Everything Everything – ‘A Fever Dream‘ (live)
This video sees Everything Everything showcase the title track from their new album in all its glory. It opens in uncharacteristically sparse and piano-led fashion, giving plenty of space for Jonathan Higgs’ falsetto to breathe. Within a minute, the glitchy Radiohead-esque elements to come in before the bass starts to rumble and everything clatters into a glorious, mathy noise. There are screams of ‘be honest’ as the song heads towards its clattering drum-filled climax. Although it’s experimental, it’s never less than danceable – as shown by Jonathan’s dancing,
Sl0tface – ‘Pitted‘
We don’t know anyone who isn’t excited by the prospect of Sl0tface’s debut album ‘Try Not to Freak Out’ this September and we’re pretty sure ‘Pitted’ will just whet anticipation further. Featuring trumpet from Norwegian jazz musician Simen Kiil Halvorsen, it’s an energetic blast of pop-punk that the band describe as a pep talk for getting out of the house (and away from your latest Netflix binge) and enjoying a night out. It describes how even if it’s not the best night ever, it could make for some great experiences and stories. It contains a number of relatable lyrics (‘I’d rather stay home’) and funny memories (‘playing marry, fuck, kill with every actor that’s ever played James Bond’; ‘doing our Hotline Bling thing, God it’s embarrassing’).
Quiet Lions – ‘Stronger than Before‘
Quiet Lions have been away for a while now and it’s a treat to have them back. ‘Stronger than Before’ finds them in introspective mood as Michael Williams opens the song with the lines: ‘We’ve been through the wars, we made it out the other side, so much stronger than before’. This is followed by talk of seeing a brighter future and how ‘I won’t let you down again. No, not again’ as the Lonely the Brave/Black Foxxes-esque bursts of guitar kick in. It’s powerful and anthemic throughout.
False Advertising – ‘Honest‘
‘Honest’ is a catchy slice of slacker pop from False Advertising, a Manchester-based trio who appear to have grown up on a diet of The Lemonheads and Dinosaur Jr. With a lot of ‘he said, she said, I said’ lines, there’s an everyman charm and a wicked sense of humor running throughout the short song as they rally against all the bullshit we’ve had to put up with over the past year and a bit. They demand those responsible for ‘fake news’ and the divided state of the nation take a long, hard look at what they started and keep repeating the words ‘broken record’. They also ask ‘Am I the only one that feels there’s something wrong?’
Samoans – ‘Patience‘
We’ve been eagerly awaiting ‘Laika’, Samoans’ second album, for a long time and have seen them wow a number of festival crowds over the past couple of years. ‘Patience’ is the first single to be unveiled and it hints that the band may be heading in a slightly proggier direction (the album’s a loose concept album based around space, after all). With swirling riffs, twists and turns in the time signatures and talk of machines taking over, it has an unsettling Jeff Buckley-fronting-Explosions in the Sky vibe. And that’s something to celebrate.
Filed under: New music, Preview, Top 5s Tagged: A Fever Dream, alternative music, Bandcamp, Brighton, Cardiff, Everything Everything, False Advertising, Honest, indie music, Manchester, new music, new songs, Norway, Patience, Pitted, Quiet Lions, rock music, Samoans, Sl0tface, soundcloud, Stronger than Before, YouTube