New Music Review #46

Ten more releases you need to hear!

Bettie Serveert feat. Peter te Bos - Love Sick

Like a cross between Paramore and the Ting Tings this indie-rock number has a great pop-rock energy and a great call-and-response between the two vocals, plus a strong rough guitar riff. (7/10)

Black Lime – Pleasantville (EP)

The Pleasantville EP is a collection of four raw and rugged punk-rock that utilise the lo-fi sound of the production to great effect. Opener ‘Fight or Flight’ bursts with confidence and raw energy with a chorus and guitar riffs that prove to be on-point. ‘Rattlesnake’ is just as down and dirty but doesn’t quite have the same focus on hooks but is still a good number. ‘Feeling Wrong’ continues the vibe with some slick but dirty guitar riffs and licks, whilst the titular closer ties things up nicely. If you like your rock down and dirty and refreshingly unpolished then you’ll find much to enjoy here. (6/10)

Callaghan – Solid Ground

Another new track from Callaghan and this is one of my favourites, with its Coldplay-esque switch-up of instrumentation and her beautiful vocals flowing between the music. Lovely. (7/10)

Das Mörtal feat. French Fox - Midnight Rendez-Vous

With hints of Kraftwerk but with a bit more personality, this is a quirky club-inspired hit. It might lack the big chorus you’d hope for but otherwise is musically intriguing. (6.5/10)

Dead Lavender - Seasons Change

‘Seasons Change’ is a stripped back, dark-themed number with a catchy hooky chorus but heavily weighted towards chill-out, creating a strongly produced and unwinding number. (7/10)

Kid Astray – Fall to my Knees

With hints of MGMT ‘Fall to my Knees’ is a well produced chunky dance number with Daft Punk elements and a quirky, summery vibe that ticks over nicely. (7/10)

Kirsty Churchill - I Was Not Looking

Following her brilliant breakthrough single, last year’s ‘Who You Gonna Call?’ Churchill is back with another catchy European-sounding dance-pop tune that boasts a chorus that could well become as singable as its predecessor. Poppy, fun and summery, what more could you want at the moment? (7/10)

Leyya – Zoo

With an opening flourish of sitar ‘Zoo’ transforms into a catchy and summery pop number with a smooth musical riff and a flip-flopping flow that sounds like Izzy Bizu crossed with Eliza Doolittle. (7/10) 

Louise Lemon – Appalacherna

The first cut from her new EP, this is a dark and foreboding but well layered piece that suits the style of the old secluded cabin it was recorded in. Very atmospheric and paints a great audio picture. (6.5/10)

Yoe Mase – Lonely

A dark and foreboding single but one with heart and a strong ear for production, with a style that flows from ethereal moments to rockier sections, all glued together by the strong vocals and heartfelt delivery of the lyrics by the lead. (7/10)

KBPS Interview: Kirsty Churchill

Singer-songwriter Kirsty Churchill is back, following her incredible 2016 single ‘Who You Gonna Call’ with her debut EP ‘I Was Not Looking’, a collaboration between Mark Herbert and F Block’s Mac & Phil, the latter hot from their success on the new Emilie Sande album. We caught up with Kirsty to talk to her about the new EP and the lead single that shares its name.

Can you start by telling us a little about your EP?

It’s a five-track EP that has got my first two singles on it – ‘Those Three Words’ and ‘Who You Gonna Call’ – and three new tracks. The head track and the EP is called ‘I Was Not Looking’ and it was all recorded at F I Block, which is a fantastic production company in Ealing, which has made it big with quite a few headline names, so they’re going really well, a really good strong company, so I’m lucky to work with them. I’m really happy with that. It’s out on Spotify now if you want to preview it but the official release date is 19^th May where it’ll go out on more digital platforms [alongside] more interviews and gigs. It’s very exciting!

How did the lead track ‘I Was Not Looking’ come about?

This track was a co-write between Mark Herbert, the owner of my record label Big Bed Records, and Mac and Phil, who are the producers at F Block. I was really excited about this track knowing that they’d taken their time to come and help someone who is still working their way in the industry to co-write this track and produce it. It was a dream really, and it was great fun to work with those guys at F Block. It’s a really good, upbeat track [and] fun and it’s one of my favourites that I’ve recorded.

Did you enjoy the recording process? Did it go smoothly?

It always does. I go in on a whim and start warming up. It doesn’t take me long to record a track. I practice it before I go. Mark sits in the background and [gives feedback]. I love the whole process. It’s fun, there’s always something new to learn [and get] new skills, and it’s a laugh. To see the track come together from just the backing track to putting the vocals in, and doing little bits, and the harmonies, [is great] in the end.

You’re also doing videos for each of the five songs. Was that a conscious decision?

I’ve always been a performer, as a kid, recording myself. To be able to do music videos was great fun. For the first two they were actually proper music videos where I’m singing the whole way through, and the ‘Stop the Clock’ is similar. I haven’t actually seen that video yet but I’ve heard it’s really good and I should have that posted to me next week, which is very exciting, and that should be online for everyone to see [soon]. It’s been great fun, and I had a photoshoot at the studio last week which was great fun alongside the music videos. That’s one of my favourite bits as you can actually show your personality and let people see you.

Last year we were big fans of ‘Who You Gonna Call’. Did you get good reactions to that song?

Yes, and we still do. We’re talking about re-releasing it as a single because it got so much good feedback. It was suggested that we put it forward for the Eurovision Song Contest so that might be something in the future! It still gets played on iTunes and the hits on the videos, on YouTube, are going up every day. People are enjoying the music.

Away from your studio work have you got any live gigs coming up?

I’ve recently met up with a couple of guitarists to go through my songs. I’m actually doing a charity gig at which I’ll do a couple of my songs, in July, which is a local fundraiser for Cancer Research. It’s going to be a good day. We’re in talks about when gigs are going to be, and all that information will be on the Big Bed Records website and on my Twitter page. This will be the year where I’m going out to get my voice heard!

How does your live sound compare to your studio work?

At the moment we’re doing acoustic as to try and get a full band is quite difficult at the moment. I’m starting acoustically so it’ll have a different sound to it. I love working on piano and acoustic guitar as you can change it around and make it sound different, and it keeps things alive. People are more intrigued to listen a bit more. It gets them more involved in my music and shows them how versatile I can be. That’s the good thing about doing acoustic rather than a full band.

Finally what are your big ambitions for 2017?

My ambitions for the year are to get as many gigs in as I can, to get more followers as a lot of people don’t know who I am yet because I haven’t done a lot of gigging, so that’s what I’m focussing on this summer through to October time. So come next year I’ll hopefully have more followers and be in a better position to do more gigs in different areas. I’d like to go to different places in the UK and then spread further from there. I just really enjoy what I’m doing and having fun and I just want other people to enjoy it with me!

Find out more about Kirsty Churchill on her Facebook page.

Top 100 of 2016 (Part 6)

It's time for the latest part of our countdown of the best songs of 2016, entering the top fifty!

50 Will Joseph Cook - Girls Like Me (Released: February)

49 Dave Hanson - Midday Sun (Released: June)

48 The Allergies - Rock Rock (feat. Andy Cooper) (Released: April)

47 Teddybears - Best You Ever Had [feat Gorilla Zoe] (Released: August)

46 Rick Astley - Dance (Released: October)

45 Kirsty Churchill - Who You Gonna Call (Released: March)

44 P!nk - Just Like Fire (Released: April)

43 KT Tunstall - Maybe Its A Good Thing (Released: August)

42 Blossoms - Charlemagne (Released: August)

41 Emeli Sandé - Hurts (Released: September)