The new Dizzy album drops in a couple of months on 18th August, and I'm aaaaall kinds of excited. I've been busy with work lately, spending the time I'd like to have been writing blog posts writing a big ol performance review, so I haven't had much chance to pop up here but I really wanted to share this one. Like most of the band's releases, I've had it on repeat since I first heard it. Love love love this band. If they're a new name for you, you've got a LOT to look forward to, with two previous brilliant records and what is looking to be a superb third arriving soon!
Speaking about new track 'Close', singer Katie shares: "back in 2019 we were on tour in Eau Claire, Wisconsin when the wheel bearing on our van went kaputz on American thanksgiving. It was a hard day but the only thing I can really remember about it is laughing in the mechanic's waiting room and then finding our way back to a hotel with a bottle of green room whiskey. We've been through a lot as a band but we always manage to reconnect on itchy hotel beds between episodes of Family Guy. 'Close' is about a lot of things but mainly it's about the comfort Mack, Charlie and Alex bring me."
Two Dizzy posts in a row? Yes indeed. The best news - they've just announced details of their third album, the self-titled Dizzy, which will be released via Communion Records on 18th August. The album news arrives alongside Open Up Wide - perhaps their most pop-tinged track to date, and I'm in love with them all over again.
In a beautiful act of synchronicity, the record arrives the day after their debut album Baby Teeth hits a milestone, turning five years old. The new tracks and new record give us a Dizzy who are far more confident in their art, but just as unique and endearing as the band I fell in love with all those years ago. Can not waaaait to hear more. But I'll have to.
I'll no doubt ramble lots more about the record over the coming months so for now, I'm going to focus on the new track... which Katie describes as "a tongue-in-cheek ode to a music industry we've never understood all that well." On the process of creating the new track, she explains "when we started recording the album, our producer David [Pramik] was super conscious of cutting the fat from each song. One afternoon he encouraged us to write our parts in a simpler, more 'spoonfed' fashion for easy listening, when Mack piped up cheekily 'Open up wide! Here comes the airplane!' The next morning we were all feeling a bit resentful of that mindset and 'Open Up Wide' came to be while we were having our morning coffees."
Dizzy are heading to the UK for a short run of shows in May - two London dates are already sold out, but it looks as if tickets are still available for Bristol and Brighton. Tickets here.
Ohhhh boy. There's a new track and some Dizzy news coming next week. Everybody stay calm. While I try to compose myself (this track is coming the same day as something new from Cosmo Sheldrake and I'm sure they've coordinated on purpose) this feels like as good an excuse as any to share this recent acoustic version of Birthmark. I have aaaall the love in the world for this band and I adore Katie's vocals on this track - it's a rare treat to hear their music stripped back like this and I love it!! Enjoy!
If you're digging this, here's the studio version - also, the band are hopping over to the UK to play a handful of shows in May. Both London dates are already sold out, I think, but they're also playing Brighton and Bristol - tickets here.
It's wild to think that I've been in love with Dizzy for nearly five
years - from a chance encounter at a festival to never-ending listens of their
two albums - and the love is still going strong with the release of their new
single Birthmark. In fact, in a ridiculous week for exciting new
releases I am absolutely and unashamedly obsessed with this one, and my
last.fm stats will concur. It is so so so great. The track is the follow-up to
recent single Barking Dog, a triumphant return for the band that I
described as
"one of the most exciting things to appear in my inbox for a long time". I'm not entirely sure how I'll handle a new album when it comes, but for
now, these two are on repeat.
Talking on the track, singer Katie Munshaw shares: "the song is from the point of view of someone I love who went through
their first heartbreak last year. I remember we were laying in bed one night
and they said they didn't feel so bad until it was time to go to sleep. I
thought that was so sad."
"The 'Birthmark' video is meant to be a visual representation of the saying
'dancing with the devil.' I wanted the visuals to feel more like a nightmare
than a music video, hence its lack of narrative. We shot the video in a farm
field in western Ontario so a lot of cow shit was stepped on to get these
beautiful shots which I think is hilarious and fitting. Special thanks to
our devil, Marc, for allowing us to paint your skin red in freezing
temperatures in the name of assholery and thanks mom for letting me use your
sunroof in the name of getting a cool ass shot."
