Maddy Storm’s ‘Tempest’ is deliciously turbulent. It opens with a note of longing, before a rousing drumbeat and exploratory vocals flick open the emotions like a brilliant blade of sound.
Author: Emily Oldfield
Lover of music, poetry and Manchester.
TRACK OF THE DAY: Sophie Morgan – ‘Quietly’
Sophie Morgan is a singer-songwriter from the North West of England, based in Cheshire but born in Liverpool– you can still hear a wave-like resonance in the undulations of her singing voice. Her vocals, which carry forward reflective, emotive soundscapes – are infused with stories, setting her out from other musicians and markedly distinct for […]
TRACK OF THE DAY: Hannah Nicholson – ‘Oliver’
Hannah Nicholson opens up a story in a song to the listener in her latest track ‘Oliver’. Having previously performed as one half of the Manchester based psych-folk duo Bird to Beast, now she goes solo, channelling her classically-trained voice into the turbulence of lone emotion – and it is very rewarding indeed.
TRACK OF THE DAY: The Travelling Band – ‘Into The Water’
‘Into The Water’ is the latest track from Manchester-based The Travelling Band and is a song which sends us into summer with warm harmonies, guitars glistening with reverb and real feeling.
ALBUM REVIEW: Will Stratton – ‘Rosewood Almanac’
Will Stratton’s ‘Rosewood Almanac’ has an enchanting title – and this feeds further into the enchanting quality of the music. In the American’s debut release on the label Bella Union, he seems to consider the content of an ‘almanac’ – a calendar of important dates and figures – and applies it to emotion. In ten […]
In Conversation with…JACK CHESHIRE
Jack Cheshire could be considered proof that in a music industry full of pressure for productivity and races to put out records, taking time over the creative process can have a profound quality that makes it worth it. The Bath-born, psych-folk musician has spent 11 months holed away working on his fourth album ‘Black Light […]
LISTEN: Talmont – ‘Wilt’
South East London three-piece Talmont have been busy working on their first single of 2017 – ‘Wilt’ is released on the 14th April, welcoming a fusion of their signature jazz-style harmonies but now in the grip of growth takes us into new depths.
LISTEN: Oddnesse – ‘Scream’
‘Scream’ is a single which manages to combine the weighty imagery of the natural world with well-crafted intimacy, and the final track from a series of four to be showcased from LA’s Oddnesse.
PREMIERE: Josey Marina – ‘Heavy’
Simple lyrics which seethe with multiple meanings under the sounds of the words themselves, woven into much bigger, blistering soundscapes – that is the impression of the work of Stockport-based musician, singer and songwriter Josey Marina. Her latest track ‘Heavy’ does not disappoint.
EP REVIEW: Lindi Ortega – ‘Til The Goin’ Gets Gone’
Lindi Ortega’s forthcoming EP ‘Til The Goin’ Gets Gone’ – available worldwide March 17, 2017 – is a visitation of American pasts, pulled into the present and made personable through sparse, scaled down production and seeping soprano. It tells us the importance of voices in our history as well as the here-and-now; especially evocative considering […]
TRACK OF THE DAY: Jack Cheshire – ‘Join The Dots’
‘Join the Dots’ is a much more complex track than its title suggests, immediately inviting us into intrigue and the search for meaning. Consider it a game – and far from a child’s.
LISTEN: Haunt The Woods – ‘Beautiful Catastrophe’
‘Beautiful Catastrophe’ is a new track from Devon-based Haunt The Woods – a four piece who blend progressive rock with folk, creating music which manages to deal with mourning and yet retains the optimism of movement at the same time.
TRACK OF THE DAY: Rosie Carney – ‘Awake Me’
‘Awake Me’ manages to achieve a rare balance – although it could be classified in the ambient genre, it is a track which still possesses the power to move you, inside.
EP REVIEW: Sunstack Jones – ‘Days Stand Still’
Sunstack Jones sound like summer, even when listening in winter- and I like them for it. Their sound strings together the positive power of a number of genres; I hear bits of beach, elements of shoegaze, twangs of country, pieces of jangle pop – and it comes together with a rewarding warmth.
EP REVIEW: Hannah Ashcroft – ‘The Quiet Kind’
‘The Quiet Kind’ from Hannah Ashcroft offers so much more than the title suggests – it is the opportunity to journey through sound.
TRACK OF THE DAY: Mosa Wild – ‘Smoke’
Christmas – a time of year when emotions seem intensified, people longing for the company of a special someone, and often covering great distances in order to do so. A track which seems to capture the intensity of this sensation is ‘Smoke’, the new single from Ashford-based four-piece Mosa Wild; poignant indie which invites you […]
TRACK OF THE DAY: Temples of Youth – ‘Divide’
“Awake a nation fallen, England we cannot sleep” – these lines alone have the power to stir something deep within the listener, drawing not only on personal unrest, but a time of political uncertainty. Music offers an assurance – in the new single ‘Divide’ from Temples of Youth – the electronic duo from Winchester show that […]
TRACK OF THE DAY: Cloves – ‘Better Now’
Cloves is a singer-songwriter with something magical up her sleeve. The track ‘Better Now’ opens with a simple acoustic melody, topped with her emotive vocals. The loose half-rhyme of ‘happy’ and ‘just for a moment I’m free’ lure us into what seems a folk-tinged reflection on self-identity and a relationship. A character who is ‘better […]
TRACK OF THE DAY: We Were Strangers – ‘Unforgiving War’
‘Unforgiving War’ is one of those tracks which has the power to capture a moment of intensity – in this case a couple on a road trip – but communicates it in such a way that it speaks volumes. The song not only conveys movement, but creates it, as we are involved in a journey […]
TRACK OF THE DAY: Luke De-Sciscio – ‘Vivid Love’
Think music so intimate, all that is needed is a guitar and vocals to guide us into new sensations. That is the effect of the work of Luke De-Sciscio, and his track ‘Vivid Love’ from forthcoming album ‘Gossamer Rose’.