K I N G  C H A R L E S

I'm a firm believer that you should never judge a book by its cover, however any judgement you pass upon setting eyes on the enigmatic front man of King Charles is probably pretty accurate. 

Packed inside Sheffield's Plug King Charles' support act, Sasha Siem, warmed up the crowd with haunting folk-esque vocals. Funnily enough, cider in hand, I watched this lovely lady perform inches away from the frontman himself (although he was somewhat less easy to recognize without his bouffant hair and I'm not too sure why he wasn't wearing shoes...)

The band themselves kicked off their set with the effortlessly gorgeous, Carry Me Away. As the first chords were played I was suprised with such a slow slong to start, however Carry Me Away completely set the mood for the rest of the set. Well played, KC.


The band carried out a high-level performance, flitting between new poetic love songs and high-tempo LoveBlood classics. King Charles' accent seemed to compliment lyrics such as; 'with a guitar in my hands or a gun in my hand, I would give it all up for your hand in my hand' or 'the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows'.
I was particularly fond of Loose Change for The Boatman and the live performance of Bam Bam had so much energy. 


All in all, the gig was £12 well spent- plus, happily to meet fans after his set and shouting out to his previous support acts, King Charles actually seemed like a really sound guy. Aw. 


(apologies for the lack of original footage, my camera died at 30%, cheers Apple)

V A L E N T I N E S  D A Y 

You're either alone, smitten, heartbroken, on a awkward date with some guy you met on tinder who's profile seemed promising but he just used the word 'reem'...or maybe somewhere inbetween.

So for whatever you're feeling, here are a few love songs:

friday I'm in love // the cure
sally cinammon // the stone roses
toothpaste kisses // the maccabees
I love you (but you're green) // babyshambles
I wanna be yours // arctic monkeys
skinny love // bon iver 
only you // yazoo
I don't wanna miss a thing // aerosmith
tee shirt // birdy
every other freckle // alt-j
cocoon // catfish and the bottlemen
lovesick // peace
taking pictures of you // the kooks
be my wife // david bowie
yellow // coldplay
video games // lana del rey
secret door // arctic monkeys
I follow you into the dark // death cab for a cutie
wonderwall // oasis 
simple as this // jake bugg
five years time // noah and the whale
hand in glove // the smiths
strawberry fields // the beatles
always where I need to be // the kooks
chasing cars // snow patrol
there is a light that never goes out // the smiths
ask me anything // the strokes
505 // arctic monkeys
only love // ben howard
lost on me // peace
kiss me // jason walker
look after you // the fray
float forever // peace

And a few songs for if you're feeling a bit delicate:
someday // peace (side note: someone hug harry, this is bloody angelic)
creep // radiohead
go your own way // fleetwood mac
broken army // catfish and the bottlemen
you could be happy // snow patrol
cornerstone // arctic monkeys
boys don't cry // the cure
undo // the 1975
happy birthday jane // the enemy 
out of the black // royal blood
losing my religion // r.e.m
habits (stay high) // tove lo
marquee // the courteeners 
hallelujah // jeff buckley
nothing lasts forever // echo and the bunnymen
coat of armor // george ezra
do me a favour // arctic monkeys
fallingforyou // the 1975
no buses // arctic monkeys
hold back the river // james bay
simple pleasures // jake bugg
tomorrow // james

P E A C E // L I V E

The Queens Social Club in Sheffield (with interior very similar to The Phoneix Club, who said wall streamers belong in 80s American Proms, eh?) was pretty packed on the last day of January this month. Peace are baaaaaack!


Humbly walking onto stage, following their brilliant support band (The Moon), Peace played a beautifully put together setlist extraordinarily well. 

Higher Than the Sun 

Follow Baby 

O You 

Gen Strange 

Lost On Me 

Money 

California Daze 

1998 (Delicious) 

Bloodshake 

Float Forever 

Sugarstone 

Wraith 

Someday 

Lovesick 

World Pleasure

You got everything that you'd expect from a Peace gig; sweat, crowd-surfing, bold prints, 60s dance moves, stage invasions ,cider, synth...sweat. Although, I would happily say that Peace kicked off 2015 really well. There was a vibe in the room that meant that even the casual 40 year old men, at the back, who aren't sure why they're there were atleast tapping their feet and at best dancing like John Travolta. 

