The Return of the Stones

After 7 whole years, The Rolling Stones have announced a UK tour! They will be playing 5 venues across the country, including Murrayfield in Edinburgh. The and last played in the UK after headlining Glastonbury and Hyde Parks “British Summer Time”.  Jagger promised that not only will they be playing new tracks, we can also expect classics from the likes of Start me up to Satisfaction and of course to Paint It Black.

Drummer of the legendary band, Charlie Watts, was quoted saying “The Stones audience is the glue that keeps us together. The best and most satisfying moment is when you are reaching the end of the show and they are all going nuts.”

Prices for the event are yet to be revealed, however many predicting that the good seats good cost in the hundreds.

Fan club members can buy tickets for the UK dates from Tuesday 27 February, with the general sale starting on Friday. Look here for details.

YAK @ BROADCAST

down at the bottom of Sauchiehall Street lies the underground gig venue of Broadcast. it is here I had the opportunity to catch YAK on one of their first UK tours. I decided to bring my 35mm camera and my ears to catch the musical drama,

the band are famed for their rowdy gigs and this reputation was fulfilled with the first guitar chord of “use somebody” as cups of beers are chucked and people are thrown in the air. The engird of the band are impeccable as people launch themselves on stage.

another moment worth mentioning would be “Harbour the Feeling” a song which build up to the chorus is enough to make anyone in the world want to crowd surf. The simple pre chorus of “Harbour the feeling” had the whole crowd chanting along.

After watching this gig, it was clear to me that YAK are definitely ones of watch, with lyrics similar to that of the Fat White Family, they position themselves in the scuzzy rock section of the indie music scene with heavily distorted guitar chords and manipulated vocals. to hear YAKs latest single, click here.

The Importance of Lyrics

The voice was once described as musics most powerful tool. They mean different to every person.they are both ambiguous and personal. here are a list of some of my favourite lyrics. Enjoy.

The Libertines – Music When The Lights Go Out

“Is it cruel or kind not to speak my mind and to lie to you rather than hurt you? I’ll confess all of my sins after several large gins and still I’ll hide from you. Hide whats inside from you.” 

a perfect love song.

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here

“Two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl”

Reminds me of my Dad singing me to sleep.

Us Against the World – Coldplay

like a river to a raindrop I lost a friend

Perfect imagery depicting the loss of someone

The View – Anfield Row

“this old town well it suffocates me I’m an arrow but theres no bow”

this lyric displays perfectly how I felt about leaving my home town

 

Alvvays @ O2 ABC

Formed in Canada, the indie foursome made their anticipated return to the UK last week, playing sold out venues across Britain. I was lucky enough to catch them gracing the stage at one of Glasgows most icon venue: the O2 ABC.

They band open the night with the heavy drum beat of song “HEY” of the new album. This immediately gets the ground moving with beer cups being tossed as the energy rises. The band play a 12 set setlist including all the crowd favourite such as Party Police and In Undertow.

the highlight of the night, would definitely be, “Dreams Tonite”. A song about drifting lovers with a poignant chorus singing “if I saw you on the street would I have you in my dreams tonight”. The melodies danced around the room while the ABC’s giant disco ball tickled the audience below. it was a perfect atmosphere for a perfect song. Another highlight for me would be “Archie Marry Me”, a song I used to listen to on my walk to song on a crisp spring morning. Seeing it live in a city which was now my home, made me feel to a degree nostalgic and I couldn’t help feeling slightly overcome with peace. Front woman Molly Rankin’s vocals make it sound like a teenage love letter as the crowd sing along with arms around each other.

To see the hazy pop band live check out their tour here

 

An Ode to the Arctic Monkeys

After five years of silence, the arctic monkeys are going back on the road. In celebration, I thought I would take a look back at some of the bands melodic wonders and present to you some of my favourite AM songs, in no particular order.

Fluorescent Adolescent

This iconic number paint a perfect portrait of working class british teens. Used in programmes such as the Inbetweeners, the song is extremely relateable to adolescents around the country

 

Don’t sit down cos I moved your chair

Off the slightly less popular and more underrated album “suck it and see” this song presents some absurd lyrics to an extremely bass heavy song. With lyrics like “do the macerena with a grizzy bear” I think it was one of turners most lyrically ambitious songs yet.

