New Waves.. Swim Deep - 'Crush'

Ladies and gents, what is this? A post? An actual post!?

Alas, I am back from the wilderness, and what better way to get us back on good, loving terms than giving you some of the loverly Swim Deep. The "B-Town" (can we just say 'Birmingham/Brum' yet?) band have unveiled the bonus track from their forthcoming debut album, Where The Heaven Are We. I admit, I find myself asking this question of Swim Deep myself, for that album appears to have been pushed back; I'm sure it was due out in June? Ah well, who cares, when we have a new nugget of noise to whet out appetites.

'Crush' is the sort of Swim Deep affair that made us latch onto them in the first place; this isn't the emotional and atmospheric sister of 'She Changes The Weather', this is the slightly awkward adolescent brother squeezed somewhere in between 'King City' and 'Honey' that is attempting to be sultry and vying to get himself noticed. Austin and Co are on top form here, with the singer stating 'Take my breath and make me crush, talk real slow so I won't rush, take me some place I won't wanna be' over an intensifying, glimmering guitar. If this is the bonus track that they're willing to share now, I'm looking forward to the rest of the album!

The bonus track itself is available when you pre-order on iTunes.
Where The Heaven Are We is also available in CD and vinyl direct from the Swim Deep Store.

http://swim-deep.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SWIMDEEPUK
https://soundcloud.com/swimdeep

New Waves.. Superfood - 'Superfood'

It was one of those situations. You know the one, when you initially come across something for the first time, and upon listening/watching/experiencing you are hit by an immediate stab of dislike, irritation or plain old apathy. Well, when I first listened to this song, my initial response was 'meh', however since then it has been absorbed by my subconscious, and has revolved around my brain to the extent that I now actually...

Love. This. Song.

It's one of those songs that - for me anyway - gradually grew addictive, like the sugary contents of E-numbers that you have hidden in your draw (I know you do...). It brings to mind Weezer, quite groovy on the verses, and the rather grungy chorus of 'YOU'RE ALWAYS HUNGRY!' that begs to be sang/shouted/screeched along to at some drunken indie disco or, if you don't get out much, your shower will have to do.

But, yeah... I'm always hungry.

You can download the track for freeeee here and you can currently catch them on tour in the UK (along with JAWS) supporting Peace (already got my tickets, go get yours)!

So, what are your thoughts on Superfood? Are you aching for more? 

https://www.facebook.com/superfoodjunk
https://soundcloud.com/superfood
https://twitter.com/superfoodjunk

New Waves.. Swim Deep - 'She Changes The Weather'

It's been all about Peace for me lately, so much so that in my little music bubble, fellow Birmingham band Swim Deep had almost ceased to exist. Never fear, however! The B-Town boys are back with this beauty that goes by the name of 'She Changes The Weather'.

Swim Deep just seem to keep getting better and better; the intro to this song is delicately accompanied by violins before rolling atmospherically into a mid-tempo rush of heat fueled emotion, it is easily the most mature song that the band have produced yet, and makes every song that preceded it feel positively clunky in comparison. The chorus 'She takes my time, and I don't mind, she makes me feel like, like I can see for miles/ She changes the weather in my bones, seems like it's never getting cold' certainly makes singer Austin Williams sound like a man falling hopelessly in love for the first time, and the song manages to feel effortlessly timeless, with the band creating an atmosphere that will no doubt be memory evoking for anyone that becomes attached to it.

Swim Deep's debut album, Where The Heaven Are We, is to be released 29th July and includes previous singles 'King City', 'Honey' and 'The Sea'.

http://www.facebook.com/SWIMDEEPUK
https://soundcloud.com/swimdeep
http://swim-deep.tumblr.com/
https://twitter.com/SWIM_DEEP

Rapid Review.. Peace - 'In Love (Deluxe Edition)'

So, any self-respecting Peace fan has most definitely heard the album by now, after it was streamed in its entirety via NME.com. I could have reviewed it then, like every other music blogger/vlogger/journo-nut did, HOWEVER I abstained, and waited resolutely for my signed deluxe copy to drop through the post.

