The Stunning Bastille

With the music market absolutely saturated with supposedly 'indie' or 'alternative' bands which, in reality, are nothing more than a few boys who've lazily thrown together a poorly-sung guitar accompaniment, it's unreservedly refreshing to come across a four-piece with undeniable talent and a passion for music. This group go by the name of Bastille - initially a solo project started by frontman Dan Smith, from South London.

Since being signed by EMI Music back in December 2011, 2012 was a big year for Bastille and it is apparent that 2013 is going to be even bigger. With single 'Flaws' reaching number 21 on the UK Chart, the band's thoughtful lyrics and vocal passion were being recognised by their ever-growing fan base.

Bastille's Soundcloud

Set for release on March 4th 2013, debut album 'Bad Blood' promises to be filled with creative and inspiring melodies - if previously released 'Icarus', 'Bad Blood' and 'Overjoyed' are anything to go by.

The Band at Leeds Festival 2012

1. 'Pompeii'
2. 'Things We Lost In The Fire'
3. 'Bad Blood'
4. 'Overjoyed'
5. 'These Streets'
6. 'Weight of Living, PT.II'
7. 'Icarus'
8. 'Oblivion'
9. 'Flaws'
10. 'Daniel in the Den'
11. 'Laura Palmer'
12. 'Get Home'


The quartet have also created two perfectly crafted mixtapes - Other People's Heartache and follow up Other People's Heartache Pt.2 - sampling all kinds of material, from Corona's 'The rhythm of the night' to Home Alone's Macaulay Culkin to the iconic Liam Neeson line, 'I will find you, and I will kill you'. Despite the rather confusing mixture of Calvin Harris' Sweet Nothing and the bands own Pompeii, there are some beautiful compositions that can be explored and re-understood with every listen. The genius 'No Angels' is a thought-provoking journey through the XX's Angels, TLC's No Scrubs and Alfred Hitchcock movie Psycho. Dan Smith's perfect tone doesn't falter throughout and the genius behind both mixtapes is disreputable.


It is evident that big things are to come for the band - but what are your thoughts? Is Bad Blood a recipe for success or an individual taste?

Check out latest single Pompeii below:

Review: The Vaccines - Come of Age

All indie-rock/alternative music fans have been anticipating the release of the new Vaccines album for quite some time now. After the relative success of 'What did you expect from the Vaccines?', released in March 2011, the four boys from London had to deliver - and the band's image has changed drastically! In comparison to their rather sedate debut, 'What did you expect from the Vaccines?', 'Come of Age' presents a confident band with musical maturity. The tracks are far more creative, both lyrically and musically; it's apparant that the band have had a bit of a kick up the backside in terms of their music. Release on the same day as Two Door Cinema Club's 'Beacon' hasn't damaged sales, with 'Come of Age' shooting straight to the Number One album spot.

Each song on the album is different. The signature Justin Young vocals and powerful guitar riffs run through the album, some songs taking prominence straight away and some taking a few listens to grow on you. 'No hope' and 'Teenage icon', already released as singles, gave an addictive taster to an album that's built on expectations.

One of the first tracks to grab my attention was the (unusual for the vaccines) feel-good track, 'I always knew'. The vaccines usually present a typical moody boyband image - 'I'm no teenage icon... I'm so self-obsessed' - but this song was different. Another initial personal favourite was the stroppy 'bad mood' - Freddie Cowan's impressive opening guitar solo setting the standard for, in my humble opinion, the best song on the album.

The rather strange lyrical content of 'I wish I was a Girl' balances with it's electrifying melodic production - the same could be said for 'Change of Heart pt. 2', a two minute fast-paced toe tapper.

The Vaccines haven't shyed away from Ramones/The Strokes comparisons, either; particularly with the drawling melodies of  'Aftershave Ocean' and 'All in Vain'. Unfortunately, both tracks - alongside five-minute-long 'lonely world' - are the more dreary tracks on the album, and easy to skip.

'Come of Age' is certainly impressive - especially when compared to their debut. Although some tracks overshadow others, the Vaccines are best when they're sticking to their own risky, creative style.

Review: Lianne La Havas

First of all, I'm just going to say that I chose this album to review because it is honestly one of my favourite albums of all time.  Despite the lessening importance of vocal ability in popular music (as I discussed in my last blog post), finally there is an artist with astounding vocal ability and songwriting talent being played on primetime radio.

The tracklist to 'Is your love big enough?', the debut album by Lianne La Havas, is full of a range of musical moods, with a soft tone running through that makes the whole album easy to listen to.

  Opening track 'Don't wake me up' is possibly my favourite song on the album. The acapella beginning is the perfect start to the album, and clearly displays her vocal range. Another great song from the album, in my opinion, is 'Age' - more of an upbeat sounding track, although the lyrics do contradict that slightly.

One negative to the album is the repetitive nature of some of the songs - title track 'Is your love big enough?', while vocally impressive, is quite repetitive which can make it hard to listen to over and over again.

Some of the most beautifully written songs include 'Lost and found', 'Au Cinéma', 'Gone' and 'Elusive'. Each song has a calming quality and, each time I listen, I discover a different part to the song that I hadn't heard before.

Overall, although the songs may not be the get-up-and-dance-around-your-bedroom type, the lyrics are beautiful and La Havas is vocal perfection.

*****



The rise of the autotune

While many artists have escaped the ear-bleeding autotune, the recent charts have been littered with it. Vocal talent has been largely replaced by machinery - and the mass market have been lapping it up!

In my opinion, artists such as Ke$ha are cheating the public out of their hard-earned money. By creating a fake vocal ability, they are also blocking the way for truly talented vocalists who are working 24/7 to get any form of recognition.

On the other hand, vocals are not the only aspect to a song; if the artist is involved in other creative processes such as writing or producing the song, then that's fair enough. The problem comes when the 'artist' is not involved in any creative aspect of the song whatsoever - if good looks are the only quality they possess, they should try out modelling rather than clogging up the music industry.

I have more respect for music producers such as David Guetta who don't feel the need to put their own vocals on their tracks and rising musicians who write, produce and sing without autotune.

What do you think?



15-year old artist Birdy has a beautiful
voice and has never used autotune.

Welcome...

Well, since this is my first blog, it's going to be a pretty short post while I find my way around. I chose Music and society as my first topic; simply because it's something that interests me.

Don't let my terribly unimaginative title fool you - I will be blogging about all genres of music, from The Beatles to My Chemical Romance to Justin Bieber. Trust me, I won't be afraid to say my opinion!

Watch this space.
A x