One billion streams in a week. Whether you’re a superfan who headed straight down to The Black Dog pub in Vauxhall to share geographic similarities with her, or bemoan the fact that ‘Shake It Off’ is now a staple of wedding receptions and children’s birthday parties alike, you couldn’t ignore Taylor Swift in the past seven days. She is one of the few pop stars who can make releasing a record feel like an event in itself, and the number of column inches generated this week is testament to her cultural impact.
We won’t be delving into the gossip of ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ right now, but instead we’re bringing you new music from a selection of slightly more under the radar artists, relatively speaking.
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Aziya - Party’s Over
Aziya’s bio states that she ‘writes songs that I would want Debbie Harry to sing, Prince to co-produce and John Bonham to drum on’, which is certainly a compelling way to get me to listen. Her latest single ‘Party’s Over’ is a slick, modern indie number that straddles the classic Strokes trick of sounding both laid back and nonchalant, whilst also making you want to get up and dance. It’s criminally short at just 2.13 minutes, fading out with a trippy change of pace into slow dance territory, just like the end of a party then. Definitely one to catch at a small venue whilst you can.
Darkstates - Embers
‘Embers' is the latest single from Darkstates, a producer, singer and songwriter from North London. It’s a slow-building, atmospheric piece that blends electronics with more acoustic elements, with hints of Bon Iver in the vocals. The nature of its expansive, moody sound means you can’t help but envisage the piece working beautifully on the sweeping, closing shots of a big-screen movie. Darkstates released a number of great singles last year which are well worth exploring as well.
Wild Spelks - Help Myself
We head to the North East for our next act, with the fantastic new single, ‘Help Myself’, by Wild Spelks. Originating as the solo work of Jonathon Sabiston, Wild Spelks has since developed into a full live band and have been picking up positive press for their catchy alt-rock repertoire. A guitar driven intro soon morphs into an infectious chorus that has been rattling around our heads in the past week. Fans of Weezer or We Are Scientists would be recommended to press play on this one.
Joe Adhemar & Silver Haar - New Years Day
You might be hungover, smugly clean-headed or still trying to forget last night’s Hootenanny. For me, New Year’s Day wouldn’t be complete without playing the songs of the same name by U2 and Death Cab For Cutie respectively. And now there’s another record to add to the playlist. ‘New Years Day’ is collaboration between Joe Adhemar and Scottish rockers Silver Haar, and captures the optimism and sense of nostalgia that can permeate on the 1st January. It’s a blend of piano rock and floating electronics that’s got an epic, Tears For Fears vibe throughout.
Vincent Christ - The Finest Times
We’ll end the week with some dark indie rock courtesy of Vincent Christ. Another song that would sit comfortably beside the brooding 80s sounds of Echo & the Bunnymen or Killing Joke, ‘The Finest Times’ is all dark alleyways and lines about life’s frustrations. Driven by pounding drums and spider-web guitar lines, the record ends with light at the end of the tunnel with a saxophone refrain. If you like this, check out ‘My Kingdom for a Glimpse’ by Vincent which came out earlier this year.
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