The newest addition to my iTunes library this week is Andy Burrow’s ‘Hometown.’
You may recognize the slouchy-haired southerner bustin’ out beats with Johnny Borrell & co as well as later joining We Are Scientists. Now it looks as though Burrows has packed away his drum kit, swapped it for a guitar, a microphone and a spotlight; all set for solo stardom. He always hinted at his ability to string a harmony together, backing the vocals of Razorlight;but now, he’s taking centre stage with this beautiful track.
Recently performing on The Sunday Brunch, Burrows shows he doesn’t need to strut around shirtless on stage to be a genuine artist. All that is required are melancholic melodies and enlightening lyrics.
The tenacious trio are back! Rumours of their return began to circulate this month and it wasn’t long till their new release was gathering the attention of millions on the web. It’s been eight years since Knowles, Rowland and Williams have dominated the charts and ‘Nuclear’ is a clear indicator of how badly we needed them back on our i-Pods. It shows listeners worldwide that, yes; mainstream music is evolving, (unfortunately towards more ear-numbing, naff auto-tuning and cochlea-crunching corny chorals), but it doesn’t mean originality has to go out the window. Destiny’s Child are veterans of R ‘n’ B and this track shows this through their ability to adapt to the electronic enthusiasm which featured in the music scene a lot more in 2012, as well as providing us with what we’d missed about them most.
‘Nuclear,’ taken from the up and coming album Love Songs flaunts the girl group’s beautiful harmonies alongside a more synth-sounding background to prove they’re not stuck in the “noughties.” Their first performance of the reunion takes place at this year’s Superbowl half-time show. I’ll certainly be staying up for that; work will just have to be a sleepy blur…
Bloc Party - Truth
Taken from the album Four, ‘Truth’ finally re-introduces us to those guitar hooks that made me fall in love with Bloc Party all those years back. I completely understand a band’s thirst to musically mature but a part of me always held a torch for Silent Alarm, despite my love for ‘Kreuzberg’ and ‘Signs’ from later albums. I was more than pleased to hear ‘Truth,’ contained the layering of a guitar riff not too dissimilar from ‘So Here We Are’ along with a wash of low-toned vocals which tied together the sonorous sounds of Silent Alarm from the past. The track evokes nostalgia; Okereke and his band mates searching for what was previously overlooked by ‘Flux’ and ‘One More Chance’, which promoted a dance dimension to their music, causing their split.
‘Truth’ reminded me of a sweaty, incredible, air tight Alexandra Palace gig I went to in 2007, illustrating that this could all be within my grasp again this year and I can hardly wait.
Disclosure – White Noise ft. AlunaGeorge
A wave of excitement spread across the social networking spectrum last night when Zane Lowe unleashed the highly anticipated newest release ofDisclosure. After recent success with ‘Latch ft. Sam Smith’ and up and coming tours selling out, it was no surprise there would’ve been an eager wait to find out what this dynamic duo could produce next. EPs were their calling but it finally looks as though Disclosure are polishing up their debut album, set for release in March this year.
On this track, two became four as they teamed up with AlunaGeorge who were recently nominated for the Sound of 2013 poll. Surely this only meant one thing: electronic excellence. ‘White Noise’ combines sounds from a 90’s rave as well as UK garage, so don’t be completely surprised if you see a lot of Bez dance-a-likes in the crowd. Deep house hooks burstin’ in the background, you’ll stop dancing before your feet do.
