Steve Means

There are some things that I don’t think I’ll ever get over. Liquid eyeliner in shiny colours, waking up to see a blanket of snow blocking your driveway – no work, no school… the happiness you feel when you get a new pair of headphones and, probably the best of all, hearing a song that utterly blows your mind the first time around, then listening to it again… and asking yourself why nobody else knows it.

                “Make it up to you” – Steve Means, is one of those songs… Actually, scratch that, Steve Means is one of those Artists. Only three days ago, I was on my last £1.70 on iTunes, and I was poring over my Genius suggestions. Yes, I’m getting on with it far better now – thank you very much for wondering – and I know which way to look for the artists I’m going to like. Steve Means is one of those… *lucky* few. His voice is both relaxing and yet has a quality that sends shivers down my spine pretty relentlessly.

                He was clearly born with a talent that not enough people have realised, and that bloody saddens me. There are so many voices – not all of them as incredible as his, but nonetheless, they are there, and they are totally unknown over here (in England, I mean), which is a waste of talent. These guys (because yes, most of the time, they’re guys), have the ability to manipulate words and melody into something both beautiful and solid and just… well. The music can envelop you and make you feel something you didn’t know was there.

                I’m getting lyrical, but it’s true.

                Back to the song, though. “Make it up to you,” is something special. The song itself is an apology, a cry to be forgiven when he’s tried so hard to get it right. When I heard it first, I shuddered, and then cried a little bit. Yes, I cried, get the hell over it. The last twenty seconds are possibly the most… wow, of any song I’ve heard in a while. Three words close the song – “Please don’t leave” and they are sung so poignantly that it broke me, and I was quite happy to break.

                That is the mark of an Incredible artist. Seriously good. There are about four songs that have made me cry, that is one of them.

                There are two EP’s/Albums that are available in the UK – “Now or Never” & “Rescue Me”, the title tracks of which are probably the most relaxing songs I’ve heard in a long time. In actual fact, he is something I haven’t heard in a long time.

                He is: Raw Talent, Blinding lyrics and simple, easy melody and damn good looks. It has to be illegal, or untrue, or some kind of sick joke, but it’s not.

                He is real, and amazing.

                And he’s in America. Which is almost like the slap in the face you get when you’ve just bitched about your best friend and she’s right behind you. No, that’s never happened to me either, but just imagine it. Exactly. It’s physically painful because, you are so close to something amazing, but you just can’t reach it.

                “Still Alive” is one of the tracks on ‘Now or Never’, and it is one that makes you smile involuntarily. With lyrics like “I am no superman/ but I do the best I can,” It gives you the lift you need to get through the next ten minutes with a huge, almost foolish grin on your face because you can relate to it, in one way or another, and no matter how involuntarily, you will relate to it. It’s in the easygoing nature of his songs to make you want to.

                And you take your headphones off with the biggest, goofiest, happiest grin on your face. Or, more likely, you won’t take your headphones off at all. You’ll bang that tune on repeat and listen to it for the next hour… or, in my case, until you’ve listened to it around eight times, and can hear it when you press pause – because that’s how memorable the music is.

                Last few songs to really prove to you how good his music is – “X-Ray Eyes” – on iTunes you can get both a live version and the studio version, and both of them are incredible. With the Live boasting about a minute-and-a-half’s intro that brings every section of the band in separately and makes the rush of his voice almost a surprise – he sounds a lot fresher when he’s live, at least as good as when you hear the studio stuff, maybe even better…

                “Mexicano” has a faster pace, with stronger bass, although it’s definitely got the same vibe as his other music, definitely combining fantastic lyrics with the strongest bass – the last couple of lines in the chorus especially emphasising it. “You and Me” is the most recent single, and the latest I’ve found. It’s sensual and kinda sweet, with almost adorable lyrics – “She got the looks / she got them from her mom,” that although aren’t the most metaphorical or heartwrenching, are just so, so, so good that you can’t help but love them, and wish you were the girl he was singing about.

