Welcome to the latest in a long line of: songs I'm obsessed with. Bombay Bicycle Club are just the absolute best, aren't they? I am living for the promo they're doing for their upcoming record. Digging up MSN conversations from the early days of the band? Too pure. A karaoke instore tour where fans got up on stage and performed as part of the band? Incredible. They're clearly having a great time promoting the album, performing and making music at the moment and I'm very much here for it!
I Want To Be Your Only Pet is the latest in a run of superb singles from the album - with a properly classic Bombay riff that just seems to get better on each listen. The idea of this one rushing over me at a gig some time soon... yes please?! P.S - I managed to sneak an early listen and the entire album is brill, obviously.
On the new track, Jack shares: "I was just playing around with guitar sounds at soundcheck, and started playing this riff. Jamie must have heard something in it because he got out his phone and started recording. For the next few months he would constantly text me to ask "have you written a song around that riff yet?" So finally I did to stop him harassing me. To me it sounds like if Abbey Road era Beatles had a love child with Rated R era Queens of the Stone Age."
It's a great time to be a Bombay Bicycle Club fan, right? New Liz Lawrence a couple of weeks back, an ace new from one from Jack's Mr Jukes project with Barney Artist and Kofi Stone, and now this from Ed Nash. Plumes is the latest track to be self-released on Ed's superbly named label Bangers & Nash. Come on, it's worth a listen for the quality of that alone.
As somebody who has spent the last year falling into a bit of a love affair with nature and coming to really appreciate birds, the sky above us and everything around us once you pause to see and hear it, I love Ed's words on the track: "Plumes was written and extensively tinkered with at my home studio during the endless dark evenings this past winter... certainly the bleakest winter I've ever had. 'Plumes' was my escape from this. 'Plumes' is air rising, birds flying and beautiful decorative colours. This is a song of optimism, about breaking free and looking ahead at better things to come."
Hope you've all had a lovely few days celebrating (or not) Christmas! Before resuming *proper* posting for the new year, I'm back at it with some follow-ups to my albums of the year feature last week (read that here) where, in addition to a top five, I shared 35 records I've loved this year. I'm planning to share 7 records a day across the next few days, all in release order - each one of them is brill and I hope you enjoy!
Way back in January this year, this was the first record to be released that I'd been looking forward to, so it's been a favourite for a while, and listening recently I was reminded how brilliant it is! Your Light is one of the best pop songs of the year in my opinion... so good!! Barcelona and Why are also faves. Love their harmonies, and the fried chicken lyric in Dog Eat Dog ("round here they say it's dog eat dog but / it's more like pigeon eat fried chicken on the street") is GENIUS. They also deserve an AOTY mention for the fact their album release coincided with the moon being reaaaaal big. Clever.
Bombay Bicycle Club - Everything Else Has Gone Wrong (buy/stream)
Probably the coolest advance stream that I've ever had and absolutely HAS to be on this list! Listening to this on my commute before it was released made me feel very cool. Following their previous record in 2014 this was long awaited and it could so easily have fallen a little flat, but it is completely glorious - there isn't a note or lyric out of place. Favourite tracks include Is It Real, Racing Stripes and the title track Everything Else Has Gone Wrong. Seeing them live last year was a treat. Huge soft spot for Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) below - the tongue-in-cheek video touching on their return. Also - I love their recent Live at Brixton album! Read my write-up of Everything Else... here.
I think this might be the only album that I've bought in a physical record store this year... since our HMV closed we don't have stores locally, and while I've bought a bunch of LPs from Banquet and Resident online through the year, I bought this one on a day out back in Feb. So I guess it holds a special place for being the only things that I've dug out in the vinyl racks this year - with quite a lot of glee at finding it! It's a quality follow up to Where Wildness Grows which I adore. So many favourite tracks - Heavenly Maybe, Atlas Please and Icarus are certainly up there.
