- 5 Hot Tracks You Need To Hear - 26 March, 2014
- 5 Hot Tracks You Have To Hear - 12 March, 2014
- Introducing – Bipolar Sunshine - 28 February, 2014
After Amy Harvey brought you her top five tracks you should have heard, now here are five you may not have yet heard yet. So once again, pop the kettle on, put your feet up (if possible, if you’re stuck in an office, I apologise) and listen to 20 minutes of pure musical bliss.
Klaxons – ‘There Is No Other Time’
After announcing on Twitter that they were going back into the studio in 2012, Klaxons have finally treated us to some tasty techno beats ahead of their new album- ‘Love Frequency’ due for release in June 2014. ‘There is no other time’ is undeniably a new sound for Klaxons-a far cry from their rough and ready, Casio keyboards and distorted guitar mash-up sound circa ‘Myths of the Near Feature.’ It’s a cleaner sounding, more commercial approach to their old model of writing which some more die-hard fans might find a little hard adjusting to at first, but as somewhat of an ex-indie cindy/Klax-head myself I’m definitely on board and backing the new Klaxon vibes.
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George Ezra – ‘Cassy O’
If Ben Howard was the king of acoustic in 2013, then George Ezra is definitely in contention for the throne in 2014. Ezra is a breath of fresh air for the acoustic market; instead of spitting lyrics with an almost polite pronunciation, Ezra’s unrepentant blues drawl is bold, audacious and is a surprisingly mature sound for this shy bright young thing. Following on from the feel good ‘Benjamin Twine,’ ‘Cassy-O’ is a cheery, upbeat slice of brilliant acoustic song writing and sounds like a ready-made summer soundtrack which I’m 95% sure will be used on at least one festival best bits montage over the summer.
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Metronomy – ‘Love Letters’
Whilst achieving notable success with their straight-outta-the-Eighties synth fest record ‘The English Riviera,’ Metronomy have taken their retro sound a step further into days gone by- this time drawing inspiration from the psychedelic Sixties. Obviously injecting it with a heady dose of electronica piano hooks, proving they still have a soft spot for their electronic roots. The result is positively timeless- ‘Love Letters’ sounds like a Motown original with its catchy chorus hook, embellished with female vocals and a jazzy brass solo outro. Metronomy might really be onto something with this Motown inspired sound- which really sets them apart from other electronic outfits who haven’t been able to seamlessly evolve as the Devon four-piece have.
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Paolo Nuitini- ‘Scream (Funk My Life Up)’
Continuing with the theme of come backs and new-sounds, say hello to the latest sound from Scottish heartthrob Paolo Nutini- ‘Scream (Funk My Life Up)’. It seems that for this latest offering Nutini has started to unapologetically embrace a sophisticated soul and blues sound- favouring gospel backing vocals, brass sections and funky bass lines over his former acoustic set-up . Let’s put it this way, he’s come a long way since ‘Last Request.’ One thing that remains constant however, is Nutini’s soulful drawl which will always be a joy to listen to, and really seems to compliment and suit this new bluesy sound more than anything else he’s ever recorded before.
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Coldplay – ‘Magic’
Whenever Coldplay announce a new record, it’s ALWAYS going to make it onto near enough every track list/playlist…so hence we are also going to be ending on a rather predictable note! For Coldplay ‘Magic’ is a fairly restrained and subtle sound. Chris Martin’s falsetto makes a notable appearance but we can’t ignore the addition of a looped drum beat and a few more electronic melodies than the average Coldplay fan is comfortable with, but the rumbling guitars and delicate piano keep it within the realms of their trademark normcore sound we all know and love. The emotion doesn’t smack you straight between the eyes like former anthems ‘Yellow’ or ‘Viva La Vida’- but after 18 years they’ve really nailed the ‘less is sometimes more’ approach which is wholly demonstrated in this track. Bravo Coldplay- you can’t argue much with 6 million video views.
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