                Honestly, he’s amazing. His music is, I think, best defined as sunshine, either with or without looking at the weather, just listening to his songs make you happy, make you feel so… good on the inside that you run around with the silliest grin all day – as I’ve said already. His image is just perfect for someone with such a sunny branch of guitar, of voice, and to be honest, he seems like a really nice guy.

                Go, listen. I’d pay you, but I think hearing the music will be payment enough.

Steve Means on Last.FM

Steve Means on iTunes

Steve Means on MySpace

Pete Schmidt

Hokay- been dead silent over the last quarter of 2009 mainly because I’m lazy, knackered and been working on school stuff before this.

But that’s thoroughly irrelevant.

—….—

                Pete Schmidt is currently playing on my iPod. Pete Schmidt is… Well, let’s look at this logically.

Thinking back to the time when I first found him, he was the saviour to my musical funk, shall we say? I found him through the Genius thingummybobby on iTunes – which usually picks the song that’s the next track on the album and goes “Have a go!” … and the song’s crap.

                Not that iTunes does that a lot… it’s just in my experience, I have specific tastes, and usually they aren’t it.

                But moving on for what appears to be the fortieth time.

 Pete Schmidt is healing. He is a young, don’t-ask-me-how-old musician, with a strangely comforting voice and an epic ability to catch your heart in one song and hold it through to the next. The album that caught me first off, is “No Safe Bet”, which is a lyric from the song, “On Sunday”.

                Okay, I’m totally losing the point of this.

                He is healing. He has the brilliant soulful voice that has a most… well, a sort of unfortunate All-American-Boy twang to it, where words like ‘summer’ have the extension on the ‘r’ to make it almost painfully pretty, and a crack in his voice that sounds… well, heartbroken.  This genuinely does sound like an awful estimation of him, but honestly? My point is… it works. He may be All-American, but the sound of it, coupled with his near-perfect acoustic guitar, is something that just fits.

                His songs have an air of melancholy, be they damaged because of a broken heart or a broken time in life – “Graduation” about the time when everyone leaves and moves onto a time when they don’t need to be together… and he can’t believe it’s over between… them. It’s never specified who, but if you listen to it enough, you get the feel for what it means to him… and see the strange and quite well-tapped-into teenaged side of him.

                Having a look at his website, I’m actually genuinely saddened by the fact that there doesn’t appear to have been any news about him since 2005. And that worries me considering we’ve just hit a new decade, but still, it’s not like he’s ever been to Britain anyway. He’s not “big time” and he’s not “small time”… and the fact that there’s been no news about him in a considerable age kind of indicates that he’s no longer up-and-coming.

                Part of me hurts when I say I think he’s just going to be… there, or thereabouts for quite a long time. Saddening, but in a good way, it’s nice to know that though he’s disappeared off the international radar, almost a year ago today, I felt the need to download something that Genius had hit me with. And I loved it.

                “Just So You Know” was the first song I heard, and I’m 100% sure it’s reduced me to tears many a time, for reasons to do with things that are still quite nice to think about. Even though it’s a desperate cry for love and seems to be told from both sides rather than just one, with the inclusion of some-unknown-female-voice on the recorded album. I’d tell you who it was, but honestly? Don’t know. The acoustic and stripped versions don’t have her in; they follow his voice and make it all the more beautiful.

                Another… well, one of the many painful songs on his album… and I say painful in the positive way – they hurt but it’s definitely a good hurt… well, another of those songs is “Angel”. It’s genuinely tear-jerking and I’d love to explain it to you… but it’s difficult without you hearing it… so thank you Last.FM. (Angel)

I think you can sum it up with a simple, “I wish I could have you back / For Just a Little while”, and that’s how you can basically sum up Pete Schmidt. His first album is brilliant. All acoustic, all solid, beautiful songs, and though it can seem a little repetitive, though the melancholy can get to you at times, and be a little bit painful to hear…

He has a beautiful heart in him, and he produces beautiful lyrics. Worth a listen if you’re in need of a sad-assed pick-me-up or someone to hug… or just a serious message.

