LISTEN: Dawes - 'Right On Time'

Dawes have released the second track from their upcoming record (All Your Favourite Bands out 2nd June). It's called Right On Time and after a little Youtube digging I discovered that far from being a new track, they've been playing it live for a while now, including this performance for radio. A great track with the brilliant lyrics that I've come to expect from the band, and a sure sign that the record is going to be one to watch out for this year - and only a few weeks left to wait!

ALBUM NEWS: Lucy Rose - 'Work It Out'

Lucy Rose, along with the stunning Rae Morris, is a musician who I've been introduced to through her collaboration with Bombay Bicycle Club. I don't typically listen to many female artists, but its clear that Lucy is a huge talent, and I loved seeing her sing live with Bombay at their massive Earls Court show back in December. She has today announced news of her upcoming record, entitled Work It Out, which is set to be released on the 6th July. Above is a live video of the single Our Eyes, which features on the record. You can pre-order the album from the official webstore here.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/lucyrosemusic

LISTEN: Mumford & Sons - 'Wilder Mind'

Source: Megan Seekings

Picture the scene. I'm at uni for a two hour revision session in which I've learnt... not much. Walking through a barely used university building I stumble across a huge poster for Wilder Mind, the new Mumford & Sons album, and an unintentional selfie ensues. I've been a huge fan of the band since the massive airplay that The Cave received during a Brighton hockey tour in 2009 (we travelled in minibuses a lot!) At the end of 2012, I was lucky enough to see the band play a massive show at Nottingham Capital FM Arena following the release of their second record Babel, which propelled the band massively into the mainstream, scoring them their first number 1 record in both the UK and US.

Now, however, that position has been matched by the band's latest offering, Wilder Mind, reaching number 1 last night in the first week of its release. It features the singles The Wolf and Believe, the latter of which was the band's comeback single back in March of this year. The track signalled a departure from what fans had come to think of as the unique sound of Mumford, with the loss of the  acoustic guitar, kick-drum and notably the banjo. To some, this was terrible - now, I'm not particularly fond of change, but when it comes to musicians, though being far from an artist myself, I'm aware that creating music requires a lot of passion, and if the artist's aren't getting something out of creating the music then something isn't quite right. Because of that, I'm usually pretty accepting of bands going in a 'new direction' to keep the spark in their music, and for Mumford, it has definitely paid off, and shows the versatility of the band, who are a talented group of musicians. While many were quick to judge the record before its release simply for being different, there are definitely many of the fantastic elements that we're used to, including the superbly penned tracks and chilling lead vocals of Marcus Mumford, with the addition of the full drum kit and electric guitars giving a heavier and more mature sound. In short: I love it. 

My high expectations were thankfully met, and the record will probably be one of my favourite's of the year (alongside the new releases from Sam Beeton, Jack Savoretti and Matt Owens, definitely.) I'm particularly fond of the track Broad-Shouldered Beasts, which showcases hints of the progression from the band's 'old sound' to the new, starting slow and quiet, retaining the prominence of the vocals, and progressing into a punchy, sing-along track. Aside form this, however, I find it difficult to separate the other tracks, with nothing standing out particularly - though they're all pretty great and I do enjoy the employment of the eBow on Snake Eyes...

I'm particularly keen to see the band live again, firstly as the huge talent Tom Hobden (of Noah & The Whale) is currently playing with the band on live shows, but also to see how their live performance differs with these new tracks, which will be played directly alongside older singles such as Little Lion Man and I Will Wait. I wish that I could find a way of going along to the band's UK stopover in Aviemore, which has a brilliant line-up including a particular favourite of mine, King Charles, as well as Ben Howard, The Maccabees and many more (info here.)

You can get Wilder Mind, from the band's official store here, and check out the band's upcoming tour/festival dates here.

WATCH: Cage The Elephant - 'Come A Little Closer'

By no means a new video, I just stumbled across this and had to share. Cage The Elephant are a band who first came to my attention a few years ago with their track Shake Me Down, and whom I was reminded of on the live coverage of Reading and Leeds last year, with their skilled and energetic performance making me fairly jealous of a friend who was in the crowd at Reading. I've never actually purchased one of their records but they're pretty high up on my wish list... with tracks such as Ain't No Rest For The Wicked and Cigarette Daydreams maintaining my interest. The latter track is taken from their newest offering, Melophobia, which also features the above track Come A Little Closer.

LISTEN: Fred Abbott - 'Funny How Good It Feels'

Sticking with the post Noah & The Whale theme that came about with my recent review of Matt Owens debut solo record, another member of the band, Fred Abbott, is also soon to release a solo record, entitled Serious Poke. Above is the first offering from the record, the rather ironically feel-good track Funny How Good It Feels, held together by a fun drum pattern and showcasing some pretty clever guitar play. As a solo record, being released independently through Lojinx, there's far less of the commercial pressures that would've come alongside a NATW record, allowing Fred (and a few of his Noah bandmates who also played on the record) to be more experimental creatively. The track is a great hint of what's to come from Fred's album, which is expected on July 20th.

