New music, and music news!

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Admittedly, its been a while since my last post, but during that time I’ve been launching my other project Unsigned Cardiff so please do give it a follow if you’re a fan of unsigned/independent music.

A lot has happened on my music radar this week, so I’ll start with some new songs:

Walk the Moon – Different Colors

Walk the Moon made their comeback in September with Shut Up + Dance, along with a new album announcement. Now, they’ve released a second song. Gloriously upbeat and insanely catchy, Different Colors strengthens the path Shut Up + Dance has set up – if you’re not excited for the release of Talking is Hard, then there is something wrong.

Charli XCX – Gold Coins

After pushing back the release of her second album, Sucker, Charli isn’t leaving her fans completely high and dry and is instead dripping the album to us slowly. It’s certainly a different direction to True Romance, less synth pop, but no less catchy.

Taylor Swift – Blank Space

So not as recently as the other tracks, but in Taylor’s most recent release she gets, well, a bit crazy – and everyone loves it. Taylor’s venture into pop music really suits her. Even crying mascara face suits her. Some people are just fortunate (and good musicians).

Now moving on to music news:

• Band Aid 30 got released in aid of ebola. It’s not terrible, but perhaps a new song should have been written. Some of the lyric swaps are questionable to say the least.
• Paramore announced they’ll be re-releasing Paramore as a deluxe album, which will include a collab with Joy Williams (Civil Wars). I was hoping for a new album, but I’ll happily take what I’m given…
• and finally, Muse are set to headline Download Fest. Bit weird – I expected to see them at somewhere like Reading and Leeds, but there you go

REVIEW: Lights - Little Machines

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After months of teasing, Lights has finally released her third full length. It's been three years since Siberia and a lot has happened to Lights, so this album is a whole leap forward.

It opens with three tracks already released online: the slower 'Portal', 'Running With the Boys' and 'Up We Go'. 'Running With the Boys' seems like the flip side of the coin 'Pretend' started in The Listening. It's much more upbeat than the 2009 release, and the lyrics take a more positive angle. 

As the album progresses, it's clear that it's lost the almost dub-step edge of Siberia, but by no means the electro pop Lights is known for. 'Muscle Memory' strongly echoes Lights's sound from The Listening with an almost haunting edge. In fact, Little Machines is musically much more like The Listening, but it remains clear that she has come a long way since then - the lyrics have taken on a new edge, accentuating the positive in songs such as 'Meteorites', blasting the chorus 'we are gonna see greater heights/ They'll put our names up in neon lights'. 

After marriage and the birth of her first child, Rocket, it's no wonder Lights is positive in Little Machines - she has a lot to be positive about. Closing track 'Don't Go Home Without Me' (for those without the deluxe version) seems like a perfect way to end the album. It's tempo is slower than previous songs, bringing the album full circle from 'Portal', and talks about the future. Dispelling loneliness even in her later years, this track peaks at the bridge really showing the diversity of Lights's voice as she flows seamlessly from belting into a gentle falsetto on the line 'and we'll go out in style'. This draws the album to a close beautifully.

Every track of Little Machines fits in with the overall sound of the album, like its predecessors, and although it sounds like The Listening it has the maturity of Siberia and then some. Lights's sound has evolved through each album, and the current product is a strong sound that still leaves room for her to spread her musical wings. Every track on the album is different, and every one fantastic. Whatever Lights does next, it'll be hard pushed to top Little Machines, but as we know a lot could happen in the next three years.

Catch Lights in the UK next January.  

Review: The Cape Race - Home, Truths

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I first heard of The Cape Race three years ago after happening across out their twitter and, shortly after, buying their self-released EP Now, Voyager. Recently, they released their first full length with label Ten Letters and it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

The Manchester quintet have done a lot towards this album in the last three years. The album, Home, Truths opens with ‘Digging For Gold’, a slower track that builds up as it progresses and definitely one of my favourite tracks on the album. The instruments in the verses seem restrained, really letting loose for the chorus in a way that compliments David Moloney’s strong vocals.

Aside from being an all-round great band, it’s Moloney’s voice that really sets The Cape Race apart from similar bands and puts the album on another level. Thankfully keeping his Manchester accent, no track ever runs the risk of instruments drowning out vocals, but Moloney also demonstrates his beautiful falsetto in the chorus of ‘The 77′. Each track gels together, from more familiar tracks to arguably more experimental ones, without jarring or stopping the album’s general flow; ‘Vines’ seems to me like it was written to be a live track, just waiting for an eager crowd to sing it back.

The Cape Race have by no means left Now, Voyager behind in their debut full-length, however, merely built on it. In fact, the album has four of the six tracks from the band’s EP, and personally I’m thrilled. ‘The Reprieve’ was my absolute favourite track – it’s the right amount of catchy without becoming annoying, and the guitars are just as fantastic as the clever lyrics – so to see it made the album was perfect. This way, anyone who buys the album that might not have also bought the EP get the pleasure of it anyway.

