Favourite New Music Discoveries

I'm constantly listening to music but easily forget what I actually liked and what just kind of washed over me, so I thought a new music post was in order. This is partly inspired by a gig I went to in London last week, where I saw a few bands I'd never even listened to before I got tickets. I like opening up to new music, so here are my five favourite recent musical discoveries.

1. Palace

Palace are a four-piece from London, who I literally listened to for the first time today. I reviewed their new track, 'Head Above The Water' and I can't stop listening to it. They're kind of like Foals but with less of the harsh edge, and the vocals are lovely. I'm hoping to see them in October, and fingers crossed getting an interview too!

2. Natalie McCool

Natalie McCool is one of the acts I saw last week at the Sebright Arms. Her stage presence was effortlessly cool and her vocals were incredible. Her tracks are have jaunty pop inflections but aren't limited to merely being categorised as pop. She's pretty unique, and her voice is brilliant.

3. YOUTH

YOUTH was another act last week, and I had a lovely chat with her after her set. Her vocals are killer and her stage presence was so energetic, it was refreshing. Her music combines her amazing voice with fairly simple electronic stuff, but that works to her advantage as it makes the vocals the focal point. She didn't play my favourite track though, but has promised she will at her next gig.

4. Zola Blood

I wrote an introducing article about Hackney-based Zola Blood last week, and I'm still pretty excited about them. My favourite track of theirs is the dreamy 'Play Out', which intricately combines undulating synths and beautiful vocals.

5. Clean Cut Kid

I've had 'Vitamin C' as my go-to morning track all week. It's upbeat, jaunty and just plain lovely. I'm really excited to see what else these guys bring because if this track is anything to go by, they are ones to watch.

I seem to be trying to tailor this blog a bit more towards music, which is probably a good thing. But if I do anything else that's worth writing about, I will probably stick it on here anyway!

Summer Reading List

Although I'm going to be pretty weighed down by the hefty reading lists I already have for my modules next year, I definitely need to find time this summer to read things that I want to read. I'm hoping that I can get myself back into the swing of reading as much as I used to- at least then the plunge into term time won't be quite so daunting.

American Psycho is my first read of the summer. I've managed to read some of it in the sporadic spots of sunshine that I've spent in my garden, and it's style is very gripping. It's pretty intense, but I'm looking forward to finishing it.

I don't think summer would be complete without a proper chick flick - and who better than Bridget Jones? Granted, my love for her did go down a bit during a film adaptation module last year, but I still can't believe I've waited this long to read the third instalment.

I've been meaning to read this sci-fi masterpiece for about a year now. I actually ended up reading another of Dick's novels, A Scanner Darkly, and writing about it for a module. His style is at once effortless and intensely detailed, so the novel that Blade Runner sprang from should be a good read.

Lastly, I need something to fuel my everlasting love for Virginia Woolf. I haven't read anything of hers for a while, not since Mrs Dalloway featuring on one of my modules, so I'm happily going to throw myself into the poetics of this novel.

I'd love to say I'll get reviews up of all of these, but I probably won't...I'll just be content with setting aside time for reading again.

Review: Prides - The Way Back Up

The debut album from Glaswegian trio Prides is finally here. With the album’s lead single, ‘Messiah’ dropping ahead of its release, excitement has been bubbling for the unstoppable force that is the anthemic The Way Back Up.

‘I Should Know Better’ begins the album with punchy beats balanced by Stewart Brock’s consistently brilliant vocals, and a soaring chorus. But Prides do not leave it there. The track is elevated further by its synth counterparts before isolating its vocals, providing an exciting contrast to the anthemic ‘Messiah’. It’s ‘Messiah’ that catapulted Prides into the music world after their performance at 2014’s Commonwealth Closing Ceremony and it remains one of the strongest tracks on the album. ‘Higher Love’ is one of the band’s most recent releases, and its fun opening echoes childhood video game theme tunes.

Prides threaten to “tear it up” in ‘It’s Not Gonna Change’. Its opening’s synth construction reflects CHRVCHES’ work on The Bones Of What You Believe, before it builds to the foot-stomping power found on ‘Messiah’. ‘Out Of The Blue’ enters with a thundering drum, and is one of the catchiest tracks on the album. The band’s strengths lie in their ability to carefully layer repetitive lyrics in their tracks, without making it whiney or dull- which is what works for them on both ‘It’s Not Gonna Change’ and ‘Out Of The Blue’. The album’s title track falls penultimately on the album. Prides sing “We’re closer today and that’s enough”, hailing the album as something of a journey back to the surface. It’s uplifting. Reassuring, even.