This was not helped however, by this God awful weather that has swooped upon the nation. We are 5 days from April. NO APRIL NEEDS SNOW! Whilst it may look pretty, the novelty dies rather rapidly (aka. as soon as you step outside) and this as had the unsavoury repercussion of keeping my local postie from my fine looking door. But today - finally (OK, OK, 1 day after release date is not bad, though I was hoping for it to arrive in advance) - Peace's album finally found its way into my eager mitts.

The debut album by the Birmingham four-piece, In Love, speaks of, well, love. It's music has a rosy tinted glow, it's warm and inviting, and would definitely be the perfect soundtrack to a chilled out summer evening, similar to fellow "B-Town" name-makers, Swim Deep. As we well know, every single/EP song that has preceded has so far exceeded the last - 'Bloodshake', 'California Daze', 'Wraith', 'Follow Baby' (see what I had to say about the new re-recorded version) - and such a high standard resulted in my overly high expectations for this album. Were they met? Well, the more I listen to In Love, the more I think so.

'Higher Than The Sun' hits the ground running; if a Peace virgin were to hear this song, they would know exactly what they are letting themselves in for, it epitomises exactly what Peace are about - optimism, love and fun. Because Peace are a fun band, as evidenced by the second song 'Follow Baby' - so good they released it twice. As stated in one of my previous posts, the song manages to feel familiar (The Horrors, Nirvana) yet unique at the same time, though I do still prefer the scuzzier vocal of the original version. 'Lovesick' recalls The Cure's 'Friday, I'm In Love', whilst the ever indulgent 'Wraith' still retains its glow. Things slow down for the first time with 'Float Forever' - a song which sounds deceivingly like its fellow album inhabitant 'California Daze' which, in the boxing ring, still emerges as the superior song.

It is midway through the album that we encounter the first of the In Love (Deluxe) bonus tracks (they have been interspersed throughout). 'Drain' is a song that has managed to forge itself a very special place within my heart. After the singles which, whilst having not lost their sparkle, have lost that early addictive satisfaction that comes when first falling in love with a song, 'Drain' is the song that really hits home with me, so much so that I find it positively scandalous that it is not included in the standard version of In Love, as it feels like such a pivotal benchmark within the album. Whilst at times Peace can feel rather precise, there is a deconstructed segment that makes the listener do a double take - as does the deceivingly premature ending found a little later on, it is the gem that standard edition owners have been robbed of. For me at least, the rest of the album is certainly a 'post-Drain' affair. That said, 'Delicious', 'Waste Of Paint', 'Toxic' and 'Sugarstone' are all what we'd expect from Peace, with 'Waste Of Paint' being a particular '90's infused anthem with a killer chorus. Other bonus tracks 'Step A Little Closer', 'Scumbag' and the Peace song, 'Bloodshake' only enhance what it an already strong album. Songs that I'd earmark for future singles would be 'Lovesick' and 'Waste Of Paint'.

Have Peace changed the indie rock world? The long and short of it is 'no', but it is not something for which I care, as for all their influences worn on the cuffs of their gaudy vintage shirts, Peace embody everything good about the nostalgia wave and re-work it into something fresh and relevant - because Peace can write good songs! - and quite frankly, this is all that I care about! ;D

Standard CD(10 track), Deluxe CD(14 track) and vinyl and MP3 editions of In Love are out now.

http://peaceforeverever.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/peaceforeverever
https://soundcloud.com/p-e-a-c-e
https://twitter.com/PEACE4EVEREVER

New Waves.. Peace - 'Wraith'

I know, I know, the latest Peace single has been floating around the blogosphere/cyberspace since approximately November, but it finally got its official release last Sunday, and having it ready for my repeatable disposal has left me suitably obsessed enough to write a review.

'Wraith' itself is a beaut of a tune. I admit, a had practically dismissed Peace after hearing the opening of 'Bloodshake' - I did not require a new Friendly Fires! - but upon seeing the accompanying video for 'Wraith', I turned back and scouted out all of their other songs.

It's official; I love them! The only downside to finding a new band to fawn over (I've been lacking a new favouritist band ever for what feels like, well, forever), is the lack of material to satisfy my appetite  but alas, an EP and 2 singles shall have to suffice til the album is out later this year, and Peace are in my opinion, unlike NME's chosen flavour of the year; Palma Violets, worth all the fuss.