Pete Schmidt on Last.FM

Steve Appleton

This boy.

Ohhh this boy is both so amazing and so gorgeous, it should be blooody illegal.

And I’ve met him, which, although somewhat average sounding, will be all the more amazing when you hear HOW.

But that’s for later.

This boy. I’d sigh if I could do it without coughing. He’s brilliant. Literally fucking brilliant, and I wanted to keep the f’s to a minimum here.

I found Steve Appleton by looking.

Not specifically for him, actually, but looking at the iTunes Festival line-up for this year. I won’t make any attempt to hide it.

<<<<<<<<<<<<

<<<<<<<<<<<< This dude, the one I’ve got arrows pointing to… he’s hot. I’m not passing up the chance to hear a hot guy sing, and really, much of my music taste is based around that…

(Of course, I joke, if they sing well, yes, if they suck, they can leave the building and never return. and I’d only say about 1/5th is based on that shit =].)

Where were we? Oh, yes. Hotness and therefore clicking.

So I opened up the link to his first single.

“Dirty Funk” was released in early 2009, and is only £0.59 on iTunes. Go get it, or even better, head to Steve’s Website, and download a track he hasn’t released so far, “Music Made a Man of Me.”

Both of them explode into life almost immediately and carry the message he’s all about – having fun and letting music show you the way. Don’t be afraid to let go and have fun, because that’s what he is. Fun.

His debut (and as of October 2009, only) album, When The Sun Comes Up is full of fun, beats, relentless smiles, and lyrics which will blow your mind.

No questioning it. They will. Or else.

From the opening song, “Rule The World” – Nothing like the Take That song, but alive, bright and exactly the thing you’d expect from a twenty year old. It’s like he’s been on a night out and just hit the point where invincibility is the only thing on his mind – he knows he’d be bad at ruling the world – “I think I heard them talkin’ to get rid of me/ Cuz I’m the singer not the leader of a country”, but hell, he’d have a go, and not be afraid to change it all. In actual fact, I’d sat the whole album is just the progression of a night out. A damn good night out.

The song moves from a twinkling opening, to a close you can’t help but clap along to, and damn, you know you want to dance from just half a minute of it. Unbeatable? Certainly not, and I’ll prove to you why.

You skip a track, you’re at “The Bright Side,” A weirdly upbeat song which sounds to me like he’s fallen out of love – “I’ll sit on the bright side/ain’t no love over there”, and he sounds like he’s having far too much fun to cross back. This is freedom at it’s best – having no ties and not having to fret – and once again, it’s lively music you won’t be able to argue with…

“Seeing Stars” … Well, suffice it to say, you’ve probably heard this as a background to one (or many) different TV shows. I’ve definitely heard it – as recently as a couple of weeks ago, and when you know it’s there, as with a lot of Steve’s music, you refuse to let it drop.

This is the thing about him – he’s underrated, he’s unknown, and it’s unfair. He’s amazing, he’s…. Well, he needs far more recognition, and he deserves far more recognition than he gets.

Skipping through the album (when you hear it and download it, because you will, I know you’ll at least listen to the songs, and I’ll cry if you don’t), you find gems which are insanely fantastic, utterly addictive and totally unforgettable…

None of the songs are “slow” per-se, nor are they balladic, each of them has a beat, and they don’t have a specific style at all – he says it himself, in “Sunny Days of Summer,” – “from Hip-Hop to Reggae to Rock/To Drum’n'Bass comin’ from my iPod dock.” – It’s what he is, an eclectic mixture of madness and brilliance, with no track the same, but all of them sounding… similar, I suppose. It’s the fastest song on the album, and really, it’s the most full of life too – he talks about his generation (and ours, I guess), needing no better reason to party than existence itself, and how its a good thing, that we’re so… alive. We know we’re alive and that’s the point. Being alive is better than just going through a routine because you have to.

