C A T F I S H  A N D  T H E  B O T T L E M E N

Ladies and gentlemen, it's finally time for me to express my utter adoration for the band on everybodies lips at the minute, Catfish and The Bottlemen! With their hit singles, Kathleen and Fallout, recently being buzzed by radio stations and their anticipated album to be out later this year, I'll give you a track by track review of their outstanding 2010 EP- The Beautiful Decay.

I discovered these lads at the back-end of last autumn and since then they've been my favourite band, alongside The 1975, Broken Hands and Arctic Monkeys.
So, without further ado:

BODIES - this track kickstarts the EP with a rocky intro- an almost organised chaos of a clash of instruments. However, just before Van Mccann's vocals there is a definite diminuendo. This allows you to be taken away in the vocals, yet the music is still strong enough for you to get that feeling that only occurs in iconic songs, where you utterly are engrossed by the music (can you tell that I love this EP yet?) 'The things I do just to get you out of those clothes, cause they love my floor' and 'please get me away from him, cause he's starting to do my head right in' are lyrics you can almost hear a huge crowd singing in the back of your mind when you listen to this introduction to a gorgeous EP.

COLLIDE- This could arguably be described to have a more 'classic pop' feel to it. Almost like Scouting for Girls but without token accents and the word 'luvverly'. Much like their other songs, the hooks are brilliant and the chorus is very catchy.


HARLOT - This song opens with 'The Wombats'style backing vocals, with a raspy rock twang. The lyrics are witty and this song is a definite crowd pleaser at gigs. 

TYRANTS- OKAY, everybody sit down and listen up, not only is this my favourite song from this EP, or my favourite song by this band, but it is possibly my favourite song ever. Why? Is it the outstanding hooks? The raspy, gorgeous vocals? Or the beautiful yet relatable lyrics? 'Eyes rolled back, guess we were living fast' 'it was so rare to see you sober, so the street lights will carry us home' 'your divine ribs would help break mine, we hit the ground, yeah let's hit the ground'. I don't know, but what I do know is that this song will go down in history. I also know that this song brings out dance moves in you that were previously exclusive to 13-year-old scene kids. You heard it here first...now all I need to do is get this performed acoustically for me...yes? Yes.

TRIPPIN- this instrumental almost comes hand in hand with Tyrants, and is often played straight into the end. I, however, believe that even on it's own it's a favourite Catfish and The Bottlemen track. Why? Well, there is something very comforting in a classic indie-rock instrumental that perfectly frames the musical talent of each member of the band.

I'll have the pleasure of seeing these lads live at both Tramlines Sheffield and Leeds fest this year, so I'll be sure to give them a live review!

s u m m e r  m i x t a p e s

Wasps and fake tan stains are abundant over here in the UK! So you know what that means, right? Summer is getting closer! So, here is a few little mixtapes that will be sure to get you into the summer mood, featuring bands that will be blitzing the festival scene in the upcoming months and tracks which will get you right into the spirit for whatever it is you're doing this summer!

SUMMER #1
KING CITY // SWIM DEEP

BLOODSHAKE // PEACE

LAST NITE // THE STROKES

TECHNO FAN // THE WOMBATS

COME CLOSER // MILES KANE                    

R U MINE? // ARCTIC MONKEYS

FOLLOW BABY // PEACE

LUNA // BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB

IF YOU WANNA // THE VACCINES 

SWEATER WEATHER // THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

WEST COAST // LANA DEL REY

TURN DOWN FOR WHAT // DJ SNAKE & LIL JON

SEX // THE 1975

ROBBERS // THE 1975

CHILLING WITH FRIENDS?
GIRLS // THE 1975

DANCING SONG // LITTLE COMETS

GET UP TONIGHT // HIGH TYDE

SOMETHING GOOD CAN WORK // TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB

AWKWARD // SAN CISCO

IF YOU WANNA // THE VACCINES 

ADDICTED TO THE CURE // THE WOMBATS

TONGUE TIED // GROUPLOVE

SHABBA // ASAP FERG

SHE WAY OUT // THE 1975

BLOODSHAKE // PEACE

WATCHING THE SUNSET ON THE BEACH?

THE 1975 // THE 1975

TEE SHIRT // BIRDY

YOUNG & BEAUTIFUL // LANA DEL REY

FALLOUT // CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN

BUDAPEST // GEORGE EZRA

ALL I WANT // KODALINE

TAKE A FALL FOR ME // JAMES BLAKE

GIVE ME LOVE // ED SHEERAN

WOMAN // THE 1975

ANGELS // THE XX

ROAD TRIP, ANYONE?

