Emily and The Woods #5 - First Light

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Summer is finally here and everyone is out enjoying the long weekend with glorious weather. That is apart from me, I've been having a quiet, lazy day resting up before my marathon on Monday. Now as day turns into night I find myself looking for something to take my breathe away, what better thing to pop up on my timeline then than a new track (a solo, live version of) by Emily and The Woods...

"First Light" does just that, a plucked electric guitar gives the sole backing (but provides a full sound) for Emily's identifiable voice and intimate lyrics to instantly fill you with calming, wounded emotions. She's proven time and time again to be a master of haunting, heart-breaking song-craft and "First Light" is immediately that.

I've posted about "Lonely Handed" before but this newer (and incredibly well shot) video of the track is such a stunner that I can't help but post it up here again, it's so good that it could pass for a studio release almost as it stands. Ringing electric guitar plucks combine with Emily's exceptional, plaintive words to magical effect, whilst her controlled vocal shines through with such a natural, compelling beauty. I'd be very surprised if "Lonely Handed" isn't the lead track to Emily's next release...

Lockets #5 - Surrender

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Every now and then a band comes along that you love and cherish and hold close to you heart no matter if you are listening to them or not, Lockets were one of those bands for me last year after a series of knock-out single that I covered with glowing praise here. Later it was a great honour that my little label Beautiful Strange put out the Philly duo's debut LP Camera Shy on vinyl - a limited release which you can stream via Bandcamp (US via http://lockets.bandcamp.com/).

Now there's more good news, "Surrender" is the lead track from a new 7" single that will be released on July 8/9th (available now digitally via the Lockets BC link above) with the first 50 vinyl pre-orders (25 UK / 25 US) coming with a limited art print of the cover - I can't wait to share that with you - the vinyl pre-order link is coming very soon.

As I've said before, I'll let others critique Beautiful Strange releases so I'll quote from yesterday's premiére via Beautiful Decay; "the lush song is filled with big beats and huge synths and Todd from the band says, “this is probably the most pop oriented track we’ve done”. You're going to love it.

London Grammar - Wasting My Young Years

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Two birds with one post here, an introduction to The Great Escape, which I will be focusing on next week and a post on a band whom I've been toying with blogging about for a while - the only reason I've not until now is the track in question has 142k plays already and is not really in need of the additional limited attention from my small-fry ramblings.

I was asked who my 'must see acts' for The Great Escape (now only two weeks away) were on twitter last night by a very nice follower of mine with impeccable music taste, I listed a half dozen or so acts I intend to see who I've not before (they all feature on my preview of the festival). That's my aim of The Great Escape - to check out and discover new bands. One act I never listed but easily could have were London Grammar, one of the years success stories for sure, Hannah Reid has such a huge, beautiful voice and their latest release "Wasting My Young Years", the follow-up to their immaculate debut release Metal & Dust, is easily their finest track yet, as the track builds with graceful yet soaring grandeur through piano led twinklings and smooth electro-beats it's her stunning voice that remains with you longest.

To bring his little post back in touch with The Great Escape, London Grammar are playing St Bartholomew's Church on Thursday evening before Tom Odell, another of the festivals biggest names and the gig IS going to be vastly over-subscribed (whilst undoubtedly a potential festival highlight) so please if you want to go and see them, read my only piece of advise on the matter - get there early!

Everything By Electricity #2 - A New Introduction

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One of the main reasons I continue this blog is the buzz of discovering new music, it's why I try and feature and support new bands (and follow them there after) as much as possible. One of my favourite "Introducing" blogs from early last year was London based trio Everything By Electricity (here's my initial post from March 2012), I went and watched the band play at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen shortly after that post and was preparing to have them as one of my 'new favourite things' but then it went quiet, very quiet. In fact, so much so that I thought the band had quietly disbanded, until the weekend just gone...

Two new tracks appeared (the initial three tracks that had me purring like a kitten have been removed) introducing a developed, more synth dependent sound but one that is still in keeping with the gorgeous pop sensibilities previous identified. Any concerns of a change in direction quickly evaporate with the pure, unadulterated beauty of" Violet Haze" as Yulia's dreamy vocals glide silky smooth over glistening synths and precise percussion whilst chugging reverb-heavy guitar riffs lie underneath. The equally excellent "Story of You" is more dramatic, 80's-tinged retro-futurism with sparking melody and shiny, heavenly vocals. Quite the return then...

If you are new to EbE I do hope the initial three tracks make a re-appearance soon enough, they are far too good to be resigned to history. Hopefully gigs and more will be announced soon.

Anna & The Orchids #5 - View Of My Sanity (Video)

Facebook / annalenaandtheorchids.com

It's rare for my to re-tread previously worn paths and post about a song I've already done but that's what I'm going today after I was blown away by the beauty of the accompanying video for Anna Lena & The Orchids "View Of My Sanity", a rich, emotive track that is brought to life with a stark and plaintive video as equally mesmerising as the twinkling piano and the dramatic atmosphere that wraps around you like a blanket on a cold winters night.

I've also posted a stream for the EP's opening track "See It In Black", another slow-building beauty that comes to life around a dark, controlled mood and subdued instrumentation with the almost eerie harmonies as beautiful as they are tinged with sadness and regret. As considered and luxurious an EP as you'll hear this year, the self-titled Anna Lena & The Orchids is available to download and on CD/10" Vinyl via Bandcamp now.

Stealing Sheep #7 - A Real Clown

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I'll save you the story of my Record Store Day again and head straight to one of my purchases, two new tracks released by Stealing Sheep on an exclusively for Record Store Day 7". Limited to just 300, a few copies are left on-line now the seven day window is over including at Norman Records. To give you an added incentive we've been treated to a live video of the A-Side "A Real Clown", simply put, it's utterly stupendous.

A delightful mélange of everything that the Liverpudlian trio have grown to be over the past couple of years, with added horns and clattering percussion added by an ensemble, entwining harmonies and grooving rhythms bedazzle with sudden bursts of dominating doom-laden beats and a sparkling eccentricity that has become as much part of Stealing Sheep as their gorgeous voices and off-kilter melodies - this is a band that have come so far since their early demos...

The video is recorded Obscenic, the same people who did the equally incredible "Shut Eye" one - good work guys! Make sure you get the record, the B-side "Do As You Will" equally appeals with a dark, starker sound, both make for a compelling release.