TOP THREE TRACKS OF THE WEEK:

‘Sisters are doin’ it for themselves,’ this week:

Lana Del Rey – Ride

After a short break, Lana is finally filling our ears again with her dark and sultry drones with her first release from her new EP, Paradise. Released on November 11th, Lana’s ‘Ride’ is one of nine tracks, along with ‘Blue Velvet,’ which can already be heard in recent H&M adverts this winter. ‘Ride,’ shines a light on what Lana is known and loved for; her haunting, highly emotive pop ballad.  With monotoned verses, largely resembling those of Johnny Cash, Lana yet again proves how musically diverse she can be if we compare it to the likes of ‘Diet Mountain Dew’ from her debut album. She is constantly creating sub-genres within her own genre. We are continually sent through a journey of different tempos in ‘Ride.’ We start in a slow, mysterious anguish which eventually builds into a harmonious, dream-like chorus.

Let’s hope Rey finds herself in her own paradise of critical acclaim this winter…

Daughter - Smother

It was earlier this year that I first came across Daughter and Elena repeatedly amazed me with every song, however, with this track I hate to admit it, but it was a bit of a slow burner. I’m now pleased to announce, however, that I am completely convinced this is by far the best release from Daughter. ‘Smother,’ shows how musically advanced and developed the three-piece have become, particularly from the days of Ellen’s acoustic sessions on Youtube; still proving  tracks like ‘Peter,’ are great but nothing which steps out of the generic female acoustic artist. ‘Smother’ jumps right in front of the queue of girls with guitars seeking stardom, with its multi-musical dimensions. The haunting vocals acts as a musical canvas for the poetical lyrics which speak out to any young lover who has ever been accused of smothering their other half (metaphorically of course). Daughter’s target listeners are the bitter, obsessive youth who fantasise about being loved or being a loved-up masochist…either way, its powerful stuff.

            ‘Smother,’ proves to be a highly anticipated taster of what is to come in the lead up to their UK tour in 2013, proving that it will be year the wild youth make their mark.

Haim - Don’t Save Me

My friend recommended Haim to me and I stupidly found myself brushing them aside after a couple of listens. (In my defence, I was caught up in a blurry dissertation haze at this point, ya know… wasn’t really thinking straight). Anyway, the Californian trio have now grabbed my attention with their most recent single, ‘Don’t Save Me.’ In interviews, they claim they are combining two genres: Rock and R&B, which can mainly be distinguished through their heavy use of percussion. I later read that the Haim sisters are all drummers… which would explain why I always want to dance whenever I hear the chorus: Baby, don’t save me, nooooow, with a hairbrush at the ready. It’s been a while since I’ve heard an alternative pop girl group. Don’t get me wrong, I have no qualms in admitting I am a sucker for the old-skool Sugababes and how extremely excited I am for the Girls Aloud reunion, but it’s so refreshing  to hear three girls sing their own music, inspired by the heavily musical background they’ve been brought up in.

They’re quirky and they’re bringing nu-folk to the music industry: I’m on board.

            Sisters are really doin’ it for themselves this week eh… 

Lucy Rose - Red Face

What I love most about gigs is coming home and listening to a song differently to how you did before. Lucy Rose’s ‘Red Face’  is currently my new favourite from the album. Scroll down for an almost running commentary of the gig. It’ll feel like you were actually there… xo

LIVE REVIEW: Lucy Rose @ Brighton’s Coalition – 12/11/12

Set List:

First

Red Face

Lines

All I’ve Got

Shiver

Night Bus

Place Scar

*NEW SONG*

Middle Of The Bed

Watch Over

Bikes

ENCORE:

Don’t You Worry

Be Alright

Now, I’d never been to Brighton’s Coalition before. I didn’t even know it was a music venue. I’d always assumed it was mainly a club on Brighton’s seafront so didn’t know what to expect, apart from the generic sticky floor and bar. My assumptions were correct. I couldn’t decide whether it was the fact I could barely see the stage or whether my lack of change for the cloakroom meant I was stood in amongst the crowd with my winter warmers on, sweltering… but something just wasn’t right. I always believe a venue can make or break a gig and to be honest I had my doubts. I think  it was ‘cos I had been waiting so long for a chance to see Lucy Rose, I had already envisioned this really small, intimate gig but I forgot how much her fan base had expanded over the last year… Fighting for a good view in a gig is never my strong point especially if a very tall, stocky man is standing square in front of you, armed with a pint along with his three pals. Luckily, I managed to maintain a spot where I could just about see Lucy Rose’s full set.  It was a gap between two people’s heads. Perfect. That’ll do. ..

My concerns with the venue instantly vanished when Lucy Rose came on stage and performed her enchanting ‘First.’ I realised there was even more to her voice that recordings on her CD and various videos online weren’t showing us. There was something classical   about it. Now, I’m not talking about opera or anything Mozart, I mean that original, husky, dusty, soft base to her vocals that I would now always associate with her. A distinguishable voice is hard to come by nowadays (listen to me preaching away again), but Rose proves that raw and original talent still exists in amongst a field where ‘dirty bit’ and ‘gangnam style’ are the hype. Moving straight into her second song of the night, ‘Red Face,’ the singer looked so at ease on stage and she looked as though she was relishing every second of it.  I found her even more charming than I thought I would as she interacted with the crowd, especially when she performed a new song she had been working on, mentioning how nervous she had been as she still couldn’t quite get it right. Opening up to your audience is something a crowd at a gig are really eager for. Trust your fans and your fans will trust you and will show this through their confidence to sing back the artist’s lyrics right back to them. Lucy had her crowd laughing, singing, bopping, shouting out ‘We love you Lucy’ throughout.

‘Middle of the bed,’ created an excitable wave through the audience, as well as ‘Bikes’ where the crowd simultaneously cheered as Rose sang ‘Listen up, Listen hear, everybody scream out loud!’ A smile was permanently pressed on Lucy’s face as she demanded the crowd to shout scream and be merry. I’ve always loved two kinds of performers 1) who commands the stage and 2) who continually reminds their fans of how grateful they are for their support. The best part is that Lucy oozes both. She exudes stage presence but without the gimmicks or the strutting, just the music.

There was an atmospheric awe which stayed from the moment Lucy Rose walked onto the stage right through to the encore where the crowd yelled ‘ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!’ in unison, causing a rapturous ripple of applause until she came back to perform her final two songs of the night with her fellow band mates. She jokes about crowd surfing, before sailing straight into ‘Don’t you Worry.’ The gig was just a sixty-minute taster of what’s to come. The crowd were using every vocal cord they had to keep her from leaving the stage and ending yet another successful night of her UK tour.

This year has sped right past us, especially for Lucy Rose who started out strumming away in a local park hoping to release an album which is now spread on billboards across the UK’s capital.

Lucy once sang:

And you said, “Everything will be the same”

But look here, everything is gonna change

And you said, “It’s what I needed”

I don’t believe it

… But she better, ‘cos 2013 is going to be even more unbelievable.