SONG OF THE DAY ROUND-UP: 24/09/2018 - 30/09/2018
24/09 - GUIDING LIGHT - MUMFORD AND SONS
The modern icons of folk-indie music are finally back and releasing new music, with an album following soon. 'Guiding Light' is their first release in their new era but it seems like they're going back to their roots with this brand-new release; back to basics almost. Mumford and Son's 2015 album release was an almost experimental mix of slower tracks much more reminiscent of modern indie music. However, it seems that the band has decided to go back to their folk-oriented days with their new releases, which I personally think is great. It's not necessarily that Mumford and Sons are better with folk, it's more like folk is better with Mumford and Sons there. Folk, as we know, isn't a particularly mainstream genre and it's nice to have a hugely popular band to bring it back in a way that is sitting very well with the general public. 'Guiding Light' is a great first single, with the stand-out vocals of Marcus Mumford, heartfelt lyrics and easy-to-listen instrumentals, it sounds like a song that could easily be included in a driving montage of a rom-com and I mean that in the best sense. It's been a long wait for new Mumford and Son's music, but I think it's going to have been worth the wait and I'll be intrigued to listen to the full album when it's released.
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY HERE
25/09 - CLEAN EYES - SYML
I chose 'Clean Eyes' for my song of the day through no intellectual decision but I simply listened to the first half of the song and decided I really liked, and surely that's got to be a good thing. There's no overwhelming factor that I can specifically pinpoint 'YES! That's what I like about this song' but all of the different small things just work really well together. The instrumental just makes you want to listen to more of the song, the lyrics are intelligent and the chorus is incredibly infectious. Even after one listen you'll have the 'Oh, clean eyes' portion stuck in your head. Also, there are slightly electronic 80s features in there that you wouldn't notice unless you listen hard enough, which clearly lifts up the song and makes it so incredibly listenable. Overall, SYML have created a good song that I can easily see myself listening.
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY HERE
26/09 - N/A
27/09 - SMOOTH CRIMINAL - ALIEN ANT FARM
I'm going to make a bold claim and say that this could be my favorite cover of a song of all time. Alien Ant Farm's cover of Michael Jackon's 'Smooth Criminal' is an absolute masterclass in how to take a song, cover it, but make it completely your own. With the switch in the genre, it seems like 'Smooth Criminal' takes a whole new meaning when Alien Ant Farm take it on. With the early 2000s being all about the rise of punk and pop-punk, what better way to summarise it than with a relatively small punk band taking on one of the 'King of Pop's biggest song, making it heavy with punk-style vocals and guitar and absolutely smashing it. It was a brave thing to do at the time but the risk paid off and now we have two versions of Smooth Criminal that remain iconic now.
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY HERE
28/09 - I LIKE THE WAY - AGAINST THE CURRENT
Against The Current are a band I've been keeping my eye on for a long while now, from before they even had releases of their own music and they were mainly doing covers on Youtube. As you may know, I'm always on the hunt for a really great female fronted rock/indie bands and I believe Against The Current are this. Their new album 'Past Lives' was released this week and although it took a poppier sound than I thought it would (think recent releases by Paramore), the album didn't disappoint and, of the songs that weren't released as singles, 'I Like The Way' was my personal favourite. The main instrumental throughout track almost gives it an 80s pop vibe which is popular nowadays with the 80s making a comeback. It's an incredibly catchy track with lyrics about a love that doesn't want to settle down, and this combination will be an absolute win when it comes to being played on the radio and general success with the public. Do I miss their pop-punk sound? Maybe. But a lot of pop-punk bands seem to struggle with staying in the pop-punk category in recent years and tend to branch out to pop and electronic. Against The Current have made this transition seamless, and the sound of pop definitely suits them, so I have no real complaints here. 'I Like The Way' is a great pop track with a great sound, great vocals, and cleary throughout out lyrics. What's not to like?
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY HERE
29/09 - ALIVE - IIOLA
I saw iiola a couple years back when she supported Saint Raymond in Brighton, but I didn't even realise until I did a little bit of research as I saw her when she was performing under a different name. At that show, I remember her being extremely talented and her vocals, in particular, being spot on, and 'alive' from her most recent EP just proves this. The vocals really do stand out with their calming and almost angelic sound, enhanced by the echo-like effect. 'alive' really shows that electronic music is not just EDM, it can create beautiful slow ballads if put in the right hands. alive is very representative of her 'chrysalis' ep which is filled with calming, slow electronically songs that have clearly been composed in a very artistic way. I'm definitely interested to see more from iiola, and whether she'll venture into more upbeat and varied sounds when she inevitably releases a full album because she definitely has the vocals to pull off any style of song. But right now, 'alive' is an incredibly serene song that is representative of a similarly serene EP.
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY HERE
That's my round-up for the week!
If you want to see the songs of the day as and when they come then follow my Instagram HERE (@rubyonmusic).
Check out my song of the day playlists (as well as a couple others) on my Spotify HERE
Written by Ruby Crowhurst
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