Greyson Chance is back with a brand new single, ‘Holy Feeling’.
The singer-songwriter first rose to fame when a video of his performance of Lady Gaga‘s ‘Paparazzi’, at a grade school music festival, went viral on YouTube, gaining him over 68million views.
Now, with a couple of albums under his belt and a whole string of singles, the artist returns with his mellow yet stunningly powerful offering, in the form of ‘Holy Feeling’.
The song has a certain quality of George Ezra about it during the first verse, when Chance’s gravelly vocal kicks in. However, by the chorus, we are treated to an uplifting and strong voice that is begging to be sung along to with full force.
It has an emotive and optimistic vibe to the song that has me reaching to repeat it, time and again.
The video for the song is pretty simplistic yet stylisticly cool too. It was shot on 16mm film and features people displaying a love and passion for each of their specific creative crafts – from a ballerina and a carpenter to a photographer and a tattoo artist – none of whom are actors. Interestingly, it was shot in the same location as that of his single, ‘shut up’. Check it out below.
What are your thoughts of this singer-songwriter’s latest single? Do you have a #MellowMonday track to recommend us? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or via social media.
On Friday 10th May 2019, the massive Japanese band – ONE OK ROCK – arrived in London. It was only the second date on their EU leg, of the Eye Of The Storm World Tour and they performed at none other than London’s renowned Roundhouse. The band put on a night to remember, supported by British pop outfit, Anteros.
Anteros
The band took to the stage with their vibrant personas and glitzy 80s synths, further reinforced by lead singer, Laura Hayden’s sparkly red dress. This band are a wonderful blend of indie, pop and new wave – think Blondie meets modern-day contemporary pop; along a similar vein to Fickle Friends. There are certain punk-like trends to Hayden’s stage presence, with her almost “don’t-give-a-damn” flounces around the stage, equally met with gusto – it’s quite mesmerising. The music is good and their energy was captivating to watch.
Highlight: The high-energy end to the band’s set made for a chaotic last impression, certain to leave people wanting more.
ONE OK ROCK
The band have only played in the UK a couple of handfuls of times but it was clear from their loyal fan base, just how much their performances are looked forward too, with a queue that lined up all round the streets, prior to the show.
As ONE OK ROCK took to the stage, the crowd whipped themselves up into a frenzy as the Japanese band launched into their opening track, ‘Push Back’. This was a set that despite the relatively small stage in comparison, felt just like an arena show…complete with pyros!
The set was teeming with a few older hits, plus a whole bunch of songs from their latest record, Eye Of The Storm (<— review here) – all of which had the crowd singing at the top of their lungs! Their energy was truly infectious from start to finish.
I was particularly impressed by Taka’s live vocals – so often you can hear little flaws in a singer’s voice when they’re performing live, but the power and effort he put into his performance was virtually flawless…even if he did keep fiddling with his in-ear throughout the show.
The quartet know just how to put on a show though; from Taka’s ability to capture the crowd by holding a particular stance and Toru’s rocking out with his guitar to Ryota’s powerful bass moves and Tomoya’s face poking up over the drums, as he beats away at them effortlessly – this is a band that you need to see live. It’s clear that they have spent a long time practising and perfecting their set – there isn’t too much between-song banter, but instead just packing in the songs, to give the audience a great time.
It was my first time seeing the band live and I had an amazing time – it’s so often that the UK send great bands and artists over to Japan to perform but it’s great to see a Japanese band coming over to the UK for a change! I strongly recommend catching this band live, the next time they make a rare appearance in the UK – you won’t be sorry, I promise!
Highlights:
Taka’s effortless vocals and stage presence alone, made the show thrilling to watch.
Having not heard too much of the band’s back catalogue, it was great to hear a lot of tracks from their most recent album, Eye Of The Storm.
There was an instrumental break during which Taka left the rest of the band to rock out on stage, demonstrating just how talented these musicians are – it was nice to see him let some of the other’s in the band have some of the limelight for a while, particularly a little drum solo from Tomoya.