The album closes the same way as the EP, with ‘Now, Voyager’. This certainly doesn’t mean The Cape Race haven’t come far, though. Although more lyrically mellow than other tracks, the closing track takes away none of the albums bite. After a calmer bridge that signs off the build up from ‘Digging For Gold’ perfectly, the latter half of the track is more raw and energetic, and seals Now, Voyager and Home, Truths together. To say that this is a solid album would be an understatement; The Cape Race have come above and beyond since their first EP without distancing themselves from it, producing a consistent sound that they can call their own.

New This Week

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I'm always the first person to watch new videos for my favourite artists, but for me it seems very rare that so many new videos drop all in the same week. So this week my ears/eyes were in for a real treat with new singles and videos dropping left right and centre!

1. Lights - Portal

Obviously, I'm a huge fan of Lights and eagerly awaiting her new album Little Machines (released in September!). Like many fans, I was expecting a video for 'Up We Go', but instead she surprised many of us with a new single and video. More subdued than 'Up We Go', 'Portal' shows a different side of Lights' upcoming album, putting emphasis on her amazing voice stripped back of any added electro effects. The video is suitably beautiful yet simplistic, yet the ending is still very much what fans expect from Lights.

2. Bebe Rexha - I Can't Stop Drinking About You

I have been so excited for this video for months now! First put on soundcloud four months ago, Bebe Rexha sure knows how to keep people waiting. After lending her vocals to Cash Cash for massive hit 'Take Me Home', Bebe has released a hit of her own - insanely catchy with a beat that'd fill any dance floor. And now, to top it off, a gorgeous video that fits the song and the genre. Couldn't possibly ask for more.

3. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora - Black Widow

This was one of my favourite tracks off The New Classic, so I was pretty chuffed when Iggy announced it was going to be a single. In a sort of Charlie's Angels-esque daydream, Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora show how badass they can be without taking themselves too seriously. The video perfectly matches the lyrics, with revenge being at the forefront. It's definitely one for the girls!

4. Ariana Grande ft. Zedd - Break Free

Speaking of girl power and daft videos, Ariana Grande's new video is along the same lines as Iggy Azalea's. 'Break Free' is another new track from her upcoming album, featuring another huge name in music. It's an incredibly catchy dance track - an ideal follow up to 'Problem' - and the video is a little crazy and bizarre in an entirely fun way. Alien rescues, weird and wonderful costumes, all topped off with an inter galactic dance at the end. Yes, it's daft, but you can't help but enjoy it!

5. Metro Station - Love & War

Shaking back onto the music scene is newly reformed (sort of) Metro Station. Founding members Trace Cyrus and Mason Musso have put aside whatever made them split in the first place to release new music together once again. Not much seems to have changed - 'Love & War' is pretty darn catchy, with both members contributing to vocals. Admittedly, in places the video looks like something you'd expect from a 90's boy band which, although I'm sure that's not quite the look they were going for, somehow works with the song. What can I say, I enjoy cheesy things.

Check out: Courage My Love

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Canadian pop-punk trio Courage My Love have just completed the entirety of the Vans Warped Tour, making their mark on the music map.

 Formed in 2009, the trio won a battle of the bands contest in 2010, got signed to Warner Music Canada and continued to rise from their. They’re no strangers to the touring life, though, having supported some huge names and done a Warped date once before. The band consists of twins Mercedes (vocals, guitar) and Phoenix (drums, vocals) and their friend Brandon (bass). They released their first EP, For Now, in 2011. The 7 track EP opens with title track ‘For Now’, which is an upbeat track with a positive message, encompassing the message the band (according to their online bio) strive to spread. The EP is pretty strong for a first release, with the right mix of tracks like ‘For Now’ and more seemingly personal tracks like ‘Disappear’ and ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ which is slightly less upbeat but the lyrics give a more personal insight that the listener can appreciate and feel connected to the band.

 As far as talent goes, Courage My Love certainly have no shortage. Despite the unfortunate prejudice of some, Mercedes proves to be more than adequate on both vocals and guitar, her clean cut voice providing a nice contrast with some heavier guitar solos (don’t believe me? Check out her ‘You Don’t Know How’ guitar play through video here). Like her sister, Phoenix’s drumming is in no way simple or repetitive, but instead the differences in pace and beat are clear from track to track, fitting in well with the genre and the other instruments.

