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Feel like reliving the euphoria that was any village hall or house party in between 2006-2008? We've got a playlist for that... When Indie met dance and created some jivey psychedelic beats that somehow paired perfectly with a badly rolled spliff and that decorative cassette draped around your neck... Featuring tracks old and new from Hot Chip, Gorillaz, Grouplove, Metronomy and more Follow us as we keep adding tracks to take you back

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We've curated this playlist with mornings in mind, whether you're trudging through traffic or basking in the brilliance of that perfectly poached egg... Featuring tracks from Sundara Karma, TV on the Radio, Royal Blood, Dinosaur Pile-Up and more, this is one track listing that it sure you get your feet stomping and head ready for whatever the day decides to throw at you. Happy Monday 🤘🏻

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Today we’re digging...

If you've listened to our 'Bloodbuzz' playlist you'll know exactly why this fits in to that melancholy vibe but somehow still makes you feel all wonderful inside. It's a contrast we love and we think you will to!

Sounds like: The National, Dry the River, Antlers

Favourite lyric: ‘I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you’

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We’ve had a review published by the lovely folk at Left Lion, check it!

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Featuring tracks from Editors, White Lies, Dry the River, The National and more, this playlist feeds in to that melancholy that you've been harbouring but doesn't make you feel the slightest bit guilty for it. Ranging from booming vocals to that enviable quivering pitch, this mix feeds those low vibes in the way you've always dreamed of.

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Whether you are a fan or not, you know you sing along to every hit and can never deny the sound of Chesters voice as being among the most recognisable in rock history…

He tried so hard, he got so far… may he now be at peace.

x

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Take a leaf out of Tourist's book to get you through your Thursday...

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Happy Hump Dre... 🙌🏻

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If like us you forgot just how good Metric are, then treat your ears to this....

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This time last week we attended the Nottingham Waterfront Festival at Canalhouse. It is a once a year event hosted by I'm Not From London and Audacious Face with all profits going to charity, this years chosen organisations being The Roy Stone Foundation and NUH Cystic Fibrosis Centre. Each year is also themed, and this time it was the turn of B Movies and Mythical monsters of the watery depths. This years events was graced by a plethora of local acts with sounds spanning from heavy punk to nautical folk across 3 stages, just the kind of diversity you'd expect from this wondrous city. 

We kicked off our day with two piece heavy blues inspired rock band Whisky Stain on the Gigantic Tickets stage. We've seen these guys perform across varying venues in the city, and it's interesting to see their versatility to their surroundings. Bounding from one end of the stage to the other and grinning like cheshire cats, you cannot deny the energy of these guys making for a corker of a show. But if we could go back in time, we'd probably turn the reverb down a bit. 

Next up on the same stage was 94 Gunships, another grungy bluesy get up, this time filling the space with 5 members. With not as much space to put on such a high energy performance they pulled the crowd in with their signature moody vibe and dodgy dance moves. It was the busiest indoor set of the festival with their catching lyrics and infectious hooks, if you've not seen them before we’d urge you see their next show and throw a few shapes to the sound of dead bees. 

Aptly named for the theme of the festival Seas of Mirth played the Under the Tree stage out on the terrace and they couldn't have been placed in a better position. The terrace was packed to the rafters with festival goers enjoying the sunshine, and the beer, and the sounds coming from this lot just resonated pure joy and fun with the right amount of silliness. It was hard not to get your dance on to this lot, even if it meant having a sit down boogie because you just had to keep your table, its a shame dancing on the tables was frowned upon. 

Probably our favourite set of the whole day was that of Haggard Cat Bothday Present or HCBP for the purpose of the event posters. Another Nottingham 2 piece with a whole lot of energy and attitude. By this point in the day, laced with a few bevs the crowd were ready for a few gentle shoves toward one another, the bouncers however had other ideas and kept everyone under a tight leash, which given the energy of this pair was a real shame. But despite the fun police, they pulled off a great show and we'll definitely make a point of finding these guys next show.

We didn't get chance spend much time with many other acts but on our list of shows we'd like to catch properly are Autumn Diet Plans, a self proclaimed 'spacerock' outfit. You can check out our playlist of our favourite beats from the line up here:

 https://open.spotify.com/user/jennysniper/playlist/1ICvo9xpLnKObS3MWS9BZt 

As local festivals go, this was a pretty spectacular one and we can't believe we've never been before with as much local talent to shake your metal fingers at. Same time next year?

