Review: The Vamps return a little older but still laden with floorfillers on new album Cherry Blossom

by Joe Sharratt
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Since The Vamps scored their first number one album with 2017’s Night & Day, they’ve been on something of a self-imposed hiatus. Their new album, Cherry Blossom, marks their first release in three years, during which time Britain’s biggest pop-rock boy band have, naturally, grown up a little. The four-piece, comprised of Bradley Simpson, James McVey, Connor Ball and Tristan Evans, are not the teenagers they were when the band first came to fame.

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Passenger’s ‘A Song For The Drunk And Broken Hearted’ Finds Company In Misery

by Shaoni Das
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Passenger’s latest single ‘A Song For The Drunk And Broken Hearted’ oddly manages to invite hope and companionship despite its exploration of grief. Passenger is a complete expert at tugging at heartstrings through his soulful, melancholic, and haunting melodies but the latest venture sees the British singer delve into some hearty folk-based sounds.

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Hannah Grace’s “Closer” Captures The Magic Of Flirtation Through A Groovy Harmony

by Shaoni Das
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Hannah Grace’s new single ‘Closer’ is a daring pop adventure that pays homage to the groovy sixties in all the right ways. It rides on an unexpected melody that takes twists and turns at each and every note, setting itself apart from every other up-and-coming feature. The Welsh singer has had a dazzling couple of years and her willingness to experiment with distinct genres and arrangements has led to yet another enchanting production. Hannah Grace’s vocals are fairly standard, but the way she delivers those mischievous verses elevates the composition tenfold. The most memorable aspect of the song is the high-pitched harmony that drives the chorus; Grace is able to punch those soaring notes with ease without losing any of the momenta. 

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Review: Lady Gaga and Linkin Park: The Musical Mashup You Have Been Waiting For

by Harley Houghton
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Music mashups tend to be very hit and miss. They can either be masterful and brilliant or sad and tedious, often with little in between. But when done right, they can become pieces of art and music history. This latest offering, a delicious blend of Lady Gaga’s pop masterpiece “Just Dance” and rockers Linkin Park’s “Faint” created by YouTuber William Maranci, is absolutely done right.

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A New Relationship Has Got Daya Falling Hard In “First Time”

by Shaoni Das
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Singer Daya explores the physical sensations of falling in love with her new single ‘First Time’. The 21-year-old single from Pennsylvania had stolen our hearts a couple of years back; her scintillating singles at the time showcased youthful vigour and a thoughtful maturity, an irresistible combination that was sure to put her name in our radars for good. However, following the release of her debut studio album Sit Still, Look Pretty, she’s been fairly quiet with a few singles here and there but no word of a second album. The latest entry, however, is widely associated with talk of a second album, and her core of fans couldn’t have asked for a better single. 

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Review: Emmy the Great Explores Themes of Transience and Home On Stunning New Album April / 月音

by Joe Sharratt
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It’s more than a decade since Emma-Lee Moss, known professionally as Emmy The Great, first captured our imaginations with her delightful debut album First Love. Since then, the solo singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has called several places home: New York, London (where she spent her teenage years), Xiamen, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong (where she was born). Her latest LP, April / 月音, sees Moss explore her the impermanence of her life, the transition of one place of belonging to another, and the changing and uncertain state of these places right now.

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Review: Izzy Bizu Drops Soulful New Collaboration With Dom McAllister

by Joe Sharratt
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London-based singer-songwriter Izzy Bizu dropped her latest single this week. MG follows hot on the heels of her previous single Tough Pill, which landed back in July. It’s another soulful, rich number of the sort she has carved out a burgeoning reputation for, and this time it features Bizu’s friend Dom McAllister too. The two first met when he supported Bizu on her tour of Europe in 2017. It was also co-written with another of Bizu’s friends: Tancrede Rouff.

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Review: New Album 'As Long As You Are' Finds Future Islands At Their Utterly Captivating Best

by Joe Sharratt
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American synthpop sensations Future Islands are back with their sixth studio album As Long As You Are, the follow up to 2017’s The Far Field. Still, though, the band remain perhaps most well known for their 2014 performance on the US TV show Letterman of their song Seasons, which thanks to frontman Samuel T. Herring’s utterly and completely compelling performance went viral (3.3 million YouTube plays and counting). And in a way, that makes sense. As a four-minute-something distillation of the band’s ethos, magic, quirks, power, showmanship, and, crucially, soul-stirring electro sound, there is little better.

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Review: Rock’s Newest Supergroup the Jaded Hearts Club Tackle Some Motown Classics on Debut Covers Album

by Joe Sharratt
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Onto the list of rock supergroups that features the likes of Cream, Velvet Revolver, Asia, and Them Crooked Vultures you can now add The Jaded Hearts Club. Comprised of Miles Kane (lead vocals – Last Shadow Puppets), Nic Cester (lead vocals – Jet), Matt Bellamy (bass – Muse), Graham Coxon (guitars – Blur), Jamie Davis (Jamie Davis and Soul Gravy), and Sean Payne (drums – The Zutons), their Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band inspired name comes from the fact the group were originally assembled by Davis to perform Beatles covers at his own birthday party.

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Review: Travis Return with Melancholic and Mournful New Album 10 Songs

by Joe Sharratt
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Scottish indie-rock superstars Travis remain one of the biggest selling British bands of the last thirty years thanks, in large part, to their 1999 smash hit album The Man Who, which spent nine weeks at the top of the UK albums chart, sold over three million copies, and spawned the songs Why Does It Always Rain On Me?, Turn, Writing To Reach You, and Driftwood: songs that remain on jukeboxes and playlists up and down the country. More than that, they’ve passed into wider British culture, as recognisable as anything by the venerated greats of UK music.

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