Recap
Happy New Year to all you peaches! December was full of finding new music that's usually out of my comfort zone. The first gig of the month was the result of getting mashed in Wetherspoons at 2pm after lectures and thinking 'why not' to getting a ticket for Lany that night. Next thing I know we're piled into my mates car on our way to Bristol to what was quite easily the most visually pleasing gig I've been to. I hate to admit that I'd never properly listened to Lany before that night but everything they did from the music to the lighting and stage energy was insane.
The next day I stayed the night in London to see my sound of the summer; Blackbear. I went to Shepherds Bush Empire with some friends from back home who are die hard BB fans, which made the night so much better. I've never felt so emotional watching an artist come on stage and opening with 'hell is where i dreamt of u and woke up alone'. With now a repertoire of four albums (five including his collaboration with Mike Posner, Mansionz), a hand full of EPs and the best cover of Smash Mouth - All Star, Bb had a lot of material to experiment with. One of my favourite moments from the gig was his soulful jazzy rendition of 'if i could i would feel nothing', besides waiting 2 hours in the rain after the show to meet him (100% worth it).
The weekend following was yet another spontaneous last minute decision to go see Pete Tong at Switch Southampton. This was probably the firs time I'v ever been to a fulll on techno night and boi was it good. After his set I spent the majority of the night in the bunker skanking away until one of my mates had come to the realisation that he had fucked it.
EPs
CaveTown – Lemon Boy
If you remember back in March/April, me and the gals of Violet Flares got to the under 18’s final for the Cambridge Band Competition. One of the contestants from the over 18’s final was 18-year-old Robin, or better known as Cavetown, who won the judges and the whole competition over with nothing but himself and his guitar, being the only soloist to make it to the final that year (similarly to Tom the previous year).
Last month the music video for Lemon Boy blessed our YouTube screens, along with his 12 track album which came out on new years day (which you can listen to right here). I've always thought everything about Cavetown is just incredibly wholesome and would compare his latest work to the likes of Newton Faulkner, Walk Off The Earth and The Weepies. Cavetown’s twitter is innocently hilarious, as well as his YouTube channel in which his pet Chameleon makes various cameos.
Links
Deep City - 15:16
Deep City had a mad 2017, winning the NMG Best Under 18's award for the second year in a row, releasing their single 'Wht Happened', countless gigs and festivals and last month they finally gave us their first EP, 15:16. This short but sweet record is for the lovers of dark-pop guitar bands and atmospheric sampling similar to The 1975 and Pale Waves. If you've seen these guys live then you'll instantly recognise their classics Time, L.O.V.E. and Recognise Me from over the past year or so. You can catch them at The Hunter Club, Bury St Edmund's on the 26th of January where they'll play at the first heat of BurySOUND.
Big Slammu - 'Music'
I was so confused but hella exited when I found out that the boys at everybody fave Brighton based t-shirt hustlers Conch Clothing have been working on a six track EP called 'Music', which is now available for free (how kind ah). Listening to the tracks, it sounds like a perfect audio representation of their clothing. Being a bit trippy, a lil weird and experimental in a way that sounds like a few guys creatively having a few to many cans; using samples from iconic vines, obscure sounds and funky guitars. They say "this album is best enjoyed loud and accompanied by a couple of cans of a supermarket own brand lager tin of your own choice".
Links
Tracks
George Fitzgerald – Burns
This is a track my mum told me I had to listen to (so
thankful for my mother’s taste in music). I didn’t really appreciate how much
of a banger it was until it came on during Mongo’s set at the Pete Tong night at Switch. Hearing that song on the full sound system in the club,
with the strobes going and everyone around you getting on it, turns it into one
of those tracks that fills every corner of the venue and quite frankly made me
lose my mind as it was the last thing I’d expect to hear that night. George
Fitzgerald is like a more minimalistic Royksopp and has a great use of sampling
as its main foundation to the tracks. 
Links
Dates
Blackbear - playboy shit (ft. lil aaron)
I’m surprised that it’s only now I’ve put Blackbear into the
absolute bangers, as he has legit been my top artist for the year. The new
album CyberSex is way more edgy, less sensitive and plain ruthless compared to
his previous records. After showing Cybersex to one of my friends who hadn’t
listened to BB before, the first thing they said was that ‘Blackbear songs
don’t sound like real songs’ which made so much sense to me even though I’d
never thought of it like that before. In short, (even though he’s anything
but), Blackbear is the perfect pop music for people who hate pop music. Playboy Shit is my favourite track from the album as it harmonically plays a subtle homage to the Deadroses era.
LANY – Dumb Stuff
LANY is for sure the type of band you’d hear on a Hollister
store playlist. Kind of 1975-y, a little bit Years & Years, definitely
glittery and dreamy. They opened the O2 Academy Bristol with Dumb Stuff, the first track on their debut self titled album which is saturated with sparkly arpeggios, beautiful synths and atmospheric goodness. Super Far is another fave of mine from the album, which is a lot more stripped back.
Links
The Japanese House - Good Side In
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