With Songs like “Have a Go Hero”, “Stay Strong,” and “That’s Life“ there’s more… more… agh. There’s not a word for them. They’re real-life experiences and they’re all about backing down, but not being afraid, and taking life as it comes, and they shove realism in your face, quite smoothly and tell you that even though it’s bad now, and it might be bad for quite a while, that’s life, but you can change it - “Who you are / Well it’s down to you / Cuz that’s life…” – You just have to pick yourself up, get moving and shut the hell up about it.

Of course, you could always follow up with “Seems a little,” Which is all about the relaxation, all about the having the best day and not wanting to go anywhere… until you realise you have to – though he “Don’t think [he] ever wants to walk away”, he knows that he’s got to, but he’d stay if he could.

The album’s full of gems, as I’ve said before, but probably my favourites are “Wake Up Honey,” and “Funky Joe’s”. Both have a consistent beat, brilliant lyrics and a great voice behind them – Wake up Honey being led by his forgetfulness (after a one night stand, who the hell is the she sleeping next to him?!), and “Funky Joe’s” all about that *favourite bar* everybody has. I think I love Wake Up Honey more because of the mental images it conjures up – him standing at the foot of the bed wearing a really confused expression, and of course, the use of a spoken layer of lyrics under the traditional layer, with “nah, it’s gone” being his own internal monologue – he really just can’t remember who she is.

Funky Joe’s is livelier though, and starts off with the sounds of chatter. You know you’re at the bar already, and you feel like you’ve just come in, shut your eyes and you’re there in your head, staring from the edge of the dancefloor and grinning like a maniac because you wish you could just… be there. The saxophone really doesn’t damage the thing either.

Much of the album seems to be based upon personal experience – he’s transferred the things he’s seen and done brilliantly if it is, and what impressed me insanely was the fact he’s played every instrument on the album, and recorded them too… and his studio? Well, that’ll be his bedroom, really, couldn’t you have guessed? It’s amazing really. It’s just incredible. It’s just… wow.

I’m ranting, as per usual, but seriously, people! He’s incredible!

If you don’t believe me, check out the remix of “Use Somebody” That he’s got on youtube. He makes it his own, the video’s class, and you’ll see possibly the coolest way of counting in 4 beats… ever. All in three minutes. Give it a go, you won’t regret it!

… Oh, and, of course, I’m guessing you’ll wonder how his iTunes Festival gig went?

… Sadly, I didn’t win a coveted pair of tickets (I was lucky enough to see Vagabond instead), but upon getting the Five-Track iTunes album, I wasn’t disappointed. He’s got everyone in the audience having fun, and even though I wasn’t there, I’ve seen pictures and the place was filled with colour and liveliness and… just the beginnings of a rave.

And, he’s a Michael Jackson fan. The cover of “Human Nature” He’s pulled out across his gigs is incredible, and I really can’t believe he pulled it off – obviously it’s nothing like the original (in my opinion it’s better, you might not think so, try it and see,) but trust me. Trust me. It’s worth it.

…—…

… I’ve been raving about him for a while now, but I really don’t care. It’s easy for me to go on about him because I just can’t believe that somebody so nice, so gorgeous and so talented actually exists. But he damn does. And I’ve got proof. I’ve met him.

It sort of went like this, … *check this page, because this post is far too damn long otherwise*

…. So, how’re we loving him at the moment?

Steve Appleton is a totally unique talent, and I honestly don’t know how he’s so underrated – because chances are, you’ll have heard of and be familiar to instrumental versions of his songs. I love him, and his music, and to be honest, was hooked from the second I heard the full version of Dirty Funk, and my lovely friend, the one in love with Vagabond? Well, in her words, “when i heard MMAMOM [music made a man of me] i was like hes good – but when i heard more i couldnt stop singing it all the time LOL x”

 

… Just awesome. How were we lucky enough to meet him?

I don’t know, but really, I’m just amazed.

Steve Appleton on Last.FM

Jesse McCartney

Jesse McCartney.

Just sit for a moment and try and conjure up that image, please.