WATCH: Balloon Ascents - 'Cutout'

Check out this new video from Balloon Ascents for their track Cutout. It's a pretty nice track with a really brilliant bassline, from the talented local band who are causing quite a stir already in both the local and national music scenes, with the Oxford Times labelling them as 'terrifyingly talented'. I saw them play at a Sofar Sounds gig earlier in the year, as well as an impressive stripped back set at Truck Store recently. Last week I saw them play a set at the O2 Academy Oxford on May Day, where I had my first ever photo pass for a 'proper' gig. The lighting at the gig wasn't that helpful, but I managed to salvage some shots and put a few up on my Flickr here. 

The band's self-titled four track EP released earlier this year is available on iTunes and features Cutout as well as a personal favourite, The Only One. 

LISTEN: Matt Owens - 'Songs For An Empty Room'

After a successful run and four brilliant records, indie rock band Noah & The Whale announced a split of sorts a month ago. I'm a huge fan of their music, particularly favouring their second album The First Days of Spring, and naturally I was pretty gutted, but glad to know that the band were all continuing to make music. Lead singer Charlie Fink has hinted at solo work with a new website and Soundcloud, while Fred Abbott is working on a solo record, and Tom Hobden tours with Mumford & Sons.

Matt Owens (AKA Urby Whale) is also releasing a solo record, which I was lucky enough to get my hands on and absolutely adore. He’s currently playing tons of London gigs with an impressive band (interestingly entitled The Delusional Vanity Project) comprising of Tom, Fred and Michael of NATW, with George Leigh on bass and Tom Figgins on guitar. Last weekend I went along to a show at Proud Camden (a slightly surreal club experience but I won’t go into that) and they played a superb set, showcasing the range of the record, which goes from rough rock (think I made that up) to stunning violin solos within moments. After the set I introduced myself to the band who were all lovely guys and pretty shocked that I’d travelled from Oxford for the show, and with whom I got to chat with before dashing for the last train.

Matt’s record is titled Songs For An Empty Room, a hint at the difficulties involved in starting over again, though I must admit that I admire that he hasn’t chosen to use the NATW social platforms to get an instant, large response to his music, instead building up a new following in his own right. In our discussion last weekend he told me about the interesting process of recording the album live over a couple of days, with much of the album being authentic to its original recording. This comes across on the record in a fantastic way, allowing for the brilliant songwriting and arrangements to be foregrounded without being overshadowed by fancy effects. For me, a highlight of the record is its range, going from the slow Everything’s Got It’s Place (listen on the album sampler above) with it’s beautiful violin solo two minutes in, to the lively The Harbour In Kinsale. A particular favourite of mine is Jack Does Hollywood, which is what you might call a murder ballad, sung from the perspective of Jack the Ripper, which sounds strange admittedly but works and is catchy in its own haunting way.

Overall, the album is refreshing and a favourite of mine so far this year, showing promise for the other upcoming post-NATW releases. You can listen to a sampler of the record above and take a look at the upcoming gigs here (mostly in London) - can’t recommend enough that you go and see the guys live if you get the chance!

WATCH: Dawes - 'Things Happen'

In all my excitement I forgot to post about this... but better late than never. The superb American folk-rock band Dawes have a new album, titled All Your Favourite Bands which is set to be released on June 2nd (info.) I was first introduced to the band through Mumford & Sons, as they supported them on their UK tour at the end of 2012, playing a superb set, and I’ve been desperate to see them live again ever since playing a show in their own right. Taken from the record is the first single Things Happen, which on the exterior is a fairly sad song and video, but culminates in a pretty inspiring moral - ‘things happen, that’s all they ever do’ (so get on with it!) I can't wait to hear more from this new record and hope that the band include the UK in the album touring schedule!

LISTEN: Everything Everything - 'Regret'

When they released new track Distant Past, I already had high hopes for Everything Everything’s new record, Get To Heaven (out June 15th.) These hopes were realised when I saw the band play a superb set in London earlier this month, playing 7 or 8 tracks from the new record. One of these tracks was a song called Regret which was pretty impressive live, oozing single material and showcasing the diverse singing style of the band’s lead, Jonathan Higgs. The track premiered last night on Radio 1, and you can listen to the audio above.

LIVE: Sofar Sounds at 3Space Oxford (17/4/15)

Source: Megan Seekings

Very cool to have had my photos from the last Sofar Sounds show shared by the venue which hosted us on their blog here: http://3spaceoxford.tumblr.com/post/11717895981. We had a brilliant evening of live music from Rex Domino, Bellatrix, Dizraeli and The Slow Show.