This is Brooke's debut album and it's superb. One of those artists whose tracks I get sent to review, realise that I've enjoyed all of the singles, give the record a try and... woah. Love it. I struggled to pick between this and Sunday Self, the acoustic version of the record that Brooke brought out a few months later. Fave tracks include Control and All My Friends Are Drunk. This is for the Fenne Lily, Phoebe Bridgers, Marika Hackman etc fans (which you all should be...)
The award for the funkiest record on the AOTY list goes to.... damn. SO funky. I loved seeing themopen for Friendly Fires a couple of years back, loved the EP they brought out at the time and was eagerly awaiting their debut record. I listened back to this recently on a bus journey but would advise listening somewhere where you're able to dance like nobody is watching. Get me to a live Franc Moody set soon, please, world. Favourite tracks include Skin on Skin, She's Too Good For Me, and the title track, Dream In Colour. So much to love here.
Halloweens -Morning Kiss at the Acropolis (Bandcamp)
A side project of The Vaccines' frontman Justin Young and keys player Timothy Lanham (that's T Truman, to you and I) Halloweens have been the gift that just keeps on giving in 2020. Right from the first single, Hannah You're Amazing, in late 2019, I was hooked. Things have just got better and better ever since, and their debut record is a dream. They also released the Maserati Anxiety Designed EP recently, somehow finding time amidst making the new Vaccines record (!!!) and Timothy working on his solo project. A lot of love for the productivity when they keeps releasing such cracking tunes as these. Favourite tunes include My Baby Looks Good With Another, Lady and Ur Kinda Man.
I was first put onto this record by this year's AOTY... winner (?! is that a thing) White Tail Falls, when he recommended a few records that were circulating his earphones in our interview earlier in the year - on NNAMDÏ's BRAT he shared that it was blowing my mind. I wanted in on the action and took myself for a listen... which I think turned into two or three consecutive listens. Written, recorded and performed by Nnamdï himself, the record belies genre categorisation. There's a bit of everything going on. Styles which on paper, probably shouldn't work together, and that I might not usually choose to listen to, but I love this. It's OK, Really Don't and Perfect In My Mind are highlights for me - but it is best appreciated as the full piece of work.
Thanks if you've made it this far - I'll be back to share the next seven records tomorrow!! Happy listening...
It's that time of year... arriving just in time for Christmas (hey, did you really think that I'd forgotten you?!) my gift to you all is this list of my favourite records of the year. (You're SO welcome. Seriously. Don't mention it.) It's been quite the year and music has really had our backs through it all. While the world outside remains all sorts of bonkers, music is proving to be the salvation that it always is. There have been lots of incredible records released this year, and I've spent the last few weeks reminding myself of those that I've enjoyed. Rediscovering their delights, revelling in their joys, crying along to them and figuring out, a little self-indulgently, my favourites of the year.
In keeping with the personal style of the blog, a CMAT albums of the year post is essentially just a bunch of albums that I love. Set aside any expectations of technical chat, and instead, strap yourselves in for some soppy ramblings about the records which have mattered most to me this year, those that have shone a bright light on a gloomy year. Debuts from exciting new artists, some long-awaited returns, and new records from a whole bunch of talented artists - there is quite a mix of records and artists here, and I hope there's a little bit of something for everyone.
In a year where artists have had the rug pulled from under them in terms of live shows being paused and a real lack of government support, it's more important than ever to show your support for your favourites. Stream the hell out of their music, by all means - but grab a download or an LP on their site or through Bandcamp if you're able to. I decided that I wanted to share the love for more albums this year. So - the list has grown a bit, to 40 in total, up from 30 last year. And, instead of just writing about my five favourite records and listing some others that I love (as I did last year) I'm going to do things a little differently this year...
This is the first in a series of six (yikes) AOTY posts. Here, I'm sharing my top five (they're numbered, but in all honesty I adore every one of them a lot) and a list of 35 more records I've picked out that have meant the world to me this year (in release order because ordering them all would be an impossible task.) Then (after Christmas, just as soon as I write them...) I'll share five more posts, with seven records featured on each, writing a little about each of them. This year it felt like name-checking the longer list wasn't enough, I want to shower these records and artists with love, and I do have a lot of extra time on my hands thanks to furlough... again.
