LISTEN: September 2016 playlist

I moved back to Oxford this month for my third and final year of university (quite scary) and I've already been to some cracking gigs... but October is looking particularly busy (we'll get to that when it happens!) Here's my playlist for the month, a snapshot of the music I've been listening to this month, whether live or otherwise - hope you enjoy!!

1. Dawes One Of Us - the most exciting thing to happen in music for me this month was that one of my favourite bands, Dawes, released their fifth studio album. We're All Gonna Die is the follow up to last year's All Your Favourite Bands, one of my favourite records of all time so this one had a lot to live up to and I haven't been disappointed. Feels only right to kick off the playlist with the opening track of the album!

2. Jack Savoretti When We Were Lovers - my favourite artists are the gift that keeps on giving, as this month another big favourite, Jack Savoretti, announced his new record Sleep No More which is set to be released on 28th October, and released the first single from the album which is an absolute corker. Less than a month to go, very excited to hear more of the album - you can also hear a lot of it debuted live on his upcoming UK tour.

3. Slate Hearts Take Me to the Green - in a busy first week back in Oxford I went to a few gigs, one of which was the fantastic Lucy Leave hometown headline to round off their debut UK tour. These guys were supporting and they're pretty exciting, love this track.

4. Fil Bo Riva Killer Queen - I was sent Fil Bo's track Like Eye Did last month and loved it, so was glad to hear that this month he's released another. The studio version is pretty cool but I'm also digging this live version, his voice is really something special.

5. Bastille Power - another of the gigs I went to this month was finally seeing Bastille in Kingston, where they played much of their new record Wild World, a lot for the very first time which was cool to see/hear. It's been a while coming since their hugely successful debut album back in 2013 but the new record is definitely worth the wait and has just seen two weeks at the top of the charts (and it's looking like it'll be a third week tomorrow!)

6. Bon Iver Minnesota, WI - a much older track than the rest, I've been in quite a classic Bon Iver mood this month after security a ticket to one of the upcoming London shows in February. I bought this record entirely on a whim a couple of years ago because I had just bought a record player and wanted more to listen to and I adore it from start to finish. 

7. homeplanetearth Find Me - these guys are a superb local Oxford band who have just toured the UK to celebrate their debut EP (which this track is taken from) including a huge show for Tigmus upstairs at the O2 Oxford which was the day before I moved back to town, very gutted to miss it!

8. Laurel Life Worth Living - a couple of days after moving back I attended my first Oxford Sofar Sounds in 6 months (absolutely crazy that it's been so long!), one of our acts was London based singer songwriter Laurel who had the crowd absolutely mesmerised. A beautiful stripped back set in the stunning venue, an independent cinema just up the road from me.

9. Tom Speight Falling - Tom was announced as support for Bastille the day before the show so I didn't get chance to check out any of his music before the show apart from a snippet of this track which went down pretty well on the night. The hardcore Bastille fans at the front were absolutely loving this guy who seemed pretty overwhelmed by all the loving, and by the fact he was using in-ear monitors for the first time. 

10. Twin Atlantic The Chaser - I finally grabbed a copy of the new Twin Atlantic record a couple of weeks ago and it's got everything you might expect of their records, including the brilliant first single No Sleep and this recent single.

11. Lucy Leave Fighter Pilot - as mentioned above I saw these guys play in Oxford this month, where I ran the door for the show (an absolute pleasure!) I've heard of them on the scene for a while now and been really keen to catch them live so glad that I finally got the opportunity to do so! 

12. Bon Iver 33 "GOD" - until it came to choosing a playlist for this month I hadn't actually given any of the new Bon Iver record (released today but I haven't had chance to listen fully yet!) a listen, but this track, which samples a bit of Paolo Nutini is quite cool, if a bit of a departure from the other track earlier in the playlist! Looking forward to taking more of a listen to the record and most importantly hearing it live in February!

13. Dawes Roll With The Punches - this is one of my my favourite tracks from the new Dawes record, which Taylor describes as a track which deals with separation not in a personal way, but looking at the consistencies in any separation/break-up, things that everyone can relate to. My enjoyment of the track is probably more in the sound than the deep meaning, but I definitely appreciate the songwriting which as always with Dawes is pretty clever!