 

Riot Van

This mellow tune helps capture the life of of troublesome kids who like to annoy the local police men. The tune has a real element of sadness with lyrics such as “Thrown in the riot van and all the coppers kicked him in”

 

I bet that you look good on the dance floor

This indie singalong classic has been going for 12 years now and shows no signs of declining popularity. Having been covered by numerous artists around the world such as the likes of Tom Jones and Miley Cyrus, it is clear that the song will never die.

 

Ones To Watch: 2018

As we settle into a new music year, I thought I would take some time to showcase some of what I think will be a selection of 2018s best new musical talent.

Fat White Family (Pictured above)

Hailing from Camden, London, these 4 scruffy rockers are less than indie. They have a very Lofi and political feel which runs deep through all there albums. Songs such as “Bomb Disney Land” obviously provoked a reaction from conservative music news pages such as the NME. However, this is what the Fat White Family aim for, a barrage of noise paired with a semi disturbing image – thus making themselves one to watch.

Trampolene

Trampolene, a band created by poetic solo man Jack Jones and completed with a drummer and a guitarists was formed in the valleys of Wales. Jones uses his poetic prowess to create songs with lyrics which run deep throughout working class Britain. A song about “Poundland” and a poem about “Ketamine” really helps him differentiate from other artists today. After supporting libertines front man Peter Doherty, the band is set for success and have already announced a new UK tour. Click here for details.

Rex Orange Country

Rex Orange Country, real name Alex O’Conner is a Surrey musical who saw the lime light after Tyler The creator reached out to him after hearing one of his Soundcloud tracks. From then on O’Connor has began to pave the way for UK R&B pop. His latest song “loving is easy” will be in your head for the next week. Fact.

 

Sziget Festival 2017

Every august, a quiet island tucked in the middle of the Danube river becomes alive with revellers from around the world and is branded The Island of Freedom. Sziget Festival sees artists from around the world descend on Budapest for 7 days of music and art. With revellers able to arrive 3 days the festival even begins, it is easy to see why it is classed as one of europes biggest music festivals.

This year saw the festival celebrate its 25th anniversary, with headliners including Pink, Alt J, Metronomy and Kasabian. I was lucky enough to attend the full 10 days and experience the full rath of the island of freedom.

With over 50,000 campers setting up home for the week, you find yourself in living with a microcosm of the world. Sleeping next to people from Canada fro going to see kasabian with people from Australia. It is sure you will come away from sziget with an abundance of multicultural friends from all over the world – the beauty of Sziget.

An aspect of Sziget which I felt differentiate it from other festivals, is the abundance of interactive art exhibitions taking place all over the island. My favourite being the Luminarium. The Luminarium is the iconic heart of the Festival, a symmetrical tent where trance music plays as revellers make their way through the different coloured lights of the tent. It is enjoyed by 70,000 visitors DAILY.

If music or art doesn’t take your fancy, you may enjoy the 5pm party’s before the headliners grace the stage. Throughout my week I got to attend a Ball party, a confetti party and my favourite of all – a colour party.

What ever you are into, it is certain that you will find something at Sziget Festival

Find tickets for sziget 2018 here

The Return of the Girl Band

The Girl Band. Often written of as a novelty, not taken seriously and overly sexualised. In a genre of music that is dominated by males, it is time to see a resurgence of women in rock and roll. Here are a list of my favourite scruffy females.

Hinds

The Spanish born rockers originate from Madrid and are steadily making progress for world domination. After the great success of their debut album “Leave Me Alone”, the band have toured the world in a mini van and have even secured a clothing deal with Urban Outfitters. They have a very LoFi sound reminiscent of The Pastels while simultaneously maintaining a loose beach vibe with long reverb chords influenced heavily by the sounds of Canadian Mac Demarco. The band are to release their eagarly anticipated second album towards the beginning of 2018.

Wolf Alice

originating from North London, the indie 4 piece have just released their second album. After the humongous success of their debut “Our Love is Cool”, the newly released “Visons of a Life if proving to be just as popular with the critics. Influenced by bands like the Vaselines and Patti Smith, the band are famed for their scratchy guitar and emotive lyrics. Have a listen to Yuk Foo and rage over your ex boyfriend.

Sunflower Bean

Formed in 2013 in Brooklyn New York, the female fronted rock band have recently found success in the UK after supporting Wolf Alice. I was lucky enough to see this gig and was blown away by the singers raspy vocals and unique personal style. The Brooklyn 4 piece have a range of influenced from The Velvet Underground to Black Sabbath and are certainly bringing something new to Rock and Roll. See them on tour here

For more upcoming indie females, follow my playlist!