February 2015 – Musicified

THE TWO GALANTS // WE ARE UNDONE – WELL YOU SEEM PRETTY TOGETHER TO ME

Two Gallants - 2- Gallants

These 34 year old besties are a crazy fusion between rock and folk, critics comparing them to “Dylan covering The White Stripes”; and after The Throes (2004), What The Toll Tells (2006), The Scenery Of Farewell (2007), The Bloom And The Blight (2012), here comes their fabulous, dazzling new album We Are Undone.

Sounds burst out from all over the place, this anthology of incohesion is a roar into the boundless void of Rock and Roll. The Two Galants, Tyson Vogel and Adam Stephenson, who sound anything but gentleman-like, seem to be screaming farewell to their punk/blues past.

One of my personal favorites here, which plunges you straight into a boiling hot tub of a mesmerizing confusion, The Age Nocturne. It starts with some reverb/ overdrive lead, but that slight softness is slowly driven away by a heavy and crunchy strum, which is the perfect background to Adam Stephenson’s powerful choleric voice. A subtle crescendo that leaves you totally bewildered.

I’m actually getting high on these guys, on their art of fusing different genres and making it sound completely natural.

LUCY ROSE // LIKE I USED TO – WARMTH, HOPE AND JUST PURE ENJOYMENT

Lucy Rose

It is like a steaming cup of tea with a piece of lemon meringue pie on a table top, like the wind gently twirling a pile of red autumn leaves around, like fresh sheets and hot chicken soup. Lucy Rose’s “Like I Used To” gives us an insight on her spontaneous thoughts and emotions, a poignant portrait of her bruised heart; a comfortable and accessible vision of feelings we’ve all been through.

Shiver, my favorite, is an incredibly emotion-filled yet simple track, Lucy’s voice sounding so natural, clean and straightforward. It’s a song about wanting to go back in time, and missing a person so very deeply, missing their touch “And I’ll shiver like I used to”. The simple and oh-so-delicate strumming adds to the effect of rawness and pure remorse.

It actually makes me shiver.

Another track, on a completely different wavelength: Bikes, leaves you feeling utterly joyful, savouring the hope in her voice, relishing the ubiquitous anticipation. It has a really exciting ring to it, mainly thanks to the jumpy tempo, giving it an even more increasingly lively tone.

I wish there was more purely and simply talented artists like Lucy Rose, songs filled with emotion and empathy and fervor and grief and hope and warmth.

FOURFIVE SECONDS // RIHANNA, MCCARTNEY AND WEST – GOOD STUFF

Fourfive Seconds - Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney Can you be considered as an equal contributor to a track if you’re only strumming a couple verses in the background? I suppose if you’re Paul McCartney, you can..

The first time my little sister showed me this song, I thought,”sigh, another cringey pop song… I really need to teach this kid what good music is about.. “ Then, I noticed the vulnerability that Rihanna seemed to be expressing. It sounds like a rough track, so stripped down compared to all her other overdone commercial jingles.

Usually, I think that Rap/Vocals tracks are so easy, and RiRi has already shown some interest in this kind of bluff, but it seems that it all just merges together here. It’s like McCartney, West and Rihanna just sat down one evening with a cup of tea and recorded a really authentic and fresh song.

Lyrically speaking, it seems as if the song is all about realising the mistakes you made the night before, but I feel like there’s a second feel to it with “Cause all of my kindness, is taken for weakness“, which I really like by the way. That, for me, shows the susceptibility of the song even more. It’s kind of heartbreaking, in a way. When you see someone that seems as provocative and sensuous as Rihanna, and she opens herself to the world, her feelings and concerns and thoughts and remorses. The myth of that girl that makes heads turn falls to the ground, and for that I respect her.

Overall, a sensitive song about drinking and heartbreak, weaving in quite a few different genres and establishing an intense mingle of emotion.

CENTURIES – FALL OUT BOY – YOU’LL LOVE IT FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS!

I used to think of Fall Out Boy as some emo excuse for Punk/Rock, some really hyper band that tasteless kids waste their walks to school listening to.

And then I heard Centuries.

You immediately hear a burst of light, a blast of colour, an outbreak of joy with a backfire of revenge. The tension builds up and hits the roof at the end of the song.

You know when sometimes you hear a song, one song, and it changes your perception of a band: well that’s what Centuries did for me. It made me realise that maybe FOB weren’t that bad after all, and I shouldn’t judge a band without really trying my best to understand their music. Seriously, I was missing so much. This song is just right for the days where you hate everyone.

The vocals are so empowering and are very wisely backed up by that compelling main riff, and let’s not forget the impressing rythm noticeable all the way through this masterpiece. I also absolutely love that delighteful “duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh […]” which has a great pop resonance, so catchy.

Fall Out Boy, you have shot up in my esteem.

GABRIELLE APLIN IS DA BOMB

I mean, seriously, this girl is amazing.

Gabrielle Aplin, my favorite 23 year old British singer-songwriter (wait unless Ed Sheeran is 23…), proves us once again that real musicians can get somewhere without all that commercial crap. She is so authentic and true, even when she covers a song she does it in such a heartfelt way.