THINK ABOUT IT // AMERICAN AUTHORS

FEVER // THE BLACK KEYS

HOW SOON IS NOW // THE SMITHS

WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG // THE KILLERS

TASTE IT // JAKE BUGG

KATHLEEN // CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN

ROBBERS // THE 1975

HEAD.CARS.BENDING // THE 1975

27 // PASSENGER 

PACKING FOR THAT RISQUE HOLIDAY YOUR MUM IS WORRIED ABOUT YOU GOING ON?

SHOT ME DOWN // DAVID GUETTA

MY LOVE // ROUTE 94

THE WIRE // HAIM

HABITS (STAY HIGH) // TOVE LO (REMIX)

TAKE ME HOME // CASH CASH

TURN DOWN FOR WHAT //DJ SNAKE & LIL JON

RATHER BE // CLEAN BANDIT

The 1975 (and support; Wolf Alice and The Neighbourhood)

Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing The 1975 in Sheffield, at the O2 Academy. Let me tell you, with a mixture of the lively support, tears on stage and the undoing and amelioration of my heart, it wasn't a gig to be missed.

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD- I was a fan of this band way before I'd even discovered The 1975. So I was thrilled to finally have the chance to see these beautiful,talented, monochrome-clad Californians live! I may have been one of their few fans when I walked in, but when I walked out I was definitely amongst a vast number more.
The vocal quality of frontman Jesse Rutherford was flawless as he entertained the crowd.
Particular crowd pleasers included Sweater Weather, W.D.Y.W.F.M? and Let it Go. 

WOLF ALICE- accompanying The 1975 on the label Dirty Hit, Wolf Alice were known amongst most of the fans as they entered the venue. I'd not really listened to much of Wolf Alice before this gig. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Although the female vocals seemed to sometimes be lost within the music, the band seemed to be very comfortable on stage and engaged with the audience. Definitely ones to watch.

THE 1975- 
Standing in the crowd, after queing for nearly 9 hours (in the lovely, Yorkshire rain) ,pinned against the barrier I eagerly waited for the four boys to enter on to the stage. The room seemed to almost suddenly be flooded with dry ice. 'The 1975' began to play. Lights flashed and fluttered on the stage and then with the clash of a gutair and the beat of a drum the stage burst into life. 

The setlist of this gig was exquistantly put together- each song seemed to flow into the next without too much of a juxtaposition. Yet, all the corners of The 1975's music was explored- from Sex to fallingforyou to Robbers. The band opened with Matty Healy standing on a speaker, embracing the crowd and exceuting the poppy vocals with 'The City'. Tracks such as Milk, Head.Cars.Bending and So Far it's Alright really got the crowd going, even though these songs are some of their lesser known tracks. 
The track 'Menswear' gave musical genius, Adam Hann, the chance to show off his skills for two minutes before the vocals allowed the song burst into life. 
With track, such as, 'Girls', 'M.O.N.E.Y' and 'Talk!', Matty Healy seemed to fill the room with his enthusiasm. You felt as though his vocals were a catalyst for movement and excitement in the crowd, with every word he uttered and note he belted you could almost literally feelthe atmosphere in the room lifting everybodies spirits. As a frontman, he is a good as you can get. Cooly drinking from a bottle of red wine, spinning around the stage and iconically head banging to the genius being projected by his friends and fellow band members- George Daniel, Ross Macdonald and Adam Hann, aswell as now the newly added saxophone player, John Waugh. On the other hand, he managed to quickly quieten the crowd to almost silence in moving songs, such as Me and Fallingforyou. It was in these songs where you could see the raw emotion being emitted by Healy. He broke down crying at one point and the entire crowd seemed to respect him a musician, some people crying themselves and others closing their eyes and embracing the music.

Jokes were also shared amongst the crowd as Matty shouted, 'Seriously, this place is brimming with girls tonight. If you're a guy and you can't pull here tonight, somethings wrong!'.

My personal favourite song performed was also one of their oldest songs. Robbers. As the vocals, 'NOW EVERYBODY IS DEAD!' were screamed down the microphone I relieved a moment of happiness from the first time I saw them at Winter Wonderland 2013- which just goes to show that although a band may get more successful, they're always fueled by the same passion and driven by the same force. Which means, they will never really change.

Which brings me onto the next part of the review.
Before the gig, I had the honour of meeting The 1975 and I shared a special moment with Matty outside the venue.
Where I also got to hear The 1975 in soundcheck covering Jackson 5's I Want You Back! You can read about that, if you like, here!
(Here's a sample picture, hehehe!)

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

DUE TO THE FACT THAT SOMEONE DECIDED TO HACK THIS BLOG I'VE DELETED ALL POSTS I'VE UPLOADED SINCE DECEMBER AND I'M IN THE PROCESS OF RE-UPLOADING THEM, SO HERE WE GO!