Courtney's Top 10 Tracks of 2013

Courtney gives us his top 10 tracks of 2013 - enjoy the playlist!

Album Review... Peace - In Love

Debut albums are often perceived as the judgement day for many much-hyped bands; Peace being one of them. In the last year or so, the Birmingham boys have helped stamp their foot on the map alongside bands like Swim Deep and Jaws; expanding out and creating a whole new music scene there. After signing to major label Columba and releasing their debut EP ‘Delicious’ in 2012, Peace have brewed up a big following and gigged their way to the top of the new music pile where they have been hotly tipped for big things.

‘In Love’ has received mixed opinions as the band change their sound more and more. The storming opener ‘Higher Than The Sun’ sets a high standard and overall summary of the album; a romantic nostalgia-sodden feel good dream full of big guitars and easy chanting choruses.

The album’s 1990s influence is strong throughout the album whether it’s the grungy dark ‘Follow Baby’; their first single which was re-recorded for a re-release, ‘Lovesick’, which could easily feature on a 90’s teenage rom-com, or ‘Waste of Paint’ which demonstrates the albums heavily percussive Madchester influence, the band have mixed these together to create something unique and very current. There is also psychedelic influences later in the album with dark surf-rock tunes like ‘Step A Lil Closer’, ‘Toxic’ and ‘Scumbag'.

‘Float Forever’ takes the more fragile guitar tones of Graham Coxon from Blur and is nearly always compared to ‘California Daze’ in its style and vocal phrasings. Peace show off what they’re all about lyrically in this song. Harrison sings ‘If you’re not happy wearing denim, you’re a devil in disguise’ and ‘If there’s dew drops in the darkness they’re hiding from your eyes’. I get the nostalgic feeling of petty happenings within friendships and relationships becoming the most important things in life.
‘Wraith’, their biggest single to date, boasts the interesting topic of falling in love with a prostitute; which is obviously extremely relatable – the video even more so. It was released around the same time as Foals’ ‘Inhaler’ and I always thought this song could slot in nicely to Holy Fire. The lyrics of this song are similar to that of ‘Waste of Paint’ (‘Waste of Paint’ has ‘’you’re electric honey you blow my brain’’ where as Wraith has ‘‘you could be my ice age sugar, lay me down and make me shiver’’). It grooves well and is extremely catchy with great production. The lounge MIDI ending is a great little bonus and reminds me of Flight of the Conchords.

‘Drain’ is also another one of my favourite songs on the album, even if the riff reminds me of Losing My Religion by REM. The conceptual crazy orchestra modulation which decides to take front saddle twice during the song is highly memorable and something not many songs could get away with, very similar to A Day In The Life by The Beatles in that respect. The breakdown consisting of gated drums and guitar FX works brilliantly.

‘California Daze’, voted no.13 in NME’s Best Tracks of 2012 is one of the most anthemic, dreamy songs on the album. When it first appeared on debut EP ‘Delicious’, it showed clear contrast to the three other indie/alternative songs. It instantly oozes nostalgic summer vibes. It’s ambitious given the rest of the album’s sound but works really well against it. The imagery lyrics of ‘she tastes like sunlight’ and ‘forget and forgive there’s a place you can live’ make my mind sink away in to some nice little dream.

‘Bloodshake’ was the song which got all the initial fans in to Peace. It used to be named ‘Bblood’ but was re-recorded and renamed for release with Columba. It spits out afro-rhythmic percussion and guitar lines which you’ll find in nearly every new indie band at the moment.

Peace have subtly pushed things forward in style and trend this year. Their 90s influence couldn’t be timed any better as the dance music scene is rekindling it’s love for 90s soul and garage. The more I listen to ‘In Love’, the more I realise how much I’m addicted to it. The band has a signature song-writing style and image and I can only see them progressing positively.

Peace - In Love
Out of 10: 8/10

Written by - Courtney Askew-Conti

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Album Review... Reporters - Life Isn’t Televised

The fast growing rush of young Milton Keynes duo Reporters' hype has built in a very short space of time. Now complete with a BBC Introducing session and two singles, Dan Stock and Josh Ringsell’s debut album "Life Isn’t Televised" is due for release on 28th January. I was very interested in listening to see what they had to offer.

Reporters cite an urgent blend of early Libertines and The Black Keys – a naïve but capable stripped back lo-fi effort with elements of blues and rock. Opening with latest single ‘The Feud’, the immediacy hits me with the Pete Doherty-esque vocal style approach but backed up by a catchy chorus full of different hooks weaving within the song; lyrics of being ‘forever young’ and raising the rhetorical questions of asking how it feels to be adored. ‘Lamplight’ was their debut single and appears to be a different version to the single they released first off, nevertheless, it’s a true, honest song full of youthful innocence with the opening line ‘I am a man without ambitions or plans’ though in some places the guitar lacks clarity due to the scrappy style Dan Stock presents.

