Track of the Week

This is a new series of posts where I'll be, as summed up in the post tittle, the track of the week.

This weeks track goes to Two Door Cinema Club with 'What You Know'.
It's a feel good song, which has the same sentiment that Vince Noir describes when you wear a poncho, namely that you cannot be unhappy in it. It's catchy and has been playing within my head all day after hearing it this morning. Recently released it's often been on NME and MTV2 for good reasons as it's unique and an interesting song to listen to as it's constantly evolving and developing. It's most reminiscent of songs by Hot Chip and Foals with the roaming guitar.
In short a brilliant song!

5 Songs Whirring Round My Head This Week

This weeks instalment is unsurprisingly biased with three out of five from White Lies because after seeing them I cannot cease listening to them as they were so incredible.  

'Bad Love'-White Lies
A brilliant, if slightly disturbing song about, as eloquently summed up by the song name, bad love with a catchy chorus and comprised of many layers of undertones and sounds but held together by the powerful drums and bass.



'Strangers'-White Lies
Another song off their fantastic new album which was one of the highlights of their set on Wednesday. It's incredible accessible and will have you singing along during your first listen and full of their usual themes such as love.  



'Spanish Sahara'-Foals
 A beautiful tender song that starts of slow then builds up slowly and is simply incredible.



 'Blinding'-Florence +The Machine 
A simple song but expertly done as her voice is so powerful that it draws you in and fits the music perfectly.



'Holy Ghost'-White Lies
The most noticeable aspect of this song is the fuzzy bass that blends brilliantly with Harry's deep voice and this song is just genius. 

White Lies Live Review + Crocodiles and Active Child

Last night I was lucky enough to see White Lies in Bristol and below is a review of them and they're two support bands.

First to take the stage was Active Child. Active Child are an L.A. duo and comprised of, for the first two songs at least, an electric harp and bass with backing from their apple macs. To be brutally honest they did nothing for me; they're music was full of various but inaccessible layers of sounds, synthetic drums and his singing style was to say the least erratic. There were to be fair moments within most of their songs that were interesting and I was willing to go along with but then they always followed these glimmers of hope with some more pretentious harp playing. This coupled with an outwardly religious theme in their music made it inaccessible to me. Needless to say the crowd almost exclusively didn't appreciate their performance and I wouldn't recommend them.

After Active Child followed Crocodiles. They sauntered on to stage, which was quite a feat for the singer as he was wearing sunglasses, and started playing their walls of guitars with gusto. Their songs were good and distinctly reminiscent of Sex Pistols and The Clash with the vibrant energy of punk and with the singer howling animal calls just like Joe Strummer. The front man also took hip thrusting to a new extreme in his songs making it look like he was with an invisible woman which added a slightly comedic effect to his performance. The crowd willingly lapped up their rock and they had us head bopping and foot tapping quickly. They're songs however were not incredible with a few too many simple chords and not enough willingness to break out of their own patterns. The highlight of their set was a song led by a simple bass chord and the drums.
I wouldn't personally go out of my way to see this band again but equally I wouldn't mind seeing them again.

Then finally it was time for White Lies (joined by two other musicians to help recreate their music on tour). They were enthralling. The second they came on and started playing their unique brand of depressed yet inexplicably uplifting music the crowd went wild; it was clear everyone was totally committed to this band. Opening with 'A Place To Hide' they took the stage by storm. Following the initial high of their entrance they played some of their biggest hits as well keeping the crowd in a state of euphoria. Instead of keeping to known crowd pleaser's from their first album they also played many songs from their recently released second album which were just as enthusiastically received with everyone singing along.
They created a good rapport with the crowd with the front man seeming to be touchingly thrilled at the amount of love they were being given and smiling happily and making lots of eye contact whilst simultaneously giving a heart felt, expressive and gesticulated performance.  
After they left the stage the crowd was having none of it and screamed for more and they obliged playing three more songs and ending with their recent single 'Bigger Than Us'. Highlights of their set were 'Lose My Life', 'EST', 'Strangers', 'Bad Love' and 'Bigger Than Us'.

