DirtyIndieShirt

From turning on the radio and realising the song playing is exactly the one you needed to hear to putting on that song you know for a fact will slap the smile back on your face, songs have a way of dictating our moods. 

Ever needed a way of determining which way to turn? Simply flick on the radio, ask a question and tune until you hear the first word, this week I’ve been all about playing this game, like a radio magic eight ball, it has given me answers no one else will. But more than anything it has provided a soundtrack to the emotions running though my mind, predicting just what I needed to hear. Last week I was answering the question ‘What is your favourite song and why’ on a job application and no kidding you just as I finished writing Two Door Cinema Club- Something Good Can Work, the song came on the radio… a sign of massive proportions. 

It happened again just last night, being home alone not knowing quite what to do with myself is making me go a little crazy and there’s one song that keeps popping up… Summer Camp - Losing my Mind. I always say my life could do with a soundtrack…

xxx

~ Young The Giant - I Got

As festival announcements start flooding our social calenders, take note of those little bands that thrive off playing to people, like you and me, who happen to stumble upon them and fall in love. 

Make sure to check the other videos recorded especially for watchlistentell they’ve all got something magical about them and they rely on music lovers to spread the word. 

xxx

They say that the world was built for two.

Lana Del Rey. I’m not afraid to say I thought she was another over hype.No. This girl has talent, it may consist of writing slightly depressive tracks that could accompany whiskey on the rocks or slowly reaching for the razor blade but denying yourself harm, Lana Del Rey has produced a nugget of sterling songs. Born to Die… a cruel reminder of the life cycle, the album itself, an amalgamation of love loss, lust, desperation and dramatic noises. It’s basically a chick flick musical. 

‘Now my life is sweet like cinnamon, like a f**king dream that I’m living in.’

Channelling all that was loved of the 60’s era and embodying the soul, every song is a novel, written in a few hundred less words. As the pages turn, even after 3 consecutive plays, Del Rey lurches at you with her glamorous vocals, swaying lyrics and shoulder grabbing music. Recommending just one song would near impossible, every single second gives you something, whether it be a soundtrack to a difficult situation or simply a song to swish your perfectly voluminous hair too, Born to Die had it all. 

‘Feet don’t fail me now.’

xxx

Tom Mcrae- Wonderful Christmas Time

The best Christmas songs are those which can live on and deliver each and every year. The Carey, McCartney, Richard and Band Aid bombardment can sometime begin as early as October and you would have thought we’d be well and truly over the ‘classics’ but turns out we still can’t get enough. But if you listen closer there’s always a new version of these best sellers that catches a heart string or two, if only for a year…

Covering a more than well known song can be a bigger no-go than pestering your mum whilst she’s cooking Christmas dinner but if daring enough, some hold a beauty that can only shine through once every festive period…. here’s the ones making my playlist this year.

She and Him - Baby, it’s cold outside

Graffiti6 - Last Christmas

It’s been heard before but Coldplay - Have yourself a merry little Christmas is pure Christmas magic.

Leaving the world down beneath the clouds, Hawaiian notes, don’t need no pounds

Friendly Fires LIVE @ Lincoln Engine Shed 

Ed Macfarlane is known for 2 things…those shocking snake hips and his colourful collection of shirts. But tonight no Hawaiian shirt instead the tropics came in the form of a gigantic parrot taking flight around the stage… sadly not literally but its presence was felt in the longest hour and a half of my gigging life. No need for a gym, join Friendly Fires. Never before has the stage, instruments and the crowd been covered in the same persons sweat, Macfarlane is like a perspiration spring.

Two albums into their career, they couldn’t be in a better place. They obliterate today’s monotonous indie pop-rock artists and inject some much needed happiness back into music, using beats worthy of a 70’s discotheque and carnivals all over the world. A week of will they, won’t they after frontman Ed fell ill with laryngitis (they had reschedule 5 gigs for December) all woes were forgotten at the opening, ‘Hello Lincoln’.  

Blasting through both albums there’s no denying they’ve grown up and developed into a band worthy of the highest live accolade, ‘Lovesick’, ‘Jump into the Pool’and ‘Running Away’ let the front man act as the ‘how to’ guide for dancing at a Friendly Fires gig for the already rowdy crowd. Instead of a merchandise stall they should have had a free hip replacement stand. Time rewinds for ‘True Love’ as the essence of flares, afros and disco shoes from the 1970’s take hold before new song ‘Chimes’ catches your breath, the words ‘I can’t help but want you more’ echo around the half full Engine Shed and through the chambers of our hearts.

‘Ed, You’re suppose to undress before showering…’

The first 30 seconds of each song grabs your attention away from their glittering green drum kit and that magnificently colourful parrot hugging the stage every time. Oh and what more could you want from a gig than that has filled you with happy endorphins?  A sweaty crowd induced hug from a lead singer? Or How about an encore to finish all encores…

“So go and pack your bag, for the long haul, we’re gonna lose ourselves, I promise”

Hawaiian Air and an extra extra long dance pit for ‘Kiss of Life’ end the mother of all sweaty gigs. Elation, heat and shock mix in the atmosphere as the band stop their swaying hips and leave the stage for the final time. 

1. Lovesick 
2. Jump in the Pool 
3. Running Away 
4. Blue Cassette 
5. True Love 
6. On Board 
7. Chimes 
8. Skeleton Boy 
9. Show Me Lights 
10. In the Hospital 
11. Pala 
12. Live Those Days Tonight 
13. Hurting 
14. Pull Me Back to Earth 
15. Paris 

Encore:

16. Hawaiian Air 
17. Kiss of Life 

 

xxx