The best songs live were by far 1998 (Delicious), Follow Baby and Wraith, for me. Each of these songs was played closely to the studio finished version, but with a raspy live vibrance that some bands fail to execute well.

Casually walking through the crowd  before hand, the band are utterly humble and obviously unaware that it's a matter of months till the world will be bowing at their feet. 

T H E  W O M B A T S

A good (but utterly useless) friend of mine told me that 'The Wombats are a Year 8 band' when declining the offer to come and see The Wombats tour this April...but after their recent release, Greek Tragedy, someone is definitely kicking themselves.

The Wombats are back and they're better than ever. 

Whilst still holding that typical synthy 'The Wombats' sound that does make you want to swig warm cider in a sunny field, they seem to have matured somewhat!

Their deep lyrics beautifully juxtapose with the upbeat nature that the band have captivatingly endorsed, evident in tracks such as; Techno Fan, Jump Into The Fog and Tokyo.


The Wombats are releasing their fourth album GLITTERBUG on APRIL FOURTH and their tour kicks off in Bristol this APRIL!

P E A C E

Much like fur coats and turtlenecks, you either love them or your kidding yourself...it's PEACE. 

The band, made up of the lovely Koisser brothers, Dom Boyce and Mr Douglas Castle, released their debut album 'In Love' in 2013 and to the delight of long haired, Doc-Marten-wearing indie lovers everywhere, their new album 'Happy People' is released on the 9th of February 2015!

It's worth taking note that Peace have really captured the essence of creating your own sound and running with it, mixing funky beats with synthy tones this band oozes summer and makes you feel utterly in love with tracks; such as, Lost on Me, Float Forever and Wraith. Not only this they're known for conveying political messages in many of their songs. You can easily find pro-peace (funnily enough), anti-capitalist and feminist tones in their music- which is completely refreshing and simultaneously stimulating. Who doesn't love that?

Whilst the band have received a lot of publicity recently and are the midst of a UK tour right now (which I somehow managed to get tickets for!!) the sheer number of people who do not know about these guys shocks me! So spread the word and give them a listen:

1. Lost on Me ☮

2. Fur ☮

3. Follow Baby ☮

4. California Daze ☮

5. World Pleasure ☮

6. Wraith ☮

7. Flirtin' USA ☮

8. 1998 ☮

PEACE'S SECOND ALBUM 'HAPPY PEOPLE' IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!

(I'm in the process of re-uploading the last three months of content for you guys, someone hacked me...again)
El x

H O Z I E R

Resembling a contemporary Jesus, with the angelic vocals to match, an artist that I have really been indulging in at the minute goes by the name Hozier.
The Irish singer/songwriter released his debut EP, Take Me to Church, earlier this year- after choosing to drop out of his music degree in Dublin years previously. His hit single, sharing the same name as his EP, seemed to astonish the world, quickly soaring in the charts.

So, if you hadn't heard of Hozier's enchanting lyrics, beautiful melodies and vocals previously, then maybe you'll of heard about his statement music video for his debut single?


Whilst Hozier claims that the song itself is about his first true romance, where he worshipped his girlfriend and being with her was almost like being a religion, where he was completely intoxicated with her, his music video gives off a different impression.
The video tells the tale of two, gay lovers who not only wish to protect eachother, from menaces (with thug like exteriors) following them, but also a box bound in chains...which we never see the content of. 

The video gives this song a completely new context. After seeing the video it's hard to ignore the suggestions in the song that religion is the cause of much prejudice, especially to homosexuals. All you have to do is take a look at the lyrics to see these undertones that I'm bringing light to; 'everybody's disapproval', 'every Sunday's getting more bleak', 'fresh poison each week', 'we were born sick, we heard them say it' and even lines such as, 'There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin'.

So, maybe, Hozier isn't just a musical saint, but also a contemporary revolutionist?