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…start it right with this punchy track by Goodbye June.

Hitting all the right notes to get you off to a foot stomping week, even if that week crosses right the way through your weekend.

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When those late Saturdays turn in to early Sundays, this playlist will see you through. Featuring tracks and remixes from Tourist, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Kygo and more We're still working on this one, so hit follow to keep updated when new tracks are added.

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Live at Leeds 2017

Live at Leeds is a festival dear to my heart, having either worked, photographed partied or taken ill at it, I've been every year since 2009 and I show no sign of stopping. It is an award winning metropolitan festival that takes place across various venues in the city and just beyond, and personally this is my favourite type of festival. Lots of walking, drinking, and listening to great music with great people.

Every year I attend this event with one of my closest friends, and it’s just become that thing we do, and just recently have added another similar event to our line-up but i’ll come to that in another post. We start the day with bacon and egg butties, strong coffee, sturdy shoes and an open mind and always have a quick run through of our schedule so we don’t miss anything.

This year we kicked things of in Oporto with Faux Pas & Joy Room. As is usually the case, tickets sell fast and these small venues fill up and spill out, so when Faux Pas came on stage there was a brick wall between their performance and my eyes, but this wasn’t so bad as the sound that came through the gridlocked doorway was enough to get my feet moving. Ironically my stand out track from these guys, and the reason they were on my list is ‘I Hate Dancing’. The Jangly guitar riffs behind some semi-grungy vocals marry perfectly to give your bum a bit of a wiggle, and their live performance of this track didn't differ much from the recording, which is always a bonus. When they had wrapped up their set, we managed to slink further in to the venue to actually see the next band Joy Room perform.  As they set up, the room started to fill with a crowd looking to be 10 years our junior so we weren’t really sure what to expect. I couldn’t help but think of an early Kings of Leon, Kick the Bucket kind of vibe, which i love so this band we’re a nice little addition to our day. As we hadn’t actually scheduled them in i haven’t got a stand out track, but check them out on Facebook via the link i have provided and make your own mind up.

Still having some time to kill before our main line-up kicked in we headed to The Belgrave Music Hall to see a band called Indigo Husk who claim to be a high energy grungy punky bluesy get up. Not having heard any of their stuff before we had this gig alone to go on, and the high energy thing i get, but only from half of the band, it seemed a bit disjointed as a performance but as the set went on the music grew on me and yeah i guess i’d give them a listen again.

After this we headed off to one of our most anticipated acts of the day, White Lies. This is a band I had wanted to see for many years having first listened to their debut album ‘To Lose My Life’ in my first year of university and had recently missed on a tour just a few months before the festival. They were a late addition to the line-up for Live at Leeds but a very welcome on in my eyes. We rushed up to the venue to get there with plenty of time in order to attempt a front row position, being a photographer I like to assume the best position even if I am just whipping out my iPhone. I’m going to be completely honest about this one, I wasn’t wowed where the stage presence was concerned, but vocally it was pretty damn good. I wasn’t immediately taken in by their latest album ‘Friends’ so at this gig I was holding on to the hope they would do a bit of a throwback to their earlier sound, my favourite track being ‘Farewell to the Fairground’ and I wasn’t disappointed. I must admit I didn’t stick around to the end of their set as the vibe on stage was a bit lacklustre, but I heard what I wanted to, and since the festival their new album has really grown on me and I urge you to give it a listen. The intense booming vocals are still an evident theme throughout, but the twist of the synth gives it a subtle nostalgic 80’s vibe.

Our next stop was Leeds University Refrectory for a bit of a wild card ‘The Hunna’, We’d heard the name but weren’t too sure on what we were getting, yet it turned out to be the best show we saw all day. My first thoughts were, this is the sort of band you listen to when you’re in that teenage in between stage of not knowing whether you’re really that in to rock yet so you’ll settle for a stepping stone. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it though, the atmosphere was incredible, the crowd were throwing themselves at one another whilst singing at the top of their lungs. Every song was just as catchy as the last, with simple lyrics with just the right amount of arrogance, punchy guitar ringing throughout each track and a consistent beat to keep the crowd moving. The stand out song for me was and still is definitely ‘Bonfire’ which structurally is pop perfection. Starting off slow with some strong vocals and gradually getting more upbeat, introducing new instruments at just the right times to peak your interest, when  you get to the chorus you already feel like you know the words and by the second bridge you’ve nailed it.