So, without further ado... my albums of the year!!!!! Don't they look pretty?!
1. White Tail Falls - Age of Entitlement (buy/stream)
Well, it's hardly surprising, is it? If you know me, or you follow the blog, you'll have heard/read me raving about this record a lot this year. In all honesty, there's been very little doubt in my mind as to which record was getting the top spot since this was released into the world. The rest of the top five certainly come close, but nothing has had such an impact on me this year as this piece of work. It's vulnerable, it's collaborative, it's experimental, and it provides an absolute rollercoaster of emotion. Simply put: it helped drag me through this year, and I love it.
A CMAT album of the year should be the record which has meant the most to me on a personal level, and this ticks so many boxes in that respect. If you've been living under a rock (well, ten points for social distancing) White Tail Falls is the solo moniker of all-round musical legend Irwin Sparkes, frontman of The Hoosiers. They've been (and still are) my favourite band since their debut album came out in 2007. My love for them was cemented at age 14 when I saw them live, and met them, for the first time in 2011, and I've been following them around the country (and all over the internet) ever since. I can't think of many other things that I've poured so much love into for so long.
I genuinely believe that the love I have for music, and my desire to set up a blog recommending new music, can be sourced back to the love I had for TH when I was younger. Irwin in particular has always been really supportive of the blog, which means the world. This year, a trio of crazy things happened - I premiered a video for the track Disintegrate (here) back in Feb, Irwin recorded an exclusive performance for the blog's fifth birthday in May, and I interviewed him about the new record in June (read that here.) Without getting *too* soppy those things are essentially teen Meg's dreams coming true. Being a little part, through the blog, in helping to spread the word about this superb record, has been a treat and it is such a joy to name it my album of the year.
Favourite tracks: Disintegrate, Body Weight, Devout & Rome's Already Fallen. (Alright, all of it.)
You know, I'm still a little in shock that this record exists. Album campaigns seem, on the whole, to exist on somewhat of a spectrum. Ideally, a few tracks will be released as singles, enticing you in, building anticipation. At the other end of the scale, a couple of records this year (which I won't name, but if you know... you know) have released almost the entire record (seriously, no exaggeration) as singles beforehand, to the extent that the excitement I had for those records was almost completely lost. At some extreme point of the spectrum, with the most unexpected record of the year, arrive Fleet Foxes.
One day, they're putting mysterious posters up (in France, I think?) implying that something was happening in a couple of days. Speculation began to build for a new single, and, lo and behold, we learn that an ENTIRE RECORD is due to drop?! What now??!!?! No time to prepare, to ready myself by obsessing over the back catalogue. No singles to obsess over. An entire 15-track, 54-minute record dropping onto streaming services, just like that. And it is GLORIOUS in every way possible. Arriving when it did, the record instantly became a soundtrack for my commute to work. Working in retail this year (when not furloughed) has been stressful, and taking that time to just sink into new favourites was a huge relief. In a strange year, the record has captured the feeling of hope and bottled it up beautifully. It is calming, it feels like a warm hug from a friend, it brought peace. Shore is certainly good enough to be in the top spot, but that crown is firmly in White Tail Falls' hands this year. Robin and the gang will just have to bring out another record, pronto...
Favourite tracks: Can I Believe You, Sunblind, Featherweight.
3. Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter (buy/stream)
I have been a fan of Laura and her music for a while now, but I've never really connected with a record of her's as much as I have with Song For Our Daughter. I think that I feel as if I came to her music late, when she was already at least a few records in, and her extensive back catalogue is a little daunting. When this record arrived earlier than intended on streaming services (Laura's choice, to give fans something of a treat while we were all on lockdown) I had exactly the time and the headspace to give it the attention that it required.
This record is a genuine work of art, one of the most beautiful records on the list. So many records in, there is no doubting that Laura knows what she is doing and that you can feel safe in her musical hands. Yet, nothing on the record feels like you're hearing something that she's done before. It feels fresh, mature and empowered. A gorgeous blend of vulnerability and strength come through the music and lyrics. It's something special. I must also give a quick mention to the stunning acoustic EP The Lockdown Sessions which Laura brought out earlier this month, with acoustic versions of tracks from the record.
