Artist Of The Week - The Summer Set

I have an endless amount of praise for The Summer Set. The band from Arizona has been one of my favourite bands for a couple of years now ever since I heard the song 'Girls Freak Me Out'. Brian's voice is very much a voice that you either love or hate however I must say, I love it. Another thing that makes The Summer Set stand out from other bands is the fact they have a female drummer, Jess, and I think is great to see some talented girl power in a rock band. The Summer Set's last album entitled 'Everythings Fine' was one of those albums that do not have a bad song on it. Their songs on the album are a mixture of tracks with beautiful romantic lyrics and tracks about partying and having fun. My favourites are probably 'Begin Again' and 'Mannequin', although my preferences can change depending on my mood because they are all brilliant. The Summer Set have toured with some pretty impressive people too; All Time Low, Hey Monday and previous Artist of the Weeks He Is We and The Cab. They have played a few shows in the UK too and are doing a tour with Mayday Parade in October and I really hope I will be going to their show in London as I am dying to see them live.

Capital Cities- Kangaroo Court

With a ludicrously strange name and concept, this song is quirky but actually very addictive. If you did not know, and yes Wikipedia had to lend me a hand, the definition of an actual 'Kangaroo Court' is a 'mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted'. So there you have it, better background knowledge of what was going through the band's mind when they wrote it. This is the only song I have heard by 'Capital Cities' but this song particularly reminds me of The Human League and those sort of similar early 80's band but the song has a nice summer twist in the catchy chorus. It is certainly a song worth a listen because it is very different but easily loveable.

Interview with Nothing But Thieves

If you haven't already, please check out my review of the Nothing But Thieves gig on 8th May in Islington. I did this interview with the guys after their set and I had a loads of fun doing it. Sorry the audio is not brilliant but we were outside and there was traffic etc. Anyways, enjoy!

Artist Of The Week - Jimmy Robbins

[Picture credit www.myspace.com]

Jimmy Robbins first caught my eye in 2009 with his single 'Turn It Up'. This soon became one of my favourite songs and, although not as amazing as 'Turn It Up', his following singles did not disappoint. The witty lyrics at the beginning put a smile on my face: the song begins with a slow guitar rhythm and then speeds up in the chorus and the first few lyrics are 'nothing playing but the radio, switching on a song that starts off slow...again'. Jimmy first began playing guitar when he was eight and started writing his own songs at only eleven years old. His mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and she passed away when he was eleven; he says he began writing music because it was the only way of communicating with her. A few years later, his father was diagnosed with cancer. Naturally, this led to him being a more mature artist than many young singers and, because he writes himself, his music has a lot more meaning as it is clear he can extract his own youthful emotion into songs. Jimmy has a unique voice which is quite nasally but it makes his songs recognisable. His latest EP 'Borrowed Time' is more professional than 'Turn It Up' and his similar single 'Gonna Get Better', but this is expected as it was released three years after. His guitar playing has improved, his lyrics are more poetic, but he still possesses that same precious little voice. My personal favourites on 'Borrowed Time' are 'Mmm Honey' and 'An Angel Lives In Brooklyn'.

Have a listen to 'Turn It Up' and tweet me or comment if it makes you smile too.

Concert Review - Nothing But Thieves

Woah.

 On 8th May 2012, my three friends and I went to see Nothing But Thieves' showcase concert at Upstairs at the Garage in Islington, London (to find out more about the band, see my previous article). My 'woah' was aimed at the whole experience;  I said 'woah' about Conor's voice, 'woah' about the petite yet delightful venue and 'woah' about the new songs that the band wrote themselves. I shall start at the beginning...

