Circa Waves dropped some festive breadcrumbs for their new release via social media last night. Taking to Instagram, the band alerted fans of the upcoming track: “Ho Ho Ho our christmas banger is out tomorrow at 10am GMT.” 

The indie quintet stayed true to their promise, and took to Instagram again today to post news of Miss Christmas’ arrival. Circa Waves declared in the posts’ caption: “MISS CHRISTMAS, maybe the greatest christmas song ever is out now. Listen to it loud to get in the Christmas spirit!”

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The post, which garnered over 2,400 likes and views, clearly provoked excitement amongst fans. One fan commented: “Well done boys!”

Along with the new release, Circa Waves premiered the Miss Christmas music video to their 70,000 YouTube subscribers. The humorous and socially distanced video sees the band all dressed as Santa, jamming out with their respective instruments from the comfort of their homes. 

 

 

 

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In a few short hours, the Miss Christmas music video has obtained over 1,800 views already. The Miss Christmas music video can be watched in full here. 

Keiran Shudall, frontman of Circa Waves, spoke out about their new festive track. In an official press release, Shudall meditated on the emotional aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially around Christmas time.

Shudall said: “As no one’s been able to hug their family for half a year we wanted to give you this song. A warm Christmassy cuddle to tide you over till Covid gets chinned out of its shoes in 2021!”

Shudall continued by discussing the Christmassy effect Circa Waves were trying to achieve with Miss Christmas. Shudall said: “We wanted to make a Christmas song that felt timeless and could sit between Mariah Carey and Paul McCartney on the nation’s Christmas Day. Pass the sprouts!”

Miss Christmas is the latest from the stream of new music that Circa Waves have shared this year. The Liverpool-born band dropped their fourth studio album, Sad Happy, on March 13th, and followed the release with EP, Sadder Happier. 

A surprise EP, the self-described “angry record” was shared by the band on May 20th, 2020. Circa Waves also enlisted Alfie Templeman for the collaborative single, Lemonade, on August 27th. 

When chatting to NME, Keiran Shudall said of Lemonade: “The song has been a bit prophetic in a sense. It’s almost as if I felt what the nation now feels, months before it all happened. This feeling of imagining that you’d be doing something better than what you’re doing at the time.”

Shudall continued, saying: “I think everyone has that sense all the time anyway, thinking that life should be a bit more interesting than it is, and Corona has just put a massive magnifying glass on that.”

Miss Christmas is out everywhere now.

Entitled We Forgot We Were Dreaming, the album will mark half a decade since Saint Raymonds’ blinding debut, Young Blood. Released back in July of 2015, Young Blood contains the hit songs Great Escape, I Want You, Everything She Wants, and Bonfires.

Saint Raymond offered the first delicious taster from his upcoming album, Solid Gold, on Friday November 13th. An indie bop with soft rock vibes, Solid Gold examines a relationship under pressure, but one that is still worth working on. 

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Solid Gold opens with a poignant, isolated guitar riff. Before long, Saint Raymond incorporates some punchy percussion and starts singing relatable lyrics about numerous relationship troubles.  Raymond sings: “I don’t really care what your friends say/I just wanna know where you go/Just give me your hand we could slip away/When we get reckless time goes slow”.

Raymond encapsulates the unrelenting need to make a special relationship work, something every listener has been through.  This theme continues in the pre-chorus, as Raymond sings: “A new day brings us back to earth/And like it hell it hurts/But we keep on going/Yeah, we keep on going”, showing a refusal to give up, and instead, work through their relationship problems. 

Saint Raymond explained the meaning behind solid gold in an official press release. Raymond, real name Callum Burrows, stated that “‘Solid Gold’ is about trying to rekindle the spark and make things work because you know that there is something special in the relationship and it’s worth fighting for. It’s about knowing that all of the good things override the negatives.”