Favourite tracks: Song For Our Daughter, Held Down, Strange Girl.
Another record which could easily have taken the top spot here. SO much love for this. It's still utterly ridiculous to me that I was given the opportunity to listen to this record, long-awaited by myself and literally tens of thousands of listeners around the world, around two months before it was released, by Ali himself! A teeny humble-brag, sure, but it really does blow my mind that me sitting at home and typing away about the music that I love results in that sort of thing. Feeling pretty lucky.
After loving Ali's debut LP Birthplace in 2018 so much there was a lot of pressure on this record to live up to it. (Spoiler: it does.) Coming from different places in Ali's life, both in terms of time, and geography, the records are less like siblings, and more like musical cousins. "If Birthplace is the countryside, then Cannot Be, Whatsoever is the city: it's not where I'm from, but it's where I've been for a long time now", Ali told me in our recent interview about the record. There's a lovely short film about the makings of the record here too. I only wish that I was able to see tracks from the album performed live this year - soon, I hope. If you like this one, head back in time to Birthplace, and Ali's collaborative record with Ed Tullett, Heiress, as both are equally stunning.
Favourite tracks: Decimal, No Plans, Halloween & Birdcage.
It blows my mind a little that Dizzy aren't known by more people. They're superstars in my eyes. So here I am, imploring you to listen to them. Their debut was such a gorgeous discovery - a friend took me along to their set at The Great Escape a few years back, and their debut record came out a little while after. I played it at HMV when I worked there, and a few colleagues started to really get into it too. For a while, barely a shift went by where we didn't listen to it a couple of times. I remember experiencing the absolute joy of working in a music store, having a customer ask what was playing and if they could buy it. Yes!
Dizzy are like a joyous ray of light in the dark, and their new record, released a few months back, is exactly that. It's a brilliant follow-up to their debut, and one of the most relatable records (for me, at least) on the list, offering up a look at the claustrophobia of suburban living, and figuring out life after your late teens, all the while trying your best not to compare yourself with your friends. As I wrote in a post about the album announcement: "lyrically, it all sounds a little sad, but those reflective and pensive lyrics are always paired with the band's sunny melodies, courtesy of the trio of brothers Alex, Mackenzie and Charlie Spencer - it's what makes the band's music so loveable."
Favourite tracks: Roman Candles, Sunflower, Good And Right & Beatrice.
So there you have it... my top five records of the year. I love them all and hope that you'll love them too if you get the chance to check them out. Below are 35 more records, in release order, that have meant the world to me this year. I'll be sharing a few more posts explaining why I love these ones so much ~soon~ (I have to write them first). So watch out for those, and a little end of year ramble soon too. Much love!
The Big Moon - Walking Like We Do Bombay Bicycle Club - Everything Else Has Gone Wrong Gengahr - Sanctuary Brooke Bentham - Everyday Nothing Franc Moody - Dream In Colour Halloweens -Morning Kiss at the Acropolis NNAMDÏ -
BRAT The Strokes - The New Abnormal Hailaker - Holding Jack Garratt -
Love, Death & Dancing Gia Margaret - Mia Gargaret Richard Walters - Golden Veins Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher AJIMAL - As It Grows Dark/Light HAIM - Women In Music Pt. III Dream Wife - So When You Gonna... Samantha Crain - A Small Death Stornoway -
The Farewell Show Haux -
Violence in a Quiet Mind Lianne La Havas -
Lianne La Havas Willie J Healey - Twin Heavy Siv Jakobsen - A Temporary Soothing The Magic Gang - Death Of The Party Declan McKenna -
Zeros Everything Everything -
Re-Animator Cosmo Sheldrake -
Wake Up Calls Bear's Den & Paul Frith -
Fragments Fenne Lily - Breach IDLES - Ultra Mono Tempesst -
Must Be A Dream Dawes -
Good Luck With Whatever Deep Sea Diver -
Impossible Weight Laura Fell - Safe From Me Ed The Dog -
Untitled.crashed.crashed.crashed Maggie Rogers -
Notes from the Archive: Recordings 2011-2016
If you made it this far, and like what I do here on cool music and things, a little friendly reminder that I have a Ko-fi page here where you can show the blog some monetary support. (Thanks!)