Gabby started out on Youtube, posting her covers (where I first discovered her about six years ago) regularly, including stuff like Bon Iver, Kodaline, Katy Perry, Wheatus, Dylan… A real variety of really good covers. She started to gather quite a following, getting thousands and sometimes even millions of views on her videos: this is when she started to write her own songs. After three EP’s, she released her first full length called “English Rain” which is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. It just reminds you what music is all about.

And I know how people look is not supposed to change how you like them, and that music is listened to and not seen, but seriously, she is just so cute. You just have to like her.

Another thing I really like about her is her guitar style and choice, since she always plays with a gorgeous Mahogany Martin or mini Martin, which obviously gives her tracks such a deep resonance, and is a feast to the eyes. She plays in quite a simple way, nothing too fancy, some picking going on and if not, just a light strum. She also plays piano and mixes those two up really nicely.

One last thing:

Sit back, and just listen to this. How beautiful/amazing/fascinating/delightful/elegant/exquisite/graceful/magnificent/marvelous/splendid/stunning/superb/wonderful is this?

ARCTIC MONKEYS AM – FIFTH ALBUM – PURE GENIUS!

Rousing, buzzing, sweltering reinvention of one of the world’s hottest Indie/Rock bands, AM is without doubt the best Arctic Monkeys album from all five of them.

The four Sheffield boys seem to be constantly rethinking the musical genre they fit into, as this prodigious piece is slightly too tangy to be an Indie album and definitely too delicate to be completely Rock. Alex Turner’s words are swiftly woven into the witty melodies and sharp rythms, creating some vaguely Beatlesque lyrics that bounce off Turner’s toungue with exuberance. The final product is a deep but somewhat cheeky formulation of the band’s brilliant art of telling you things you’ve already heard but making them feel brand new.

ED SHEERAN IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

Ed Sheeran

My oh my, I don’t even know where to start.

Ed Sheeran has been one of my main concerns in life for no more than 6 years: his EP songs (Autumn Leaves, I Miss You, Little Bird…), “+” (A Team, Drunk, UNI, Small Bump, Kiss Me, Give Me Love…) and now “X”, with Sing, Don’t, One, and many more. Every single song of his basically just sums up my life, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same for all of the people out there having their Ed Sheeran musical cherry popped. He is just so universal, and not in a boring popesque way, but with such an emotional, touching feel to all of his work.

I was incredibly lucky to catch him on one of the last dates of his regional tour of France, in Clermont Ferrand: probably one of the best days of my life. Guys, if you are not yet an unconditional Sheeran fan, go and see him live and your life will be complete.

You know, he kind of reminded me of Dylan, somehow. And I know that’s a massive comparison to make, but I see him the same way. He’s so young, and he’s already just got it. He understands all of it, understands you, understands music, understands people and feelings and words and just.. Just has something that grabs hold of you and never seems to let go. I sometimes find myself drifting of whilst listening to any old indie band, but it’s not the same with Ed. He is like a hand reaching out for you to hold, a shoulder there for you to lean on.

Music wise, everything was just impeccable. I could NOT fault his performance: it all was seemless, neat and clean but so wildly coarse at the same time. As you may know, he uses a loop pedal, something I usually don’t usually like, because it implies repititon: and we all know repitition in acoutic is bad. But he was using it in a whole new fashion: a one man band with so much rythm and bounce and swing. He was also looping his voice for some falsettos and altos, which of course added loads of depth.

Another amazing point of the evening was his brilliant mashups: of his own songs, mixed with covers (like Can’t Help Falling In Love With You or No Diggity) or other originals. It really kept some suspense going, and it was fabulous to see that he is constantly reinventing himself and his music.

I feel like beeing a songwriter and performer is a game of acting. When you write a song, you write it about a certain emotion or feeling or idea, that you won’t feel forever. That’s why it’s kind of hard to keep the feel of the song. When I rediscover a song I wrote ages ago I’m like “WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING???”. So he was pretty damn smart revamping his old songs. I loved it.
I think the only thing I have left to say is, if ever you, Edward Christopher Sheeran, happen to be reading this, will you marry me?

RYAN KEEN – I’m quite keen!

Recently, I went to see Ed Sheeran in Clermont-Ferrand (review of his concert coming very soon), one of the gigs of his regional tour of France, and Ryan Keen was opening for his show. If you haven’t heard of him, you’re missing something, because this guy’s good.

At first, I was stricken by his charm and sweetness. He’s just the kind of guy that gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling, I just wanted to throw myself on that stage and give him a squeeze.

I was soon caught up his great guitar moves: very rythmic and crunchy touches with a soft edge. It really plunges you into his way of playing, and totally wins you over within a few seconds.

As soon as he started singing I was slightly confused because his voice sounded so alike to Sheeran’s, quite a simple middle-toned voice. He has a nice enounciation that I really like in music, and it makes you enjoy his delightfully metaphorical lyrics even more. He seems so innocent but also has such a heavy emotional backdrop at the same time. On his studio versions, I really like the second voice falsetto’s that add another dimension and reminded me of, funnily enough, the Arctic Monkeys (don’t ask me why).

Unfortunetaly, I noticed the slight lack of emotion in his voice, which just sounds drowned out by his awesome guitar technique. Shame, I like his tone of voice. It all doesn’t really melt together; then again I may be completely misinterpreting his intentions but I just felt as if there was something missing.

Here, see for youself: