CHOCOLATE AND SEX WITH THE 1975

Now before you go jumping to conclusions, thinking I've ditched college to become a roadie in order to enjoy some rather frisky past times, involving Cadburys Dairy Milk and Manchester's finest new addition to the indie/rock scene, lemme explain.

On Wednesday I was lucky enough to go watch these guys 

The 1975, at Nottingham's Rock City and can I just tell you now it was AMAZING.

With an ever expanding back catalogue of incredible tunes, such as the mighty 'Chocolate' and the saucy little

number 'Sex', to keep the crowd rallied and as high as a certain Mt. Everest, the atmosphere,

 as you can probably imagine, was electric. And when the beginning chords of those numbers in particular began wafting around the room, everyone, including myself, seemed to

 get an insatiable injection of life, courtesy of Matt and co. and just went absolutely crazy in the best possible way.

As always seems to happen, I found myself on the very cusp of a brewing mosh pit and for once I

just let myself go completely and got stuck right in there, being thrown to and fro like a I was stuck in a human pinball machine.

It was the best feeling ever.

You close your eyes. You listen to the music, let it fill your veins, let it take you higher. 

You sing the words and you come alive, and before you know it you're bouncing up and down like a pogo stick, crashing your body into the unfortunate soul next to you and feeling like life could not get any better than it is right there and then in that beautiful moment. 

You aren't alone. You're surrounded by a huge crowd of people who feel what you're feeling too and you're all in it together, in this instance, singing about sex, petticoats and what do you know, chocolate.

And it's the most incredible thing.

They played a variety of songs from their excellent LP and self titled debut and put on a truly phenomenal show, complete with flickering lights, a buzzing atmosphere and a turtle neck clad Matty who looked

effortlessly cool with his half shaved head and youthful, energetic and beautiful voice.

So in their role as musicians and makers of tantalizing tunes and magical moments, it's

safe to say The 1975 have well and truly outdone themselves.

Even if you don't know that many songs, like me, I would get yourself down to one of their remaining

gigs (that's if it hasn't sold out yet) and experience all this for yourself.

This is a band that has been working their arses off for the last eleven years and who

appreciate and deserve every piece of success rightfully coming their way. They make fantastic music,

they're impossibly cool, intriguing, unique and to top it all off, they're genuinely nice people too!

Lead singer Matt Healy has the crowd in his hand, commanding them effortlessly

to do as he pleases "don't start a mosh pit or I'll f***ing kill you", and after the gig 

my friends and I were lucky enough to meet him.

( Bad angle of course, but nevertheless, one cannot complain when one is meeting the lead singer of an incredible band)

Living up to his other alter ego aside 'Mr Cool' - 'Mr Nice Guy'- he made the effort

to greet every last one of us who stood adoringly in his presence and enforced a sense of world peace and ensuing harmony as if he were Nelson Mandela himself, telling us "not to get crazy and start pushing and shoving one another or I'll get scared and I'll get on that bus and go home. I'm not going, I'm staying right here and I'll make sure I meet every single one of you."

This caused one of my best friends to express her overwhelming love for Matty in the only way she knew how, by screaming happily, and who can blame her?

As a fan, to hear that was just the nicest thing and it goes an awful long way.

If I didn't already love this band, I now just want to go around with their name tattooed on my forehead,

free advertisement and all that, because they took the time to meet us and thank us and show that our support is appreciated. 

So as I said, GO, GO RUN LIKE THE WIND AND BAG YOURSELF A TICKET FOR THE 1975 RIGHT NOW and me? I'm off to the tattoo parlor....

LINK: http://the1975.com/tour

SEX

CHOCOLATE

THE CITY

GIRLS

SOUNDBITE: BRAND SPANKING NEW AND WELL WORTH A LISTEN.

Now this little quicky is centered around three artists who are still relatively underground

and who I want to point you towards.

Each included on this 'Brand Spanking New' list is well worth a listen, and trust me

I wouldn't put something on this list that is just mediocre.