This is honestly one of the most exciting things to appear in my inbox for a long time - Dizzy are back!!!!! Ahhhhhhhh. I'm genuinely thrilled by this news. If you're new here, I've been sort of obsessed with them for a few years, and have a lot of love for their debut album Baby Teeth and its follow-up The Sun And Her Scorch. With more new music on the horizon for 2023, they're back with new single Barking Dog (via Communion Records) but things are looking a little different...
A new era for Dizzy sees singer Katie Munshaw donning a particularly striking mask in press photos and the music video for this track. On the (brilliant) reasoning behind this, Katie explains "I'm a very anxious and sensitive person. Thinking about taking a bunch of photos and videos of myself, especially after two years in isolation, felt a bit shocking and scary, and like something I didn't really want to do."
"I find it strange how musicians are often introverted people, yet one of the largest parts of our job is visually selling ourselves to an audience. It feels unnatural to pine for strangers' attention to afford rent or whatever, and as someone who's particularly sensitive, it isn't sustainable. To me, the mask not only represents a calloused version of myself but it lends itself to an anonymity that I love. A Jane Doe of sorts. I like the idea of a female artist making the conscious decision to take her appearance out of the question for the audience."
On the video, Katie continues: "Our director was like, 'what if you just punched yourself in your face for three minutes straight?' and I was like 'Fuck it, why not?' We did three takes and by the end of it all I was pretty teary. I don't know that I will ever forget being in that bathroom with my pal feeling very safe and understood while simultaneously scared of my own feelings. 10/10 would punch myself in the face again."
I'm writing this quickly on Sunday morning before heading into town to see my best pals for the first time in months. Remind me how you do this social interaction thing again?! A quick post for Monday (hi - time travel!) to share the fact that I am completely and utterly besotted with this track and that you should all listen to it, and the full EP, right now. Dizzy just shared their Separate Places EP - a collection of reworkings of tracks from their second record The Sun And Her Scorch, which features guest vocals from Luna Li, Kevin Garrett, Overcoats, Jahnah Camille and on this one... Flyte! I've been desperate to write about this one since receiving the EP a few weeks back so I'm glad that the cat is finally out of the bag - the Flyte chaps are lending their stunning harmonies to Primrose Hill at Midnight and the result is sublime.
During an Insta live chat between Dizzy's Katie Munshaw and Flyte's Will Taylor a few days back, they discussed the origins of the track. Turns out it actually came about after Flyte took Dizzy to Primrose Hill when they were playing a show in Camden, and Katie talked about how they'd wanted the band to sing that part of the track before they even released the original album version. Seems a bit of a dream collab for both (and for us!) - if you're not aware of one or the other, listen to both bands' recent records, they are so so so good.
Very excited to share this - new Dizzy (you're welcome!) The Bird Behind The Drapes with Luna Li is taken from their forthcoming EP Separate Places. It's a collection of tracks from their 2020 record The Sun and Her Scorch, reimagined and featuring collaborations with a bunch of their favourite artists. I've got a stream of the EP for an early listen and I have to say - you're going to love it. My jaw dropped a little at the list of collaborators. SO good. Born out of the inability to tour the new record and a desire to do something creative, each track brings in inspiration from the specific collaborator and their musical styles, and offers a beautiful example of finding ways to be together when you're not able to be together physically. I am fully in love with this release and can't wait to share more of it.
On the EP, frontwoman Katie Munshaw shares "The 'Separate Places' EP has allowed songs from 'The Sun and Her Scorch' to go on tour without us. Following some of our favourite artists around the globe from Birmingham, London, New York and back to Toronto. Each song has been reimagined. 'Primrose Hill' is now fiery and tough. 'The Magician' and 'Ten' returned to a state of naive, solemn bliss. 'Beatrice' gains solace with felt piano and harmony and 'Sunflower' sounds like something out of a Super Mario Brothers video game. It's kind of a ride."