‘I’m Blue For You’ is a sweet modern day ballad in 6/8 and proves to be a nice chilled track which I class as a ‘crowd-swayer’. I’m a big fan of the Bryan Adams reference in the lyric ‘everything I do, I do it for you’, whether it was intentional or not doesn’t matter, it’s Bryan Adams! ‘Dying To Live’ and ‘What Are You Afraid Of?’ definitely help to resemble the lo-fi bluesy sound they represent although I can’t help but perceive these tracks as fillers, an EP of five strong tracks would prove better in my own opinion. ‘Dying To Live’ has a great tribal drum beat that flows the album through.

‘Can’t Contain’ is a frantic blast of pure energy. It’s so ballsy. Carried by a punchy guitar riff, the cocky lyrics proclaiming to ‘stop acting like you know me’ with the indecisive chanty chorus ‘Damned if I did, damned if I didn’t..’. Stock’s vocal phrasing gels really well with Ringsell’s powerful drumming.

My favourite track from the album is the last track ‘Have You Heard The News?’, a melancholy bittersweet love song completely contrasting from the other songs but works so well adjacently with them. The lyric content is years beyond their age with the grabbing line of ‘Lennon is dead the weatherman said it’s looking like rain’, it’s honest and effective.

Overall, the album thematically displays raw emotion and the innocence of longing for something else. The guys are very capable and I expect only better things from them in the future.

Reporters - Life Isn't Televised
Out of 10: 7/10

Written by - Courtney Askew-Conti

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Album Review... Little Comets - Life Is Elsewhere

I hardly ever buy albums from HMV anymore but I’ve still found myself buying the last two Little Comets albums in the weeks of their releases. Their first effort ‘In Search of Elusive’ was a spark of indie basics. They lit a brewed up hype with performances in unorthodox venues, releasing singles like ‘One Night In October’ and the ever so realistic ‘Isles’ but came to the widened public eye when ‘Dancing Song’ was featured on a Radox advert this year.

So here they are in 2012 with a new record collection filled with Paul Simon’s Graceland, Vampire Weekend’s discography, The Maccabees’ Given To The Wild and the healthy addition of reverb and British realism. Their opener ‘A Little Opus’ is one of the strongest songs on the album, they maintain the foundations of their primarily indie genre with catchy hooks and a usual structure, but add quirky syncopation, short verb claps and a recurring guitar line which quite clearly premieres the new mature Little Comets. Lead singles ‘Jennifer’ and ‘Worry’ help to push the album a long, with jangly upbeat riffs and staccato rhythms topped with the emotive range of singer Robert Coles. The problem I find with afro-pop is the repetition in themes. I find the same vocal hooks repeatedly used, as well as similar chord progressions. Nevertheless, Little Comets interpret it to their own degree.

The style of this album is not exactly innovative because a lot of this has been done before, but what is innovative is the way they craft and make the style their own, mainly spurred on through the down to earth lyrics; ‘He wears commitment like a coat of arms’ and ‘Turning nurses into wine, your barbour jacket, missing dimple beautifully combine’. The overall feel is still an indie/alternative effort but with prime shimmers of the modern touch. The album is ridiculously underrated, receiving little to no press while nearly every music magazine is still banging on about the prices of Rolling Stones tickets. ‘Life Is Elsewhere’ is a tribute to the underdog, narrating stories of love and heartbreak; ‘’so he offers her his coat in return for her devotion’’ on Violence Out Tonight. The wispy reverb adds to the depth of these emotions of the efficiently used ambience. The crafting of this album is superb and cuts above the bland whiney bands hyped in the indie music scene.

Now after completing a successful tour, selling out London KOKO, the band look forward to what I hope will be a successful future.

Little Comets - Life Is Elsewhere
Out of 10: 8/10

Written by - Courtney Askew-Conti

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Gig Review... All Time Low @ Reading Festival, 26th August 2012

Sunday daytime, everyone was buzzing off the sounds of The Gaslight Anthem’s performance beforehand when All Time Low took to the stage. I’ve never given All Time Low a chance, so for me to watch them at Reading with a complete open mind was a stark contrast to what I’d usually be doing instead - slating them, but I’ll blame that on the consumption of alcohol. They stormed on to the main stage with complete confidence and cockiness so it became quite clear the show was going to be interesting, to put it in the nicest way. I noticed hiding behind all the unnecessary cases and stands was a few extra guitarists that were covered up; most definitely not what was needed if ever they wanted to brush away their manufactured fake sound. The band went through a set with songs consisting of names like ‘Damned If I Do Ya’, ‘Poppin’ Champagne’ and ‘Dear Maria, Count Me In’. I doubt you’d be surprised if I told you I cringed at these song titles, ahh. I would point out that although I dislike their music, as a band they were very tight and I can imagine them fitting a demographic, just maybe not Reading festival – at all.



