attention, too. Taylor Swift is an artist who's hard to ignore, and I don't want to ignore her because I've really enjoyed lots of her music in the past. So when 'The Tortured Poets Department' finally dropped last Friday, I found myself writing a track-by-track reaction post. As you'll see, this means a partial departure from my usual Music Observer golden rule: I only write about music I love. (There are countless other reviews of the album; ones I think are particularly worth reading are those on Pitchfork , CLASH and The Guardian .) Part 1 1. Fortnight feat. Post Malone - Great synth vibes, although a bit like 'Last Christmas' (is that necessarily bad though?). I like this chilled way of starting a massive double album like this. With so much ahead, it feels like TS is pacing herself. There's no real chorus or build - an interesting

Holly Humberstone + Medium Build: O2 Academy, Leicester [Live]

I make no secret of the fact that I'm a Holly Humberstone fan. I've written about her on this blog and elsewhere several times (I’m still buzzing from getting the chance to interview her for LeftLion recently ) and I've enjoyed following her progress and witnessing her growing confidence over the past couple of years. I'm not sure whether it's the local connection, her honesty, her relatability or her determination that appeals most – I think it's a combination of all of those, and of course the rich, reflective songs she writes. After having the opportunity in 2023 to see her headlining Barn on the Farm festival and then presenting her album in a stripped-back show in Nottingham , I was really looking forward to seeing her perform a full-length headline show. I caught her in Leicester, which, along with Lincoln, was one of her 'homecoming' dates on the Paint My Bedroom Black tour. Medium Build was Holly's support artist on every date of the tour