Emily King – THE animals

Emily King has new music; yaaaay! This is a gorgeous record about not letting yourself make the same mistakes again. I love the imagery she creates in her words, “Big teeth in your face / Claws like a razorblade / Never again will I ever be friends with a big bad wolf like you” she starts the record and it sets the scene for what follows. The song  seems to just hum along under Emily King’s measured vocals. This isn’t a song about anger. This is more about a self-reappraisal and renewal which it captured perfectly.

The animated video is a gem as well. The visuals are so strong in their own right I could happily just watch them in silence.

“I didn’t learn the first time, lord I learned the second time” – telling words. And ones I need to listen to because the last time I forget to check-up on Emily King I almost missed the freaking awesome Seven EP. I really should pay more attention to Emily King’s YouTube, Soundcloud, Facebook, Bandcamp…

Shanay – Time

I genuinely don’t know where to start… this is such a phenomenal record. I will try not to get over excited, however I might just have to. You’ve been warned.

It’s the strings. It’s the way it builds, the way it grows. I love the way Shanay delivers the vocal oh so delicately, almost betraying the full bodied and subtly  intense music encapsulating it. I love the way Shanay rolls up in to the high-notes, “nothing like letting go / it takes hold / and I succumb to the truth”, then she lets each one gently break as the words softly tumble down. There are plenty of opportunities for Shanay to explode on this record yet she doesn’t. She holds back and as the accompaniment begins to thicken towards a mini-crescendo she doesn’t entirely follow and it is that restraint which just sucks you in completely.

“I’ve got no time for wasting…” Shanay sings through the refrain. She may not have time to waste, however I will be wasting a lot of time listening to this record… then again, listening to music this good is never ever a waste of anything!

Loveless – They Don’t Know

From that slice of epicness to this… I kinda of feel sorry for anyone following that to be honest. Still… onwards… UK Garage was the music of my youth. From listening to DJ EZ, Mark ‘Ruff-Cut’ Lloyd or Matt ‘Tuff-Jam’ Lamont at our local under 18s party, Education In Dance, to having my radio station locked between Ice 89.4 and Flex 103.6 every weekend, Garage is the soundtrack to a large period of my life. As my ears have changed over the years Garage is less top of mind, however I still love me some good ol 2-step when I find it.

Loveless’ record is reminiscent of Mike Delinquent or TS7’s recent sounds, one that pays homage to the vibes.. sorry vybez from yesteryear yet updates the sound with more precise basslines. Varren Wade provides a comforting vocal accompaniment to revive those warm fuzzy feelings I always get when hearing great UKG.

Anita – The Youtube song (PARODY)

This one is a bit of fun, and incredibly catchy! YouTube, wondrous passer of time and purveyor of animal videos is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. With this in mind Anita decided to poke a little fun at them and, if we’re being totally honest, humanity in general – after all we’re the ones who watch these videos!

Cat-videos, dogs skateboarding, crazy hitchhikers, One Direction fans crying, no one is safe and all the classics get a call-out. It’s cheeky, it’s satirical and it’s all quite sentimental too.

The reason it made song of the week? That darn catchy melody. Seriously, since I first heard it the chorus has been lodged in my head more firmly than Sepp Blatter’s locked in to FIFA! I catch myself randomly whistling it various points in the day. Press play with caution because, “This is the YouTube Song and I’m gonna play it, on and on, I’m gonna post it up up up…” If there was a Novello award for the catchiest f**king chorus this would win hands down! I both applaud you and hate you at the same time… “Chaaarrlieeee bit. my. fin-ger…” I’ll be humming this for a while!