Music heard, and observed

Enjoying established acts | Championing new and independent artists | Event promotions | Press kits, demos, EPKs, press passes, tickets etc. welcome: therealmusicobserver (at) gmail (dot) com

Search This Blog

Interviews
Live reviews
Exclusives
Best of ...
Contact / Submissions
Playlists
Gigs

Showing posts from June, 2024

View all

Posts

Jodie Nicholson: Safe Hands [Album]

on June 03, 2024

+

Get link
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

Music Observer: May '24 highlights

on June 01, 2024

Be Charlotte Ber Dictator Georgina Gale Gracie Abrams Lauren Ann Linn Koch-Emery Loupe Mutual Blue philine Sick Love The Howl and the Hum Wrest Youth Lagoon

+

Get link
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

New release horizon scanner:

24/6 - Pocket Lint: German messages
27/6 - The Felice Brothers: Valley of abandoned songs (Album)
28/6 - Dark Patterns: Dislocation
28/6 - Mistine: lonely (EP)
28/6 - Hannah Mazey: Wish U felt the same
12/7 - Jake Xerxes Fussell: When I’m called (Album)
6/9 - The Howl & The Hum: Same mistake twice (Album)
20/9 - Katy J Pearson: Someday, now (Album)
25/10 - She’s In Parties: Puppet show (EP)