"This is an album for anyone who's ever turned to music in a time of crisis, whether personal or political. It's about the solace one can get from listening to music or playing music when everything else in your life or the world has gone wrong. It's about finding kernels of hope and renewal in dire situations."
Well, this is up there with the coolest perks of running this blog to date. I've had an early stream of the brand new Bombay Bicycle Club album Everything Else Has Gone Wrong in my inbox for a couple of weeks. I have so much love for the band and their music and it has been utter joy to have an early listen, or two, or twenty... It's finally out in the world now, so go and listen. And then come back here. Or read on, and then listen. But do listen - it's an incredibly triumphant return for the band and I simply adore it.
Let's rewind first. Back in 2014, just after I'd first moved to Oxford to study, I finally got to see Bombay live. The last ever show at London's Earls Court, with Peace and Sivu supporting and appearances from Dave Gilmour, Rae Morris and Lucy Rose. The band were touring So Long, See You Tomorrow which had just earned them their first number one, and the show was their biggest to date - it was euphoric. A few months later, they decided to break up. Frontman Jack Steadman reflects that it felt like the right moment to step back and pursue other projects, saying that "it's so much easier to stop when you can call it quits and know you were at the top [...] I think if we had gone any longer, we may have broken up in such a way that we might not have ever been able to return to it." In the few years that followed, Jack released a collaborative album as mr jukes, bassist Ed Nash released a record as Toothless, drummer Suren de Saram hit the road as a session drummer, and guitarist Jamie MacColl went to university, getting himself a BA and a masters. Then, as the ten year anniversary of debut album I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose started to loom, the band spoke about playing some shows to celebrate. Jack recalls thinking "we can't come back and play an old album and disappear again." And so, plans began to form.
Almost exactly a year ago, seemingly out of nowhere, and to much joy from me and fans all over the world, Bombay shared a time-lapse video in the studio to social media. The video came alongside this message: "since late last year, we've been getting back into the swing of playing music together. We were initially a little rusty but also nostalgic playing songs that have been around since we were teenagers. More than anything it just felt great to be in the same room playing again. It made us realise what a good thing we have and has given us renewed energy and enthusiasm for the future. The joy we were getting out of playing the old songs seemed to naturally lead us onto working on new material, so we're becoming immersed in that as we speak. Hopefully it won't be too long before we have something new for you guys to hear. [...] We've missed you."
Hold the phone.
Suddenly, everything felt a little better with the world. Even the idea of just one new track or some one-off shows was ridiculously exciting. Bombay were back and all was good with the world, even if it wasn't. So an entire album? They're spoiling us.
Last Summer, before the album had been announced, I was lucky to score tickets to see the band play one of their first shows back in Islington's 900 (ish) capacity Assembly Hall. It was the sweatiest, most joyous evening of live music that I've experienced in a while. Almost transcendent. The band tore through a setlist with tracks from their entire back catalogue, and you'd hardly know that they'd been away. The best part was seeing the utter joy on the band member's faces - they'd had some time out, and it was certainly the right thing to do, but they were back playing live with their best pals and it felt brilliant.
To kick off the album process, Jack and Ed took themselves to a friend's house in Cornwall, spending a week there each month for the first half of 2019, working on demos separately and coming together to go through them. This time around there was an exciting first for the band - two tracks on the record were written or co-written by Ed. Jack explains that "I think that's a nice example of things being different [...] of how us all going and doing own own thing has benefitted the band [...] because I think Ed probably had songs up his sleeve all this time, but doing a solo album has given him the confidence to share them." It is worth mentioning that both tracks, Good Day and People People, are brilliant. The latter was co-written with the band's long-time collaborator and touring member Liz Lawrence, who sings on the track. Elsewhere, singer/songwriter Billie Marten lends her gorgeous vocals to closing track Racing Stripes.
