Hello and welcome to the first review of 2015! What a great year 2014 was for the blog and I'm hoping you'll all join me on the journey for 2015. I've got big plans lined up that should be announced in the next few weeks! So stick around for those, but onto today's review. I have been a major fan of a website called Noisetrade for a long time now. The website is designed to allow up and coming artists to post their material for peoples enjoyment. You can find an artist from any genre and download their music completely free with the option of giving that artist a tip. Great idea eh? I think this is a fantastic way for artists to start going through the ranks and getting new fans by giving their music away for free. I have found many artists through this website such as Harbours and The Dirty Guv'nahs who are both incredible all thanks to this website. I hope you guys will check the website and the playlist they have made after reading this, the link will be at the bottom of this review. Noisetrade have released a new playlist for everyone to hear that they feel are the artists to look out for in 2015. They're not wrong, I've listened to this playlist a few times now and I am very impressed with the range and styles that are on offer in this playlist. Going from rock/alternative from a band called My Goodness, to some lovely banjo work from Joshua Hyslop and the electronic beats and bass from White Arrows. All 27 songs are just a small handful of what's on offer on the website. There are a few stand outs to myself personally, but its all down to personal preference. These are the tracks I would recommend you check out on this playlist. Young Buffalo - My Place Joshua Hyslop - Living & Dying My Goodness - Sweet Tooth The Bones Of JR Jones - I'm Your Broken Dog Two Gallants - We Are Undone The Delta Riggs - The Record's Flawed Christian Lopez Band - Dancing On A Dream Out of this list, I'm really enjoying the Young Buffalo track, its quite a unique sound and I'm really liking how the song is laid out. It flows very nicely from each section and just feels like well structured song throughout with great vocals. Another song is by The Bones Of JR Jones, its simplicity and easy going pace throughout makes for a quality song. The bonus of having harmonica just adds something that can't really be explained, just make you feel like you're home. All I can say about the song by Two Gallants is...just go check it out, you're welcome! What are your favourite tracks from this playlist? Let me know in the comment section or tell me on Twitter! I hope you all had a great new years and here's to a successful 2015 for everyone! Thank you very much for reading and until next time. Lewis Noisetrade playlist link - here Noisetrade link - here
Hello! Welcome to this weeks album review, today I have a glaswegan female duo that have been impressing the industry within their rock/alternative sound for the past two years. They go by the name of Honeyblood who are signed to Brighton indie label FatCat Records. The opening track "Fall Forever" gets things going with a bang, some really nice guitar rhythms and melodies being worked into this song along with very distinctive vocals from vocalist and guitarist Steena Tweedale. I really like the way the actual song is quite simple, but because the way they have produced it, the sheer noise just keeps reminding me that this is only a duo making this music. The other half of Honeyblood is the drummer who goes by the name of Shona McVicar who really seems to have some solid beats laid down on this album. I really like the little breaks in "Killer Bangs". It could be something little like changing the drums onto the floor tom and snare, but it changes the whole complexity of the song. Some parts are just a second long like in the chorus where the lyrics are "I don't wanna go, go go go on". On the three 'go's' the duo come together and really accent those words which sounds great and keeps the energy throughout the track. The track after the two very fast paced, but brilliant songs comes "Super Rat" which slows things down. Gives the listener a little break and is the song where you can really appreciate Tweedale's vocals that really stand out and are like nothing ive heard before. I can't think of an artist that sounds remotely like her. In some parts it sounds like she is talking the lyrics, but still with some notes sung and I really like how she does this.
The new single that comes from the duo is a tune called "Biro". The middle of this album seems to have brought the energy down a peg or two, but that doesn't mean the power has gone. This song keeps the flow of loud alternative rock, but with more of a dynamic shift between the verses and chorus. Though having the dynamics still pretty high in the song can make the hi-hat really pierce the sound which can be a bit uncomfortable at times. Though on the flip side of things it gives their sound something to feel harsh about, its not all games and fun when listening to this record. The song "Joey" brings out the best in the vocal harmonies from the duo. The song isn't the most energetic in the album, but it gives the listener a chance to hear both vocals without the guitar and drums taking charge of the song which happens on quite a few of the tracks. For a duo you need a lot of things happening at once otherwise it can sound quite empty, but for "Joey" it works well. The song "Choker" is one of the strongest songs on the album and is the song that really defines who Honeyblood are compared to other bands of their genre. It was the first single that was put out from the duo and got a massive backing from BBC Radio 6 Music with the single being on the A list for a considerable amount of weeks. Its a very catchy tune that lets the backing vocals take the leading melody for the track. The main vocals lead with the melody line in the verses and breaks. I like the way the song is structured and doesn't seem to long winded.
By the time youve got to the track "No Spare Key" you've got a good idea of the Honeyblood sound. The next song "Fortune Cookie" is possibly the 'happiest' song on the record, using major chords and even a xylophone to keep things sweet. Though this sweetness doesn't get annoying because its different to the rest of the album, so it ads a nice texture to the record as a whole. I really enjoyed the guitar solo at the end of the track too and shows off how good Tweedale is on the guitar. Honeyblood have just come off the back of the NME newbreed tour where they toured the country with the band Superfood and was a great success. I can only imagine there are a whole bunch of better things to come for the duo in 2015 and I look forward to following their journey for the coming year. The tracks to check out are "Fall Forever", "Killer Bangs" and "Choker". Thank you very much for reading and until next time. Lewis