14. Bastille Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith) - another of my favourite tracks from the new record, very much a slower tune but still really catchy. As I write this I've just received an email saying my video of Bastille from the show last week has been taken down from Youtube and I've received a copyright strike - had to sit through "copyright school", the joys..

15. The Hoosiers Weirdo (Acoustic) - my first gig this month was my last gig of the Summer, The Hoosiers headlining the O2 in Islington. Though I've seen them over 10 times it was the first time seeing them play in London and was made even cooler by interviewing Irwin and Al before the show for some research I'm doing. Sadly it was Sam's last (sort of) gig with the guys and I love this track from their third album where he takes lead vocals, particular this version on an acoustic album!

LISTEN: July 2016 playlist

Compared to the last couple of months, July has been pretty busy, with gigs from King Charles, Twin Atlantic, Jack Savoretti, Harry Pane, The Hoosiers, Bear's Den (as well as attending a TV recording and seeing a play a couple of times). The playlist reflects the music I've been listening to live at those shows, as well as some great new releases, and I've explained why I've added each track/artist below - check it out and let me know here or on Facebook if you enjoy the tracks! Spread the word... 

1. Viola Beach Swings And Waterslides - with their album released posthumously on Friday, it feels only right to start the playlist with this track. Back in February I went along to a Blossoms show on the tour where Viola Beach were due to be playing as support, and out of respect they played a live recording of their set from an earlier show of the tour. I can't wait to take a proper listen to the record once I get some time to sit and give it my full attention.

2. Bear's Den Emeralds - I'm loving Red Earth & Pouring Rain, the new record from these guys a lot, and apparently so are lots of people as it reached number 6 in the album chart on Friday (YES!). While it's difficult to pick a favourite track as the whole thing is pretty incredible, this is a stand out track for me!

3. Biffy Clyro Animal Style - these guys released their latest record Ellipsis this month, and I'm very excited to have grabbed a ticket to see them play an acoustic show for Banquet Records in October. 

4. Leo Stannard In My Blood - Leo's pretty close to announcing news of his debut album (I hope) and I was very excited to listen to the studio version of this track, released this month. I loved hearing the track when he played it live for the first time back in February.

5. Tempesst Broke Down Blues - this track was debuted online just before I saw these guys play at the Reach Out charity gig, and it went down really well with the crowd as did the rest of the set. They were really fun live, and they've got a headline London show coming up in September through Communion, tickets here.

6. Twin Atlantic Crash Land - this month I finally got to see these guys play live, in the pretty intimate Scala. While the rest of the show was loud and energetic, a highlight for me (probably as a big fan of acoustic music) was that they performed this track, accompanied by some pretty loud singing by the crowd.

7. Jack Savoretti Sweet Hurt - I was really lucky to get into Jack's sold out Somerset House show this month, and while all of his music is pretty special to me, there's something extra lovely about this non-album track. An added bonus for Bella Italia to play the track when I was grabbing some food there before heading to the show!

8. All Tvvins Darkest Ocean - these guys, a duo from Dublin, supported Twin Atlantic on their recent tour and their set was a whole lot of fun to kick the night off with. I was particularly fond of how much fun it seemed the guitarist was having (and the fact that the bassist was the lead vocalist - hooray for changing up the normal dynamic!) Their debut album IIVV is released in a couple of weeks (iTunes pre-order) and they're playing a UK tour in October (dates on their site here.)

9. The Hoosiers Up To No Good - a highlight of the month was definitely catching these guys (for the 11th time) headlining a new festival in Rescue Rooms in Nottingham where I first saw them live over 5 years ago. They play a huge London headline in September, tickets available here.

10. Geowulf Saltwater - a really lovely summer tune, this is the debut track from Geowulf, a new duo who opened up the Reach Out Charity gig this month. 

11. Tom Lowman Blue State - this pretty cynical and relevant track ("the country's going mad, perhaps it always was") is taken from Tom's debut album Tales from the Wrong Side of History (available on iTunes here.)

12. Harry Pane Cold Light of Day - this is from Harry's Changing EP, the title track of which featured in last month's playlist as I loved the EP so much. I was really glad to catch Harry playing a short set in Shoreditch this month as part of the Coffee House Tour.

