LISTEN: May 2016 playlist

With deadlines, and moving back home (and away from Oxford and it's wonderful music scene) I've only been to a couple of gigs this month, so when it came to making a playlist of what I've been listening to this month, I couldn't just rely on artists I've seen live... One of the shows I have been to is childhood favourites Busted, so they feature, alongside current (teen?) favourites The Hoosiers, so this month's playlist is pretty nostalgic. Here's the playlist, and I'll write a little to explain why I've included the tracks below. 

1. Busted Meet You There - loved seeing this track performed live from the B stage at their arena show in Nottingham, one of my favourite tracks by them! 
2. Tom Odell Magnetised - new track from Tom's upcoming album Wrong Crowd which is released on June 10th! Wish I'd nabbed a HMV priority ticket to his London instore album launch/signing... still tempted by Brixton later in the year! 
3. Leo Stannard Lost (acoustic) - can't get enough of Leo at the moment, excited to see he's done an album cover shoot this month so hopefully some album news is on the way!
4. The Hoosiers Cops and Robbers - my favourite band, featuring three times on this month's playlist (deserved!) because on Saturday (28th) it was 5 years since I saw them live for the first time, which was my first proper gig too! SO many great times since then.
5. Grace Lightman Faultless - I saw Grace supporting Liu Bei last October, her vocals on this new track are pretty stunning.
6. Sam Beeton Moving Out - what makes being a fan of The Hoosiers even more special for me is that at that first show 5 years ago, Sam was supporting and I quickly became a huge fan of his music. 
7. Neverlnd Someone - my favourite local Oxford band, sad to miss these guys playing both the recent BBC Introducing show at O2 Academy and at the first Common People Festival this weekend which I'm sure they smashed! This is the latest in their monthly free tracks, and is avaialble to download here.
8. Robot Swans Pricks of the Trade - alongside Busted, these guys were my only other gig this month, running the door for their Tigmus album launch at Modern Art Oxford. Listening to them beforehand and at the show this is the track that stuck with me.
9. James Blake (ft. Bon Iver) I Need A Forest Fire - James Blake made a return this month, and while I struggled to choose which track of his to include, I couldn't really steer away from his collaboration with Bon Iver. Those beautiful vocals!
10. Jake Houlsby Carousel - recommendations always come from wonderful places and I was pointed towards this track by my secondary school Media Studies teacher - love it!
11. Fyfe Stronger - after seeing him on the Communion New Faces tour back at the end of 2014, I'm glad to hear that Fyfe is returning with an EP, of which this is the title track.
12. The Hoosiers Don't Say What Nobody Wants To Hear - another track from these guys, my favourite from their acoustic album, recorded in a church in London (video of this track here, and some more videos of tracks from that album here.) 
13. Busted Sleeping With The Light On - with the house lights down and everyone's phone torches on, and everyone singing to their heart's content, this track was pretty special at the show a couple of weeks ago!
14. Wheatus Teenage Dirtbag - this will probably make me lose my music cred faster than Busted, but it was pretty fun to hear this performed live as they're supporting Busted on the tour!
15. Sam Beeton Can You See The Light - album version of one of my favourite tracks of Sam's, taken from his record In The Yard which was released early last year. It was great to meet up with him and catch up after not seeing him for over two and a half years this month!
16. The Hoosiers Everything Goes Dark - there is no better way to finish off the playlist than with another Hoosiers track (especially as, being pretty nostalgic, what I've been listening to this month includes a LOT of their music.) EGD is certainly my favourite track from their debut record, and probably my absolute favourite. I adore this acoustic version filmed in Arizona which is on the DVD that accompanies the re-release of their second record.

LISTEN: Neverlnd - 'Someone'

It's that time again! New Neverlnd track got released this morning, you can listen below and download the track (as well as two others!) for free through Soundcloud here. It's Someone, a track the band have been playing live for a while and I'm very glad to have a studio version of... I particularly love the guitar effects about 2 minutes 20 seconds in. 

The effects on Thomas' vocals were reminding me of a track I've been listening to lately but I couldn't put my figure on it until I finally realised it was Daft Punk's track Instant Crush which features The Strokes' Julian Casablancas, which was actually recommended to me by Thomas a few months ago when I found myself at the band's shed/studio after a gig. Big recommendation for that track if you haven't listened to it! 

You can catch the guys live in a couple of weeks in London at New Cross Inn on 18th May and in Oxford at O2 Academy on 20th May.

