March Round-Up

Last month I said that I felt as though February had flown by. In complete contrast, March seems to have lasted forever; not in a bad way, just in a so much has happened I can barely remember it all kind of way. So I'm going to attempt to sum up a lot of things in as concise a way as possible in what follows. Behold:

March Playlists

YouTube / Spotify / Deezer

March Has Given Birth to 2015's Four (or maybe five) Greatest EPs

If you're even remotely interested pop music you'll be able to agree that the last few weeks have seen the release of four great EPs. I was originally going to post this as a separate entity but, surprise surprise, I never got around to it. There's obviously no need for anyone else to release an EP in 2015 now that these four are in the public domain. Now, I say four because at the time when this idea came to me MNEK's Small Talk EP was yet to surface. So for argument's sake, I thoroughly enjoyed his six track debut as well but unfortunately for him it just doesn't nicely fit the pattern that the other four do.

[And I'm afraid that it was at this point into writing this post that everything started crumbling around me in the most dramatic way possible. What follows may or may not be coherent and/or worth reading.]

1. High Tyde - Fuzz
2. Sunset Sons - The Fall Line
3. Snakehips - Forever (Pt. II)
4. Great Good Fine OK - 2M2H 

I'd love to write a little sentence or three on each of those, I really would, but if I'm honest, they're going to be in my top EPs of 2015 list at the end of the year anyway so why bother now? Instead I've put the four of them, which consist of four tracks each - so that's 16 altogether if multiplication isn't what you're into - in this nice little Deezer playlist. If you'd like a Spotify playlist of the same thing I'd suggest you make your own because it will be worth it.
 
Gig of the Month

I actually went to loads of stuff and places this month - what follows is an extremely jumbled paragraph about the majority of it. GO!

Leon Bridges at The Lexington was the first thing I did in March. If you've heard Leon Bridges before you can sort of imagine the affair. Himself and his band made you feel extremely under dressed but their flawless show set the audience at ease. Would see again but stupidly missed out on tickets to his Village Underground show. Years & Years' first of two headline shows at Heaven was far better than when I saw them back in January but a 45 minute headline set was a little disappointing. Disappointing even more so after how good Prides were in the same room a few weeks beforehand. There's a reason I didn't "beg press list" for Takedown Festival and it's because I knew that I wouldn't be able to write a full review on it. Overall, the music was entirely as you'd expect but The Hell and Moose Blood were standouts of the day. This was followed by two trips to Camden's Roundhouse, the first for the incredible Ella Eyre and then the second for an absolutely insane show from Every Time I Die and Architects. The Blackout's final London show was then followed by two dates of the Pure Noise Records Tour. I absolutely love watching both Light You Up and Hit The Lights live, and although the Brighton date wasn't as fun (by no fault of the bands themselves) as London I'm glad I didn't let the second date pass me by. It's a shame though, I definitely would have had Forever Came Calling opening but I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles. Finally, I haven't a clue who on earth would book Tove Lo for a show anywhere on a Monday night and with my day off today I feel like it's the weekend. A flawless set with great vocals, and as Amelia said, Tove Lo's set was filled with so much energy she'd be perfect for any festival.

Top Five Tracks of the Month

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ICYMI - This Week on WIIHAMB - 2015 Week #12

In case you missed it - You shouldn't have, but just in case you did.

I've been feeling a bit down about WIIHAMB recently; things are starting to become a chore and I don't like forcing myself to write when writing isn't something I particularly enjoy. I might address this all in a post over the next week or so. I think it's hard for others to get WIIHAMB, even though I sort of know what's going on, so maybe I'll give everybody a bit of an explanation some time soon!

Keep up to date with all of the daily goings-on over at WIIHAMB Daily.

Sunday
I’m going to have to do a feature on all of the debut singles that I’ve posted because I don’t know anyone who would believe me that debuts could be this good. Emily Vaughn is a 19 year old from Florida who’s already got the great pop song formula sussed with her first track ‘Hollow’.


Monday
I have had nothing but this song (and the rest of the EP) on repeat since its release. I feel like I’m just so invested in this track. And I think it's because I'm so invested I'm so mad about the whole "it sounds like MNEK" thing. Both songs are good in their own right, I just don't think their the same. Get a grip universe.