Saint Raymond announced the arrival of Solid Gold via social media on Friday. Taking to Instagram, Raymond posted the tantalising track’s lyrics, writing in the caption: “A little ‘Solid Gold’ to learn and sing.”

In preparation for We Forgot We Were Dreaming, Saint Raymond disclosed additional album tracks Wide Eyed Blind, Love This Way and Right Way Round. Raymond dropped Wide Eyed Blind on September 29th, after sharing Love This Way on August 12th, and Right Way Round on May 29th. 

 

 

 

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In an official statement, Saint Raymond divulged details of his upcoming project, relaying that “The album is generally about relationships – whether that be friendships or love interests. It encompasses things I have picked up from around me seeing people falling in and out of love.” 

Raymond continued, stating that “It’s also about the relationship we all have with ourselves and in our own minds. There are a few songs on ’We Forgot We Were Dreaming’ that are about mental health and my relationship with that.”

Along with the announcement of new material, Saint Raymond has confirmed that he will embark on an intimate UK tour, also scheduled for April 2021. Saint Raymond will start the tour in Leeds and end the tour in the artist’s home town of Nottingham.

Solid Gold is out now. The official tour dates for Saint Raymonds’ UK 2021 tour, as well as the tracklisting to We Forgot We Were Dreaming, can be found below: 

16/04/2021 – The Key Club – Leeds
17/04 – The Castle & Falcon – Birmingham
19/04 – Oslo Hackney – London
20/04 – Rescue Rooms – Nottingham

1. We Forgot We Were Dreaming
2. Right Way Round
3. Love This Way
4. Talk
5. Alright
6. Wide Eyed Blind
7. Solid Gold
8. Soft Landing
9. Gone By Morning
10. Killer
11. Only You
12. Amsterdam

Back to Stockport will be centred around Blossoms’ seminal live performance at Stockport County FC’s Edgeley Park, which took place in June of 2019. The five-piece band will offer an intimate reflection of the Edgeley Park show, their homecoming gig which shifted the trajectory of Blossoms’ now-thriving career. 

Late last night (November 2nd), Blossoms shared the trailer for Back to Stockport via their official YouTube channel. The intriguing snippet opens with an intimate look into Blossoms at the studio, with lead vocalist Tom Odgen jesting around during the making of their hit song, I Can’t Stand It. 

The trailer offers glimpses of life on the road for the band, from both the panic-filled and peaceful moments. Fans were certainly pleased with the teaser trailer, as the post has already reaped 117,000 likes. 

Back to Stockport will be directed by English filmmaker Charlie Watts. Blossoms relayed their excitement behind the collaboration with Watts, with whom they have worked closely over the years. Blossoms said in an official statement: “We have worked with Charlie on and off since the band started really, so when the opportunity to make something together surrounding the homecoming show in Stockport came about, we jumped at the chance.”

The Mancunian quintet spoke highly of Watts, whom they believe to have encapsulated the spirit of Blossoms perfectly. Blossoms stated that: “We think he’s really captured the spirit of the band, and being a friend, he was able to get the natural moments you don’t normally see in a band documentary. We love the film and hope you do too!”

Charlie Watts relayed his own excitement for Back to Stockport. Director Watts said: “To be able to make a film about them playing to a sold-out show in our home town of Stockport was something I’ll never forget. I think the film gives an intimate insight into the amazing bond and togetherness this band has. They grew up as best friends and it really does show on the screen.”

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‘Blossoms: Back To Stockport’ is a brand new film by our friend @charlie_j_watts, focusing on our headline homecoming show at Edgeley Park in Stockport last year, featuring interviews, behind the scenes & unseen archive footage. Join with us to watch the film’s premiere on Youtube this Saturday evening at 8pm at the link in our bio

A post shared by B L O S S O M S (@blossomsband) on Nov 2, 2020 at 11:00am PST

Back to Stockport will be a sure-fire success amongst Blossoms fans. Back to Stockport will feature an array of behind the scenes footage, personal interviews with each band member, and live footage of some of their best tracks. Live performances of Charlamagne, Blow, My Favourite Room, There’s A Reason Why and Girlfriend are all confirmed features on Back to Stockport. 