Nuh-uh. These guys are brilliant, so go revel in the fact that you're

ten steps ahead of the crowd.

Unfortunately I can't provide you with much information, as there isn't bucket loads available,

so it's predominantly key tracks to listen to, just to give you a flavour of each artist and the music they produce.

1) CHURCHILL 

Although this five piece have apparently split and are now defunct, they're

still definitely worth checking out, what with brilliant tunes like 'Change' and 'The War Within'.

Slightly Civil Wars-esque, gentle, folky yet powerful, their music is really quite beautiful.

CHANGE

THE WAR WITHIN

___________________________________________________________________

2) OAK TREE SUITE

An up and coming young Australian four piece with a truly fantastic debut track,

'Not Far Away' and more reportedly to come. I really advice you to keep an eye out for these guys.

NOT FAR AWAY

___________________________________________________________________

3) SHEPPARD

The second Aussie band to feature on this list, six piece Sheppard hail from Brisbane

and there brand new single 'Let Me Down Easy' has already gone platinum in Austrailia.

So when I say 'underground', with this band, it's more, 'we're yet to here them in the UK', and judging by the success in their native land, it seems inevitable that we'll be seeing Sheppard sweep upon our shores in the not too distant future.

Their music is summery, retro-esque, very gorgeous and refreshing too.

Nothing out there quite like it, so take a listen...

LET ME DOWN EASY

___________________________________________________________________

4) TWENTY ONE PILOTS

An American duo making poetic, unaplogetic, quirky, unique, catchy music that takes

rap and pushes it in a completely new direction that could be name indie-electro rap, if it were to have

a name. Slightly reminiscent of Darwin Deez, they're heading to Reading & Leeds this weekend and I'd definitely recommend checking them out if you have the chance. These guys are good.

HOLDING ON TO YOU

GUNS FOR HANDS

___________________________________________________________________

5) TWIN WAVE

A Brooklyn based synth and pyschadelia loving quintet with a new brand

of electro-synth sound that is strangely relaxing and chilled and very catchy.

Really nice guys, good music, indie-esque image, what's not to like?

RELAPSE

___________________________________________________________________

THE JULY MELTING POT: NEW KODALINE, KANYE, KING CHARLES AND MORE

So as we head into July, I'm pleased to say there's some real corkers being popped right now 

and for once, I've got quite a bit of new music to alert you to, so 

keep your eyes open for the goodies I've got coming your way...

And when you've seen them, whack those babies on your i-pod and get them blasting out, share

them with the world and give your neighbours a free ice lolly if they get cranky.

1) BLACK SKINHEAD BY KANYE WEST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5ZquHiI8wQ

2) OTHER VOICES  BY THE ORWELLS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG-RCoBNXpA

3) CALL ME IN THE AFTERNOON BY HALF MOON RUN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsHsnIsQDIc&hd=1

4) DO I WANNA KNOW BY ARCTIC MONKEYS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpOSxM0rNPM

5) GETTING EVEN BY WHITE LIES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmhVLtR0uzA

6) SIRENS BY TOM ODELL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VstyN3ww3_4&hd=1

7) BAM BAM BY KING CHARLES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxwWDw8Q2hA

8) HOME BY GABRIELLE APLIN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxwWDw8Q2hA

9) ALL COMES DOWN BY KODALINE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxwWDw8Q2hA

10) HURRICANE BY BRIDGET MENDLER

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-njAuS7eTQ

So there's 10 key new tracks for you!

Enjoy.

NEW ALBUMS: THE BATTLE OF TWO K'S

IN A PERFECT WORLD BY KODALINE

YEEZUS BY KANYE WEST 

These two albums, one brash, one a jaw-dropping beauties, both went head to head in the charts last Sunday. A complete mix of sounds and origins, the clash was unexpected to say the least.

One is an American mega star at the top of his game, the other an Irish band who have been working their way up the ladder, enchanting everyone with their mix of soft indie-folk, gorgeously stunning tunes. 