We arrived inside the venue about quarter of an hour before Nothing But Thieves were due to play. Including them, there was two opening acts for the headliners Mini Mansions but we only really went to see NBT. The venue only holds 150 people but the age range of people there was very mixed and it was a good size to be close to the band but still have a buzzing atmosphere. The band came on stage on time which was an impressive start and immediately made the audience feel welcomed. Conor's voice exceeded my expectations and sounded just as incredible live as on YouTube. I know it is a controversial subject, but in my honest opinion he sings better than a lot of millionaire artists in the charts at the moment. It was the first concert I have been to in a long time where I have not known all of the words to every song, but this did not make it uncomfortable as we all enjoyed listening to the lyrics and paying attention to their voices instead of a huge crowd's screaming/ singing. The first couple of songs were mid-tempo and had aspects that reminded me of bands such as Kings of Leon and One Republic. They introduced the song 'Candles' by explaining that it means a lot to them as is about a death of a loved one. The emotion definitely came across in the slow, endearing song that made me go cold, in the best way possible. Conor got caught up in the moment and messed up a high note a bit, and later apologised by saying 'I’m sorry a cat died in the middle of that', but in no way did his slight slip take away the focus from how talented he, and the whole band, are. Needless to say, we were very forgiving. They ended their set with their single 'To Fly You've Got To Fall'. I liked how they mixed up the introduction by rocking out a bit and I admit it was fun to have a sing-a-long myself as I am very familiar with the words (that is a repercussion of having it on replay for the past couple of weeks). For the majority of the show, Dave was on drums, Joe was on guitar and Dom swapped between keyboard and guitar. The phrase 'left me wanting more' is one hundred per cent true in this case, which was the up-side of them only doing five songs. After the set, I saw Conor and asked about doing an interview for this site and he gathered the others. I felt a bit bad interrupting them but if there is one thing I can say about these boys, it is that they are so nice to talk to and are all very funny. We went outside to do the interview and it was a blast; the band were cracking jokes and making us all laugh. I had such a good time and I hope they did too. Afterwards, we took pictures and made sure we told them what an amazing night we had. They are so sweet and I am really looking forward to seeing them and meeting them again hopefully, I wish them all the best for the future and hope they get signed soon. If their performance is anything to go by, their album will be sensational. Keep checking back to this site to see the interview which I will be posting very soon and in the meantime check out To Fly You've Got To Fall and comment or tweet me what you think. Again, my thanks go to Nothing But Thieves for a night I will never forget.  

Artist Of The Week - Plug In Stereo

[picture credit www.goodmusicaldaily.com ]

There are so many reasons why I have chosen Plug In Stereo as Artist Of The Week; I admit one of them is Trevor Dahl's cute curly locks. Although I only started listening to Plug In Stereo a few weeks ago, I have found myself constantly playing some of their tunes as they make me feel so carefree, young and elated. Unlike previous Artists Of The Week, I do not know much about Trevor Dahl's background. My favourite songs of the band's are 'Oh Darling', 'Together' and 'I Blame You'. Oh Darling features the vocals of Cady Groves and their voices fit so superbly well that it makes the song very believable, light hearted, but genuine. 'Together' is equally as catchy and Trevor's rapping style is charming. The lyrics follow the theme of a movie-style teen romance but with more credibility than other young artists that attempt it. Finally, 'I Blame You' is a typical sun, sand and sea song which can paint a colossal smile on my face. Plug In Stereo really do make me wish it was possible to marry a voice. So if you're looking for an artist that can pick you up when you're down, check out Plug In Stereo for sure. Again, tweet me or comment your views; too cheesy or wonderfully cute?  

Dark Blue - Jack's Mannequin

Before today, the band Jack's Mannequin was just one of those bands that I often heard being discussed for having the odd similarity to artists such as James Morrison and Daniel Powter, but never really had any other motivation to listen to. I decided to review one of the band's songs as a first time listener and to see if you feel they are an artist worth doing an album review of in the future. My friend recommended I listen to the 2007 hit 'Dark Blue'. My immediate reaction was that the minimalistic tune reminded me of the song 'Fly With Me' by The Jonas Brothers. The opening drum beat that initially grabbed me is definitely the best part of the whole song. The lead singer has mediocre vocals, therefore throughout the verses I found myself paying more attention to the drumming than the singing and lyrics. I do, however, love the line 'dark blue, dark blue have you ever been in love in a crowded room?' which is, fundamentally, the chorus. Overall, I liked the song a lot but I do not feel it had the 'wow' factor that I look for when I'm first listening to bands. It would be great to hear your thoughts, especially if you're a first time listener like me, so please comment or tweet me to let me know.