Sounds of an Eccentric

Photograph by Jay Dawson / Shutter Productions 'Forget to Love' is the latest release from North East group St Buryan . After taking a break in 2015, the band reformed last year and have had a whirlwind 12 months, releasing two other tracks 'Everything I said' and 'Lucid' and headlining a sold out gig at Jumpin' Jacks. The highlight of the track is the ambient introduction. Ethereal synth is coupled with a peppy guitar riff, before welcoming lilting vocals, creating a chilled daydream sound. The upbeat melodies have definitely been influenced pop-punk , but unlike the majority of pop-punk, the lyrics aren't cheesy or cringy, so the track is actually tolerable.  I wouldn't go as far as saying that the band have a lyrical flair, as some of the lines are a bit cliché, but they're inoffensive and carry the catchy melodies well. Front man Ben Mackett's vocals are tuneful and have an happy-go-lucky vibe to them. However, o...

' Tempered Tides' is the highly anticipated debut single from Leeds acoustic rock group Tranqua Lite .  The band launched the track last week, with an electric gig at Leeds' Belgrave Music Hall and Canteen . The song opens with peppy drums and a sweet guitar melody before welcoming ebullient counter-melodies, producing an upbeat, intricate sound. The interwoven melodies create an exciting, almost tropical vibe, which gives the song bags of character and makes it super easy to dance along to. The bass line packs a herculean punch, elevating the song into an uber catchy track. This is coupled with front-man Ben Marcano-Oliver's chilled vocals, giving the song a full bodied yet balanced sound. The highlight of the track is the instrumental jam before the final chorus, which  radiates this energetic, bold sound. I'm envisaging a paisley clad audience throwing some serious shapes to this gorgeous explosion of audial vigour. Overall, it's a really refres...

Photo by Dirtyroknroller Photography Last night Blinding Lights Promotions hosted Liverpool indie group The Jackobins in the trendy Quayside venue, Popolo. The support for the night was Mosaic Sun, Moon Rover and Primary Colours. Kicking the night off was local group Primary Colours . The five piece band are renowned for their prolific gigging and front man Joseph James's outspoken presence on social media. Although the group have a refreshing energy, I highly doubt they'll progress much further than the 'local support act slot'. As a whole, their sound is very generic and unoriginal, and they've confused being artistic or edgy with just being plain strange. James has adopted a bizarre stage presence that doesn't enhance the performance and just comes across as a bit try hard. Musically speaking, their songs at best are beige and repetitive and at worst they're cringe worthy - especially the track 'Guava'. They need to work on crea...

'NECK DEEP' is the latest single from Newcastle's hottest indie-pop quartet 'The Old Pink House' .  Despite only forming in 2016, the group have earned themselves a strong fan base, released five singles, accumulated countless radio plays and performed at several festivals across the UK. Alluring synth teases the listener before exploding into a crashing wave of ebullient drums, bold riffs and a hearty bass line. Front man Chris Brown's vocals adopt a lilting, soft tone that balances out the loud, full bodied instrumentals. This allows the track to have a refreshing depth whilst adhering to the very trendy, delicate vocal style that's dominating the current indie scene. The track is centered around the straightforward chorus of: 'Neck deep is the something you don't want me to see', meaning it's super easy to sing and dance along to and probably will be stuck in your head for a few days. The song concludes with an effortlessl...

Newcastle rapper J Smirk has been nominated for the 'Best of British Best Unsigned Male' award at the Unsigned Music Awards. Despite only emerging on the scene a year ago, J Smirk has gone from strength to strength, building an explosive set list, accumulating radio plays and supporting  DJ Yella and   N.W.A on their 'Straight Outta Compton' tour at the O2 Academy. J Smirk said: "It's an honour to be nominated, one of the hard things about being independent is gaining that recognition we all need to push on, so it's incredible to see the credit we all deserve." The U.M.A's launched in 2012 and they strive to showcase the Best of British Talent. Past winner  Molly Smitten-Dowes  went on to represent GB at the Eurovision song contest in 2014. J Smirk has also been entered into the 'Critics Choice Award', which will be judged by You Me at Six guitarist Max Helyer, BBC Introducing radio presenter Dave Gilyeat and Louise ...

Photograph by: Ant Adams Kent based indie group Glass Peaks return with their latest single: 'Hold me Closer'. Since forming in 2016, the group have been causing a stir up and down the country, collecting countless radio plays, exploding onto the festival scene and their last single 'I'm Okay ' earned them a spot on the 'Viral Top 50' and Spotify's 'Indie List'. The track opens with an alluring guitar riff, heightened by a blanket of echoing synth, before welcoming suave vocals, engulfing the listener into an indie-pop daydream. Engaging harmonies are woven throughout the song, providing it with a gorgeous depth and full bodied, yet catchy sound. This is complimented by the well controlled vocals, which highlight how much detail has gone into the harmonies. The vocals and guitar riffs are a perfectly balanced see-saw of rhythms, bass lines and apparent technical flair, which gives the song a complexity that many catchy indie tracks ...

'I Could Do This Shit All Night' is the latest track from Buffalo based singer-songwriter Elliot Duke. Duke's brand of neo-country gained popularity through YouTube covers and intimate gigs around the Buffalo area. The track couples a narrative about a millennial  happily stumbling through life and an upbeat, organic country guitar riff. It's a clean and unconvoluted sound that works well as a solo act, and showcases the control and talent behind Duke's vocals. Unfortunately, the song's lyrics could be improved. Structure wise they're well thought out, however the overall tone of the song is a little clumsy and a bit try hard. There's the odd cringey line, such as: "Michael Bublé singing making that good old Christmas sound" but then there's the occasional swear word which has clearly just been dropped in to make the song  'edgier'. The song either needs to adopt a grittier wit from the outset or Duke needs to rethink so...