Now on this occasion, Mr West beat newbies Kodaline to the number one spot, but for a debut to chart so highly (it charted at number three) and to go head to head with a serious chance of thwarting Kanye West of all people to the number one spot, that says an awful lot.

I pre-ordered 'In A Perfect World' and let me tell you now, that album is going down as one of my favourites alright. It's stunning, it's beautiful, it's perfect, it's original, it's all four seasons in one.

In a perfect world, we would all have this album and listen to it continously.

It really is that good.

Now I'm not going to do a whole review on the album, but I'll leave you with this:

If you liked 'High Hopes', 'All I Want' or 'Love Like This', you will adore this album.

It's just a fantastic debut and the reason for that is this is a band with genuine talent and each track is so beautifully crafted that each song stands well in its own right. 

I could try and pick a fault with this album but it would be futile.

I strongly urge you to go out and buy 'In A Perfect World' and let the magic of Kodaline captivate you just like they did me way back when (that's a pun- buy the album and you'll see why...) 

And as for 'Yeezus', judging by 'Black Skinhead', it's one absolute scorcher of an album.

KODALINE:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/In-A-Perfect-World-Kodaline/dp/B00AJCTY8S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372607796&sr=8-1&keywords=in+a+perfect+world+kodaline

KANYE: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yeezus-Kanye-West/dp/B00CV5ZPA2/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1372607841&sr=1-1&keywords=YEEZUS

GET LISTENING JUNE 2013

Sorry I haven't written in a while... in all honesty I've been lacking inspiration lately, but today I have a list of some good songs that will get you through this week very nicely indeed.

To make up for my absence I have also included paragraphs, not just sentences- I'm flexing my musical fingers and joints especially for you alright?

Now like always, it is quite a mix up of songs to say the least, but I hope you like the contrasts because after all, contrast is what makes life curiously interesting and anyway, who doesn't like to see hip hop and rock alongside each other every once in a while? 

So with the waffling done, I'll get you started on some seriously fab tunes...

1) STICKS AND STONES BY JAMIE T 

'This is one of those incredibly good yet underrated classics, simply a fantastically made song.

Although little has been released mainstream from Jamie, since 'Sticks & Stones' was released in 2009, he is still making music and hats off to Jamie because this is easily one of the best songs of the last decade.

If you didn't catch this number back in the day, I assure you that once you cross paths with it you will love it forever. Trust me. '

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9APEZMeH0o

2) PARTY ON FIFTH AVE BY MAC MILLER

'Already big in America, Mac is only just making his transatlantic debut with his appearance on the soon to be released 'The Way' by Ariana Grande. So if you want a good taster of what he's about and the music he makes, 'Party on Fifth Ave' is a brilliant introduction to Mac's refreshing style of hip hop. Whack it on at a party and you will probably gain a new found appreciation from all your fellow party-goers.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3GGN51_pjE

3) LIGHTHOUSE BY LUCY SPRAGGAN

'Although you would be in your right to snub Lucy for her tainted X Factor history and beginnings, I would advise you not to because you would be missing out on a seriously talented songstress and her witty, unique and refreshing approach to music. The writer of the perfectly true 'Beer Fear', which gives an unedited insight into the realities of getting wasted, Lucy is extremely talented in her ability to write truthful, catchy and engaging songs, and new tune 'Lighthouse' is no exception. It's a beautiful little song and definitley worth four minutes of your time (at the very least)'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9FCIyDh6_o

4) HERE'S TO NEVER GROWING UP BY AVRIL LAVIGNE

'I really didn't want to like this but I do! I can't fight it any longer. Although Avril will probably never regain the incredibly popularity that tracks like 'Skater Boy' and 'Girlfriend' brought her, with more recent tracks such as 'What The Hell' and newbie 'Here's To Never Growing Up', she's certainly heading in the right direction and there's no denying that Miss Lavigne can make damn good pop music.