"It felt necessary to have a friend join us on the rework for 'The Magician', a song rooted in friendship to begin with. We met Hannah at an outdoor show in 2019. She took the stage clad with sparkly cheeks and continued to deliver a massive fucking set, which I now know is the norm for her. Our relationship grew into one of cheering on each other's projects from the sidelines; one of my favourite parts of being in indie music. She ended up contributing strings to multiple tracks on TSAHS. To me, Hannah is an artist that signifies precise, skilled, gentle strength and I'm so proud to have had her turn what started out as a simple piano ballad into an anthem for platonic love performed by a million tiny fairies."
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!)
It's new Dizzy day! Kind of. Almost. Really excited to share their superb new Basement Covers EP. Following on from their sophomore record The Sun and Her Scorch which was released earlier this year, they're back with an EP of covers recorded through quarantine. With covers of tracks by The National, Talking Heads and Sylvan Esso already out in the world, the four-track EP is today completed with its crowning glory, their cover of Britney Spears' Lucky.
I absolutely adore Dizzy frontwoman Katie's quote on choosing a Britney track to cover - "we chose to cover Lucky by Britney because it's a great song, the same way I think all of the other cover songs we chose are great. I hate when music snobs stick their noses up at mainstream pop that is largely embraced by young girls. I always think like what if some old white rock dude released Lucky? Some writer would eat that shit up. Listening to music with a preconceived lens will make up your mind about a song before you even get to the first chorus. Good songs are good songs. Oh yeah and girls rule. End quote."
Ah, uncertainty, my old friend. Trying to write some posts for the coming week but somewhat distracted by this evening's announcement (I'm typing this on Saturday evening...) While I wait for more words to arrive, this feels like exactly the sort of thing that I want to share. Dizzy are one of my absolute favourite bands and I adore their upcoming Basement Covers EP (due on November 13th). They've just shared another taste of it, their cover of the The National tune Light Years, and it's a dream. Three minutes to feel carefree. No press release or anything jazzy to say about this, just that I really love this band and hope you enjoy the track. If you do, you can grab their latest album The Sun and Her Scorch here.
Not content with releasing one of the best records of the year (verified fact) Canada's Dizzy are back with a four track EP incoming - I audibly gasped at finding this news in my inbox... I adore this band. It's a selection of covers with tracks from The National, Talking Heads, Sylvan Esso and Britney Spears, but feels like it could be a set of Dizzy originals. Love love love. Released via Communion Records on November 13th, the EP is led by their cover of the TH track This Must Be The Place, which they'd recently shared to Youtube, along with their cover of Sylvan's Slack Jaw.
Discussing the Talking Heads cover, the band's vocalist Katie Munshaw says "This Must Be The Place took on a new meaning once quarantine hit. We chose to cover it because it seemed like the perfect push and pull between being on the road and missing home and missing being on tour with your band while being stuck in quarantine."
So you might have seen me posting about how brilliant the new Dizzy record is on social media by now... but if not, well - it is!!! Seriously stunning. I adored their debut record Baby Teeth so much, playing it over and over in the store player at work. It was always going to take something special to come close but after a few listens I think I am definitely loving this one just as much! Delighted to find this in my inbox today, a new video for Beatrice, one of my favourite tunes from the album - it's a treat to see a band performing live and having a great time too!!
About the video, singer Katie Munshaw says that it "was unique because we were actually playing our instruments. In most music videos you're meant to only pretend like you're playing but Ryan was really keen on making the performance feel genuine - and after being apart for so long due to COVID we were stoked to be able to just hang out together and jam for a few hours. Having our gear plugged in for hours made the mirror room extremely hot and by the last take we were sweaty and tired and a little buzzed - so basically we got our tour fix despite the looming pandemic outside the studio."