Peace manage to straddle the pop vs. indie crossover fence perfectly, and 'Wraith' encapsulates this, and with a video odd enough to keep you watching til the end, albeitone that is totally and utterly sexist and objectifying (TWERK GALORE!- yes, you read right). I can't help but value the song 10,000x more than the video itself. Despite this, make sure that you check it out above, they're gonna be huge :)

'Wraith' and last  year's Delicious EP are both available now.

http://peaceforeverever.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/peaceforeverever
https://soundcloud.com/p-e-a-c-e

New Waves.. Swim Deep - 'Honey'

Swim Deep is summer, and 'Honey' is a sun trap. OK, it's the wrong time of year and the Birmingham band aren't likely to see much seas or sand, but despite the harsh winter wind and balaclava inducing weather, I'm sure we can all manage to kid ourselves that tropical heat is somewhere on the far too distant horizon.

The song plods along in a chilled out manner, and the lyrics relate as an ode towards not wasting your life a la 'And don’t you dream in your sleep it’s just lazy''. But, to be honest, who can resist, when the sound of Swim Deep just makes you want to laze around and enjoy the view. Best enjoyed with a beer and a reclining sun lounger.

The band have recently announced their own headline tour February 2013.

14th Southampton Joiners
15th Birmingham Temple (HMV)
16th Leeds Brudenell Social Club
17th Manchester Soup Kitchen
18th Nottingham Bodega
19th Sheffield Plug
20th York Duchess
22nd Glasgow King Tut's
23rd Liverpool Kazimier
24th Bristol Thekla
25th Norwich Open
26th London XOYO
27th Brighton Green Door Store

'Honey' is OUT NOW.

http://soundcloud.com/swimdeep
http://www.facebook.com/SWIMDEEPUK
http://swim-deep.tumblr.com/
https://twitter.com/SWIM_DEEP

Life update!

Apologies, cyber denizens, but this blog has taken a backseat these past two weeks! It's taken me a while to get back into the swing of things with some early days and late nights and prioritising my activities is becoming a must!

Last week, I started back at university for my second year on an English and Creative Writing course. We were told during our first year (practically a taster year for different subjects) that it didn't count towards our degree, and that our highest credits during out second and third years would give us our ratio, therefore I'm more determined this year to do all my required reading (which is a hell of a lot of reading!) and complete all of my assignments in good time!

I also plan on making the most of the opportunities that being a part of the university community throws my way, and intend to take part in the student magazine and even possibly join the student radio team. My department were also advertising for novice copywriters, so that may also be something that I'd like to try, with the possibility of being paid.

Apart from that, there's this blog, which I plan on upkeeping, and hopefully, when I feel that my writing is of a good enough quality, I'll start throwing reviews and the like at music websites and build up a little portfolio! I also plan on getting back into writing regularly, as is par for the (uni) course.

I'd also like to try my hand at customising denim jackets. I know, I know, I've mentioned the whole clothes thing in previous posts, but it feels rather large scale, and the denim customising is something that I can do easily on my own without having to rely on anyone else yet, and also without the expense of printing. I've found a lot of nice materials so Hobbycraft, here I come!

Anyway, my gift for the day/week/month! The Maccabees at this year's Reading Festival, I've been listening to them a lot all week :)

Nice busy week!

Ladies and gents - I am ill!

Yes, that's right, a sore throat that i had been nursing since Friday/Saturday decided to mutate into full blown flu by Sunday, and I felt so rotten that I really couldn't be bothered to try and write some of the things that I'd planned to do in the past week.

Talking of that past week, it had been nice and busy for a change! The Jubilee bank holidays meant that we had extra 'family time' and myself, my Mom and my step-dad decided to travel to the countryside for a day out, but that pretty much failed due to our having a useless sat-nav and our getting place names/post codes wrong!

I've been to the cinema a few times this week, first on Tuesday to see Prometheus (good, but not quite great!) and then again on Saturday to see Snow White and the Huntsmen, largely so me and my bestie, Di, could oggle Thor and his mighty arms, although Kristen Stewart's one facial expression annoyed me quite a bit; she did - just about - crack a smile at the end, but you could tell it was painful!

