This song is pure genius! From top to bottom, the intro gives us chugging guitars, promising indie rock goodness and boy do they deliver… There are sections of this song that give me pure joy, the intro like I mentioned, and also the fact the drummer gets given their moment to shine from 2:12 with …
Single Review: “Wish You The Best” – Brave James ft. Blue Lab Beats
Having been a fan of Brave James since the release of their fantastic track “Spaceships”, it came as no surprise that collaboration with one of my favourite production teams was definitely going to be special. This is a slower paced track, starting off with percussion and marimbas and it’s gorgeous. The track as a whole …
Single Review: “A Day Out With Memorial Device” SkinnyBoy Tunes
A Day Out with Memorial Device by SkinnyBoy Tunes I like it when songs reference other acts in their titles or lyrics. SkinnyBoy Tunes becomes a foley artist with this one, using the sounds of a train station and even recruits a Scot Rail announcer to speak over the top of some lovely chords and …
Single Review: “Butter Side Up Boy” – Laurie Wright
Laurie Wright is back with a track with strong vocals, guitars, drums and…. Harmonica! This song comes roaring out of the gates with attitude, and it’s a cracker. I really like Laurie’s vocals on this, it sounds like he’s having a blast recording it, but this belies the dark feeling behind the lyrics, there’s a …
Single Review: “That’ll Be The Day” – Buddy Holly
As tomorrow is 63 years since Buddy Holly, along with Richie Havens and The Big Bopper died tragically in a plane crash I thought I’d commemorate this with my favourite Buddy Holly song. I have memories of jamming this on the piano with my friend Simon and him singing and playing on a battered acoustic …
Single Review: “Living Proof” – Pearl’s Cab Ride
WELL!!! This… is…. FUNKY! The stabs in the intro promise so much and over deliver, this is professional musicianship at its best. From the horns, drums, bass, vocals, hammond organ this is a blast to listen to – it reminds me of early 90s acid jazz, and it’s so well done, I don’t want to …
Single Review: “Boys From Jungle” – Junior Bill
I’m trying to decide whether this is a punk protest song or not. It’s definitely punk, the attitude is there. But the lyrics are definitely interesting, it’s the reality of immigrants coming to the UK, and their stories, it’s loud, it’s aggressive. But do you oboe what? It’s getting the message across. For me the …
Single Review: “Sidecar” – Prima Hera
I have heard this song so many times now, I think it’s part of my soundtrack of 2023. It’s such a simple song, Prima Hera’s vocals are gorgeous on this. She has a touch of reverb on her vocals, and she’s able to harmonise comfortably going from a major to minor harmony with the other …
Album Review: “Letters To George” – John Hollenbeck. Words: Sammy Stein
https://johnhollenbeck.bandcamp.com/album/letters-to-george John Hollenbeck is a genre-fluid composer/percussionist, renowned in both the jazz and new-music worlds. He gained widespread recognition as the driving force behind the unclassifiable Claudia Quintet, and the ambitious John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, groups with roots in jazz, world music, and contemporary composition. He has earned six GRAMMY nominations and has worked …
Blog interview: Dave Britto, Arrows
Hello Dave how are you? Hello Del, I’m good and thank you for speaking to me. Congratulations on the release of “Another Avenue”, how does it feel? Thanks! It’s great, there’s always that feeling of nervousness and excitement that comes with every release. I’ve been holding on to this song for a very long time, …