Tuesday
Speaking of whom: Last week MNEK released his first EP to keep us tied over until the release of his debut album. The Small Talk EP features my new favourite track ‘More Than A Miracle’ which possibly contains 2015′s biggest dance/pop chorus so far.


Wednesday
I really like Lion Babe, in a “I’d really like to be Jillian Harvey when I grow up” kinda way, but I find their songs take a little while for me to get into. So, naturally bringing up the rear, here’s their new single ‘Wonder Woman’. This track was produced by Pharrell but you could tell that just from the introduction right? (See here)Obviously the duo released the official video just after I'd posted this on Wednesday so I've included that here too!


Throwback Thursday
You know that neggy frame of mind about WIIHAMB that I mentioned earlier? Well on Thursday I didn't write anything about this before posting it. Even with time to reflect I can't think of much to say other than that this is probably the only Example song I can actually listen to the whole way through.


Friday
The video for JP Cooper’s stunning soulful track ‘Closer’ is part of a short film directed by Drew Cox who became inspired after hearing the track. You can watch the Director’s cut here. After selling out five nights at The Islington in London last month, there’s no argument that this songwriter is destined for greatness..


Saturday
Kate McGill and Daniel Broadley make up the duo better known as Meadowlark. The beautiful ‘Eyes Wide’ is taken from Meadowlark’s second release, the Dual EP, set for release tomorrow.


I’ve posted Tides a couple of times over the last year or so but they just get catchier and catchier. ‘Spare Time’ is this Hertfordshire four piece’s new single and also the title track from their forthcoming EP, due for release at the start of April.


March playlists so far: YouTube / Spotify / Deezer

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ICYMI - This Week on WIIHAMB - 2015 Week #11

In case you missed it - You shouldn't have, but just in case you did.

I've been trying to live vicariously through everyone at SXSW this week, which seems to be about 80% of people on my Twitter feed. It's not really working but it is getting me more excited for The Great Escape in a couple of months! Brace yourselves because there is A LOT in this ICYMI, for whatever reason this week was crammed full of #sickbeats.

Keep up to date with all of the daily goings-on over at WIIHAMB Daily.

Sunday
Just ahead of the release of Great Good Fine Ok’s new EP ‘2M2H’ the duo have unveiled ‘Something To Believe In’. This 80′s infused slice of synth pop comes accompanied by some additional vocals from New York based artist St Lucia.


Monday
I know I’ve become accustomed to posting secretive artists but Maala is next level mysterious. This appears to be his first single and other than that there’s next to nothing about this guy online. But the track's a free download so go crazy.


Tuesday
You know sometimes things are so genuine and authentic that they take you a little while to get your head around? That’s kind of how I feel about London four-piece The Age Of L.U.N.A. ‘Six Feet Deep’ is chilled soulful hip hop tied together with Daniella Thomas’ soothing vocals on the chorus. This is an ensemble that make me really excited about a genre I’m usually not too fussed about.


Hands Like Houses have a new single, the first to be taken from their forthcoming third album, and it’s really good. Not much more to it really.


Wednesday
Debut singles are out of this world these days and that’s absolutely the case with New York based Ari Leff and his project Lauv. ‘The Other’ is stunning emotional pop/r’n’b that’s hard not to fall in love with or fall in love to.


I haven’t been paying attention to While She Sleeps for long but they seem to have completely honed in on what they’re good at and crammed it into their new album ‘Brainwashed’ which sees its release next week. ‘Our Legacy’ is a perfect example of this.


Throwback Thursday
Until today I had no idea that hot topic bad bitch Natalia Kills was previously little old Verbalicious from Bradford. When I was the ripe old age of 12 I couldn’t get enough of Natalia spitting sick rhymes and sporting ill hip hop threads. Ten years on, I still think the chorus is great but I can’t say much for her creative integrity as an artist.


Friday
Southern four-piece The Autumn Ravine have released their new single ‘A Little Sleep’ which could give even the likes of Mallory Knox a run for their money. The video for said single was filmed during the band’s set on a night supporting Lower Than Atlantis at the Tunbridge Wells Forum. Obviously I’ve saved the best thing until last: This single along with its B-side ‘I Won’t Hold You Down’ are available for freeeee on their Bandcamp.