Wednesday, myself and a few friends trekked around some guitar shops in Birmingham. I didn't try any myself, I admit to feeling a tad intimidated by the place! It was here that we got drenched in a June (!) monsoon - I have not been so soaked in my entire life! No part of me escaped!

Thursday a few of us went around town, and Di met baby Alice for the first time - so cute!

Apart from that, I've been recuperating! Hopefully I'll be posting more regularly this week.

Just one of those days..

That's what yesterday was.

I woke up in an epic mood. Got invited for a day trip to Birmingham with the guys from the band and mutual friend's of ours but turned it down because I wanted to write up a contribution to The Guardian. They advertised a link via Twitter asking for thoughts on the legacy of iconic British punk band, the Sex Pistols to commemorate the Jubilee (35 years ago they unleashed 'God Save the Queen' on a coinciding and infamous jubilee boat trip ).

But first, I wanted music on my iPod.

I left my Japanese Voyeurs B-Sides CD ripping onto iTunes whilst I took a shower and came back to find that my computer had entirely crashed and would now not even turn on, with the CD stuck inside. Now that requires fixing.

Left the house to buy the 2:54 self-titled album only to find nowhere stocking it (I resorted to good ol' reliable Amazon), when I my aunt rang me whilst up town to say there were job vacancies at TK Maxx. I enquired, and the woman that I was speaking to had absolutely no idea what I was going on about. So I got on the bus home when my aunt txt me to say that the jobs were for their distribution centre so I'd have to go there to get a form -_-

I then attempted to write the article at my Nan's (I could write many a detailed page on this topic but was contested with a pretty short word count), and accidentally deleted more than half of what I'd actually written because I was looking at the wrong count.

It was just one of those days and I was close to pulling my hair out!

Luckily, I was due to see a group of my friends up town for our weekly get together and, I won't lie, got intentionally rat-arsed just for the hell of it. It was a good night even though we just ended up doing frequenting our regular haunts - Varsity (a pub where the band played), Babylon (cheesy '80's/ '90's music with 1 playlist), Planet (charmingly dingy rock/metal nightclub), along with a bar called Numa.

A sucky day turned into a great night (from what I remember)!

My Mom has the Jubilee weekend off so we may be venturing out to do something interesting.

Also, not sure if you'll see that Voyeurs review any time soon, given that the disc is stuck in my desktop. If they can't salvage the disc, I'll cry (it was a limited run, number 231 out of 250). Ah wells.

An eventful week!

Soo, the past week seems to have been pretty intense and busy on my front! My final English Language exam (100% for this module, waiting on results - fingers crossed), followed by pretty much completing my first year of university deadlines as well as my Nonna's birthday on the Wednesday (I got her some nice flowers and pretty silk scarf from River Island picturing a Japanese woman in traditional dress, which I can't find a picture of anywhere!). Saw my cousin's end of year dance performance on the Friday (v.good!) before going to my Nonna's birthday meal on Saturday, as well as seeing Irish comedian, Dara O'Briain do his Craic Dealer show at the Wolves Civic on the Sunday; it was a brilliant night!

Dara was a natural at making something funny out of what the audience provided him with (some contributions were pretty diabolical), I'll defintely be seeing him again the next time around and would recommend everyone else do so too!

Monday was spent practising for our first gig and waiting for my Orange amp to arrive (Crush 100BXT Bass), which cut it pretty fine by arriving at about 6 o'clock at night after I'd been waiting on it for approximately 2 and a half weeks!

The gig was on the Tuesday night, as mentioned in the previous post! I have to say, I have never been more nervous for anything in my entire life! Not even when I started uni did I experience nerves such as this! Restlessness, shakes, shallow breathing, I was a wreck! We played five songs, a cover of Yuck's 'Get Away' (vid below) followed by an original song, 'Forgot Me Too' (also below), a cover of Nirvana's 'About A Girl' (again provided below), then followed by two more original songs, 'Sleepwalker' and 'Don't Follow Me'.