The sheer polished-precision with which the band delivered their set, showed just how much rehearsing must have gone in to perfecting their live shows.
The loyalty of the crowd, singing back every word of every song, showed just how far-reaching their fan-base is.
PYROS! Pyrotechnics just make a show even better! It was great because they weren’t overused, just boosted a couple of songs when you least expected it.
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Setlist
Push Back
We Are
Taking Off
Unforgettable
Clock Strikes
Head High
Take What You Want
Stand Out Fit In*
(Instrumental)
Giants
I Was King
Change*
The Beginning
Jaded
Mighty Long Fall
Encore Wasted Nights
* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.
Finally, I want to say an absolutely HUGE thanks to Robbie Peacock for enabling this review to happen and to both ONE OK ROCK and Anteros for putting on a fantastic show.
Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other live reviews here:
It’s hard to believe that Avril Lavigne dropped her first single, ‘Complicated’, back in 2002 but since then, the songstress has had 5 studio albums, 23 singles, 27 music videos (including ‘Girlfriend’, which became the “first music video to reach 100 million views on YouTube”) and has even appeared on several television shows and films. Now, six years since her last, self-titled album, 2019 sees the singer-songwriter putting out her sixth studio album, Head Above Water; a personal account of the trials and tribulations she been through over the past few years. Here’s what we have to say about it…
Head Above Water is probably Avril Lavigne‘s most mature album to date, seeing a real evolution in her songwriting. Throughout the record, she paints a candid, honest and deeply introspective portrait of a truly tumultuous period in her life.
It all begins with the album’s title track, ‘Head Above Water’, which is in fact the song that kick-started the writing of the whole album. She stated, “One night, I thought I was dying, and I had accepted that I was going to die. My mom laid with me in bed and held me. I felt like I was drowning. Under my breath, I prayed, ‘God, please help to keep my head above the water.’ In that moment, the song writing of this album began. It was like I tapped into something. It was a very spiritual experience. Lyrics flooded through me from that point on.” In this truly stunning track alone, Avril Lavigne documents her fight with Lyme Disease (as a result of which, she set up The Avril Lavigne Foundation, to raise awareness of the condition – visit http://www.TheAvrilLavigneFoundation.org for more information), showing her strength of character to fight and overcome it.
As if that song wasn’t different enough, ‘Birdie’ demonstrates a diverse instrumental with intricate production where stripped-back moments show off her voice beautifully and a distorted vocal break adds another dimension to the track in which compares herself to a caged bird.
Equally, ‘I Fell In Love With The Devil’ and ‘Tell Me It’s Over’ are both tinted with Lana Del Rey-esque vibes. The first blends both high and low-pitched vocal harmonies to create an ominous tone to the track, perfectly mirroring the theme of a toxic relationship, whilst the latter’s sultry vocals and brass elements in the verses lead into a massive, soulful chorus, making it possibly the most unique song Avril has ever released.
There is a bit of a lull in the uptempo vibes towards the middle-end of the record (but still great tracks!) ‘Souvenir’ is a cute little love song that although a touch juvenile, is actually very endearing, whilst ‘Crush’ is a sparkly-sounding, soulful number.
It might not be her most obviously banging release, but it certainly packs a punch on the emotive side, with such wonderfully poetic lyricism.
‘Bigger Wow’ isn’t the most memorable song though it’s incredibly catchy and unequivocally pop, however I can’t help but feel it’s virtually a carbon copy of Hailee Steinfeld‘s single, ‘Starving’ with Zedd.
That said, although on the whole Head Above Water is quite the far cry from any of her previous releases, there are definite nods to her former sounds. ‘Dumb Blonde’ (featuring none other than Nicki Minaj – which was clearly a last-minute addition to the track, as the review version of the album did not feature her at all) takes a massive leaf out of her 2007 smash hit, ‘Girlfriend’. Additionally, ‘It Was In Me’ has a massive throwback vibes to her 2002 hit, ‘I’m With You’, but nevertheless, it’s amazing and the build up at the end is truly goosebump-inducing!