This isn't an incredible song, but it's catchy, relatable, fresh and has the ability to go down as the official ode for teenagers everywhere.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXd2WxoOP5g

5) EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED BY TAYLOR SWIFT FT ED SHEERAN

'This is one of my favourite  tracks off Taylor's 2012 release 'Red'. Ed and Taylor's voice meld wonderfully together and their brilliant songwriting abilities combined  makes for a truly beautiful and sweet little number that is sure to do well worldwide. Both are hugely respected and adored artists who write songs that resonate with millions of people and both have the ability to address numerous issues in honest, beautiful and unique ways. 'Everything Has Changed' is simply adorable in every sense and if that wasn't enough, the music video is easily the cutest thing I have ever seen in my whole life.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1oM3kQpXRo

6) THE OTHER SIDE BY JASON DERULO

'Normally, I find Jason's music to be the perfect accompaniment to a party and whilst I believe he is a great singer, I find his music to be good but mostly for a dance and a nice old sing along. 

Now I honestly do not know why, but 'The Other Side' is the one exception for me. It has somehow found it's way on to my i-pod and that never happens. But it has, and I'm not ashamed either, because this is a great comeback and it's definitely one of Jason's best tunes. I hope you can avoid the self provoked shame (because I'm not judging if you're not!) and listen, maybe dance, to this cracking party tune.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byp94CCWKSI

7) TURN TO STONE BY ELO

'I know this one in particular is completely unexpected, and I'll be first to admit that although my playlists can be rather quirky and mismatched, this is pushing the boat out a bit for me. 

But before you throw your hands up in a 'quel suprise!' fashion, trust me alright? ELO are ruddy fantastic and that's musically proven because they are the masters that made the legend that is, 'Mr Blue Sky', and you just cannot argue with that. 

Aside from 'Mr Blue Sky', which I adore, 'Turn To Stone' is another of my all time favourites and you need to believe me when I say that ELO's music is literally out of this world. It's just amazing and  I thoroughly urge you to listen to them.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFljpJdYRKM

8) MURDA BIZNESS BY IGGY AZALEA FT T.I

'Ay, ay, ay, can Iggy do no wrong? This girl is simply perfection. With monster tunes like 'Work' and 'Bounce', Iggy's already demonstrated that she is certainly not 'the white Nicki Minaj', no sir, this girl has her own brand of music. Althought there are comparions between Iggy and Nicki, Iggy's music certainly has a life of it's own and she's got some talent when it comes to melding beats, raps and melodies together. 

'Murda Bizness' is an example of that. Insanely catchy, it will make you feel so bad ass you might actually consider swagging around town with a fake gold tooth and luxuriously grand gold chain around your neck.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzI9VQUHJkU

9) TALK THROUGH THE NIGHT BY DOG IS DEAD

'I know I've mentioned Dog Is Dead and quite possibly this song before, but recently I've been listening to a lot of their music again and that my friend, is because it is magically wonderful and simply stunning.

These guys are going to be so good when they hit all the festivals this summer, because their music catalogue contains all the right records to get the crowd feeling alive, enamored, united.

 'Talk Through The Night' is just one of Dog Is Dead's fabulous creations along with others such as 'Glockenspiel Song' and 'Teenage Daughter', and you really don't want to miss out on these guys because they're just too good to miss. Go listen!'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZTLJP74bLg

10) FAT BOTTOMED GIRLS BY QUEEN

'Now just to mix things up even more, if that was possible, my last selection is the infamous and spectacularly good Queen tune, 'Fat Bottomed Girls'. Practically everyone knows this song, in fact, it could probably be our nations' anthem, instead of 'God Save The Queen', it's that well known.

And stumbling across this beauty the other day reminded me just how good the song is, how amazing Queen were and how great music is supposed to sound. 

This is an epic song in every sense.

 The way the drum beats instill a thumping through your veins and your body, the way Freddie's voice soars and dances as it guides the song and not to forget the hilarious yet touching lyrics. You need to remember how incredible this song really is, and when better than right now?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMnjF1O4eH0

I hope you've enjoy the eclectic playlist I've composed for you today.

I want you to be off checking out some amazing new tunes whilst simultaneously shaking your bootie and dancing round the room to some fabulous old classics. 

