LISTEN: The Vaccines - 'Back In Love City'

A quick glance at my listening habits on last.fm would tell you that I've listened to little else besides the new album from The Vaccines this week. Back In Love City and this band have my whole heart. Sometimes I find it a little unnerving waiting for a favourite artist to share a new record... I enjoyed the singles, sure, but what if I didn't like the record, or react to it in the way that I hoped? 

Any worries were quickly dispelled last Friday on the first listen (and the many consequent listens) - the record as a whole is a sonic journey, it's got everything that I adore about the band but with some exciting new twists. The 'heavy' Wanderlust is a favourite of mine at the moment, and those Ennio Morricone / Western soundtrack vibes on a few of the tracks speak of the influence of the Texan studio that the record was created in. An added joy to find that Fryars had a hand in producing a few of the tracks and that Rae Morris is singing alongside Justin on Paranormal Romance, too!

It's so clear that the band had a lot of fun making this one, and it's been a delight to see the positive response to it this week. (Fingers crossed for a top 5 album in the charts later today!) I only wish I was able to make one of the live shows they're doing at the moment to promote it... next year, maybe!

Follow The Vaccines - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Low Island - 'If You Could Have It All Again'

It's no secret how much I adore Low Island and I am delighted to share a little write-up for their debut album. If You Could Have It All Again was released last week via the band's own label Emotional Interference. Recorded, produced and engineered by the band themselves at their makeshift studio in rural France, the record is very much a DIY project and I am so so proud of my pals for the piece of work they've each put so much into. Carlos, Jamie, Felix & Jacob are stars and I'm so excited to see the journey this record takes them on.

I've had a stream of this in my inbox for a couple of weeks and have been revelling in the joy of it on my commutes to work. Since the release on Friday I've listened to very little else. Longer album reviews in the traditional sense take up a lot of time which I don't really have at the moment - I've recently headed back to work and keeping on top of the site alongside a full time job is difficult, but consider this post a *very* strong recommendation for you to wrap your ears around the new record. (Thank me later!)

Low Island · What Do You Stand For

The release of their debut record makes me reminiscent of my first days as a fan of the band... looking back, I'm sure that I must have generally discovered their music through the Oxford scene, but a specific gig cemented my love for them. Rushing across Brighton to Patterns with team Tigmus to make sure we were front and centre for their set at The Great Escape in 2017 - it was incredible. I've somehow only managed to see them once more since, at a London headline later that year, but have been completely in love with their output since then. I can not waaaaaait to catch them live next to see just how much their live show has progressed since the oh so distant days of 2017. 

While we're all very aware that recent singles Don't Let The Light In, Feel Young Again and Who's Having The Greatest Time are absolute bops, I've enjoyed getting to know the unreleased tracks on the record. Currently, What Do You Stand For is a stand-out for me, and Momentary is easily one of my favourite tracks of the year. A perfect example, within a track, of the contrasts that exist in the band's music more generally. From a tender opening, layers of sound build into what is sure to be a dance-floor filler. The production all the way through the record is exquisite. 

Low Island · Momentary

As someone who feels a little bit like I'm stagnating in my mid-twenties (not helped by the pandemic, that's for sure) having come home after university and finding myself in a string of retail jobs, the themes through the record are all too relatable. At times painfully so, but mostly in a comforting way, as in In Your Arms, an ode to Carlos' childhood bedroom. The record 'takes stock of a twenties filled with false starts, heartbreak and cyclical conflict, and carves a path towards a better decade to come.' 

Carlos describes the album as a product of "ten years of trying to make things work - in music, but also in life, a litany of romantic disasters that have coloured the last ten years of my life." He describes the character he inhabits loosely in the record looking back and saying "have I just really fucked this up? Have I made a royal mess of the last ten years?" It's sorrowful but there is also a lot of hope - dark and light, good and bad. The record exists on contrast. It's real life. It's raw. And it's so SO damn good. 

Low Island · Spaces Closing In

You should most definitely buy/stream the record and grab tour tickets here.

Follow Low Island - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Rae Morris - 'Someone Out There'

I haven't posted an album recommendation in a while, but couldn't resist rambling a little about just how brilliant this record is for much longer. Almost exactly three years after sharing her beautiful debut Unguarded, the absolute star Rae Morris released its follow up Someone Out There at the start of February, and I love it. You can listen to Rae giving a track by track explanation of the record below...

The singles shared before the release were fairly promising but I was completely blown away upon listening to the record the whole way through for the first time. To be honest, it exceeded my expectations and in the month since its release I've listened to the record an immeasurable number of times, with each listen bringing something new with it. I'm finding myself relating to a lot of the tracks for various reasons and feeling quite intense emotions upon listening, something I'm not really used to - at times over the last few weeks it has felt as if Rae had managed to write tracks describing exactly how I'm feeling, capturing it better than I ever could have. There have unashamedly been more than a few tears shed to a couple of the tunes, but most of all I'm completely in awe of the record as a whole, describing it to anyone who will listen as a work of art and my favourite album of the year so far. I think what I love most of all is that Rae seems to be incredibly humble - I don't think that she's aware of just how good she is.