Blossoms took to social media to announce the fast-approaching arrival of Back to Stockport. Taking to Instagram, the band posted a 2-minute clip of the documentary. This provoked an ecstatic reaction from fans, as the video has received over 15,000 views. 

Blossoms released their third studio album, Foolish Loving Spaces, in January of this year. Foolish Loving Spaces is a ten-track record and contains songs such as My Vacant Days, Falling for Someone and The Keeper.

Back to Stockport is set for release on November 8th.

Django Django took to social media today (October 20th) to share Neff’s performance on their official Facebook page. Opening with a groovy fisheye camera, the video captures Neff with his trusty yellow guitar, strumming the iconic opening chords to House of Cards.

Aside from some quirky, modern percussion, Neff’s stripped-down performance does well to honour Radiohead’s emotive, reverb-heavy original. Neff croons the forlorn lyrics: “I don’t want to be your friend/I just want to be your lover/No matter how it ends/No matter how it starts.”

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A post shared by Django Django (@thedjangos) on Oct 19, 2020 at 9:13am PDT

As the video progresses, Neff adheres to the track’s low-tempo, moody vibe. He sings the famous chorus: “Forget about your house of cards/And I’ll do mine/Fall off the table/And get swept under”, and your heart melts. 

Delivering the cover from a small studio, Neff’s atmospheric cover of House of Cards gives the watcher chills. Obtaining 4000 views and over 146 comments, the post has been met with delight from Django Django fans. Neff’s performance of House of Cards can be watched in full here.

The Swimming At Night singers also took to Instagram to share Neff’s beautiful cover. Fans were overjoyed at the post, one fan writing excitedly: “My music worlds colliding, wow!”

On September 10th, Django Django returned with Spirals, their first piece of new material in two years, which has since been remixed by MGMT. Spirals is Django Django’s latest release since Marble Skies, their third studio album that came out in January of 2018.

Upon the release of Spirals, Django Django confirmed that the track is “a glimpse of what is to come.” Django Django then released the spacey song The Ark on October 9th. Fans and critics alike can only hope that this means a new Django Django album is on the way! 

Django Django drummer Dave McLean has also announced that he will be releasing some new music. Working under the moniker Hugo Paris, McLean is primed to release a solo house music project very soon.

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Some stills from the visualiser for the Spiralswhoismgmt remixLink in bio.

A post shared by Django Django (@thedjangos) on Oct 18, 2020 at 10:25am PDT

In preparation for the release, McLean dropped the uplifting house track, Music Saves The World, back in August. When discussing the inspiration behind his upcoming project, McLean divulged that “the influences for the production really go back to the mid-90s, when I was playing a lot of Strictly Rhythm and MAW records.” 

McLean continued, elaborating on his life-long love for house music. McLean said: “I’ve always loved the New York house sound; from DJ Duke’s Power Music, to the deeper sounds of Junior Vasquez.”

Django Django were formed in London in 2009. The indie-rock band consists of guitarist and vocalist Vincent Neff, drummer David McLean, bassist Jimmy Dixon, and synthesiser operator Tommy Grace. Django Django have released three studio albums since their conception: Marble Skies (2018), Born Under Saturn (2015) and their self titled debut album, which came out back in 2012.

Spirals is out now.

Before will serve as the climax to the string of brilliant singles that Blake has shared recently. Blake dropped a cover of Frank Ocean’s Godspeed on September 11th, before working with Mount Kimbie and slowthai for collaborative track feel away, that premiered on September 15th. 

Earlier this week, Blake indicated at a new project through some heavy hinting on social media. Taking to Instagram, Blake posted a story with two telephone numbers, one for the UK and one for the USA.

When excited Blake fans call either number in the artist’s bio, they will be directed to a timer on the official James Blake website, counting down to October 14th. The Before EP will be Blake’s first full-length project since Assume Form, the twelve track album that Blake released back in January of 2019. 