The album draws to a close with ‘Warrior’, thematically bringing us back full circle to where we began. The lyrics possibly aren’t the most imaginative on the record but they certainly show the strength she has found within herself, to get through some of the toughest years of her life and with that comes an audible gratitude and renewed lease of life.
Whatever you think of Avril Lavigne‘s previous incarnations, you can’t hear this album and deny that it’s a passionate and very personal offering from the star and although there isn’t a completely cohesive style throughout, it’s refreshing to hear her trying something new. The break has done her voice good too – there’s a renewed power and technique behind it and she’s using it in ways she hasn’t much before.
Of course, there are bound to be people that will slate her for moving away from her old sound and those who will criticise her for trying something new, but personally I love and commend this record for being evolutionary and so clearly therapeutic. It might not be her most obviously banging release, but it certainly packs a punch on the emotive side, with such wonderfully poetic lyricism. Now it’s time to return to the top Avril Lavigne – welcome back!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our review! What do you think of Avril’s sixth studio album, Head Above Water? Are you as much of a fan as us? What would you rate it out of 5? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or via our social media.
Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other reviews here:
Mark Ronson is certainly a household name already and having released several collaborative hit tracks this year, the five-time Grammy Award-winning artist and producer now returns with a brand new single of his own, ‘Nothing Breaks Like A Heart’ featuring the incredible Miley Cyrus.
The track was co-written by both Ronson and Cyrus, alongside Ilsey Juber, Thomas Brenneck, The Picard Brothers and Conor Rayne Syzmanski, and produced by Ronson, The Picard Brothers and Jamie XX.
The track serves as the first single to be taken from Mark Ronson’s forthcoming studio album, coming in 2019. It’s also his first pop single as a recording artist since the musical phenomenon that was ‘Uptown Funk‘! However he’s been busy since then, co-writing the Number 1 song, ‘Shallow’ performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, featured in Cooper’s directorial debut, A Star Is Born, as well as being a member of supergroup, Silk City (with Diplo), releasing the Top 5 UK Chart hit, ‘Electricity’ featuring Dua Lipa.
The track is already making waves around the world, with video trending highly on YouTube. The high-energy video was filmed in Kiev, Ukraine, directed by WAFLA (We Are From LA) and executive-produced by Romain Gravas (M.I.A, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Jamie XX). It features Miley Cyrus being pursued by police with a tongue-in-cheek approach to the reasons behind it. It’s clearly a big-budget affair and really well shot – definitely worth a watch!
📸 Benoit Debie
What are your thoughts of this duo’s collaboration? Does it top ‘Uptown Funk’? Do you have a #WildCardWednesday track to recommend us? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or hit us up via social media, using the hashtag.
Troye Sivan is South African-born, Australian singer, songwriter, actor and YouTuber who has been gathering a huge online following over the past few years.
Openly gay, Sivan describes ‘Bloom’ as a, ‘subversively queer song,’ that sees him take on the role of a passive guy losing his virginity. Although it’s full of innuendo, it is a really fun, subtle track that has an incredibly catchy chorus (but not in an obvious sense). It’s summery and deserves to be played loud…I expect his pride appearances this year will be huge!
No music video (as such) has been released, however a 3D animated lyric video, created by Jason Ebeyer, was released, featuring an animated version of Sivan floating through a fantasy land.
Jess Glynne is finally back with the first single since her 2015 debut, I Cry When I Laugh, indicating that her second album is on its way!
‘I’ll Be There’ is an uplifting track with very soulful and gospel-like qualities to it whilst maintaining a contemporary pop sound. It is a track that transcends as it progresses; this song makes it easy to see why she’s won a Grammy! I hope this is another Number 1 hit for her, like 2015’s debut, ‘Hold My Hand’.
The video itself doesn’t appear to have much of a narrative however the locations she performs in are pretty interesting and vibrant colours certainly play an important part throughout. Well worth a watch.