White Lies are a great live band. I went there expecting to see a good band but my expectations were blown away probably because they've had to become so good live through supporting huge bands such as Biffy Clyro and Muse. All of their songs release their full potential when played live and after seeing them I am now a much bigger fan and love many more of their songs.
There was something about the atmosphere, the crowd and the genius performance that culminated to make last nights gig the best I've been to yet and because of that I recommend them to anyone who likes their music even just a little bit.

Thanks to Reece for the pictures.

Youtubers Worth Watching

Nerimon

Nerimon or Alex Day is another hugely successful comedic British youtuber who is most known for founding timelord rock or 'Trock', subsequent nerdy songs and for doing a series of videos where he casts a critical and blindingly witty eye over 'Twilight' by Stephanie Meyer.
What's most refreshing about Nerimon is his brutal honesty and uncaring attitudes towards what he says; he's not afraid to swear or be a normal young person and this means that he's incredibly easy to relate to. I don't deny that these qualities can be abrasive or a little annoying but when delivered with his easy going and largely friendly on screen persona the effect is charismatic instead of grating. Also his rants about popular songs or books, whilst being hilarious, are usually founded on valid points and you often find yourself agreeing with them.
He creates genius videos about what he truly thinks.

Below is one of his videos where he dissects lyrics and then below that is one of his comedic songs, hope you like them!

NME Awards

The time has come again where one of the ridiculously few shining beacons of light for all indie and alternative music to celebrate this years finest.
When you like different music it's easy to feel intimidated by the mainstream and to feel almost ashamed of what you like because so many people think it's weird. But why should you? The only thing that matters is what makes you happy and if that's not over produced Cowell creations but something unique and heartfelt then be proud of it. Be proud of what makes you different because at the end of the day it's our differences that make us humans so amazing.
So celebrate your music and don't give in to apathy; vote on the NME awards. I've put the link below and please join in and give your music the credit that it is so sorely due.

http://www.nme.com/awards

The King's Speech; S-S-S-Spectacular

One of the biggest films on everyone's lips has been The King's Speech which has had rave reviews and nominated for many awards, and already won some, but is the film as good as it's said to be? I was lucky enough to see it last night and to be blunt yes it is.
For those unaware The King's Speech is a historical drama about King George VI overcoming a stammer with the aid of speech therapist Lionel Logue. You may be thinking how could a film about some dry speech from a repressed and dusty monarch possibly interest and entertain me, but this film is much, much more than that. At it's heart it's a human tale which believably portrays the protagonists at a level where you not only understand but care for them. You are shown a glimpse of a completely alien and unconventional life ruled by decorum and duty whilst simultaneously being shown their humanity which you easily relate to. It's superbly performed, especially by Colin Firth who gives I think his best performance to date by showing a man who is terrified of his own potential and frustrated at his inability to communicate.
The plot of the film is also enthralling as it does not exclusively focus on the King but on contextual issues such as the growing threat from Hitler and eventually the outbreak of war.
It's hard to write about why this film is so good because every part of it is simply brilliant; beautifully shot, excellently performed and completely absorbing.
I highly recommend anyone to see this film as it's one of the greats. So if you have some spare money and fancy going to the cinema; watch it. It's a must see.

Youtubers Worth Watching

Another post in the series celebrating Youtube with this one dedicated to...

Charlie Is So Cool Like!

Charlie Is So Cool Like or, with his somewhat less self defining name of Charlie McDonnell, is a British vlogger and comedic musician. Most known for his Challenge Charlie series which is a series of 25 videos where he accepts and undergoes challenges sent in by viewers and songs from his numerous bands such as Sons Of Admirals, a band consisting of him and other famous Youtubers,  and Chameleon Circuit a band dedicated to timelord rock or Trock. From his most famous work it is fairly obvious that Charlie creates light hearted and whimsical pieces which are a perfect escape for a few minutes from stressful reality.
Probably his best asset is his personable delivery within his videos which ease the viewer into watching him either perform or partake in some ridiculous challenge. Unashamedly geeky and different he creates videos that he would like to watch and in doing so has become the UK's most subscribed youtuber.
If you think you'd like to check out something entirely wholesome that's funny and sweet deceptively catchy songs about Doctor Who please watch the videos below and checkout his channel on youtube. First is one of his Challenge Charlie's then below is one of his Chameleon Circuit songs.
Hope you like it!







Warning:If you do go on youtube to watch his videos do not be surprised if you spend hours watching his entire back catalogue of videos.