Labels

2021
2022
2023
2024
222
A Cause In Distress
about me
acoustic
Africa
Album

Alela Diane
Alex Jayne
Alice Robbins
alt-country
alt-folk
alt-pop
alt-punk
alt-rock
alternative
Amber Saqladi
ambient
Amelia Coburn
American
Americana
amistat
Andrea von Kampen
angst
Arcade State
Australia
Avalyn
Baby Queen
BACKSPACE
Barn on the Farm
Be Charlotte
Ben Mark Smith
Ber
Beren Olivia
best of
Beth Orton
Big Thief
Birmingham
BLAB
Black Foxxes
Bleach Lab
Bleachers
Blue Violet
blues
Bob Vylan
Bolton
BOTF
Brighton
Caity Baser
Cambridge Folk Festival
Canada
Candar
Carenza Carole
Carpark
Cassels
Cassia
Cerys Matthews
Chappell Roan
Charity Stow
Charles
Charlotte Carpenter
Chloe Foy
Chloe Lorentzen
Chris Greig
Chvrches
cinematic
Cloves
Coach Party
Comforts
Comic Sans
Conscious Route
country
Coventry
cover
Crawlers
Cruel Sister
Das Kapitans
Death Of The High Street
Deep South
Devon
Dictator
Diving Station
DIY
Dog Race
Dogs! Teeth!
dreampop
Drew Thomas
Dry Cleaning
Dublin
duo
Durand Jones
Dutch Mustard
Dylan
Edie Bens
Editors
Eevah
electronic
electropop
Eleri
Eleri Angharad
Ella Clayton
Emily Carr
Emma Mae
emo
EP
Essex
exclusive
experimental
Farm Band
festival
First Aid Kit
Five O Fives
Fizz
Flowerovlove
folk
Folk by the Oak
Foo Fighters
Frances Gein
Francis of Delirium
Fraulein
Freya Beer
Freyja Elsy
Friday highlights
fusion
garage rock
Gefahrgeist
Gen and the Degenerates
George O'Hanlon
Georgi Clarke
Georgina Gale
Gia Ford
Gina Leonard
Girl Scout
Glasgow
Glastonbury
gloomcore
gothic
Grace Calver
Gracie Abrams
Graywave
Greysha
Grrrl Groannn
grunge
Guns n Roses
Hachiku
Halsey
Hannah Grae
Headless Heroes
Headshrinkers
Hidden Orchestra
Hilang Child
Holly Humberstone
Holy Coves
Hurray for the Riff Raff
Hyyts
IDLES
indie
Indie Midlands
instrumental
interview
Ireland
Isle of Wight
IWD
Jack Rasmussen
Jacob Collier
Jamaica
Jemima Coulter
Jemma Johnson
Jen Dixon
Jenny Colquitt
JJ Lovegrove
Joan Shelley
Jodie Nicholson
Jools
Joseph Porter-Bolger
Josienne Clarke
Judy Blank
Katherine Priddy
Kathleen Edwards
King Creosote
Kingfishr
Kitty Macfarlane
Kitty Perrin
Lanterns on the Lake
Lastlings
Lauren Ann
Leeds
Leicester
Lemondaze
Leo
Lewis Capaldi
Lincolnshire
Linn Koch-Emery
Lissy Taylor
Little Comets
live music
Liverpool
Lizzie Esau
London
Lossline
Loupe
Lucy Gaffney
Lucy Spraggan
Luxembourg
Lynks
Ma.Moyo
Mabes
Macedonia
Mae Krell
Mali Faraz
Mama Liz's
Manchester
Mark Stevens
MarthaGunn
Matilda Mann
Matt Maltese
Maya Lakhani
Medium Build
Megan Wyn
MEMES
Met Lounge
Metric
Millie Blooms
Mind Aid
Minerva Daisy
Moonlight Parade
music
Mutual Blue
Nadia Sheikh
Netherlands
Newcastle
NewDad
Nia Wyn
Nice Guy
Nick Cave
Nitin Sawhney
Noga Erez
noir
Norah Jones
Northern Ireland
Norwich
Nottingham
Nova Twins
Oliver Beardmore
Olivia Dean
Olivia Rodrigo
Omeara
online
Oxford
Ozric Tentacles
Peggy Sue
Peterborough
philine
photos
Pillow Queens
Plasticine
Platinum Mind
Pluto Shervington
poetry
pop
pop punk
post-punk
preview
psychedelic
punk
Queen Cult
Quiet Houses
Quiet The Art
Rai Kah Mercury
rap
RAYE
Record Store Day
reggae
Region
Rescue Rooms
retrospective
rock
ROE
roots
ROSIE
Ross Stewart
Rough Trade
RSD
Sam Fender
Sam Lambeth
Sam Shields
Sara Jackson-Holman
Sarah Johnsone
Sarpa Salpa
Scotland
secret gig
Serotones
She's in parties
shoegaze
Sick Love
Sigrid
Silvi
singer-songwriter
Soda Blonde
Soot Sprite
Sophia Alexa
Sophie Janna
soul
space rock
spoken word
SPRINTS
Spyres
Stamford
Supersaurus
Swedish
Swim School
synth
Taylor Swift
Teeside
Ten Hands High
The Big Moon
The Boxer Rebellion
The Candle Thieves
The Covasettes
The Crayon Set
The Empty Page
The Felice Brothers
The Florentinas
The Great Leslie
The Hackles
The Howl and the Hum
The Innocence Mission
The Lumineers
The Merchants
The Mercians
The Murder Capital
The Musician
The Mysterines
The National
The Royston Club
The Shed Project
The Slow Readers Club
The Staves
The Tenters
The Wind and the Wave
Thom Yorke
Thrillhouse
Thyla
Tim Buckley
Tiny Desk
Tizane
Todd Snider
Tom Jones
Tove Lo
Transviolet
Twist Heilx
Twisterella
Tyler Gelrud
Union Chapel
video
Virgins
Vona Vella
Wales
Warren Ellis
Wet Leg
Wilco
William Doyle
William The Conqueror
Wolf Alice
Wrest
Wyldest
YNES
YONAKA
Youth Lagoon
YOVA
Yumi and the Weather