The gig went better than I'd thought it would; I didn't drop any plecs on the floor to hunt for mid song! - and even though I myself know that I made a few minor mistakes, the audience didn't notice, and we received a lot of positive feedback which was pleasing!

After that, the week has been pretty quiet. Myself and some friends travelled to Birmingham for a day's shopping in the sun (it's been spectacularly hot this week!), where we mooched through some vintage shops such as COW, where I bought a khaki vest/blouse which I'll probably post about soon!

It's been pretty relaxed since then! I've spent some time drawing, writing, watching Eurovison,The Matrix and Lord of the Rings and trying to teach myself some chords on my old acoustic (I'm the "bass player") which is another challenge that I've set myself. Apart from that, I'll most likely be clearing out my wardrobe in order to sell some of my clothes and other possessions on eBay. I doubt this week will be as eventful as the past week or so, but I'll try my best to make it so!

Til next time :)

Zwei.

Hello again!

Here's a picture that I drew of Alec Turner!

Looking back at my last post (almost a year and a half ago!) it's pretty clear to say that I've got lost along the way in regards to this blog. An update is in order! So after some minor layout changes, I've decided to re-motivate myself into doing something productive on here. In the past year, I'm glad to report that I have successfully passed my A-Levels (in English Language, Media, History, and an AS in Art)and got accepted into university. After some deliberation and soul searching, I decided to not to move away to Nottingham to study English and Media. It was an ambition of mine to move away and make steps towards becoming more independent, a large part of which was to do with trying to build my confidence as well as - let's admit it! - wanting to participate in the 'stereotypical uni experience'! Putting it bluntly, I chickened out, switched my firm choice to English and Creative Writing at Birmingham City University and continued living at home for my first year of study which, due to the common first year undertaken by all students in the English department before we separate onto our different routeways for years 2 and 3, was somewhat underwhelming and non-motivating due to my not really studying what I had signed up to study. Thankfully, in the second year I get to choose my own modules and am looking forward to studying Creative Writing and Life Writing (what I actually signed up for!) as well as Children's Fiction and Contemporary Theatre!

My personal life has also undergone some changes in some regards. I'm trying to build my confidence as mentioned previously, and in the past year I made a promise to myself to say 'yes' to challenging situations instead of avoiding them as my natural instinct would tell me to. OK, so I was inspired by 'Yes Man', but it really is surprising how much more interesting and enjoyable life gets if you just say 'yes'! Going to university by myself (the majority of my friends stayed at the local uni or moved further afield) meant that I was responsible for making my own friends instead of inheriting them through others. This may sounds trivial to the majority of you, but as a pretty shy person, this was a big deal for me, and I admit, I was petrified! Similarly, I was invited to play bass in my friend's band around Christmas time! As I had only sporadically played an acoustic and bass guitar around the age of 10 or 11, this was quite a challenge to accept and I did so readily, as I felt that I was lacking some purpose since starting uni, perhaps because it wasn't what I expected it to be, or because I had been so comfortable in my personal situation for so long (steady friends and routines through high school and college) that all of this change unsettled me mentally for a while. Anyways! I practiced and tried my hardest, finding motivation through needing to be at an adequate level or so for my bandmates, and recently we played our first gig at the Wolverhampton Varsity for a charity night, raising money and awareness for SENSE, a deaf-blind charity! We are officially the last band to ever play the venue, as Wolverhampton University is sadly buying the building to turn it into offices. I won't lie however, I am far more excited to be standing on the same stage where Muse - yes, that Muse! - once performed on! It is very likely that I was standing on the same spot where Matt Bellamy once stood, allow me my fan-girling please!

Other than that, I have (so far) passed all of my modules at uni without having to resit, become even tighter with my group of friends, and now that I am free for the summer, intend to job-hunt and paint and draw the summer away, hopefully aiming to sell some of my paintings or get commissions if I get good enough. I also really want to take this blog more seriously, so this time I mean it when I say 'expect to see reviews'! Music! Film! Books? Plus whatever else is on my mind! Perhaps some creative writing! I definitely need to organise myself better!

Until next time (in the NEAR future):)

Kayleigh

PS: Follow me on Twitter and Instagram, both of my usernames are @ooKayyy :)