Ariana Grande is back with the first single to be taken from her upcoming fourth album, ‘No Tears Left to Cry’. Written by Grande herself, alongside Savan Kotecha and its producers Max Martin and Ilya, it is a rather different pop track to her normal style.
Don’t be mistaken, it’s still dance-pop at the core with a powerful vocal chorus, but it’s got some quite 90s pop and R&B influences to it and it’s certainly not an instant and obvious standout hit; this track is much more of a grower.
The video features Grande performing amongst a lot of disorientated scenery (which corresponds with the upside-down text of the single cover and leaks of Grande in a corresponding sweatshirt). It’s an interesting concept for the video, which was directed by Dave Meyers.
Emma Blackery is a singer-songwriter, YouTuber and author from Basildon in Essex, UK. To date she has 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube, with 148 million views and in 2016, she supported Bustedon their Pigs Can Fly Tour.
Now, in 2018, Emma Blackery is releasing her new single, ‘Dirt’. With a decidedly electro-pop foundation, this track is topped off with Blackery’s rather British-sounding voice (which is quite refreshing!) and some explicit vocals; making it edgier than your normal dance-pop songs.
The video is a bit of fun with it’s quirky dances and neon pink and blue colours throughout; it’s not breaking any boundaries but it’s light-hearted and funky.
This is a great track by a great up-and-coming artist on the pop scene!
On Tuesday 17th October 2017, Will Joseph Cook, came to Brighton to perform a set in support of his debut album, Sweet Dreamer, as well as play a couple of new songs from his upcoming EP. He was supported by Indigo Husk at the popular Brighton venue, The Haunt.
Indigo Husk
The band took to the stage with their grungy, give-a-damn appearance and although the crowd seemed a bit reticent to begin with, after a couple of songs, they had been worked up a treat, with the band’s funky brand of grunge-pop. The lead singer’s occasional ‘whoops’ and sarcastic quips were amusing, whilst the drummer was possibly one of the most engaging band members I’ve ever seen – he was witty, enthusiastic, provided great backing vocals and oozed personality through his crowd interaction. Sadly the same can’t quite be said for the bassist, who barely cracked a smile throughout and the concentration on Flynn’s face looked almost uncomfortable for him, at times. That’s not to say it was a bad performance or that they’re not a good band; it makes them who they are and they were certainly fun to watch.
Highlight:
The drummer – he was captivating and I particularly enjoyed the moments he stood up whilst drumming, taking every opportunity to interact with the audience.
Will Joseph Cook
Will Joseph Cook is a fantastic performer and his unique blend of indie vibes, electronic synths and pop hooks make for one heck of a funky, dance-infused performance.
The moment he appeared on stage, the audience burst into rapturous applause – one thing’s for sure, Will Joseph Cook has worked incredibly hard to build up a dedicated and loyal following, evidenced by the fact that the show had sold out.
His vocals were on point and his working of the stage was controlled and at times even mesmerising. I like that he is able to switch between playing the guitar and singing (which can be quite static) on some songs, whilst on others, he ditches the guitar and works the crowd – it’s great to see this diversity in his performance.
The songs he played sounded just as good as his recordings and at times, Will and the band added a nice leading intro into a song, adding something unique that you could only see and hear if you watch him live.
Not only has Will Joseph Cook produced an incredibly strong debut album (Sweet Dreamer) but his performances are remarkably captivating too. He is definitely worth watching live – make sure you catch his show next time he’s near you.
Highlights:
Usually I like it when there’s a lot of between-song banter from the band or artist, but Will kept this to a minimum, playing song after song, keeping the audience dancing and singing along.
Getting to hear a couple of his new tracks, live, was great!
His performances of ‘Plastic’, ‘Girls Like Me’ and new song, ‘If You Want To Make Money’, all really stood out to me.
Will and the band’s abilities to make the live renditions sound just as good as the recordings.
📷 All of the fantastic photos in this post are credited to Elliot McRae. 📷
Go on and give him a follow – @EMcraePhoto
Setlist
Biggest Fan
Alive
Sweet Dreamer
Treat Me Like A Lover*
Plastic*
Habit
Take Me Dancing
If You Want To Make Money*
Fish*
Daisy Chains
Beach
Encore Message
Girls Like Me*
*These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.