 The bands most recent release, Becoming, is a nice follow up to For Now, beginning deceptively slow with clear vocal contributions from both twins (told you they were talented) and building up on this. I can imagine it’s a great EP to hear live as, unlike For Now, there’s slightly more variation in the songs on Becoming which goes to show that Courage My Love aren’t afraid to experiment and build on their sound (rather than release two very similar sounding EPs). Each track is different from the next whilst still being suited to the genre and the overall EP. Tracks ‘Unfamiliar Sheets’ and ‘All I Need’ seem to have an underlying electronic sound which gives the listener the variety you’d expect more in a full length, which makes you appreciate what Courage My Love have achieved in the space of just 8 tracks.

 As far as full lengths go, hopefully the band will release one soon. If you’re in the US, you can catch them on tour in November/December (dates here), and all their music is available on their web store or via iTunes. They’re definitely worth checking out no matter what you usually listen to – you never know, you might be surprised at what you hear.

New Music: Lights

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Over a year after Siberia Acoustic, three years after Siberia and a whole baby later, Christmas has come early for fans of Lights with 3 huge announcements all in one day.

For the past 10 days, Lights has been teasing fans over social networking with a countdown. Yesterday, she made her quite frankly huge announcement and gave fans everything we could possibly want, all at once. At Scene Fest, she debuted two new songs 'Up We Go' and 'Running With The Boys', and with yesterday's announcement came the studio version of 'Up We Go' (hopefully a video will follow soon, but let's not be greedy). The song is certainly more reminiscent of The Listening than Siberia, with more clean cut synth than the almost dub-step vibes we heard in Siberia. Also, the electronic vocal effects are far more prominent in this song, giving it the very electro-pop vibe that Lights is known for. In itself, 'Up We Go' is a brilliant choice for first release - the lyrics are beautiful, as always with Lights, yet it's still upbeat and catchy and will appeal to a wider audience. It also sets up all the positivity that 's going to follow; the lyrics are honest but hopeful and it's refreshing to see an artist put so much of themselves into their music. From this song alone, any listener can tell how much Lights has put into her art. It perfectly captures her progression from the last album whilst still being very recognisable as Lights. Although it sounds different to Siberia, Lights style is completely unmistakable.

Along with 'Up We Go', it was also announced that Lights' third full length Little Machines will be released 23rd September (pre order here), along with a 23 date Canadian/North American tour with the promise of more to come. There are various album bundles which include a coloured vinyl and some autographed goodies which Lights has assured fans will all be personally signed by her and not printed on. You can listen to some live recordings of 'Running With The Boys' on youtube to get a further taster of what's to come. Judging by those two songs I've heard so far, the album is going to be a strong follow up to Siberia, and well worth investing in. I saw Lights perform live back in 2012 at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, and her performance was flawless and energetic so I can definitely recommend catching her on tour if she's coming to your area. Whether you've heard of Lights or not, if you're a fan of electro-pop I'd highly recommend listening to her music.  

Camden: more than meets the ears

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    Famed for the shopping and general visual experience, Camden Market is one of London's most famous attractions. However, the experience far beyond the eyes.

    My first visit to the Camden markets was a busy one by far. The minute I stepped off the tube, I was hit with an array of sights and smells, everything catching my eye as I made my way through it all. It's a place that has seemed to harness all the energy of other places in London like Oxford Street, yet none of the urgency. And it is an exciting place to be, but it's not just the visual aura of the market that gives it it's charm.

   Over the thousands of voices and cries of shop owners and consumers alike is possibly the most musically diverse place I have visited. The shops and stalls alone mostly play their own music, and given the large variety the music was varied, too. In the Stables Market alone I heard enough to satisfy everyone's tastes - from rock, to house music, even some that sounded like it belonged in the Middle East. The whole place is a mirage of musics of all genres from lots of different parts of the world. Even leaving the underground world of the Stables I was immediately greeted by the thumping beat coming from Cyborg (a shop which, to say the least, is the most bizarre and one of a kind place I have come across). The sound in the shop itself is deafening, yet not at all out of place in a sea of the weird, the wonderful, and the neon.

   Though there's a lot of music being played, audio tracks from studios isn't all the markets have to offer. As far as live music goes, Camden is home to a few famous venues including the Roundhouse and KOKO. However, walking around introduced me another popular venue: the street. Camden Market is rich with buskers of all types - whilst there I saw a three piece band doing some pretty old school covers, a duo with acoustic guitars, and so much more. There is no shortage to the variety this place has to offer. And not only the streets, but some shops (mostly cafés and the like, though) also have live musicians, adding to the hive of activity and offering an alternative audio experience that's visual, too. Saying this, I think you could easily walk around Camden Market with your eyes closed and experience just as much as you could with them open.

   So my visit to Camden didn't just provide me with a lot to look at, but also so much to listen to. Walking from place to place was like changing channels on a radio, but with none of the bad signal. My opinion? You certainly don't need to shop to enjoy what Camden has to offer, and if you're looking for musical variety you've certainly found the right place. Definitely high on my list of recommendations for anyone visiting London.