The next couple of artists on our line-up were Fickle Friends, chosen for their similarities with HAIM, and Clean Cut Kid for their upbeat indie vibe. At festivals like this I like to inject as much variety in to my day as possible, and these two choices following on from one another reflect that.

Fickle Friends boast a strong female vocal sitting on top of a synth heavy backbeat with some subtle guitar leads thrown in, which was perfect for their mid-afternoon scheduling. I think what I like most about this band are their consistent toe tapping beats throughout each track, allowing the vocals to carry the drops and the soothing pitch of vocals dominate each track with a subtle hint of vulnerability. It was hard not to have a wiggle at this show with their slinky stage presence flowing with the beat, and family members up on the balcony hanging on every word.

We didn’t stick around for much of Clean Cut Kid’s set, but I put them on the list for their track ‘Pick me up’ which isn’t their most recent track but it kicked off the set perfectly and if you are looking for a bit of a pick me up then it’s definitely worth a listen.

The final stop after 9 hours of queuing, listening, dancing, drinking and walking was one I’d been looking forward to since having to leave half way through the set the first time I attended the festival 8 years ago. Frightened Rabbit were one of the main headline acts this year taking stage at Church and I wasn’t about to miss it this time. The first time I was introduced to this band was back in my first year of university where I was discovering a new life in a new city so there is a lot of nostalgia attached to their music for me. We arrived an hour early to this one expecting a packed to the rafters experience, this wasn’t the case but I wasn’t complaining as it meant I got an unspoiled front row spot to the gig I’d been waiting 8 years for. The illusion that this would be the stand out gig of the day, and probably of my Live at Leeds experiences over the last few years was quickly diluted when the words out of Scott’s mouth upon taking stage were filled with self-doubt, but I didn’t want to let that cloud my reasoning for turning up.

They compiled a set list of tracks trailing throughout their entire back catalogue which made it quite refreshing to hear some of my old loves being mingled together with new ones. From their 2008 album ‘The Midnight Organ Fight’ to their most recent release ‘Painting of a Panic Attack’ it is clear that the band have taken a darker turn lyrically, but they manage to peak an interest with their melodies which make you hear some of the more sombre lyrics as beautiful and thought evoking rather than just a bit depressing. It’s hard for me to pick a favourite track of theirs because each tells their own story, but I do have a choice lyric ‘Bare your teeth to me please, Maneater’ which even to me doesn’t make a lot of sense sat by itself but just take a listen to ‘The Wrestle’ which is the track it hides in. I don’t really have a reason why I like it so much, but I’m not sure I need to.

Maybe I was watching this gig through rose tinted glasses, but despite the opening statement, I still hung on to his every word, and it wouldn’t stop me from buying a ticket to their next show.

From start to finish this event for me was as it always has been, a day to discover new music, rekindle old loves, and revel in previously missed opportunities to see some great artists. No performance will ever be completely what you expected it to be, whether that be for better or worse, but whatever happens Live at Leeds is always a festival that I can’t wait to go to again even before it’s over. Until next year….

All photo credits are with www.jennysneap.co.uk

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Something a little different to saturday's post. This is From First to Last's returning track after the Skrillex hiatus....

I didn't expect great things, but it's actually a pretty decent track. Feeding my nostalgic emo vibes while putting a slight electronic spin on things.

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It’s with great pleasure that I’ve woken up with this song doing its rounds between my ears. From bumping this band at one festival to being the reason I bought my ticket to the next one, these guys really have something special about them, and I definitely urge you to take a listen and buy a ticket to their next show! Ive even started a playlist based on another of their songs and it’s now 50+ tracks and counting of high energy indie mixed with a bit of modern grunge and a few wild cards thrown in, I’ll share it at some point. Take a look at this music video and judge for yourself, but I’m certain you won’t be disappointed. TIP: the best part of this video is right at the end so keep your peepers open Stay focused today and enjoy yourselves 👌🏻

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So this is new.....

The idea for this blog came about because i seem to be one of those annoying people that find a new song, or rekindle an old musical love and just have to share it with anyone i think might care. I have a playlist for every mood, and my mood changes at least once a day, and sometimes i don’t know what i fancy so i flick between them all until something suits. 

I want to review albums, new and old, talk about shows I've been to, but most importantly i want to share my love of music with the world and hope that someone will listen. 

Peace, Love and Vibes

Photo credit: www.jennysneap.co.uk