Happy May beautiful readers! (Wow, I really need a new opener, my bad, I can’t help it if I fancy roughly 75% of you…) Since we last met, I’ve been lucky enough to catch a marvellous amount of bands live, had THE BEST RSD EVER, finished uni (although I cried after my law exam, awkwaaard) and enjoyed my freedom with a few Caprihinas. What?! This playlist is three weeks late?! WHATEVER, IT’S MY PLAYLIST AND I’LL DO WHAT I WANT TO, GOD, HAVE A HEART! See that picture below? Yeah, that’s me loving life being uni-free so, basically, my May playlist is something of an amalgamation of tracks that I either A) listened to non-stop when revising, or B) Have partied my arse off to/ cannot wait to see live since the aforementioned. Either way, I hope you enjoy this one and major good luck vibes to everyone studying hard! X
Peace
Remember when I included Swim Deep all those months ago on my December playlist? Well, it appears that Birmingham is having a resurgence of a scene to be proud of in recent times, most lately in the form of Peace. Their track ‘Follow Baby’ begins with dreggy guitar lines and raunchy riffs before Harry Kossier’s hazy vocals are then transcoded into stubborn declarations of “Were gonna live forever, baby”, upheld by exultant cymbals and chimerical backing vocals from the rest of the boys. Full of falsetto stupor, enlightening charm and a video that features a LOT of hot babes frolicking in a load of pink fields, I- for one- can’t wait to see what the boys bring out next.
Bondax
Dance music in the UK is totally at a crossroads right now, SBTRKT’s ground-breaking debut is a distant memory of 2011 it seems and, well, the likes of Julio Bashmore and Toddla T have been filling up clubs and indoctrinating the radio airwaves for several yers now, so who is next to step up to the plate? Meet Bondax, two school friends (George and Adam) of whom are not even close to stepping out of their teenage years yet, making convulsing dance floor fillers guaranteed to get a troop losing their shit like it’s a house rave of the early 90’s all over again. Hailing from Lancaster (LOLZ, who knew country boys knew how to make city girls dance?! ) and set to share various European bills with the likes of Star Slinger and Maribou State, it seems their not quite in the green fields of the North anymore. Breakthrough track ‘You’re So’, spawns total waves of ambience with slick, garage female vocal cuttings and laces of pulsating beats seamlessly weaved together. (Cutting? Laces? Seamlessly? Weaved? Am I making a garment out of this song? No, but it’s so sexy I’d probably wear it if I could…) Before you get too comfortable though, these producers/DJ’s really show where their strengths lie and verge off into combining broken beats and atmospheric keys in a perfect parcel, along with warped moans and atmospheric keys. Oh, and their Facebook page cites their band interests as ‘Rolo yoghurts’, er, I think I just fell in love with them that little bit more.
Beach House
Everyone who is anyone that either remotely checks Pitchfork or Gorilla Vs. Bear on a regular basis (bloody hipsters…) will be very acquainted with Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally by now- also known as Beach House. Unfortunately- and about five years literally too late- this was not me. Friends would say how amazing they were live and how beautiful their self-titled debut and follow-up devotion were, I just didn’t see it til about a year ago- ignorance is so0o0o0o not bliss. Their latest release ‘Bloom’ immediately enraptured me with tracks such as ‘Myth’ and ‘The Hours’ reflecting favourable production over lyrical content but somehow it is one of their best albums to date. In particular, ‘Myth’ showcases burning, deep anecdotes on Legrand’s part and otherworldly, analgesic guitars from Scally, UGH, talk about an achingly dreamy combo. Plus, if you’re familiar with ‘Teen Dream’, think of ‘Bloom’ as having a more blissed-out and self-assured sound a la Norway, capiche?
A$AP ROCKY
Ok, so by now you all totally know that I’m a black girl in a white girl’s body, right? I mean HELLO, A$AP Rocky was totally next on my hitlist. A$AP-who I hear you cry? Well, your loss, where the hell have you been?! Ever since tracks such as ‘Peso’ and the un-missable ‘Purple Swag’ dropped back in 2011 (thanks for ruining everyones’ perception of that word, Tyler…), the music industry has been thriving for something so refreshing. Pffft, sure there is Tyler and Odd Future but, seriously, how long can the word ‘swag’ and a load of hipster cats take you? A$AP Rocky seems well and truly here to stay, after signing a reported $3million deal with Sony (WTF DUDE?!) and his debut being set to drop next month entitled ‘LongLiveA$AP’, already several leaked tracks have caught many a fan and journalists eye. My personal favourite, ‘Celebration’ is an ode to living life to the fullest and notably his rise to fame. With spits such as ‘I could bag your girl in a broken down Chevrolet/ Swag through the talk and I aint even gotta decorate’ being an obvious reference to his recent high rise to fame, followed up by a ludicrously magnificent encompassing hook and looping synths, what’s not to love? Plus, if you’re a fan of the above, check out ‘Goldie’ which is also excellent and literally about to drop. OH AND I’M GOING TO SEE HIM LIVE ON THE 8TH JUNE, YEAH YEAH #NBD!!!!!
Shinies
Shinies are, well…wait what? It appears that Shinies are a group based in Manchester (REPRESENT) who make rock’n’roll with thrusting strings, Yuck vocals and a scuzz that is reminiscent of Girls, dare we say it. WAIT, WHAT?! It appears my fabulous editor (call it what you will but Katie is well and truly ahead of the game) jumped on this dinghy well and truly before me and quite frankly, I couldn’t put it better myself…
The MEN
The Men? No, not those Men, we mean the super cool trio of punks coming straight out of Brooklyn making jagged, unruly and unruly music. To be fair (hear me out here), I could hear this being played twenty minutes before closing time at a ‘rock night’ (You know the type, don’t lie!) and people would still dance, regardless of if they knew what the track was. Sure, that sounds bad BUT IT’S TOTALLY NOT. The Men also have a raw sound of their own, since signing to Sacred Bones and joining fellow label allumini such as Crystal Stilts and Zola Jesus, one really couldn’t pigeon-hole them from this diversity offered alone; that was until they released their debut EP ‘Leave Home’ back in 2011. My personal favourite release of theirs has to be 2012’s ‘Open Your Heart’ thanks to the disruptive shrags, rough drawling vocals and truly overtaking drums- think Harlem meets Black Lips and you’re a getting warmer…
Words: Leah Connolly