Show more Show less

Music Observer: May '24 highlights

Each month I declare how much great new music there is, and the next month I find myself saying it again ... perhaps I should stop? On the other hand, declaring these things is one of the reasons this blog exists. May 2024 featured releases from new artists and well-established ones, too, with several new and notable albums, too. Here are my highlights (full 70+ song playlist below): Be Charlotte - Rainbows In The Dark Deftly combining pop vibes, big electro-infused rock hooks and somehow intimate vocals, this is an interesting and rewarding listen. The CHVRCHES comparison has to be made, but Be Charlotte is more experimental, and more folk anchored. This shows huge promise ahead of the debut album 'Self Help and Fictional Doubts' which is released 21 June [Listen here .] Ber - Whatever Forever The title track from Ber's rich, warm but hard-hitting new EP. A gorgeous evocation of nostalgic love-lorn emotion. Ber has a great knack of combining warmth and likeability w

Jodie Nicholson: Safe Hands [Album]

I first saw Jodie Nicholson perform at Twisterella Festival '21. It was one of those unforgettable live music moments - an extended time of pin-drop hush and electric tension. A great memory. But it was a short festival set, and I've been wanting to hear more from her ever since. More on the live experience soon … for now, there's a beautiful new album to talk about. 'Safe Hands' is such an appropriate name for a record with this level of intimacy and close warmth. It's an embrace, and an expression of Jodie's pure self. There are 12 tracks, and each one is carefully and tenderly built. The whole record is considered and thoughtful, and all of it feels important. Jodie is never one to waste any time in her music, and she's extended that attitude across the whole 49 minutes of the album. It's also somewhat of a progressive record, showing a new side to Jodie while remaining steadfastly true to her innate style, and her constant commitment to quality

Hannah Grae + Yuneki, The Grace, London [Live]

Wales is producing some incredibly exciting independent acts at the moment, from the lilting Americana of Eleri, to the rich alt-pop of Hana Lili. Hannah Grae has been a key part of this revival for some time now, performing powerful 90s-rock-inspired songs and winning lots of fans well beyond the borders of the country. I've featured lots of her tracks on my playlists, and have written in-depth about some of them too, most recently 'Need Me Now' , which I still regard as one of the best songs of this year. But a big gap in my Hannah Grae knowledge has been seeing for myself exactly how she translates her well-written and honest songs into the live environment. Her debut London headline show at The Grace was the perfect chance to fill that gap. In support was Yuneki , a singer-songwriter from London with a captivating, almost magical voice. She was clearly a little nervous; I found out later that this was her first ever gig, but to be honest there's really no need to

Hannah Grae: Need Me Now

Welsh singer-songwriter Hannah Grae writes some ludicrously catchy songs, the kind that can drill themselves into my conscious and subconscious and obsess me for days on end. Just under a year ago, I felt compelled to write about 'I Missed The Joke' (a song from Hannah's debut album), which I described as "just about the perfect indie angst-rock ballad." This year, Hannah has released a sub-30 minute "mini-album", 'Nothing Lasts Forever'. Its main features are her recent singles, 'Better Now You're Gone', 'It Could've Been You', 'Screw Loose' and 'Who Dunnit?', all powerful songs making full use of her remarkable vocal talents. They've received a lot of attention. But there's also new material on the record, and the new and older songs combine to create something varied and really interesting, and which feels like a lot more than 28 minutes. The song which struck me and has stuck with me is the fo

King Creosote: Melin Wynt

I started this venture as a way to share how music I enjoy makes me feel, and why I like it. So, naturally, I'll only write about things I love to listen to. One rule I set for myself when I set this up was that I should listen to a song at least five times before writing about it. This has never been a problem because usually this works the other way around: a song, or group of songs, will find its way into my head, and compel me to keep listening to it, sometimes obsessively. Certainly more than five times ... When that happens, I know that I've found a prime candidate to feature here. Although one of my goals is to champion 'new' music (particularly lesser-known artists), that doesn't rule out writing about 'old' music. This is why a lot of my posts so far have been about music which has been around for some time. Some of it has been with me for years and I'm only now getting the chance to share my observations with you. And then some of it has onl