LISTEN: April 2016 playlist

April has been a super busy month for me musically with 12 gigs (and the first of those wasn't until the 9th), some great EP/album releases and announcements, and meeting a bunch of great artists/music fans. I've just created the third of my monthly playlists, which, in keeping with the personal nature of the blog, is a collection of eighteen of the artists I've been enjoying listening to this month. Take a listen on Spotify below...

A little explanation as to why I've chosen each artist/track: 

1. Water Pageant Overlaps - it only seems right to open the playlist with the last band I saw this month, at their hometown album launch last night. I had a great time running the door/selling CDs for them at the beautiful Art Jericho in Oxford (cue terrible photo.)
2. Matt Woods Impression - Matt played at the Communion New Faces tour, and was my highlight of the night for sure. A beautiful and heartfelt set, and this track was a highlight for me!
3. neverlnd We Don't Talk Like We Used To - I saw these guys play twice this month, first at a pretty busy Truck Store, and then at their headline relaunch gig. This is the second of their monthly free tracks (and you can download it here.)
4. The Vaccines Minimal Affection - a musical highlight of the month, I got to see these guys play at the Royal Albert Hall (my first visit to the venue!) as a friend won tickets. It was superb to finally see them live, playing tracks from all three records.
5. Bear's Den Magdalene - one of artists on the playlist I haven't seen live this month (but I did spot one of the guys on the underground last week..). They announced this month that their new album Red Earth & Pouring Rain is set to be released on July 22nd. This track is one of my favourites off of the first record!
6. Lewis & Leigh Devil's in the Detail - this duo supported Neverlnd at their launch show, and I saw them back in January too. I've been really impressed both times and (possibly because it has the same name as a track by one of my favourite bands) this track has stuck with me.
7. Rukhsana Merrise Money - Rukhsana was another of the artists on the Communion tour, this is her latest single, and there's a great Mahogany session of the track here that just got released.
8. Jack Garratt Surprise Yourself - over this last year at university I seem to have won a lot of things and the latest was tickets to see Jack playing up the road at the O2 in Oxford. After seeing him support Mumford & Sons last year it was great to see him play a sold out solo show. He's recently released a fantastic video for this track, with members of the public facing their fears, which you can watch here. 
9. Adam French More To Life - a catchy track from Adam, another of the four acts on the Communion New Faces tour.
10. James Walker Right Person, Wrong Time - I've seen James playing keys and singing backing vocals for Adam Barnes a few times, and he's decided to release some solo music, setting out on a solo tour a week ago. This track is from his new Modern Medicine EP. 
11. Jonny Payne Toronto - after running the door for his Oxford headline gig in Feb, I was glad to catch Jonny again this month, this time playing solo at the RSD celebrations at Truck Store. A great set (featuring this track) and he's also a really lovely dude too!
12. The Beach Thieves - the final act on the Communion tour, and while it wasn't very busy, everyone seemed to be pretty besotted... 
13. Tom Odell Wrong Crowd - the title track to the follow up to Tom's 2013 record Long Way Down, which is set to be released on June 10th.
14. Joseph & Maia I Know - I saw this New Zealand duo supporting Adam Barnes in London, and loved their story of escaping a record deal, quitting their jobs and essentially travelling from city to city playing shows every night for around a year, wherever they get the chance. Loving this track which is on their recently released album Sorrento.
15. Dizraeli It Won't Be Long - one of my favourite gigs of the month, it was great to run the door for Dizraeli and Jakaboski. I saw Dizraeli play a Sofar just over a year ago and loved this track at both shows! Would've included a track from his new EP but it isn't up on Spotify yet... but there's some cracking live sessions of some of the tracks from it on his Youtube here.
16. Mumford & Sons ft Baaba Maal There Will Be Time - following a number one in South Africa, Mumford released this collaboration on vinyl for RSD, and have just announced it'll be released as part of an EP entitled Johannesburg, out in June.
17. Everything Everything No Reptiles - having seen these guys live three times last year, I was just as excited to see them again supporting The Vaccines, and they played a superb set.
18. Adam Barnes Tennyson - Adam played a beautiful sold out show at Bethnal Green's Gallery Cafe a week ago, I love this track which closes his One Day We'll Be Fine EP and seems like a lovely way to finish off the playlist!

If you like what you hear... share the post/playlist!