To be perfectly honest I'll take any opportunity that I get to tell you just how brilliant both Dizzy and Gengahr are... so a Gengahr reworking of a recent Dizzy track? Consider me more than a little bit in love. It's taking me back to a beautiful night at The Great Escape a couple of years back, heading from seeing Superorganism to a Dizzy set, having never listened to them before (love at first sight/listen) and staying up late to catch Gengahr afterwards.
Dizzy have their second record The Sun and Her Scorch coming out this Friday (!!!) and I'm loving this single, especially the gorgeous video which I posted about here. Gengahr, who released their third record Sanctuary back in January, have done a superb reworking of the track - you'd better get on your dancing shoes, have a little boogie, and then join me in eagerly awaiting the new record. I can't articulate my excitement enough, this band are really special.
The Sun and Her Scorch is due for release this Friday - pre-order/pre-save here.
For a moment there, I'd forgotten that Dizzy had a new record on the way... remembering brought a lot of joy. I adored their debut Baby Teeth and can not wait to hear the new record when it is released at the end of this month. The Sun and Her Scorch follows the path set by the debut album, exploring themes surrounding the restlessness of suburban living, feeling lost in your youth, etc. In that vein, they've just released new track Roman Candles, alongside a stunning music video featuring frontwoman Katie Munshaw - easily one of the best videos I've seen so far this year!!
Talking about the track, Katie says that it "is about how insecure I feel being someone who’s pursued music as a job. I’ve often felt jealous of friends who’ve taken more traditional paths in life. Some have gone to university and have 9 to 5 jobs already and have to buy funny things like lawnmowers and cutlery. I know that sounds silly but I have a real fear I’ll never own a home or be able to support a family because of the decision I’ve made, so of course, that’s scary. I think I’ve quit the band a dozen times since we started and then wind up taking it back an hour later because I know it’s just fear talking.”
Dizzy release The Sun and Her Scorch via Communion Records on 31st July - pre-order here.
I've been receiving submissions to the blog for almost five years, and love that I still get excited by emails about my favourite artists. Always a treat! News of a new Dizzy album and an early watch of their new video yesterday? Sign me up. The Canadian four-piece are today sharing news of second album The Sun and Her Scorch, due for release via the dreamboats at Communion Records on July 31st. It features recent single Sunflower alongside The Magician, which is releasing today.
The new record was recorded at Mechanicland Studios in Quebec and in frontwoman Katie Munshaw's mother's basement, produced by the band themselves and mixed by Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, Florence + The Machine.) Talking about the differences between this and the band's debut, Katie explains that it was "all about the confusion and sadness of my late teens [while] this one is more about the qualities of myself that I'm not very proud of. I wanted to be completely honest about the things nobody ever wants to admit, like being jealous of your friends or pushing away the people who love you. So instead of being about romantic heartbreak, it's really about self-heartbreak." 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.
New track The Magician is also released today, with a video filmed in Katie's childhood bedroom by herself and Charlie during isolation. Pretty impressive, huh? On this track in particular, Katie says that it is a song "about wanting to magically bring a friend of mine who passed away back to life. To me 'The Magician' reeks of naivety and innocence in a way that really hurts my heart. Hoping she'll walk into my gig at the local pub, hoping to see her mom at Sobeys just to remember how similar their laughs were. Hoping for magic. It's a really emotional song for me but is masked by tricky, pretty production to make it sound almost joyful."
Dizzy play London's Lafayette on November 18th (tickets here) - pre-order the record here.
Happy... Thursday? April? Maybe?! No posts for a few days as I've been busy tinkering away behind the scenes with the spreadsheet I use to organise basically every single aspect of the blog. Lots of hours and many tweaks later and I'm loving it even more than I did (spreadsheet nerd here) and even created a 'Milestones' table to stare at if I ever get confused about why I spend so much of my time rambling away here. Looking back at how blown away I was to reach 10,000 page views after about nine months, to now be nearing 150,000 page views is slightly overwhelming.