I know what you’re thinking – he’s not bloody unheard of, and he’s a goofy, high-pitched, tweenage singer that belongs to the Disney generation. He has the poncey blonde hairstyle (which I take offence to. His hair is gorgeous), and he is too pretty to be normal.

… I beg to differ. Because he’s not.

Well, let me divide this into the changes he’s made over three albums which have literally blown my mind and sent me mad in equal measures.

Beautiful Soul:

               

Was album 1, released in the early 2000’s (2004-5 time). It was poppy, jovial and in every essence, an album which belongs in an over-sugared, ridiculously bright shop. Hmmkay, so that was the worst analogy ever, but it makes sense – his lyrics were pretty, but there wasn’t really a base to them. All of the songs on the album, bar “Good Life”, were focussed on love, losing love and finding love, something which, at 15, would have appealed to the teenage girls listening to the music, swooning over the gorgeousness that is Jesse himself, and going all giggly.

                Okay, maybe I know this because I was one of them. Stop laughing please.

                The album itself is high-energy, extremely enjoyable and with a million different positive aspects and a song for everyone – from the slow and regretful, acoustic-driven “Why don’t you kiss her?” To the faster paced, but not-exactly-dancey tune that is “Get Your Shine On”.

                There are songs on Beautiful Soul which aren’t the best to showcase his talent – he says of “The Stupid Things” that it is “Probably [his] favourite, off the record,” (LIVE: The Beautiful Soul Tour), though when you first hear it, it’s such a twist from the original beats of “Beautiful Soul” (the lead track itself), and the cute-gorgeous lyrics of “Because You Live” that it takes a while to sink in that the song is quality.

                As a first album, it’s clearly his entry into music – as a solo artist at least – his style is set in a juvenile, poppy, cute boy band way, but the songs are loveable, they’ll strike a chord with the lovesick teenage girl inside of you, and definitely, there will be a song or two that will make you smile.

 Top Songs:

-Why Don’t You Kiss Her?
-Because You Live

Right Where You Want Me:

 The sophomore album. Hmm… This one’s difficult.

                There’s a lot to talk about and not a lot to say at the same time. I love every song on the album, but that’s because I’m easily hypnotised by his voice, his style and damnit, he just improved throughout, getting better and better. Which isn’t really helpful, but bloody hell it’s true.

From the title and opening track, Jesse’s second album switches onto something totally new, with a slightly more acoustic sound, and the lively introduction of a bassline that will (eventually) lead into his newest and most popular album. But that’s for later. He recognises there’s still the top line where his vocals can mess around, hit notes not even women can hit, and still be there for the chorus three seconds later.

He uses lyrics to his own advantage, this time, he’s had a hand in at least eleven of the songs on the album, be it with the lyrics or composition, though the lyrics he writes have taken a turn for the innuendo – which sort of (hopefully) goes over the head of his younger fans – they’ll miss the innuendo where older teens will pick up on it… Where he was cute on Beautiful Soul, he’s found a niche in the sexually charged – with songs like “Blow Your Mind” and “Daddy’s Little Girl” displaying his newfound lust over the ladies. Think of it like this – Beautiful Soul is the first crush, seeing that girl he quite likes the look of, being good friends with her, leaving it there. Right Where You Want Me is pretty much the “in-Lust” part of the relationship – he’s discovering that side and getting his heart broken and Departure… well, I’m not sure where it fits into the metaphor, but we’ll get to that.

Much of his music in RWYWM is upbeat and fantastic, lively hopeful but at the same time holds just that little bit of escapology that everyone wants to feel. “We Can Go Anywhere” is lively and filled with lyrics which conjure up summer and road-trips, and getting out of the places holding you down. “Anybody” is the same sort of thing – an upbeat breakup song, but at the same time, the lyrics conjure up the pain he’s felt, transferring the emotions into song…

Then again, there’s the obligatory sad-ballad-song in there too.

This isn’t an ordinary ballad, however. This is one of the most beautiful and powerful songs I’ve ever heard, simply because of the message it conveys so strongly. “Invincible” is a song about one of his best friends – and one of the worst nights of his life. It’s a message he pulls out all the stops on and feels so strongly about – drink driving, and more importantly, not doing it. The song is incredible; heart wrenching and the lyrics touch your heart because you know he’s talking straight to your common sense and your honest, sensible side.