From the beginning, the band were certain that they didn't want to produce the new record themselves. "Having someone else come in was a way of pushing us slightly out of our comfort zone", Jack explains. On Nash's suggestion they brought in John Congleton (Wild Beasts, St Vincent) and spent just three weeks in LA recording the album with him, often recording tracks in just one or two takes, new territory for the band. Jack describes it as "the least sanitised record we've ever made [...] the album sounds a lot looser, in a good way, than our other albums, which can be very machine-like. I feel like I've relaxed, and chilled out a bit. There was less time spent on the computer. We recorded Good Day, which Ed wrote, all playing together in the room. I was looking around being like, ah, it's us four again. It was a sweet moment."
The result is a record which is a true return to form. It's Bombay as we love them, yet fresh and new, with the experiences of the last few years, both musically and personally, feeding directly into the record in the lyrics and sound. They're back and they're still just as brilliant and this record is worth the six year wait. The album's theme is perhaps best found in the title track, the last to be written for the album. A track about hope and renewal and finding safety in what brings you comfort while everything is falling apart, the chorus repeats "keep the stereo on, everything else has gone wrong." Jack explains that "for my whole life, I haven't been very good at expressing myself with words. The irony is that the song is about not wanting to write lyrics, but it has lyrics I'm really proud of. And after that, we realised a lot of the other songs had that theme, of music as a cathartic refuge." I for one will be clinging to this record this year to deliver me hope in the moments when it is needed.
While they were often writing about relationships and about being teenagers the first time time around, Jamie explains that the new record is lyrically quite a departure. "The songs are quite direct and personal [...] about companionship, about trying to find your place in the world, all these things we never really touched upon before. All of our friends are struggling with that next stage in life" (some sweet synchronicity with Liz Lawrence's track None Of My Friends there.)
As the first track to be shared after the hiatus, single Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) has to remain one of the highlights of the record for me. It's the track you arrive at if you squish everything you love about Bombay into 3 minutes and 40 seconds. Classic Bombay, but new. Suren recalls a moment where he was "playing the demo to a mate of mine, in my car, and as soon as it came on, he had a big smile on his face. It felt like we were back. [...] There was an element of not knowing what you've got til it's gone, and taking things for granted, which we definitely were. Having spent some time apart, we realised how special and meaningful it was to all of us, in our own way. We're much more appreciative now." The message is echoed in the humorous video for the track, directed by ex touring member Louis Bhose.
Elsewhere on the record, from the first listen to the (alright... I've lost count already), favourite parts for me are the passionate conclusion of Let You Go, the catchy interludes in I Worry Bout You (I've been humming that one at work for the past couple of weeks) and how glorious and majestic Do You Feel Loved? is. The latter's writing is a rarity for Jack, a track on contemporary culture: "it is about technology, and how we're all desperate for affirmation, refreshing our phones to look for people to love us and to get likes."
Lyrically, Good Day stuck out to me from the first listen. The chorus repeats "I just wanna have a good day, and it's only me that's standing in my way" and is followed by the heartbreaking "first my looks and now my friends, day by day I'm losing them." It is one of the darker parts of the record, with the harmonies and guitar riff creating a bit of contrast. Written by Ed, he describes that "it perfectly summed up how I'd been feeling for the year or two prior to that. I was having a hard time on a day to day basis, and I'd be like, fuck this, why am I doing music, I should get a real job. I realised there were bigger problems than the ones that were surmountable. You're in charge. If you want to have a good day, you're the master of your destiny."
After the punchy conclusion of Let You Go the album comes to a peaceful close with Racing Stripes. It represents a writing breakthrough, arriving after a brief period in Cornwall when Jack was finding it difficult to write. Jamie describes it as the first song we've done where I feel you could have a lighter in the air and sing along to it." On the record more generally, he adds "I find this album to be so much more positive than anything we've done before. It is inherently optimistic about what's next."
What's next? A huge string of tour dates around the UK, Europe, the US and Canada, that's what. Remaining tickets available here.