Finally, I want to say a MASSIVE thanks to Isobel Williams from Whiteboard PR for setting up this review and to Will Joseph Cook and Indigo Husk for putting on a great evening.
SUP3RFRUIT (Superfruit) started out as a web show, hosted on YouTube by Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi (originally known for their work in Pentatonix) but recently, the pair debuted their first track as a duo, ‘Bad 4 Us’, and it. Is. AWESOME!
The song is catchy and fun and it truly is the perfect debut track for the duo’s side project. After years of yearning from fans, it looks like the pair might finally be releasing a side project of music as the comment on the video states, ‘official music coming in 2017!’ Hopefully it won’t be long until more emerges from them, as this song is just awesome.
The music video is just incredible; it’s fun, interesting, funny and nostalgic of 90s video games…and openly makes reference to the pair’s sexuality. The duo’s heads work amazingly on the cartoon bodies and it’s been superbly animated.
Unfortunately, the song is currently not available to listen to on Spotify or for purchase via iTunes, so for now, you’ll just have to watch/listen to the music video below.
What are your thoughts of this incredibly catchy pop tune? Got your own #FeelGoodFriday track to recommend to us? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or via our social media accounts.
Everywhere are a London-based four-piece band who have already received a lot of attention for their lead single, Some Other Dude, which has received over 1 millions plays on Spotify and a feature on BBC Introducing London.
The opening track, ‘Shades At Night’, has all the makings of a massive anthem and sure kicks off the EP with a bang. It’s a song that is begging to be chanted along to, by any audience and would sit perfectly inside a massive stadium. It’s a monster of a song and very reminiscent of something that The Killers, The 1975 or maybe even Take That would produce, but it definitely still has their own unique mark on it!
‘Heroine’ is a twisted tale of love that has beautiful vocal harmonies and gang vocals that can’t help but draw you in. ‘Some Other Dude’ has some seriously cool effects on the guitars and this song is itching to be danced to; it’s got some major funk to it! The EP closes with ‘Let It Go’, which although a much mellower offering, is just as captivating as the other songs. The synth sounds throughout the EP are so on point and current and here they just add to the epic, euphoria that builds throughout the track.
The production of this EP is superb too – it’s got a cool, edgy, funky pop sound that enhances the songs perfectly. This is thanks, in part, to American producer, Mark Needham, who’s worked with the likes of The Killers, Walk The Moon, The 1975, Imagine Dragons and P!nk.
This whole EP has been crammed full of top-notch production, quality song-writing and fantastic, catchy melodies – it’d be quite easy to get caught out busting a move or two or belting along to it in your car or just about anywhere it’s played. I honestly love this EP and the band too! One heck of an EP!
I’m sure these guys are going to be huge and if you haven’t heard of them already, be sure to check out this incredible EP…I’m just sad there aren’t more tracks! Bring on the album!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our first EP review…something new for 2017! What do you think of this band’s Fiction Act EP? Are you as much of a fan as us? What would you rate it? Please leave your thoughts in a comment below or via our social media.
Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other reviews here:
We’ve featured the American trio, A R I Z O N A before and damn it, we’re going to do it again! ‘Oceans Away’ is the most recent track to be released by the songwriter/producers and it’s as encapsulating as all of their other releases.
I love the sound of this track, and indeed the band, because they fuse the softer side of rock with the more contemporary sounds of pop, topped off with almost house-like beats. It’s virtually genre-less but it doesn’t matter; it’s damn catchy and their sound fills the listener with intrigue and admiration.
I know that the band are currently hard at work on their debut album, but in my opinion, it cannot come quick enough!
No video has been made as of yet, but we’ll keep you posted on this!
What are your thoughts of this band? What’s your favourite song they’ve done? Please let us know your thoughts or share your own #MellowMonday track in a comment below or via our social media, using the hashtag.
Muzik Speaks 