Don’t do it, and DO listen to the song, because it’ll change your view on who he is, I think.

At this point, his image has changed too – he no longer has the whole cutesy blonde thing going on, he’s cut his hair (and looks a damn sight better for it), the colour’s changed for the better, and he’s dressing far sharper than he did before.  

 Top Songs:
-Daddy’s Little Girl
-Just So You Know (French Version – De Toi a Moi)

Departure (And Departure: Recharged):

               

Alright, his third and (so far) final album.

                What a change in sound and direction. Where the poppy beats and acoustic guitar went, I’ll never know, but the fact he took a sharp turn up the R’n’B style street really did make him sound… better? Probably about the same, but it was new, and I knew either way, I wanted the album.

                Basically, this is fuelled more by a drum-beat than anything else. “Leavin’”, the opening track and the lead single (that hit the iTunes chart and managed to surprise everyone by staying there), is totally different to say, the adorable “Come to Me” from Beautiful Soul, or the lost-at-sea “Right Back in the Water” From RWYWM. It has the incredible catchiness of a heart monitor (blame physics revision for that one), and the catchiness of your favourite song.

                Usually, an album only has one or two of those kinds of songs. This one has a song for every occasion, every mood and honestly, everything you could ever wish for.

                His change of direction is more remarkable in some songs than others – Rock You (feat. Sean Garrett) marks a change in direction nobody who’s written in the comments on YouTube seems to like.

                Personally, I think it totally shows how fantastically he can change his style and adapt to the different things asked of him – OK, maybe it’s one of the stranger songs in life, and it doesn’t totally fit his boy band look, but he’s moving away from it. That’s the point.

                He’s trying to distance himself from everything everyone else sees him as, and personally, I feel a bit guilty because we’re the people that have made him like this – he didn’t want to be labelled, and now he has been, he’s got to break out of the mould almost violently, with stark differences between Beautiful Soul and Leavin’ but still with the tiny similarities you’d expect – he’s not abandoning us (and by us, I mean the teenage girls who grew up loving him), he’s just moving on and hoping we move on with him.

                Of the other songs on the album – “Not Your Enemy” Slows it down and takes a lot of fear and changes it into something positive – it’s about reaching out to someone in need and proving that you’re someone they can trust, who they can love and care for, and you’ll  do the same for them.

                It’s probably the best song I’ve heard by him that’s genuinely made me feel something amazing, and though it’s almost heartbreaking to listen to, considering things that have happened in the past, then it’s something I both relate to and love.

Departure:Recharged was released about six months after the original album came out – and the four new tracks on it make the transition between Jesse’s albums near perfect and pretty much complete. Body Language is probably the top tune of the four brand-new songs (Body Language, Crash And Burn, Oxygen and In My Veins), and it’s got a beat that you’ll never forget, coupled with fantastically off the wall lyrics -

“Parlais vous Francais? / Konichiwa, come on move in my way…” … Honestly, it’s mad, and his vocal range is definitely blown all over the place over the four songs – “In My Veins” is very much an addicted-to-you song, and it’s incredible how high his voice can reach – damned brilliant, but very high.

Every song on Departure:Recharged was worth the wait - they’re all brilliant, with different-style lyrics and beats. You’d never expect to hear them on the same album, but they genuinely are.

Top Songs:

-Runnin’
-Told You So
-Body Language
-Crash & Burn

–..–

Jesse’s sound is indescribable, because it’s so unique, but so similar to others. It’s got a fantastic transition between every album, and you can see how he’s grown up all the way through. He’s not just the little boy with the blonde hair now – although he’s kept up his cherubic, angelic and gorgeous features, he’s grown up, cut the hair and changed the clothes, wearing suits and shirts rather than jeans and long T-shirts.

                His change in style is mirrored in his music, and damnit, he’s just amazing with both.