Let’s be honest, frank and upfront about this. ‘All We’ve Ever Known’ contains a chorus catchier by far than any other song that has or will be released in 2015. Birmingham based Light You Up’s new single is the title (and best) track from their debut album released earlier this year. This is UK pop punk at its finest.


Saturday
Dr Meaker may sound like one guy but in fact they are an eight piece dance extravaganza from Bristol. Their new single ‘Freaks’ blends classic drum n bass with chart-friendly pop which works exceedingly well. The addition of Londoner Sharlene Hector and her huge sounding vocals turn this track into an uplifting anthem.


This week Years & Years unveiled a whole load of things including the details of their debut album ‘Communion’, a load of live videos and a studio version of ‘Worship’. ‘Worship’ has been knocking around in the trio’s live set for a while now and it’s just as catchy as all of the previous singles we’ve heard.


March playlists so far: YouTube / Spotify / Deezer

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ICYMI - This Week on WIIHAMB - 2015 Week #10

In case you missed it - You shouldn't have, but just in case you did.

So this week now-no-longer-defunct only band ever Alexisonfire announced a string of festival appearances for Summer 2015. In short, I was pretty annoyed with the situation. I also wanted to write a thing about bands and hiatuses but haven't quite got around to it yet. Along with that I took two trips to Camden's Roundhouse this week, first for Ella Eyre and then for Architects, both shows were absolutely mind-blowing. Here's what else happened this week:

Keep up to date with all of the daily goings-on over at WIIHAMB Daily.

Sunday
New Jersey’s Hidden In Plain View have released their first taste of new music since originally disbanding eight years ago. Ten years since the release of their debut album ‘Life In Dreaming’, Hidden In Plain View are back with new EP ‘Animal’ due for release in April via Rise Records.


Monday
Very rapidly falling in love with Honne. Honne’s new single ‘Coastal Love’ is more upbeat than the previous tracks we’ve heard from the duo but is still a complete 10/10 vibe. They’ve also announced another London show in May too and we’d all be pretty stupid to miss it.


Tuesday
'Waiting On Your Love' is the new track from 22 year old producer Felix Snow and is the first to be released on his newly launched label Effess Records. I think I first heard Felix Snow's work on Gallant's Zebra EP so it's cool to hear some of his own stuff and even more cool that it's a great dancefloor tune with a bit of an 80s/90s vibe.

Wednesday
This week Dae Zhen “dropped” (lol) this new five track EP titled B-Sides and it’s basically a continuation of everything that was really great about 2014′s Women & Wordplay - soulful, chilled hip hop to keep us occupied until his (hopefully imminent) album. As usual, the best things in life are free so naturally you can download this without parting with any of your hard earned cash right here.


Throwback Thursday
So, I actually really wanted to post Alkaline Trio’s ‘Time To Waste’ and write about Matt Skiba and Blink 182 but instead I had to just add it to this playlist. But never fear, I used Alkaline trio for inspiration and landed on Emery’s door step.


Friday
Huntar is excitingly at the centre of this week’s revelation of the week. He’s just one guy. This along with him being 21 years old and from South London was brought to my attention in an i-D mag feature. ‘Love I Know’ is taken from Huntar’s forthcoming EP of the same name due for release on 4th May. This is really Jack Garratt isn’t it? Like vocally? Absolutely great.


So excited that MisterWives are releasing the title track from their debut album as a single as ‘Our Own House’ is definitely a stand out track. The lyric video features a blue tree house, the same tree house in fact, that Mandy Lee wrote many of the songs from the album in. So that is cool.


Saturday
Mysterious producer Ben Khan is back with the title track from his forthcoming EP ‘1000′ due for release in May. I said on twitter a few days ago that I thought this sounded really similar to some of Oceaan’s stuff that I’ve posted about previously - that was just me calling for a special edition split single/EP or something. Don’t mind me.


March playlists so far: YouTube / Spotify / Deezer

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ICYMI - This Week on WIIHAMB - 2015 Week #9

In case you missed it - You shouldn't have, but just in case you did.

At time of posting I will be somewhere in Southampton attempting to recover from my third year at Takedown Festival. I've had quite a busy one this week with Leon Bridges (!!!) on Monday and then Years & Years on Thursday. Anyway, this show stops for no one, so leggo:

Keep up to date with all of the daily goings-on over at WIIHAMB Daily.