LIVE: Neverlnd launch gig at JDP Music Building (22/4/16)

I had a great time last night at my fourth gig of the week, seeing local lads Neverlnd play the stunning (and pretty well hidden) Jacqueline du Pré Music Building in the grounds of St Hilda's College. The show was to relaunch the band, who recently renamed themselves (they used to be Balloon Ascents) and the setlist was awash with their well loved tunes, their two recently released tracks Where Do I Start and We Don't Talk Like We Used To, and a few completely new tracks.

Neverlnd brought their new 'Dot Dot Dot' theme to JDP... 

Support for the show came from Lewis & Leigh, a duo I saw open for Dreaming Spires back in January (and thought that they stole the show, to be honest!) Their stunning harmonies had the crowd mesmerised, and a particular highlight for me was their track Devil's In The Detail, which you can listen to in their Missing Years EP below. 

After a short break, out came Neverlnd. Every time I see these guys play, they impress me more and more, and the experience always feels really communal, with a lot of the band's family, friends, and the Oxford Sofar crew attending the shows. The band continue to get more and more polished with each performance, and the new tracks match the calibre of the old stuff. Judging by what people were saying afterwards, everyone really enjoyed their performance of Aberration, and Cutout remains a favourite of mine (that bass!!) - and No was pretty beautiful, as always (check out a performance of the track at a Sofar Sounds in Reading here.) Also a special shoutout has to go to Ben, who joined the guys onstage playing keys, and did a pretty splendid job.

I took my camera along to the show but, rather amusingly, there was somewhat of a small crowd of photographers hovering in front of the stage, so after some lens issues, I gave in after a while and watched. While a big proportion of my photos are a blurry mess, I've salvaged some and put them in an album on my Flickr here.

Frontman Thomas right at home on the piano

If you're in Oxford, you can catch Neverlnd at the upcoming BBC Introducing 'Uprising' show at O2 Academy Oxford on 20th May (Jonny Payne & The Thunder are also on the line-up!). Information about that show and tickets for it here.

GIG NEWS: Neverlnd and Moulettes in Oxford (today!)

If you're in Oxford and short of something to do tonight... then I wholeheartedly recommend that you get down to one of two brilliant gigs put on by Tigmus in the city tonight.

First up.... Neverlnd (previously Balloon Ascents) play the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building (at the end of Cowley Road/Iffley Road, just off of the High St). The show is a relaunch for the new name and slightly new sound, and the band, with a very loyal local supporting are certainly not to be missed, and it'll hopefully be a sell out! Here's a stripped back video of the guys from a Sofar Sounds London gig at the beginning of 2015... 

Tickets for Neverlnd are £9 advance and will be £12 on the door, you can grab them here. 

Second up (and a gig I'm gutted to be missing!) is Moulettes at The Cellar. I recently posted a video of their track Behemooth filmed at Sofar Sounds Oxford, but below is an even livelier version which debuted online a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed their set at Sofar, and, describing their music as chamber/psychedelic/progressive/folk rock, I can only imagine that their electric show will be quite something to behold. Definitely recommend getting to the show and reporting back to me how it was! 

This one's £14 advance and £15 on the door, and you can grab tickets here. I hope you can get to one of the shows.... and if you do, enjoy!

LIVE: Record Store Day/Folk Weekend Oxford (16/17 April)

I've had a busy couple of days of music this weekend - which kicked off with queueing early at Truck Store in Oxford for Record Store Day 2016. Although someone pushed in front of me in the doorway and had the Public Service Broadcasting 7" that I wanted, all was good as after a frantic search I found a copy, and got that, as well as the Mumford & Sons and Foals 7"s, Hozier 12" EP and the Communion Music compilation. After a quick trip back to my flat, I popped into town for an early Count Drachma set in the peaceful confines of Blackwells Book Shop. A project fronted by Oli Steadman, bassist of Stornoway, it's a return to his South African roots, performing in Zulu and Xhosa (apart from a Paul Simon I Know What I Know cover) and I am really interested in the music - and loved the set, especially the high kicks!

Count Drachma in Blackwells

Once wasn't enough and I saw Count Drachma for a second time in the early evening, at the Oxford Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre. The sets were both part of Oxford's Folk Weekend (a weekend where lots of morris dancers and folk lovers descend upon the city) - and to get into the set for free I stewarded afterwards at a French dance. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and I met a lot of lovely people (apart from one random drunk guy who managed to cause trouble for a lot of people, but didn't manage to spoil the evening!)

French ball at Folk Weekend, with the band playing amongst the dancing to let the crew clear the stage as everyone wanted to carry on past the end time!