                Jesse McCartney.

                Drop the “OMGHE’SSUCHAGIRL” pretence and actually give him a chance. You might like more than you think…

 

Jesse McCartney on Last.FM

100 Monkeys

Please excuse the first two lines. They are the one fangirl moment I will have in this post. Sorry…

……………………..

 

Google. Possibly the greatest search engine ever.

It let me know about Jackson Rathbone’s band.

….

 Okay, fangirl moment over. I was 100% surprised when my computer screen flashed up “100 Monkeys”, because, as you probably haven’t, I hadn’t heard a word about them until then. To me, 100 Monkeys was a concept about something I didn’t understand, but that’s beside the point. You only need to care about the music they produce, and damnit, it’s so good.

Their album – Monster De Lux, is one of the most genuine things I’ve ever heard; full of haunting vocals that’re just a little bit mad, and instrumentals that rock beyond rocking.

That’s a really god-awful explanation, isn’t it? It’s something about them that actually makes them indescribable – they’re just totally different to anything I’ve heard. And that takes some getting used to, unfortunately – because they are genuinely that good, though if you’re used to mainstream and the standard pop, then you’re going to be… pleasantly surprised, shall we say.

It takes a while to get used to them though – they’re different and you’d expect them to be a lot… more mainstream.

Okay, this is bloody infuriating.

They are incredible.

That’s essentially it, but they have this… thing about them, that you’re unhappy after the first listen because you can’t quite work them out. They have an army of fans, some because of Jackson Rathbone – whom they’ve dubbed JAction (say it aloud), but honestly, there should be more. Their music is hypnotic, their lyrics are clever, and to be honest, it’s bloody hard to put their simple awesomeness into words.

Listening to them, you hope they don’t lose the mentality and exuberance they put into their studio-ish recordings and destroy it all in their live stuff, but from what i’ve seen (and that’s not a lot, but there’re dodgy YouTube clips, and then some surprisingly good ones too), they keep the craziness going for as long as they damn well can.

Their lyrics are unimaginably wicked, in both senses of the word – you can tell they were written carefully, by extremely intelligent people (“Robot Timberwolves” being one of the best), and the voices that … well, not so much sing, but… vocalise them on a regular basis are just incredible. They sort of rotate singing duties, and honestly, I love it – all their voices are different, solid, nice, incredible, freaky, wicked… everything.

Oh! And they’re very, very passionate about Spencer Bell, an incredible musician who unfortunately died too early. They recently performed at the Spencer Bell Legacy Concert, which was streamed live across the globe, and I have to say, I only caught a little bit of it (Thank you 100-Monkeys-on-twitter), but what I saw was incredible.

Their cover of Violin was heart wrenching and left me howling for more, and damnit, i don’t know what else to say.

Just check them out.

They’re THAT good.

The fact they’ve left me speechless should tell you something.

 

100 Monkeys on Myspace

Jon McLaughlin

Now, this was an interesting one.

I don’t generally listen to music I’m recommended, but I think it was one of the lads who practically shoved Jon McLaughlin into my face. He wouldn’t stop until I said yes, I’d listened to at least one of his songs, but then I figured what the hell, and just went with it. I’d never have expected the sudden infatuation that came with it.

So, I was off, onto that very large and somewhat silver music player that everybody uses… onto the store of said music player and away I went…I didn’t even try youtubing him, though saying that, when I listened to his previews, I was almost immediately in love anyway.

“Indiana”, his only album on iTunes, is incredible. There’s only one track I couldn’t really recommend to anyone as a starting point, and that would be “Industry” – It’s the only song that gets a little too much, but I can’t explain why… I just suppose it’s too fast, but then too slow, and just too… I’m not even sure. It makes no sense to me, but it grows on you, and that’s not what you want when you’re discovering an artist for the first time.

Personally, my favourite track is “For you From Me,” more on the fact that it’s hypnotic and giving, and it’s all about not being afraid of it – something I genuinely wish I could do, but knowing in my heart that I can’t, then vicariousness through that song is just more than perfect.