That's it. I'll stop rambling now - well done if you made it this far. Now, go and listen to the magnificent new record, buy it, tell Bombay just how brilliant they are. Enjoy.
So it looks as if 2020 arrived. I've given myself a couple of weeks off to help recover from a busy festive period working in retail but I'm back and really excited to get back into the swing of regular posts, with lots of brilliant new music just around the corner. Considering our current political and environmental situation, this track, from a very soon to be released album, seems a fitting return. The track is about struggling to express yourself with words, and it is taken from an album which the band describe as being "for anyone who's ever turned to music in a time of crisis, whether personal or political. It's about the solace one can get from listening to music or playing music when everything else in your life or the world has gone wrong. It's about finding kernels of hope and renewal in dire situations." As someone who is a real believer of the power of music to get through difficult situations, whether they be personal or on a larger scale, I'm loving this message.
The band is Bombay Bicycle Club and the track is I Can Hardly Speak - they dropped it at midnight on New Years, a festive treat for us all, a reward for staying up until midnight (by myself, at home) I felt. When sharing it online they added that it was one of the first songs to be written for the album, with it actually being written on the tour for the previous record in 2014. It's been given a lovely lyric video from Jonny Sanders / Prehuman, inspired by the art of Maria Medem, who is creating all of the artwork for the album - check the single covers out, they're gorgeous. Listen below!
Everything Else Has Gone Wrong is released on 17th January - pre-order it here.
To set the scene for this post, you find me writing it far too late in the evening when I should be asleep because I'm in the midst of working in retail over the busy Christmas period. (Help!) It's a busy and stressful time so, as with most situations of the like, I'm looking to music to find some solace. Bombay Bicycle Club are delivering that in spades, with the second (and title) track from their upcoming record, Everything Else Has Gone Wrong.
Sharing the track online, the band explain that it is "about finding hope, safety and comfort during times of despair, when everything is seemingly crumbling all around you. It's about finding light in the dark, and the cathartic role that music can play in bleak situations." Enjoy the video, directed by long-time friend of the band Louis Bhose, below.
The new album Everything Else Has Gone Wrong is due for release on 17th January, and the band will be touring the UK soon after, with support from bandmate Liz Lawrence (who recently released a brill album) and The Big Moon (who have an album on the way). Dates below, remaining tickets here.
A triple whammy of brilliant news today from Bombay Bicycle Club. First up, after some live shows and their recent single Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) they've shared a brilliant new tongue in cheek video for the track, directed by long-time friend and touring member of the band Louis Bhose. It's one of the best videos I've seen in a while, setting the scene with the lines "In 2016, the UK was rocked by a seismic event... Bombay Bicycle Club went on indefinite hiatus. Without their music, British society crumbled. Three years later, the band's whereabouts are unknown..."
Secondly (and nobody panic...) they've announced a new album, Everything Else Has Gone Wrong is due for release on 17th January 2020. I may or may not have cried many happy tears reading this news - the statement they've put out (below) speaks volumes to me personally, I adore this band and their music brings me so much joy so it's a delight to know that there is a whole new album on the way.
"This is an album for anyone who’s ever turned to music in a time of crisis, whether personal or political. It’s about the solace one can get from listening to music or playing music when everything else in your life or the world has gone wrong. It’s about finding kernels of hope and renewal in dire situations."
Finally, they're taking the album out on the road in January, kicking off with a show in Cambridge and heading around the country, taking in London's famous Alexandra Palace along the way. In the statement they shared that "playing together again is such an unexpected surprise for the four of us and yet from the first moment we started rehearsing it felt as natural as if we’d played a show the night before. We feel a freshness playing live that can only come from having taken a step back and now we just want to play these new songs to as many people in as many countries as we can."
20th Jan: Corn Exchange, Cambridge
21st: Academy, Bournemouth
23rd: De Montfort Hall, Leicester
24th: University Great Hall, Cardiff
25th: Academy, Leeds
27th: Academy, Newcastle
28th: Barrowland, Glasgow
31st: Academy, Birmingham
1st Feb: Centre, Brighton
3rd: Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
7th: Alexandra Palace, London
10th: Vicar Street, Dublin
12th: Ulster Hall, Belfast
Pre-order the album here for access to the ticket presale next week!