This afternoon, Truck Store carried on their RSD celebrations with a couple of great artists. The first of which was Jonny Payne, who I saw a couple of months ago with his band (Jonny Payne & The Thunder), so was cool to see his solo set. Second up were local legends Neverlnd, minus a full drum kit (but the keyboard 'impersonating' a drum kit sounded great), playing a few new tracks alongside popular track Cutout in a stripped back style.

Jonny Payne at Truck Store

Neverlnd at Truck Store

Both artists have Oxford shows coming up - Jonny Payne & The Thunder play The Library on the 28th April (details here), I sadly can't make it to that one but Jonny smashed his last show there when I was working on the door! Neverlnd play a show for Tigmus at the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building this Friday, 22nd April, tickets available here. 

LISTEN: Neverlnd - 'We Don't Talk Like We Used To'

It's surprisingly already been a month since Neverlnd announced that they'd got a new name (previously Balloon Ascents) and planned to release a free track each month. The second of these tracks, We Don't Talk Like We Used To, is online now and available to download. They're one of the most exciting local Oxford bands, in my opinion - and that of a few others, too, as they've recently been announced to be playing the Uncommon Stage at new festival Common People Oxford. The line-up for the stage has been handpicked by Nightshift Magazine and includes other great local acts such as Little Brother Eli, Esther Joy Lane and Cameron A.G. 

As well as the festival, the band have a headline show at Jacqueline du Pré Music Building for Tigmus on 22nd April. Americana duo Lewis & Leigh have just been announced as support for the show, tickets are available online here, and if you book by Sunday 10th you'll get a free signed poster!

LISTEN: March 2016 playlist - my month in music!

At the end of February, I posted a Spotify playlist which encapsulated my month in music, and thought that, if the response was good, I could try to keep it up as a monthly feature on the blog. The response was in fact pretty staggering, so I've made a playlist for March which you can listen to below. With particular highlights including Jack Savoretti, Neverlnd and Biffy Clyro, the playlist is a mix of artists I've seen live during the month, and those who I've been listening to and writing about. If you find something new that you enjoy - feel free to comment below!

Brief explanation as to why I've chosen each artist/track: 

1. Neverlnd Where Do I Start - this month came the news that the newly re-named Oxford band (previously Balloon Ascents) are heading in a new direction and planning to release a free track monthly, stepping away from the album format. This is the first of those free tracks and I can't wait to hear it at their Oxford gig in April!
2. Benedict Benjamin Thin Skin - Ben played the Sofar Sounds Oxford show I went to at the start of the month, where I bought the first physical copy of his debut album Night Songs which has just been released, and I love this track from it!
3. Biffy Clyro Wolves Of Winter - this one needs little explaining - Biffy are back and they're releasing an album in July. A completely triumphant return and a sprinkle of rock onto the playlist!
4. Jack Savoretti Catapult - the highlight of my live music experiences over the month was probably Jack's London Cadogan Hall show generally, and particularly his performance of this track with a string trio, with whom he performed the track on The Graham Norton Show at the beginning of the year.
5. Martin Harley & Daniel Kimbro Money Don't Matter - following the end of my placement with the lovely guys at Tigmus, I've kept in touch and I ran the door for a show with these guys headlining in Oxford in the middle of the month. It was a lovely Sunday evening blues show as part of a tour promoting a recent live album that they recorded together, and this track was a stand out for me on the evening! 
6. Black Honey Corrine - I went along to see Black Honey at The Bullingdon without having listened to them beforehand. Watching from a distance to avoid the moshing at the front of the crowd, I enjoyed the set - if you're Oxford based and off to Truck Festival over Summer, I'd recommend checking them out as they've just been announced in the second wave of acts!
7. King Charles Lady Of The River - would it be a playlist of mine without King Charles? This is one of my favourite tracks of Charles' second record and a music video for the track was released this month.
8. Lucy Rose Nebraska - likewise, this beautiful track from Lucy Rose had a video released this month, with Danny Dyer in drag. Beat that, Charles...
9. Roo Panes Stay With Me - I've known of Roo for a while after seeing a couple of videos he recorded with Burberry Acoustic a few years ago. This is the opening track from his new record Paperweights which was released earlier this month. I slightly regret not going to his show in the same venue that I saw Jack Savoretti at last week, because I was being sensible and staying in to write an essay!
10. Bel Esprit Island - these guys are releasing their single Leave Me Here on 8th April and they are currently on a mini Easter tour to promote the track, playing Southampton tomorrow (1st) and London on Saturday (2nd). I loved this track when I caught their Oxford show at the end of February. 
11. Little Brother Eli Dreams - one of my favourite discoveries through Sofar Sounds Oxford, where I saw them back in November. They announced this month that their debut album, Cold Tales, is being released in June, and it will feature this track...
12. Jack Savoretti Breaking The Rules - when I saw Jack play in London, his performance of this track made me cry - happy tears, considering how well he is doing at the moment!
13. Laish Song For Everything - another Sofar Sounds Oxford artist, Laish (aka Daniel Green) is releasing a record, funded through a crowdfunding campaign which just finished. This is the title track of the EP being offered to pledgers, a video for which was released during the campaign.
14. Roberto y Juan Monster Love - these guys featured a couple of times in the February playlist, but as I saw them twice in March, I couldn't leave them out this time around! This is the title track of their second EP, which I described back in Feb as "some of the best new music I've heard so far this year."
15. Bloom Twins Blue - another of the acts from the Sofar Sounds Oxford show I attended this month, these twins are based in London but originally from Ukraine, and are currently on tour with Duran Duran, so our intimate Sofar show was probably quite a change for them! 
16. Martin Harley & Daniel Kimbro Nobody's Fault But Mine - when watching the set a couple of weeks ago, this track stayed with me (probably because the lyrics focus upon reading - and I'm doing a joint English Literature degree!)
17. Benedict Benjamin Coward - having listened to the new record quite a few times, I struggled to choose two tracks to include in the playlist as I'm really enjoying it as a full record. If you like what you're hearing... I definitely recommend checking the whole thing out!
18. Stornoway The Only Way Is Up (acoustic) - this beautiful cover seems like a great way to wrap up the playlist, taken from the Bonxie Unplucked EP. Stornoway announced this month that they are playing a show at the RSC theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon in July, which guarantees to be a special evening in wonderful surroundings! 