His lyrics are beyond fantastic, he has heart and soul and everything you’d expect from a musician of his calibre, but I think they’re also too underrated. I’ve not seen him live (though if he comes to London, I’m there!), but I’d expect his lyrics to be far stronger in person, more emotion put into his piano than on his in-studio recordings.

Then again, that might be wishful thinking… but I’m not going to speculate.

He is, however, extremely adept at playing the piano, something else I wish I could do. His melodies are almost twinkling, a little bit addictive and yet a lot of love goes into them. The driving force he creates in such tracks as “Perfect” (1.10 onwards) (Which also has some of the best lyrics I’ve ever heard, – check it out at the bottom) continues through the whole album, and it goes on twinkling through the whole 50-odd minutes you sit listening to the album.

Hypnosis comes in many forms, most of which I’d never believe in, but trust me, listening to the solid-yet-gravelly tone in his singing… I’m almost convinced he’s got us.

- Top Lyrics From “Perfect” By Jon McLaughlin

“And In My Life,
If I could have one thing I don’t deserve,
I have never wanted any-body else but…
Her…”

 

In the words of the same mate in love with Awesome Alex From Vagabond… “woooooo!”

=]

 

Jon M. On Last.FM

Vagabond

Have you ever looked at an old ticket for a concert, or a stand-up gig, or anything, really, and wondered who those “special guests” are? They’re the sort of people you don’t want the tickets for, usually just rip-offs of the band you wanted to see, or poorly-practised stand-up merchants who don’t really know what they’re talking about.

                Then think about what you thought of those bands, the ones that you reckoned were there so your favourite artist could get in an extra drink at the pub, can you remember their names? Can you remember every chord of their first song? Can you remember the passion they played with because they didn’t want fans, they needed them. They were lonely, and they were the ones that needed to be satisfied. It didn’t matter about the cheers and the applause to them, they were just happy to be there, because they were unheard of, they were incredibly unknown to everyone standing below them, staring up at the stage.

 

               I remember the first real support-band I fell utterly in love with. It was sunny out and two of us had just spent far too long on the coach to Nottingham to see the-band-that-isn’t-important-right-now, and we were really keyed up for it – you would be, wouldn’t you? – But that’s also beside the point, because the fact was, we weren’t expecting anybody like the band we were about to see.

                Vagabond are technically a six-piece band, though only five are billed as being official members, with their keyboardist hanging out at the side and being acknowledged but not entirely… accepted. It doesn’t stop him from being one of the driving musical forces of the band, providing pace that they would only be able to dream of otherwise. Listen to “I’ve Been Wanting You,” – you’ll see exactly what I mean.

They’re driven by the manic hairstyles and hats that… well, no, they’re fronted by Alex Vargas, who really shouldn’t have such an incredible voice – after all, he’s got the perfect persona on stage and off stage… and the good looks too – incredibly unfair really. He is the soulful, slightly broken voice that half-belongs to the soul scene, half-belongs to  mainstream nothingness, but he makes it work with a stressed gravelly-ness that remains unexplained throughout their set.

They’re also strengthened by their ability to get the crowd dancing through sheer manic beats and persuasion alone – the mention of a tambourine and everyone explodes into movement, madness and simply being alive. They don’t fight it – this is a band that appeals to everyone because there’s something for everyone, be it solid bass coming from Sam Odiwe, the thumping enthusiasm from Karl-on-the-drums, or the desperate, strong vocals juxtaposed with almost harsh lyrics (no matter how beautiful they may be).

From the second they strode on stage they had a presence, and as the light dimmed and sunset hit, they brought out better and bigger music that seemed to expand and fill the forest around us. They were the support band I wouldn’t forget in a million years, and just listening to their songs for an hour on that day bred something of an addiction to their music. It was not so much infectious as obsessive, it wasn’t so much alive as breathing on its own, and as my mate said, “I was like zomg! Because he has an awesome voice!” … except think a little more breathless and already falling under their spell.

 

Vagabond on Last.FM