13. Gizmo Varillas Give a Little Love - Gizmo played a fun support set when I saw Jack Savoretti this month - his debut album El Dorado is out later in the year!

14. Twin Atlantic Gold Elephant: Cherry Alligator - while the other track by these guys in the playlist is from their 2012 record, this is a new track from their upcoming release GLA (a nod to their Glaswegian roots) which is out in September (pre-order on their site here and get three tracks  including this one instantly.)

15. Jack Savoretti The Proposal - while Jack's huge success over the last couple of years has coincided with the release of his latest record Written In Scars and its subsequent re-release, I'm a huge fan of his third record Before The Storm and it was great to hear tracks like this one in the Somerset House setlist! Check out a video of the track being performed at the show, filmed by Martin who I met in the queue with whom it turns out I have a few mutual friends and musical interests!

16. King Charles Love Lust - while I'd definitely have considered going along to the Reach Out charity gig if Charles hadn't been on the line-up (cake, charity, other great acts and a whole host of lovely people!), it was definitely a bonus. Playing as a stripped back 3-piece band, with a temperamental guitar and scheduled after the Euro 2016 final (meaning the set was cut short a little) the night was pretty fun and it was a pleasure to see Charles & co play as always! 

17. Tom Figgins Rain On Me - I'll stop rambling about the charity gig soon (did I mention it raised around £1650?!) but one last thing... it was great to see Tom play again, with a highlight of the night being an impromptu performance of his stunning track Crave (not on Spotify but a demo on Soundcloud) to 5 or 6 of us as he tested his guitar after it fell from his case as he tried to leave. 

18. Bear's Den Gabriel - to celebrate the release of their record, Bear's Den played a mini tour of record stores, including Rough Trade in Nottingham (read my post about the show here.) With the band finishing off their beautiful, full and fairly warm set with an unplugged performance of this track within the crowd (like this performance in The Netherlands), it feels like a nice place to finish the playlist at!

WATCH: Twin Atlantic - 'No Sleep'

Kind of Twin Atlantic to schedule the release of their new video to just after I've seen them live... They played the London date of their July tour last night at Scala (a lovely venue and a lot smaller than I expected) and I loved every second of it! I was a bit of a boring grown up and stood on a small balcony at the back of the room to keep away from the mosh pits - but it was actually a great choice as I could see straight over the crowd and didn't have to worry about being pushed around (definitely not my idea of fun!) Support came from All Tvvins, who were pretty impressive and I might have to check out when they play Oxford later in the year for Future Perfect (check out a track on Soundcloud here.) The guitarist's energy was pretty infectious... 

Playing a set that featured all the hits from Free and Great Divide, they also played some tracks from the upcoming record GLA, including No Sleep, which went down really well as lead singer Sam McTrusty threw himself into the crowd. As a frontman, McTrusty had the crowd eating out of his hand, belting out the lyrics to all of the songs, and jumping around for the whole night. It was definitely one of the most fun gigs I've been to in a long time! A highlight for me was a slightly more relaxed part of the night however, with the band performing Crash Land, my favourite track of theirs! At this point of the night and throughout, it was really clear how humbled the Scottish band were that, being so far from home, so many people had turned out and were having such a great time. 

Twin Atlantic play a tour of the UK and Ireland in October and December to promote the new record GLA, which is released on 9th September - all the dates and tickets here.

WATCH: Twin Atlantic - 'Fall Into The Party'

As I'm currently watching the coverage of Glaswegian rockers Twin Atlantic headline set at T in the Park, thought now was a good time to share the new video for their track Fall Into The Party. When catching up with sets from Glastonbury on the iPlayer, I loved their set - while the crowd was nowhere near as big as they deserve, the band were really great at interacting with them and played a great set with a mix of tracks across their records including their latest, Great Divide. This new video shows performance footage and behind the scenes fun from the band's last year of touring. 

You can buy Great Divide, the latest record from Twin Atlantic, on iTunes here.

LISTEN: Twin Atlantic - 'Heart & Soul'

New Twin Atlantic track Heart And Soul just got it's first radio play on Radio 1 as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record of the Week. Their third studio album is expected to be released this summer.