Sunday
I really want to get out of the habbit of posting similar tracks/songs by the same artists so soon after one another, but not before sharing another remixed Cathedrals track. I originally posted ‘Want My Love’ way back in July last year but it’s back again this time remixed by Tasty Treat and Black Monday.


Monday
Conor Maynard, WIIHAMB, are you sure? Yes, yes I am sure. Conor Maynard’s new single, the first to come from his forthcoming second album, is 2015’s pop-star-does-a-dance-track-and-it’s-an-absolute-smash. Or at least I’d like t hope it will be. Also… Craig David.


Tuesday
I genuinely couldn’t tell you anything about Mocki even if I wanted to, but ‘Weekend’ looks as though it’s their first single and it’s definitely released through Kitsuné. But I can tell you that New York based producer Jai Wolf has done a 10/10 job at transforming the original into the masterpiece above.

Wednesday
Relentless touring indie ensemble Coasts have returned to our airwaves with brand new single ‘Modern Love’. This track is another slice of the synth infused rock that we’ve come to love from Coasts. Hey, and this is the first song that one of my “ones to watch” has released that I’ve actually liked straight away. BONUS.


Throwback Thursday
Remember the greatest app ever Tap Tap Revenge? Yeah well I hate to break it to you but it doesn't exist anymore. But back in the day when it was everyone’s favourite music based tapping game, this blessthefall track was my ultimate tapping tune.


Friday
Another Natalie/WIIHAMB epiphany: Things aren’t always recognisably great first time round… that’s probably the case more often than not but I didn’t really appreciate that until now. So, ‘Do The Shout’ comes from Italian electro pop duo M+A and features on their forthcoming ‘Anyway Milkyway’ EP due for release in April. It’s great because it’s summery and fun and catchy and excellent.


Saturday
Isn't Lucy Rose usually much more folky than this? Either way, this more pop take on things is really working for me. 'Our Eyes' is taken from Lucy Rose's upcoming second album and what a great tease it is for what we can expect from the rest of the record.


I think I've posted every Saint Raymond single he's brought out since I started this blog but this is quite possibly my favourite so far. Similar to the Lucy Rose track I posted earlier, this feels a bit "poppier" than what we're used to from Saint Raymond.


March playlists so far: YouTube / Spotify / Deezer

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ICYMI - This Week on WIIHAMB - 2015 Week #8

In case you missed it - You shouldn't have, but just in case you did.

Keep up to date with all of the daily goings-on over at WIIHAMB Daily.

Sunday
‘Thinking About You’ is the opening track on the brand new Body EP from UK producer TCTS (aka Sam O’Neill), set for release on 30th March 2015. This track also features WIIHAMB favourite Leo Kalyan - sure-fire hit really isn’t it?


Monday
It’s not often I can remember songs I saw live for longer than a week after witnessing them, but as soon as this chorus hit me I was transported straight back to Wireless last summer. Jacob Anderson, better known by stage name Raleigh Ritchie, mentioned during a recent Twitter Q&A that his debut album would be released this summer and ‘The Greatest’ is his debut single from it.


Tuesday
Astronomyy has done everything I ever wanted to MNEK’s new single ‘The Rhythm’. I wasn’t a huge fan of all of the “loud bits” on the original, but here, they’re gone and this is absolutely great. Whilst typing, I’ve realised that I posted MNEK last week… a mere 5 days ago, forget about it, I make the rules around here and the rules are made to be broken.

Wednesday
Hey, so you know the other day (quite possibly yesterday) I said that I was really into breaking my own rules? Well we’re back again. I stumbled upon Tuxedo the other day and this track is by far my favourite, so despite it being “old” I’m posting it anyway. HEY! I take that back because their debut album is out next week - and it’s even out in the UK on the same date too *cheers*.


Throwback Thursday
Whilst eagerly awaiting new “material” from the Hertfordshire trio, here’s a throwback to summery banger ‘Kiss Of Life’.


Friday
If you haven’t already got that Friday feeling, Australia’s Thief will definitely help you get there. PJ Wolf’s new single under his Thief moniker is a great slice of electronic pop sure to be circling around your head for the rest of the weekend.


Saturday
February Round-Up

This month's round-up features an album of the month from The Subways and a gig of the month from Prides.

February playlists: YouTube / Spotify / Deezer

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