The Reytons are our Single Of The Week - who else? Shoebox shows a mature side to the band who usually pump out Arctic Monkeys indie bangers. The song is delivered in their unmistakable gritty twang yet is drenched in emotion. Look in the dictionary for ‘indie anthem’ and Shoebox will start playing. A band that are surely on the cusp of being recognised as the leaders of UK indie rock, Shoebox is simply an incredible song. We say this despite The Reytons being too cool to acknowledge Our Sound over the months but, well, who the hell cares. We will always come back for more. LISTEN.
Wigan four-piece RIVVER have released their strongest single to date, Smile Back. With a sound reminiscent of The Smiths, it is classic storytelling that can also be compared to St Jude era Courteeners. With jangly guitars and a solid bassline, Smile Back is a fantastic release and a must listen...Amy Shark, a lady we are huge fans of but have been left disappointed with her recent releases, gets back on track with All The Lies About Me. No big chorus again but this is lyrically superior to anything else this week...Sticking with female singer-songwriters and Manchester lass Jess Kemp has released the Christmas song Leave A Chair Out. Jess’s talent for arrangement is on full display on this, a song with a big vocal..Jonny Ash is clearly influenced by The Verve as seen on last release Eclipse (An amazing tune). Rosies is a slower effort with some sublime guitars..Sean Simmons released his five song strong EP 1992 last week. Hollywood Smile here is the acoustic version and blimey it’s such a solid song. With melodies from the Matchbox 20 playbook, Sean is passionate and authentic in his delivery. The acoustic sound on this EP is stunning and never more so than on It’s Over. Such a moving chorus. We usually just playlist one song per artist but i’m breaking our rule for this - as many people as possible need to listen to this. Loveable has a pure pop song chorus. At this point i’m thinking we’ve been duped and Sean Simmons is a pseudonym for a million selling established artist or something. The final two tracks on the EP are demo versions and admittedly while not as strong as the rest of the collection are perfectly listenable. Blown away...Spaceman is the third release this year from Marquis Drive, a seven-piece band from the West Midlands. Spaceman is an emphatic anthem of that there is no doubt. Brimming with energy, the song delivers a catchy chorus and a full, ear worming sound...Jupiter's Beard continue a strong week for releases with Stella, a friggin tune of the highest quality. Best described as exciting, Stella is a song that will put a smile on your face - rock n roll at its finest...Tropical Boyfriend Catalogue, the most prolific band of 2020, have a put out a Christmas single by the name of I Celebrate Christmas (Better Than You). It’s actually not much of a Christmas song (a good thing) but a standard jaunty track complete with piano and handclaps. A band that never disappoints, this is a decent Christmas song that isn’t a Christmas song..Broken Home is the socially aware song by The Goldborns. Singing about tower blocks that we live in, Broken Home is a poignant and thought provoking ska track...Snoop Dogg of all people has released a Christmas rap, well it’s a re-working of THAT song off THAT TV advert, now with added Christmas cheer. You’ll be hearing this a million times over the next month. Doggy Dogg Christmas is actually a lot of fun - Snoop’s velvet voiced rhymes are cheesy to the max but delivered so well that all is forgiven...Southend-On-Sea band The Trusted sound a lot like The Killers which in itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Criminals is a tender and engrossing tune that has a nice and shiny chorus. There’s some maturity to the songwriting on this one...Indie rock duo Salarymen sing about the break up of a former band on Something To Me. A very listenable and personal song that has a great guitar sound...We loved Fray, the previous release from sixteen year old Gillian Heidi and her new one, Moonlight, is just as impressive. It starts subtly and the lyrics are very reflective. Melancholic pop at its best...Said Sara has released I Star As You, a song we have had on rotation all week. It is a lovely acoustic tune with a dark undertone. Thumping drums intertwine with a moving piano refrain and a solid acoustic backbone. I Star As You doesn’t follow the standard acoustic singer-songwriter mould; there is something wonderfully off kilter about this...Larusta & The Dead Dogs scare the life out of us on The Devil’s Daughter. Dark and sinister in the way Nick Cave is, this is best listened to when planning your next violent crime. The guitars on this are fabulous, chugging away there in the background while Larusta delivers his creepy vocal. It ain’t half bad you know...Out on Dec 6th, Lucid Mango is the debut single from Meagre Demeanour. You could be forgiven from the song title and indeed the band's name that this would be some kind of pretentious effort but no it is straightforward indie. Mellow and featuring a great ditty of a guitar riff it is perhaps crying out for a bit of energy. Still, a promising debut release all the same...Hook and I Like You is out on the 8th and one to watch out for. Hook are a Dublin new wave band with a clear penchant for writing a tune it seems. This reminds me of Suspicious Minds from Elvis for some reason, I think it’s the chorus. Anyhow, you can’t go far wrong giving this one a listen...and finally we have got a cover up next in the shape of We Built This City, a slowed down re-working by The Xcerts. A classic 80’s song in itself, The Xcerts have worked hard to transform the song into something else. Pretty special.
Most of the above releases can be listened to on our weekly updated Spotify Playlist here.
WATCH THE VIDEO TO THE FABULOUS NEW SONG FROM SAID SARA - I STAR AS YOU - HERE
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