ALBUM NEWS: Little Brother Eli to release debut album 'Cold Tales'

Following from my post about the new Laish album, comes another album announcement from Sofar Sounds Oxford alumni Little Brother Eli. The more I listen, the more I'm enjoying their music,   which has been compared by some to the likes of The Black Keys, all surrounding the powerful vocal range of frontman Alex. They're a superb, energetic live band, both in a full band set-up and acoustic shows, and I'm intrigued to hear how much of this comes across on the record. They'll be playing a show at The Bullingdon in Oxford (their hometown) to promote the release, more details at the bottom of the post. The album, Cold Tales, is due for release on 24th June (pre-order on iTunes here) and you can get a taster of the music through a variety of videos of the band on Youtube, including this of them performing the brilliant track 'Shake Me' at Sofar Sounds Nottingham. 

My photo of Little Brother Eli playing Sofar Sounds Oxford back in November

The track listing for Cold Tales is as follows:

Oceans
Who Do You
This Girl
Dreams
Roll Away
Gold
Hanging
Shake Me
Beautiful People
Cold Tales

Album artwork, sketches by Merlin Porter

Little Brother Eli play an album launch show on 25th June at Oxford's The Bullingdon with support from Nine Miles South and Neverlnd (I'm gutted I won't be in Oxford for the show - sounds like it'll be a great evening!) You can grab tickets here.

LISTEN: Neverlnd - 'Where Do I Start'

Exciting news this Saturday morning... Neverlnd, the newly renamed Balloon Ascents, have just released a new track entitled Where Do I Start, which you can listen to below. The talented bunch of school friends from Oxford will be releasing a free track each month through a mailing list (sign up here), with all the tracks produced by the equally talented Ian Wallman. They've also announced a show, organised by Tigmus, at an intimate venue in Oxford at the end of April (details at the bottom of the post).

Having been introduced to the band through the fact that the Sofar Sounds Oxford organisers manage them, I've seen them a few times over the last year and they've never failed to put a smile on my face, playing fun and superb live sets in a variety of settings, from a stripped back set at Truck Store to a couple of headline shows across the road at the O2 Academy Oxford (one of which was the first show I've had a proper photo pass for back in May, see my shots from that gig here.) Seeing them play in January at an Independent Venue Week show, it struck me that they have got better and better each time I've seen them play, and I feel lucky to know them - but especially to know of their music at this exciting time in their careers.

Photo credit: IWphotographic

Tickets for their intimate Oxford show at Jacqueline du Prê Music Building on 22nd April are on sale through Tigmus here - I'd snap one up quickly as it'll likely sell pretty quickly, these guys are very well loved in Oxford!