Despite the consistent sound of The Way Back Up, there are still a few surprises along the way. ‘Same Mistakes’ is one of these surprises. It shows a softer side to Prides, opening with a carefully picked guitar melody and soothing vocals that showcase their talent behind the electronic work that has made their name. It’s a refreshing the track, providing an interlude from the album’s intensity without being out of place. There’s something beautifully raw about the melancholic ending to the album, too. ‘The Kite String And The Anchor Rope’ takes you by the hand and leads you out with a fading piano melody, making it hard to remember the upbeat excitement of opener ‘I Should Know Better’.

Prides have created something great with The Way Back Up. It’s intense, it’s fun, and it’s full of dreamy synthesisers. If you thought that they would provide an album saturated with anthems like ‘Messiah’, then you were mistaken. This album has diversity, and diversity makes for a winning debut.

My favourite albums of 2015 so far

A lot of publications are showcasing the best that 2015 has offered us in music so far. I'd like to do the same.

Kicking off this list is Wolf Alice's daring debut, My Love Is Cool. After its release, glowing reviews erupted left, right and centre- and mine was no different. I hailed the album as worthy of a five star review for its genre hopping diversity and its raw coolness that make it such a stand out debut.

Favourite tracks: 'Turn To Dust', 'Bros' and 'Silk'.

Summer Camp's Bad Love sparked my attention after watching Beyond Clueless, a highschool movie montage featuring an amazing soundtrack from the band. This was the first album in a while I had got really excited for, and after talking to Elizabeth Sankey on Twitter in the lead up to its release, I was so glad it didn't disappoint (not that I thought it would). The album is full of dreamy pop and excitingly fast-paced lyrics. It's fab.

Favourite tracks: 'Bad Love', 'Run Away' and 'Keep Up'.

Next up is the second album from Lucy Rose, Work It Out. As Rose said, the album is a little bit different- and it is sure to get people dancing. Not that she had anything to prove, but Work It Out shows listeners what Rose is about, and it is certainly bolder and more full of life than her debut. I'm glad she didn't just make a record that was exactly the same as her debut; whilst still maintaining the honesty of her music. The album packs a punch, and I am excited to dance around at her Autumn tour.

Favourite tracks: 'Our Eyes', 'Work It Out' and 'Lone Ranger'.

Another exciting debut to spring is Prides' The Way Back Up. I was lucky enough to get a stream for this album (ahem, records ed perks) ahead of its release at the end of the week. I gave it a lot of time, and it was ace to find diversity in place throughout the album, with a few surprises along the way. Prides have proven that they are ones to watch with this album, combining dreamy synthesisers and punchy beats.

Favourite tracks: 'Same Mistakes' and 'Not Gonna Change'.

When I ran for The Edge's Records Editor, my predecessor asked us all what we thought of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly. I'd never listened to it (but luckily people still voted for me). Of course, when I went home, I did some research and got quite into the jazz and hiphop fusion that is this album. It oozes cool and makes you feel pretty badass if you listen to it whilst wandering around campus.

Favourite tracks: 'Wesley's Theory' and 'Institutionalised'.

This list is by no means extensive; I've also loved Everything Everything's Get To Heaven, SOAK's debut Before We Forgot How To Dream, and surprisingly, Snoop's BUSH. I'm excited for what the rest of this year will bring music-wise. Even this month is jampacked, with Tame Impala's Currents and MS MR's second album, How Does It Feel both on the way.

Update on...life

It's definitely been a while, to say the least. Whether that's due to business, lack of motivation, being snowed under with assignments or just not really thinking about writing- I don't really know. But the onset of the summer holidays brings with it an overwhelming sense of boredom, though I hate to admit it.

In reality, I actually have quite a lot going for me this summer. I've been lucky enough to get an internship at my university, working in the Marketing and Communications team, and four weeks in I'm loving it. I even got to spend a day handing out free cupcakes last week (which I think is now my ultimate career goal).

Internship aside, the best thing that has happened to me over the past few months is being elected Records Editor for The Edge. This basically means that I get to spend a lot of time writing about music, reading about music, and getting others to write about music. It's the most amazing opportunity and I genuinely feel so lucky to be able to work with such an incredible group of people. It's ace. I also got to interview the lovely Lucy Rose, who was an absolute gem.

Back to the reason I'm actually in Southampton, my degree. Academically, I've probably just had the best year ever. I got to study Women in Hollywood, Film Adaptation and an amazing module called Images of Women. You know when you imagine what English will be like at university; reading Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, slating Freud and learning about great literary women? This module was all of that and more.

There's probably not a lot else to say. But maybe over this summer I will make sure I'm around a bit more and get writing lots (if I can find anything interesting to do/write about, that is!).

For now I will probably throw some reviews I've recently done towards you, so have a read if you please.