Enjoy my lovelies. 

MY OH MY IT'S MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE!

Which band has been spotted sneaking their way back onto the main stage of the music scene?

Have any ideas? They're pretty big you know... one of those world wide phenomenon's that have found gratifying success in the Terrie's Orange of all industries, ie. the notoriously hard to crack music industry.

 Oh yes, it's one of my favourite bands, New Jersey's finest My Chemical Romance and they've brought with them a collection of fantastic power stomping tracks off the scrapped album 'Conventional Weapons'. 

For the next five months, My Chemical Romance will be releasing two tracks per month, a single and a B side accumulating to ten tracks in total, all of which originated from the 2009 sessions that preceded 2010's  venture into a slightly different genre twist, which we know resulted in the fabulously upbeat and electrifying 'Danger Days'. So that means from October to February, My Chemical Romance will be taking over the job of Mother Nature and delivering us a monthly gift in the shape of two brand new, unheard songs and unlike Mother Nature, I don't think anyone will be complaining about this  type of monthly gift...

Well certainly not me.

October's gift comes in a spectacular double whammy that consists of 'Tomorrow's Money' and 'Boy Division' (a take on music legends Joy  Division perhaps?). Released on the 26th of October, minimal publicity has meant these two gems have, for the time being anyway, gone relatively unnoticed, sneakily finding their way online like spiders somehow find their way into your house without you noticing.

With You Tube views for both averaging near 50,000 as opposed to the monstrous 19 million of 'Na Na Na', you can see that clearly the world is not very clued up on what My Chemical Romance world is up to right now. 

So for the time being, the only people who are in on this very special secret are the real MCR fans, who like me and you, are stupidly excited at the sheer goodness of these two tracks, as well as the fact that we have new  material from a band that hold a lot of importance to a huge amount of people worldwide.

It doesn't matter if these songs are three years old, they're still somewhat new and were definitely unheard until now and are the fix a lover of My Chemical Romance needs to stave the growing craving for a new album, which hopefully 2013 should bring us.

Upon listening to 'Tomorrow's Money' and 'Boy Division', it is clear that these two songs do not come from the 'Danger Days' era. They seem to be more a mix between the style of 2003's 'Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge' and 2006's enormous hit, the undoubtedly magnificent album 'The Black Parade' that is one of my favourite albums ever. Both capture that unique spark which just seems to scream 'My Chemical Romance' at you and they really are masterpieces of everything that the band is good at. They encapsulate every aspect that makes My Chemical Romance the band it is, from the rapid fire drums, spectacular guitar riffs, Gerard's show stealing voice and the all important lyrics.

It seems that 'Conventional Weapons' is the literal stepping stone and evolution that took place in the four year wait between 'The Black Parade' and 'Danger Days'. You can hear the sound transitioning ever so slightly and see where My Chemical Romance chose to evolve certain aspects of their already brilliant sound.

It's interesting to actually hear that transition and have something that bridges the two albums together, as often when an artists takes a different direction with their sound, there is no explanation of how they got  from there to here,  it's just two end products and you have to bridge the gaps yourself.

There's no doubt that whatever musical magic My Chemical Romance is concocting in their studios, it is most likely to be some form of progression from 'Danger Days', as seen in Gerard's collaboration with Danger Mau5, 'Professional Griefers' which echoes the sound of the album perfectly.

So if you're sat there, like I was this morning, desperate to hear the tracks that music moguls have been raving about, I strongly urge you to click on the following links and go get your MCR fix right now.

Boy Division: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XKlRZ9Kq4w

Tomorrow's Money: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkMdWLK5RPg

YOUR MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE RELEASE CALENDER:

November 23rd 2012: Single: 'AMBULANCE  B Side: 'Gun'

December 18th 2012: Single: 'The World Is Ugly B Side: 'The Light Behind Your Eyes'

January 8th 2013: Single: 'Kiss The Ring' B Side: 'Make Room!!!!!'

February 5th 2013: Single: 'Surrender The Night' B Side: 'Burn Bright'