Time for a song. I don't have much to say about this one because I want to let the song speak for itself. I shared the new Dizzy track Sunflower recently - they're a Canadian band I first discovered at The Great Escape a couple of years back, and whose debut album Baby Teeth I completely adore. One of the greatest achievements of my life is getting a couple of my friends to love it as much as I do when we worked at HMV and listened to it a lot. (A lot.) I'm not always much of a fan of remixes but I am loving what MUNA have done with Sunflower. It feels like new music isn't really getting through to me so much at the moment, it's a bit easier to fall back on old favourites, but this got through and I am LOVING it. On repeat.
Completely over the moon about this - Dizzy are back with their first new music of the year, Sunflower. The track follows up their recent Heavy / Twist EP and the 2018 debut album Baby Teeth which I absolutely adore. They were a random discovery for me as a friend took me to their set at a festival and I am so grateful for that introduction - I love them. The new track was produced by the band themselves and mixed by Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, Florence & The Machine). With lyrics that see singer Katie Munshaw drifting between self-loathing and self-care, Katie describes the track as "a three and a half minute 'snap out of it!' to myself when I'm feeling low, unconfident or not myself."
The band are about to head on a support tour in the UK and Europe with Oh Wonder but they've also just announced a London gig of their own at brand new venue Lafayette (sister venue, if you will, to Omeara) on November 18th. Tickets are on sale here today!
"isn't it endearing, wearing all these problems on my sleeve?"
On Friday Dizzy released the Heavy / Twist EP, featuring recent single Twist, brand new track Heavy and remixes from Cecile Believe and Mystery Jets. In the bands own words, the two tracks form a middle ground between their debut album Baby Teeth and the next - "we're going away to write a record now. see you on the other side of it". I'm really enjoying the new track and absolutely can't wait to hear what they do next - I've come to really adore their debut, playing it in the HMV store I worked at tons and getting various colleagues to fall for the band too. Katie Munshaw is one of my favourite vocalists around at the moment, for sure.
If you like the track, there's a recent session performance that the band did with CBC Music in Canada below - equally gorgeous!
Happy Monday! The absolute heroes Dizzy have shared a wonderful new video for recent single Twist. Featuring vocalist Katie Munshaw performing alongside bandmates Charlie, Alex and Mackenzie and a group of dancers, the video is a beautiful accompaniment to the track, which they released just over a month ago. It's somehow made me fall for them more than I already had. Katie explains that the track is about "missing someone so badly that you see them places and get really excited, and then realise it's not them. It's about the hold someone can have over you even after they've left your life." The track is taken from an EP due sometime this Summer, so keep an ear out for that!
It's been just over a year since I was first introduced to Dizzy. A friend encouraged me to go along to their set at The Great Escape festival - I knew nothing about them, what sort of music it was, just the name, but I went along and absolutely loved it. Their debut album Baby Teeth was released a few months later and quickly became one of my favourite albums of the year. Working at HMV at the time, I loved playing it in store and getting some colleagues to fall for the record as much as I had. The band is made up of brothers Charlie, Alex and Mackenzie Spencer and their neighbour Katie Munshaw who have been making music together through high school - there is something incredibly endearing and loveable about the group. The critics agree - they received the Juno Award for Best Alternative Album back in Canada. I'm really excited to hear that they're back, with new single Twist being the lead track from an upcoming EP due later this Summer via Communion Records.
Talking in a mini documentary video about the new track which you can check out below, Katie describes that the album had been written straight out of high school, meaning that there was quite a length between writing the tracks and when they were released and audiences were able to connect with them. With new tracks on the way which were written in the past few months, the band are clearly raring to release them. Katie explains that while "Baby Teeth was written about bedrooms, parking lots, restaurants and movie theatres, the new stuff is coming from a well of travelling and touring. Twist is really about missing someone so badly that you see them places and get really excited, and then realise it's not them. It's about the hold someone can have over you even after they've left your life."
They've just finished up their first headline tour back home but fear not, they're coming to England very soon with a few shows - not to be missed! Tickets here.
29th May: Rough Trade, Bristol
31st May: The Eagle Inn, Manchester
1st June: All Points East x Gentlemen of the Road, London
2nd June: Notting Hill Arts Club, London
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