The record is a bit of a sonic change for Rae and I have to wonder whether I'd have really given the record a chance if I hadn't already been a fan of Rae's music - it's far more pop-oriented than most of my usual listening. That said - I completely adore the record. The production is incredibly strong, each tune seeming simultaneously so powerful yet so delicately put together. The lyrics are impressive throughout, telling beautiful and often heartbreaking stories, and nowhere is this more true than in the the likes of Rose Garden and the closing track Dancing With Character (listen to the lyrics closely and tell me you don't tear up.) There are some really lively, upbeat tracks like the singles Atletico (The Only One) and Do It and one of my personal favourites, the absolute tune Dip My Toe. Other favourites include the complete tearjerker (for me, anyway) Wait For The Rain and Lower The Tone - but there really aren't any weak links within the record.

Put short I think that the album is incredible, a shoe-in for a Mercury Prize nomination (surely?) and I would love to give Rae and Fryars a big hug for bringing me so much joy with the record. Check it out here and make your own mind up, and grab tickets for Rae's tour here.

Follow Rae Morris online - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: The Hoosiers - 'The Secret Service'

As someone without musical talents, I feel far more comfortable writing posts that I can refer to as recommendations, as I feel I've little right to explicitly review and criticise music. I mostly write about the music I have discovered myself and as such my posts are usually particularly personal, perhaps none more so than this, about a band who I am particularly passionate about!

Last night I had the fantastic opportunity to see The Hoosiers play a small, free show in Banbury, just a £4 return train trip away from Oxford! Train delays on the way there and the fact that the set was a pretty late one (so I had to rush to catch the last train after) aside, I had such a great night (and can't wait to see them again tomorrow night in Southampton at Engine Rooms.)

The band are a few dates into a UK tour in support of their recently released fourth album, The Secret Service. Featuring four tracks already released through recent EPs, the album is in my opinion a huge triumph. It showcases a really refreshing and broad range of tracks, from the fun The Wheels Fell Off and The Most Peculiar Day Of Your Life, the chilling Dancers In The Dark and (Don't Make) Eye Contact, to a particular favourite of mine, the incredibly catchy I Will Be King. 

Album art for The Secret Service

Starting with a fairly upbeat track reflective of their hit singles, Pristine, the album contrastingly finishes with a beautiful acoustic song (My) Secret Service, with drummer Alphonso Sharland on some cracking lead vocals. Much of the record reflects this stripped back track, as a lot of the album was recorded live. Unlike so many albums that you hear, where you can't help but be skeptical of how far the production process has taken the track, and whether the band could ever reach that level of perfection in a live performance - these songs feel authentic and this gives them quite passionate, heartfelt roots, which also comes across in the lyrics.

Releasing the record independently allowed the band creative freedom to produce music that they enjoy writing and performing - which comes across in the tracks, but also as a fan is reaffirming in that they'll carry on playing while they're enjoying it! Often the pressures that come in hand with a major record deal to produce commercial music can hinder the creative process and, I imagine, make it far less fun! 

Personally I'm really proud of the band for this record, it feels fairly grown up (they've even, funnily, got an explicit track on the record) whilst simultaneously sticking with the fun and catchy nature of the tracks that shot the band to fame all those years ago (the likes of Worried About Ray and Goodbye Mr. A). I'd hugely recommend giving it a listen! You can find out more about the record and order a copy on CD/Vinyl (releasing 30th October), and look at the band's remaining tour dates including London's The Borderline this Wednesday 21st October (sadly a gig clash for me but very much looking forward to seeing Jack Savoretti that evening!) here on the band's website.

ALBUM NEWS: Baio - 'The Names'

It was a pretty last minute decision to go to Baio's instore at Rough Trade East last night - but a great decision! The instore followed the release of his debut solo record The Names just over a week ago on Glassnote Records. The set - though pretty loud for a Monday evening - was superb, and showcased most of the 9-track album. If you're into dance music or Vampire Weekend I highly recommend checking it out - as Baio happens to be the bassist of the band. One of my favourite tracks is above, the opener, Brainwash Yyrr Face - I can't explain why I love it so much but take a listen! If you're not into dance music so much, then try out the track Sister Of Pearl, which I posted about recently, as it's probably the closet to Vampire Weekend's style of music. 

Chatting to Chris after, he told me that he's wanted to release solo music for a while and has finally found the time, and he's really happy with how the record turned out. He was particularly excited at seeing the inside of the record sleeve for the first time, and as I suspected, was enjoying playing small shows such as this, with Vampire Weekend playing arenas on their last tours. 

Overall I'm really loving the record and I'd say that if you get the chance to see Baio live - definitely take it up - even just his dancing on stage (similar to the Sister Of Pearl video..) is enough to put a smile on your face!

Baio at Rough Trade East.