The lead singer’s voice was nasally and cut through the overall mix with help of tacky distortion tones and to make the matter worse, the lame attempt of being controversial which was indeed laughable, screaming ‘f**k’ and ‘s**t’ at the top of their voices and then saying they were doing it because they were on live TV. All Time Low seemed to still be a hit with the die-hard fans though but as one of my friends nicely pointed out, a lot of the front row were proudly sticking their middle fingers up at the band. Now pop-punk is a genre I hardly ever like to delve in to, there are only a few bands I enjoy from this genre (Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, Fall Out Boy, Green Day) so at least they wouldn’t slaughter or have to fall back on covering any classic pop punk songs. I was wrong, they did a cover of ‘Dammit’ by Blink 182, one of my favourite Blink songs. It was a shame to see a band who were playing one of the biggest gigs of the year had to resort to doing a cover of the same genre, no adaptations, in order to keep the crowd on their feet. I realised from their set I’m not a fan. I never will be a fan. Yours sincerely, h8r.

Written by - Courtney Askew-Conti

Gig Review... Of Monsters and Men @ Reading Festival, 26th August 2012

With the success of the huge hit ‘Little Talks’, racking up over seventeen million YouTube views, Of Monsters and Men were a band I was really excited to see at Reading. In the wake of big indie folk bands like Arcade Fire and Dry The River gaining acclaim and limelight, these fresh faced Scandinavians couldn’t have shown up at a better time. Sporting an Icelandic flag on the drum kit, the NME tent was packed - an incredible turnout for midday! They were everything I wanted them to be and more. As the atmosphere was soaked up by everyone in the tent, a sense of magical enchantment hung over audience member’s heads as the band triumphed through a set of albums from their new album. Complete with glistening naive vocals from female vocalist Nanna and the incredible voice of male vocalist Raggi, the band smiled and gave it all their passion as to feel that settling for a good performance wouldn’t even be satisfactory.



Nanna interacted with the crowd, even complimenting a couple of guys dressed in purple morph suits and speaking fluent English. Of Monsters and Men look set to becoming one of the biggest breakthrough acts of 2012. Full with chants, audience rapport and epic songs, it comes as no surprise that right at this moment I’m clicking the download button on their debut album ‘My Head Is an Animal’. This is just the beginning of a band with so much potential and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Of Monsters and Men played:
Dirty Paws
Slow and Steady
King and Lionheart
Mountain Sound
Lake House
Little Talks
Six Weeks

Written by - Courtney Askew-Conti

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Single Review... Jessie Ware - 110%

In a mainstream music scene driven by four-to-the-floor electronic drum beats and predictable one-finger synthesizer lines branded by David Guetta and his many disciples who effortlessly sweep the globe, it’s exciting to hear electronic instruments used in a refreshing way in the shape of acts such as SBTRKT, Disclosure and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs who are gaining an increasing amount of success and recognition with Disclosure constantly popping up on Radio One and TEED sound-tracking the latest Nokia advert. Taking a more minimalistic approach to dance music, implying hints of hip-hop, garage, RnB and electronic, the innovative style latched on to Jessie Ware in the form of a remix of her single ‘Running’ by Disclosure. ‘110%’, although produced by Julio Bashmore, showcases strong electronic influences.



Ware’s vocals glisten effortlessly over the heavenly ambience of the bright TR 808 drums and bright synth pads as she fast approaches an alternative female icon status, similar to that of a more credible Lana Del Ray, except with the songs to live up to the hype. She expresses naivety in her simple but effective lyrics but still belts out a well-controlled vocal range. I would be very surprised if this didn’t become a cult summer hit, reblogged a thousand times over by the many hipsters of Tumblr. Her vocals add pure intimacy and if the feeling of natural morning fresh air was created in music form, this would be it. A refreshing whispy start to what I very much hope gets the recognition it deserves, and on top of that, would love to observe the future of this genre, maybe it will break in to the mainstream the way dubstep did? For that, we’ll have to wait and see.

Jessie Ware - 110%
Out of 10: 8/10

Written by - Courtney Askew-Conti



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