Music broadcaster Boiler Room confirmed the EP release date as October 13th by sharing a post of the Before promotional poster to Twitter. The exciting post can be viewed here.

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I love working with Starrah. She’s a dream. After ‘Are You Even Real’ we stayed on a roll and this one came along soon after. Couldn’t be happier to have a production with her, with help from my man @dom_maker – this one she absolutely killed. I know she’s known for her great melodies, but the lyrics on this one are‘Complex, convex, can tell you love to project’…@whereisstarrah @dom_maker

A post shared by James Blake (@jamesblake) on Sep 23, 2020 at 11:12am PDT

Blake, who is widely known for his genre-defying music, has said that he has at times struggled to write music since attaining success. In an interview with NME, the multiinstrumentalist spoke on his plans for future releases: “I’m embracing more of the experimental side of myself, different time signatures and being a bit more fluid”

Blake continued, expanding on the pressure he sometimes feels making music as a globally known artist: “if you feel pressure to create a big song, which I think is in the back of the mind of any artist who’s had a big song, unfortunately, that creates a pressure to homogenise further songs to the framework that you think will create another big song”

Recently, Blake teamed up with singer-songwriter Starrah by producing her enchanting track, Keep Calm, which came out on September 23rd. In a post to Instagram, Blake showed his appreciation for Starrah, real name Brittany Hazzard, who collaborated with Blake on Are You Even Real? 

Blake wrote affectionately “I love working with Starrah. She’s a dream. After ‘Are You Even Real’ we stayed on a roll and this one came along soon after. I couldn’t be happier to have a production with her.” Keep Calm can be listened to here.

Before is out on October 13th.

A ten-track album, The Universal Want contains songs like Broken Eyes, Carousels and Cathedral Of The Mind. The Universal Want marks over a decade since Kingdom of Rust, which Doves premiered way back in 2009. 

Packed full of soaring instrumentation, riffy guitars, and anthemic choruses, The Universal Want proves that Doves’ aptitude for making catchy sad music is still very much there, despite an eleven-year break. 

In a recent interview with NME, Doves drummer Andy Williams talked about the album’s token song, Broken Eyes, and how they managed to finally finish the track. Williams stated that “We’ve had it for many years, but never managed to finish that song.” The music video for Broken Eyes can be watched in full here.

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Our brand new album ‘The Universal Want’ is out now! Featuring the recent singles ‘Carousels’, ‘Prisoners’ and our new single ‘Broken Eyes’. Watch the video for ‘Broken Eyes’ now at https://Doves.lnk.to/BrokenEyesVideoIN – swipe up in our latest story to watch. You can stream, download and get signed copies of the album from https://Doves.lnk.to/TUWIN – link in the bio. dovesdovesbandtheuniversalwantbrokeneyescarouselsprisoners

A post shared by Doves (@dovesofficial) on Sep 11, 2020 at 1:01am PDT

Williams revealed that it only took a simple reworking to finish Broken Eyes after pulling it out of the archives. Williams relayed that “at the start of this new album writing process in 2017, we were going through the hard drives and came across this great song again. We approached it in a much more simple way. With the clarity of time, it was a lot easier to finish it this time.”

Jez Williams, Doves guitarist and brother of Andy Williams, added “We had to change the words to this one. There are a couple of songs on the record that after a decade and a bit of hindsight, we knew where we went wrong. ‘Broken Eyes’ was originally called ‘Cocaine Eyes’. We realised that we couldn’t have a band like us talking about cocaine eyes, because it just looks silly.”

Jez Williams also spoke on Doves’ songwriting process, explaining the band’s fluid, unstructured approach to making music. Williams said that “When we get together, we don’t have a mandate – that would be the beginning of the end,” he said. “We don’t even talk about it. We’re there in the moment and going with what sounds new. The song will dictate where we’re at.”

