SOTD ROUND-UP: 23/06/2019-30/06/2019

Yes, it's back again and I promise to be more consistent with it! Here is this week's Song of the Day Round-Up.

DAMN GOOD LIAR - EMILY BURNS

Damn Good Liar is part of Emily Burns' most recent EP release 'PDA', which if I could, I would put the entirety of on here. Although Damn Good Liar is my personal favourite from the EP, I wanted to include it here in order to include the entire body of work. PDA is a fun and fresh group of tracks that show how far Burns has come from her previous LP release 'Seven Scenes From The Same Summer'. PDA is more refined and specific in its sound, and it just generally shows the way in which Burns has clearly become more solidified in her place in the industry.  Damn Good Liar is a particularly catchy, simple and funky track with a really good bass beat that's just simply fun to listen to. I would highly recommend listening to Emily Burns entire PDA EP, but if you were to just listen to one song, then make it Damn Good Liar.

NO FUN - DECLAN WELSH AND THE DECADENT WEST

No Fun is the first experience of Declan Welsh and The Decadent West that I've had, and I was thoroughly impressed. 'No Fun' is unapologetic British rock, something that has been missing a bit from the music world from the past few years but, thankfully, is beginning to come back. The sound of No Fun harks back to the Arctic Monkeys of the early 2000s but not to the extent that you'd think Declan Welsh and his band were wannabes, as there's definitely something different and almost more hardcore about it; more 2019 about it. The track contains levels of intense guitar riffs and drums and has a story to tell about certain types of people found at parties, and once you actually listen to the track, I guarantee you'll know exactly the type of person they're talking about. Declan Welsh is a man who has many things to say and isn't afraid to say them, so I'm intrigued by his future releases and will have to delve a little further into past ones too.

REAL - AMA

A stark difference from the previous track, Real is a subtle, modern and cool track by up-and-coming R&B singer AMA. AMA's sultry and varied vocals throughout the track somehow seem to keep your attention, despite the organized maybe going on in the instrumentals. All sorts of sound clips are featured, which certainly makes for an interesting listen, but AMA clearly has the vocals where if none of the weird introductions were there, I'd still be just as intrigued by the track. There's something not just modern, but futuristic about the song and the way in which sound is used throughout it, that seems to be an ongoing theme in music at the moment, from Billie Eilish to Tyler The Creator. Overall, Real is smooth and sultry and a little bit weird: an ideal mix.

2019 - JAE STEPHENS

Jae Stephens is someone I've talked about before and I won't hesitate to talk about again, especially with the effortless track '2019'. '2019' is another track from Stephen's upcoming bigger release that isn't known much about as of yet. The track is dynamic and fun and a little bit more upbeat in comparison to her previous releases. Stephen always makes music that's just cool; there's no track she's released that I wouldn't describe as cool and 2019 has continued that pattern. Nothing much else to say other than it's another good track from Jae Stephens, and it's nice to see a song that has a more fun vibe than previous releases!

SILHOUETTES - FRIENDLY FIRES

Friendly Fires are a band I've been told to listen to by a multitude of people for a long, so when I saw a new release by the band, coming along with an announcement of their first LP in eight years, I felt inclined to give it a listen and I wasn't disappointed. 'Silhouettes' fits into that brand of indie-pop recently that gives homage to 80s sounds whilst still having a very modern vibe, and Friendly Fires seem to have perfected this. This new track leaves a lot of promise for their upcoming album, especially since they're going with a sound that's so popular and well done in 2019. Silhouettes is summery and light, and a great introductory track after a long time away.

Written by Ruby Crowhurst