New Waves.. Empire Of The Sun - 'Alive'

'Alive' is Empire Of The Sun's first offering since their 2008 debut album, Walking On A Dream. Five years is certainly a good while to wait, especially in the fickle music industry which only tends to humour such sabbaticals from established icons or cult artists.

When it comes to Empire Of The Sun, to me at least, they look how they sound - a tad flamboyant, a little bit weird, and with a healthy dose of fun, all of which hold true in regards to 'Alive'. The track seems perfectly poised to be unleashed on a country that is desperately longing for summer (hello, UK fellows, I'm calling out to y'all), and such honey-glazed synthpop practically comes purpose built for the festival circuit and summer parties.

That said, 'Alive' feels like almost common fodder for Empire Of The Sun, and one could have easily mistaken the song as one from their debut album way back when, and not been any the wiser. Currently, it feels as though the band have not progressed from circa-2008, unless we are to be proven wrong when second album Ice On The Dune is released later this year.

http://empireofthesun.com/
https://www.facebook.com/empireofthesun

New Waves.. Charli XCX - 'What I Like'

Oh yes! - Take a look; it's Charli XCX time again!

The electro-pop starlet is back with the second single from her forthcoming debut album, True Romance (April 16th - not long to wait now, folks!) entitled 'What I Like'. The accompanying video, which was shot of a handheld camera, sees Charli and her friends partying in a hotel, whilst the song, I am glad to report, is in my opinion superior to her previous single, 'You (HA HA HA)', which I found a tad lacklustre lyrically, though I loved the Gold Panda sample. 

'What You Like' starts with a building frenzy of dance beats before climaxing and abating into the uber chilled out chorus, with Charli semi-rapping through the verses in her signiature manner about young love and lazy days (spent smoking who-knows-what, if we're judging from this), stating 'You were like the medicine, the medicine, I wanted more'.

Yeah, so do we Charli!

The release date for 'What I Like' is as of yet unconfirmed. 

True Romance is released April 16th.

http://www.charlixcxmusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/charlixcxmusic

https://twitter.com/charli_xcx

https://soundcloud.com/charlixcx

New Waves.. Jessie Ware - 'Imagine It Was Us'

Ripped from the entrails of an Annie Mac show, 'Imagine It Was Us' - a newly emerged track by soulful UK singer Jessie Ware - is a stomper.

'Imagine It Was Us' is a collaboration with producer Julio Bashmore, with Ware purring 'Are you waiting for something? Tell me, would you wait all night?' over an almost disco sound - an unusual combination perhaps, though it really is catchy. The vocal really recalls Romy Madley Croft from emotional minimalist trio The Xx, whilst the beat feels distinctly retro, a slickly addictive late-'80's/early-'90's club floor-filler that sounds a good deal more uptempo that what we are accustomed to, regarding Ware's sensual 2012 debut album Devotion. If Ware were to continue in such a direction though her solo work, it would certainly be an interesting deviation in sound.

http://jessieware.com/
https://twitter.com/Jessie_Ware
http://www.facebook.com/jessiewaremusic
https://soundcloud.com/jessieware

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