Whilst The Universal Want contains yearning, sometimes depressive themes in their lyrics, the band maintains that the album can’t be all doom and gloom. Andy Williams stated that “It can’t just be us moaning on. There’s got to be light. It doesn’t wash well for me with middle-aged bands coming out with adolescent lyrics. It’s good to register that life is a struggle, but to offer some kind of help.” 

 

 

 

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We’ve noticed that some of you are experiencing delivery issues with your order for the album. We asked about it and have received this explanation: “Unfortunately there have been issues with the record label’s warehouse and a number of pre-orders from the official website are late going out. We are really sorry this has happened. Please check your email if your album hasn’t arrived yet, orders are shipping and will be with you soon’ Thank you for your continued support! A post shared by Doves (@dovesofficial) on Sep 11, 2020 at 12:42pm PDT

Doves took to Instagram to share the arrival of The Universal Want. Featuring a snap of the album and a snippet of Broken Eyes playing in the background, the post was received wonderfully from fans, gathering over 4,000 likes and views. 

The full tracklist for The Universal Want can be found below:

1. Carousel
2. I Will Not Hide
3. Broken Eyes
4. For Tomorrow
5. Cathedrals Of The Mind
6. Prisoners
7. Cycle Of Hurt
8. Mother Silverlake
9. Universal Want
10. Forest House

Rock n Roll is a crooning, a captivating piano ballad with an old school feel. The song opens with a grainy piano, much like 1970s Elton John. Truman’s compelling vocals swoon like an old rockstar, commanding the track with full force. His satirical lyrics poke fun at the genre that inspires him, crooning “Rock and Roll is six feet under/And I’m out here stealing its thunder.” Just like Timothy Lanham, we hear Rock ‘n’ Roll and get nostalgic for an era in music that most of us did not get the pleasure of experiencing. 

The piano slowly builds in momentum, until it reaches its sparkling, synthesised crescendo. As ethereal guitars lead the extended instrumental, that in itself reminiscent of the golden oldies. Truman acknowledges the 60’s superstars that inspire him, saying “I can’t get no satisfaction living like a rolling stone.”

Speaking about the track recently, Lanham said that “This song is a tear I’m shedding for the genre of music I’m in the business of making. If I was around in ’73, I’d be a raging success.” Lanham’s statement certainly rings true: Rock ‘n’ Roll plays like an old B-Side from a dusty treasure chest of old vinyl. 

On the 4th August, Lanham also released the accompanying music video to Rock ‘n’ Roll, which was directed by Timothy Heinrich. Posting the music video to his official YouTube channel, the dark, deep red visuals synchronise perfectly with Truman’s smokey vocals. 

Truman stands in an empty room, his scarlet get-up glistening under the disco ball. Twirling slowly, Truman sings romantic lyrics with a dark, edgy twist: “Pull the trigger, and I’ll pull on your heartstrings/If you feel nothing, then there’s no sense in starting.”

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Rock n Roll is 6 feet under, its also out everywhere

A post shared by Timothy Lanham (@timothylanham) on Aug 4, 2020 at 12:17am PDT

Timothy Lanham also took to social media to ring in the release of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Posting to Instagram on the 4th August, the London-based artist posted a snap of himself posing by a vintage keyboard wearing a 60’s inspired outfit. The Vaccines keyboardist captioned the playful photo with “Rock n Roll is 6 feet under, it’s also out everywhere.” 

Born To Be Right, the upcoming EP by Lanham under his T Truman moniker is set for release on the 25th of September. The keenly debut has been co-produced and co-written by Lanham’s longtime friend and collaborator, Geoff Roberts. 

Meanwhile, The Vaccines have recently confirmed that they have completed the recording of their fifth studio album, which will follow 2018 released Combat Sports. The If You Wanna hitmakers also revealed that next year is the 10th anniversary of their defining album, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? for which they have big plans to celebrate.

Rock ‘n’ Roll is out now.