Interview with Clean Cut Kid for Surge Radio

Below is my interview with Clean Cut Kid which was from last year during their tour with Fickle Friends. We mainly spoke about the how the band formed and who their musical influences were, as well as where they thought they would be 20 years from now. It's great to see that since this interview they have thrived on the music scene and will be shortly going on tour around the UK.  I was also luckily enough to watch them play that evening and later in 2016 at Reading where I had a chance to catch up with them and see how they were. My ones to watch for this year!

My first encounter with The Last Shadow Puppets

A literal first review!

The Last Shadow Puppets- who, what, where how and why have I not heard of this band before? Instantly I recognised Alex Turner's voice but then I wonder what he is doing under another bands name. A scan over Wikipedia later reveals that this band has been around since 2008 with Alex Turner being the lead singer for this band as well as Arctic Monkeys. Fair to say I'm questioning my music reviewing status as we speak with how unaware I was of this. But never the less I'm going to let everyone know about their song 'Is This What You Wanted'.



If you were to close your eyes and not watch the music video, you would sense some characteristics of 80's male singer style band, weirdly even Freddie Mercury sprung to mind but I think that was more based on the lyrics rather than music style. Open your eyes and the video genre is also very 80's basic recording of a performance of the song.  If this was released back in the 80's I'm pretty sure it could have easily been number one on Top of the Pops. Sadly in today's musical climate I don't know how far this will go but if you like something different and alternative this is definitely heading in that direction. It's also quite nice to see Alex Turner outside of Arctic Monkeys. This slower more mellow tone from him works just as well and it's good to see diversity even if it isn't massively different from what he does. A band I will have to do some musical homework on but interested to see what else they have done in the past.

Newest addition from Chase and Status

Can't get enough of this new track from Chase and Status

I have always been a fan of Chase and Status, I almost forgot just how much I did until I heard this track.  It's one of those where you have your headphones in on your way to somewhere or sat in a car looking out the window thinking your in a music video kind of tracks. It features very stereotypical beats and pace that Chase and Status tend to use, but they just never seem to get boring. More so I have to really big up the feature on this track being Tom Grennan. Not someone I can personally say I have heard of before, but definitely one I hope to hear more from in the future. Love the attitude he gives with his vocals. Very excited to see what Chase and Status have in store for us.

My favourite find so far for 2016...

 

Goes to Highly Suspect!

This is a band I came across whilst listening to recommendations the lovely Spotify provides. The moment I heard their song 'Lydia' , I began searching for other songs to check them out. Lydia was so good I did fear that it would be hard to top and they could be a one hit wonder, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Their album 'Mister Asylum' is jam packed with rocky, edgy tracks that could be repeated all day without ever getting boring. With only three band members, it's amazing how much of a kick this band can give.

 

The main thing I want to focus on here is their latest song 'My Name is Human'. This is a track that I could imagine on the Radio 1 rock show and as soon as it comes on the volume rides up a few bars. Although its a little more mellow than most the songs on Mister Asylum it still has a similar guitar and drum style particularly towards the end of the song and also packs a bit of a punch. I like that most of their songs have a build up but not so much so that it becomes overpowering.

 

In terms of live performances I've been lucky enough to see the band twice now. Once at a small venue in Camden and again at Reading Festival. They don't do anything particularly different than any other performer of this type of music, but their songs are so captivating that they don't really have to and I like they are all clearly being themselves on stage.

 

Excited to see what is to come from them and it is highly recommended you go watch their music video to 'Lydia' which features an amazing under water actress.

New release from Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris is back including his own vocals in his new track 'My Way'

As we all know Calvin Harris is an amazing artist/DJ/producer you name it he can probably do it and deserves a lot of credit. However, and with deep sadness, (because I had a lot of high expectations for this), I have to say I think he has done and can do a lot better. I dislike being negative towards songs because I know I could never make anything like this myself in a million years, but based on musical opinion I think this could of had so much more to give. Not only is it a little repetitive but I find it rather similar to 'Olé'  by John Newman which I know Calvin produced but they are just a bit two similar for my liking.

Me and my dear music friends from Surge radio had hoped that this may have been a Frank Sinatra cover of his song 'My way' which I think could of been magical under the work of Calvin Harris, but sadly this was not to be.

Some positivity though is the fact that Calvin does provide his own vocals on this track and is almost like a blast from the past reminding me of his good old classics. I do like the fact he includes himself as well as other artists in his songs so there is some positivity in this review. The song also does have that nice Caribbean beach feel to it, but overall just needed a little bit more Calvin spice to it.  Loving the album artwork though.

EP Review of 'We used to be in love'

Clean Cut Kid release an intriguing new EP

I use the word intriguing for two reasons with this EP. Firstly, it features a cover of 'Loud Places' by Jamie XX. Secondly it also has two songs other than the cover that appear to be a little different from what we have previously heard from Clean Cut Kid. But this isn't in my opinion a bad thing, so try not to panic.

For those who haven't heard of Clean Cut Kid they are a band from Liverpool who are most likely best known for their lively tracks 'Vitamin C' and 'Runaway'. Lately since the release of the EP ' We used to be in Love' has also become increasingly popular especially on Radio 1. After interviewing the band back last year (which I hope to post the interview soon), I can say that this band are nothing but genuine and always put on a great show live.

But back to the EP! As a whole, I love the combination of a bit of the old as well as the new. I say the word 'new' lightly because they haven't changed who they are as a band at all with this EP. It is purely based on the two tracks 'Paper Heart' and 'Hospital lights' being a little slowed down compared to previous tracks and just a bit less busy music wise. It is good to see that the band has more than just an upbeat bouncy style and the slower songs sometimes rival their more traditional originals like 'Vitamin C' in my opinion. If you can learn to love both the loud and soft sides of the band then you can definitely appreciate this EP. 

The cover of 'Loud Places' also deserves some major credit in my eyes because even though it's quite a simplistic track, you can instantly tell Clean Cut Kid have almost taken it in as their own as it is evident from the moment you hit play that the band have put their own stamp on this cover. However once again, it shows a slightly different corner of what the band is capable of creativity wise. It's a track that you can't help but wiggle to when the chorus kicks in.

This band is one my ones to watch for the future and a high recommendation for those who want to listen to a band with vibrant original songs. Hearing such a new sound compared to everything else on the charts is literally music to my ears.

Their new song is named 'Too Late', but it's not too late to give them a listen!

Only Shadows- Too Late

Only Shadows is a relatively new band on the scene but 2016 is getting things in full swing for these guys. Other songs include 'Be still', 'Many a Mountain' and my second personal favourite after Too Late which is ' We go Further'. They are about to head on tour around the UK and with my tickets booked I hope to think they will impress.

The song is quick and catchy with its hard hitting drum beat. Although the beat can be quite diverse, I feel its something that makes the song as good as it is. It keeps your ears occupied and is fun to listen to.

In terms of the video it is very true to the song being that in relation to the influence of drums. It also influences the bands clear enthusiasm.

I would say the song as well as the band is a nice balance between The Killers and The 1975. So if you want a middle man between the two then this band is quite close.

Welcome to Review First!

Hello and welcome to my blog, Review First.

My name is Katie Norris and like many other music bloggers out there I am a passionate music lover. From rock to pop and indie to classical there isn't a genre of music I want to leave untouched. Every musical corner shall be covered and hopefully plenty of new music will be discovered along the way.

I hope this blog helps people find lots of new music as well as keep up to date with what is released in the charts.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the blog!