February was the month when all the new-music promises of the New Year reached maturity; when we found out whether the year of 2024 was really going to be as good as we hoped, or whether January was just a false dawn.
The answer: better than we could have wished for. There were strong album releases, and loads of great songs from across pretty much every genre. Below are 10 highlights — the results of some serious mental and emotional wrestling I’ve been engaged in over the past few days. As always, my full February playlist has loads more on it - embedded below.
Amelia Coburn - Sleepy Town Opening like gentle folk and then jumping into a ragged, rapid foot-stomp of a song, the song seems to grab you by the hand and whirl you headlong into a breathless musical experience. Tons of fun and also knowingly mature. [Listen here.]
As I’ve written for LeftLion: “Here, his voice sounds mellow but subtly tinted with life experiences as he settles into this long, lazy, caressing groove. As it builds carefully around a beautifully simple melody, the song deftly combines tried and tested songwriting techniques with a strong sense of purpose as he sets out his heart-rendingly emotive tale. It’s a timeless story of the two sides of love - its healing grace and the sacrifice it requires - and ultimately of realisation and surrender. This is powerful and relatable, and a fabulous listen.”
[Listen here.]
Carpark - Born To Be Average [EP] Their best record yet: more experimental, energised and thematic than their previous work and demonstrates that the trio have been learning, growing and having loads of fun with their music, too. Each of the five tracks is strong, there’s no weak link, but also special - offering a slightly different take on the Carpark vibe.
This is a band which has grown comfortable with themselves, and is now able to relax, push some boundaries and hence produce even better material. [Listen here and read my full write-up here.]
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It’s very Taylor Swift, structurally and tonally but made unique with an energetic, Brit twist. [Listen here.]
Francis of Delirium - Give It Back To Me Broad and sweeping, slow building, sincere and deep. This is a wonderfully emotional and emotive, lovelorn song of absolute commitment. Francis’ voice is so real and engaged, and just pushes and lifts more and more during the last minute, only giving way for a heroic lead guitar motif and a soft landing. I've voted this song February's most likely to move me to tears. [Listen here.]
Grace Calver - Will U Be Mine? Grace keeps honing her brand of bubble gum pop/rock with every exciting release.
This one sees her use lo-fi beats and a combination of grungey and whirly guitars to offset her upfront, honest vocals to great effect. It’s a fun and infectious listen and makes you want to be part of Grace’s ongoing story. [Listen here.]
Hannah Grae - Better Now You're Gone Hannah is one of the most heart-on-sleeve UK alt-pop singer-songwriters around. She doesn’t couch her writing in overly subtle of evasive metaphors; and she always has a lot to say. Here, she bursts into the room at a run and keeps up that breathless pace for the whole 3 minutes (precisely) with a liberating and typically damming song. [Listen here.]
ROSIE - Lose Me Too A exceptionally delicate delivery coupled with a gorgeous melding of alt-pop with warm, rootsy, country-inspired songwriting makes this a really appealing song. This is another in a line of very strong offerings from the LA based artist. [Listen here.]
Transviolet - This Is The Feeling A perfectly judged fermentation of a musical idea. There’s a dusky cinematic opening, with the energy tangibly held back; after an interlude of thunderous drama, everything opens wide - very wide. The vocals and guitars seem barely confined at times, so big is the sound. But importantly, that huge section doesn't last long at all - it's tantalising and massively satisfying, guaranteeing repeat plays. [Listen here.]
Virgins - s o f t e r Just awesome swathes of dreamy shoegaze from start to end. The song is the harbinger of an amazing album coming out in April, from a band which has a firm identity and a lot to say with it. [Listen here.]