Reading Time: 7 minutes
Time for another rundown of what I’ve been listening to over the past month.
Yep, I’m a little late but had a really busy weekend last week.
Short on time? My Essential 5 are featured at the top!
As always, I really appreciate every read, scan or visit and hope you find some new music you love.
Read More » Reading Time: 8 minutes
And just like that, we’re at the end of another month! I have been devouring a huge amount of music this month, so it was hard to whittle it down to even this amount of tracks!
Short on time? My Essential 5 are featured at the top!
As always, I really appreciate every read, scan or visit and hope you find some new music you love.
Read More » It’s been a while! Some of you may know this as ‘Current Faves‘, which I posted regularly on the Instagram Stories on my music acount for 4 years. I’ve rebranded back to what I used to do here on the blog and call them my Monthly Mixtapes.
The idea? I love music (if you hadn’t already figured), especially discovering and sharing new finds. So on the last weekend of each month (late this time due to ill health), I’ll be posting a selection of songs I’ve been devouring that month. A selection of old and new. Some stuff will be commercial and some won’t. There are no rules, just songs which speak to me.
Read More »Here’s the mixtape for June! 20 songs old and new that we’re loving at The Music Box.
Gorgeous, eerie electro-ballad from All Saints’ comeback album. Distant twinkling pianos, tribal percussion and infinitely reverberating vocals all result in a very special, substantial ballad.
Another gorgeous ballad from the band’s comeback album, although this time it is a pure and raw piano ballad.
R&B/Hip Hop elements all evolve into a quirky alt-R&B track with a brilliant chorus where giggling synthesisers and thunderous percussion soar.
Utterly brilliant comeback single from JT. Piano chords and finger clicks evolve into a fantastically catchy disco-pop Summer smash. One of the best songs of 2016 so far.
Moody and brooding with stuttering percussion, pitch-moderated glitchy vocal samples and crashing synths, resulting in an utterly brilliant Pop track.
Gentle 808 percussion, jittery synthesisers and monotone vocals result in this brilliantly frank yet emotional 80’s-influenced pop track. Clearly influenced by the likes of The Blue Nile and Madonna’s ‘Crazy For You’, it’s just brilliant, particularly during the breakdown on which Matt Healy sings She said “I’ve been so worried ’bout you lately, you look s**t and you smell a bit”. The intertextuality/references to the band’s previous works ‘Robbers’ and ‘The City’ are also incredibly clever.
Danish teenage band Liss are quickly taking the world by storm, largely propelled in the UK by being championed by Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac. Their music straddles various genres such as synthpop, alt-R&B and neo-soul, often with a very care-free tone. This track is no exception.
Catchy Pop-Rock track with energising guitar riffs and a brilliant chorus.
Great track with a very retro-vibe.
Smooth and soulful acoustic track by UK vocal group Mic Lowry. Perfect breezy harmonies carry this lovely track.
1) Simply Red – Big Love
Smooth, soulful; everything Simply Red does best. Beautiful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGYMZWs9wPs
2) Simply Red – Love Wonders
Love the slightly dark, night-time tone of this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK7HCNAGHHI
3) Mark Morrison – Return of Mack
Without a doubt one of the best pop/R&B tracks of the 90’s. Funky and catchy as hell.
4) Joni Mitchell – How Do You Stop
Stunning cover that completely surpasses the original. Aided by Seal on backing vocals, this is a stunning interpretation. Joni and Seal’s voices blend beautifully together.
5) The Japanese House – Still
I love the debut EP by The Japanese House and this is one of its highlights. Produced by Matt Healy and George Daniel from The 1975, it’s a stunning piece of electro-pop full of dramatic drum breaks, layered vocals and squeaky synthesisers. Beautiful.
6) Joni Mitchell – Help Me
Love Joni Mitchell and I am slowly getting through listening to most of her discography. I absolutely love this! So uplifting, so jazzy and soulful. It’s reminiscent of cycling through the countryside on a summer’s day.
7) Jamie XX – Loud Places
Keep hearing this on the radio and it always manages to grab my attention. The distorted vocals on the chorus and the stamping beats all contribute to how endearing it is.
8) Rixton – Where are u now
Prior to hearing this on radio, I hadn’t bothered checking out the original. This absolutely blew me away and made me actually sit up and listen to Rixton properly for the first time. Harmonies are on point, the jazzy piano interpretation and eerie guitar screams are stunning. Jake Roche’s lead vocal is also fantastic. I ended up checking out the original after this and this is definitely the superior version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJnMqeJrD5Y
9) Justin Timberlake – Cry Me A River
Throwback to 2002! What a tune.
10) Justin Timberlake – I Think She Knows
Awesome interlude from the FutureSex/LoveSounds album. Love the guitar work on this.
Music Monday 10
1) Pharrell – Here
This man is an absolute genius. Taken from the latest Spiderman film, this is a perfect movie song. Don’t be put off if you don’t like Pharrell, this is a beautiful and rare ballad for him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoE5ifeWX8U
2) The Vamps – She was the one
Loving the Vamps at the moment. Beautiful song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seHYL974VDg
3) The Vamps – Dangerous
Love this so much. Reminds me a little of McFly.
4) Pharrell Williams & Alicia Keys – Know who you are
This is an awesome song – love the reggae feel to it.
5) The horrors – So now you know
Just really love this song.
6) Snow Patrol – You could be happy
Perhaps the most heartbreaking song ever written. Certainly one of my favourite songs of all time. The lyrical content is just so incredibly beautiful and I love the music-box sound that runs the way through the song.
7) Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake – Love never felt so good
All of us MJ songs have known about this song for years – it’s appeared online and on a couple of MJ compilations. The new polished versions, both solo and with JT sound fantastic, however. I especially love this, being a fan of both MJ and JT.
8) Paramore/The Castro Family – Still into you
I’m not a massive fan of Paramore and especially not this song. But just check out this stunning cover. The harmonies are mesmerising. Definitely in the style of Fleetwood Mac
9) Fleetwood Mac – Everywhere
Been listening to Fleetwood Mac loads lately – they’re just incredible. This is an absolute classic – so magical.
10) The Flying Picketts – Only You
I am still loving ‘Only you’ as a song – it’s so beautiful. Love this acapella version.
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