Following on the theme of yesterday's Bombay Bicycle Club post, here's something new (ish) from one of their touring members. Liz Lawrence gave some pretty sweet backing vocals to the new Bombay track, but more excitingly she's got a second solo album coming out in October (25th to be precise) and recent track USP is ace. The music video sees a paranoid Liz running around the streets and looking over her shoulders - it's a dizzy affair, simple but effective. As Liz posted online - "just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you." Cryptic. I like it.
Pre-order the new album Pity Party here - and grab tickets for Liz's London show on 29th October here.
The small matter of politics aside, what an absolutely glorious time to be alive. Bombay Bicycle Club are back with new music, and how wonderful to be able to say that?! The band premiered their first single in five years - Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) - a couple of nights ago on BBC Radio 1 and it is a total gem of a track. I was lucky enough to hear them perform it live a few weeks ago at their London warm-up gig at Islington Assembly Hall, and fell for it on first listen. It was heartwarming at the show to see so much joy on the band's faces, the wait may have been long but I think it is clear that it was just what they all needed, taking some time for themselves and various musical and academic projects, but they're back and as good as ever. And there's an album on the way!
Sharing the track online the band write that they're "excited to be sharing new music after five years away. Recording it earlier this year reminded us all of the joy of working together on something we love. Hopefully you all like it as much as we do." Judging by the response that I've seen so far I'd say that fans are loving it. Listen below!
Something ridiculously exciting happened recently - with new music on the way, Bombay Bicycle Club are back (ahhhhhhhh!) and they're playing a few shows soon. Somehow, I secured tickets to their Wilderness Festival warm-up gig on Thursday in London and I can't wait. Supporting them on the evening is their own ace Liz Lawrence. She's recently announced news of her album Pity Party, due for release on 25th October - I'm really enjoying this new track from the album, None Of My Friends, released today.
If you're not lucky enough to be catching Liz opening for Bombay, you're in luck as she's playing an album launch show at The Social on 13th August and tickets are free! Grab yours here.
The absolutely brilliant Sivu has just announced a mammoth UK tour for Feb/March 2015, starting with a home town Cambridge show on 25th Feb and ending at Brighton on 28th March. He'll also play a London show on 24th March.
I massively recommend getting to one of these shows if he's playing near you, he puts on a fantastic live show - recently to the enormous Earls Court, finishing up his support tour with Bombay Bicycle Club. Most importantly he makes and plays superb music, and his debut album, Something On High, is probably my favourite of 2014.
This week James Page, aka Sivu, released his debut album Something On High. Describing his music as 'alternative pop' and citing influences from Wild Beasts to Frank Sinatra, he's likely to appeal to fans of artists such as Bombay Bicycle Club, who he tours with later this year alongside Peace.
You can stream the whole album above, and get it on iTunes, Amazon, in record stores etc, and I wholeheartedly recommend that you do - it's already one of my favourite records of the year. Particular favourites of mine from the album include Sleep and the hidden track Family Tree.
Currently touring as support act for Nick Mulvey, Sivu took a day out from this tour to play a stunning headline London show (video) at Oslo Hackney on Tuesday night. In the past he's also played alongside the likes of Rae Morris, London Grammar, Marika Hackman and The Staves.
He's certainly one to watch and has already received critical acclaim from The Guardian, Sunday Times and NME. Furthermore he played in session for Huw Stephens on Radio1 earlier this week.
Decided to check Peace out as they're supporting Bombay Bicycle Club in December when I see them, loving this song, Lost on Me, and the video is pretty cool too. Look forward to their set!
A little late to the party but Bombay Bicycle Club are going on a UK tour in December - tickets here - starting in Leicester and finishing up with the band's first arena show at London's Earls Court.
Support on the tour comes from the brilliant Sivu and Peace, but I expect that appearances by the likes of Rae Morris and Lucy Rose might occur at some points on the tour as well!
