lastknightinsweden-blog

[lastknightinsweden-blog]

the joy of melancholy

if you’re anything like me, 17, slightly lonely, can’t wait for uni and just really confused by life and all it’s confusing things, you probably find yourself listening to a decent amount of music for various reasons. some people use music as expression and sing at the top of their lungs or others use it as a way to reflect, normally by relating to the lyrics, on past events in their lives. 

most of my school ‘friends’ (i use that term very lightly, they’re mostly all dicks) ended up at the same college so this meant i stuck with them and never gave myself a chance to find anything new in what should have been a great opportunity to do just that (human nature and all its glory). clearly my plan for college was to meet new people but that obviously didn’t go to plan, but one thing i have found in the past year and a half is music. fucking tonnes of it. of all kinds, most of which i need to be in a certain mood for me to enjoy it. however the one genre i can find myself always going back to no matter what context i’m in or the mood i’m in is some lovely singer-songwriter stuff. 

i have many common teenage issues that often crop up in their music, namely confusion, dumping my first love (you don't know what you've got til its gone and all that , Joni Mitchell was smart, it’s also my first and only true regret to date) and then subsequently missing that person and wanting them back, then there’s feeling like the world’s out to get you, and let’s not forget being lonely, the most important of all, feeling a bit and sad and needing a good old cry into a cup of tea (i’m english, if you hadn’t guessed already). see... boys do cry.  its the calming and somewhat saddening melancholy feel of the entire genre that i love. it exaggerates and heightens these feelings but then in the same breath its reassuring to know someone else has gone through it as well.  

For Emma by Bon Iver is the first song that springs to mind for a few reasons. I love the horn sections throughout, they really make it fuller but then i also love to be reassured that I’m not the only one who wants someone back, otherwise I don’t think he’d of made the record. really worth a listen this one. 

skinny love is another great track taken from the same album. equal in it’s feel but different lyrically as it paints a picture of a once-perfect relationship quickly going down the drain. again, rings very true. 

a track i don’t even need to listen to in order to relate is everything reminds me of her by Elliot Smith... the title alone does it all for me but its also a great track as well. Smith has a wonderful voice that works with his guitar playing skills so well. 

now we have something that isn’t strictly a singer-songwriter number, its unmistakably blues, but blues was the original music of the heart, its just not sung by white kids from the cold mid-west. meet me in the city by Junior Kimborough (or the black keys, each is just as good as the other).  ‘still begging you, don't leave me here’ says it all to be brutally honest, although its about a working girl i can’t relate to that but i can evidently relate to someone leaving me, despite it being my own doing

(speaking of, i’m yet to find a song where its the protagonist’s doing)

Atlantic City by the Boss is a tragic ballad with a tiny glimmer of hope thrown in the mix. and his voice is like good whiskey, no real argument against this one really. ‘well maybe everything that dies someday comes back’ is a wonderful line that gives me hope that someday I can be back where I was a year ago or so. 

next on my list is all my friends by LCD Soundsystem. this feels like a song I’ll be able to relate to much better in 20 years, partly because it’s about ageing and looking back on your youth. which is something I can see my self doing, considering the way I feel right now. 

there’s more, I’ll leave a list of the rest and anyone who reads this can make the connections, I don’t want this to be too long but it’s probably too late for that already. here they are: these days - Nico, hang me oh hang me - Dave van Ronk, big yellow taxi - Joni Mitchell, someone told me - Jake Bugg, and love like this by Kodaline. there we have lots of tacks all with meaning to me, most of which are pretty self-explanatory.

[lastknightinsweden-blog]

Don’t sleep on Shogun

but it appears I have been sleeping seen as once again I’m late to the party.

Shogun, real name Joe Heron, is a Scottish grime MC from the sleepy town of Paisley in the western regions of the Glasgow suburbs who's recently been making waves around the UK thanks to his raw lyrics and a great flow to go with them. 

Since his most popular video, ‘vulcan’ was uploaded to YouTube at the beginning of July, it has already accumulated over 300,000 views. more recently, Facebook juggernauts unilad also shared the three minute clip, and that count jumped through the roof to a massive 1.2 million views. as I’m writing this, the video has nearly 2.2 million views. 

Shogun has been getting nothing but rave reviews since the video was published on his various accounts, even with people from the U.S and beyond praising the lad from Paisley.

he’s definitely a name to keep an eye on in the coming months as he’s been uploading more cuts to his spotify and soundcloud accounts. all I’m saying is I, along with many others, think he’ll be be huge soon enough. 

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZOAzbH8tdU 

[lastknightinsweden-blog]

a debut worth waiting 4 odd years for

Blaenavon’s debut was well worth the wait. it sounds like the great days of indie aren’t dead yet. “That’s your lot” sounds like some early Foals singles with loads of jangling rhythm guitars over complex, rambling drum beats. the tight and clean production even gives off a tinge of some of the more recent Arctic Monkey’s records. roughly, half of the tracks show off their more sophisticated side (tracks like “let me see what happens next” or “ode to joe”) whilst the other half or so sounds a little like early Foals, as a I previously mentioned.

its definitely a triumph of British indie rock in the 2010s. it goes a long way to help show the rest of the music world that indie still has a bite to it and British bands can still produce an amazing album here and there.

[lastknightinsweden-blog]

King Kendrick returns all guns blazing, fires at Trump and Big Sean (or drake? who knows, and who cares?)

ooooooooo he’s back! yes, one year or so after the release of untitled unmastered, his critically acclaimed b-side compilation album, Kendrick Lamar is back. this friday passed, K-dot dropped the Heart Part 4, which sees the fourth installment of the ‘Heart’ series and the last one since Part 3 in 2012. 

all 4 of these songs are deeply personal confessions. they all find Kendrick rapping about his insecurities, relationships, and struggles with his fame. Clearly, “The Heart Part 4” is no exception, but Kendrick has more on his mind this time around, labelling himself “the greatest rapper alive” some way through the second verse: 

“1-2-3-4-5, I am the greatest rapper a-live”

then he proceeds to call out donald trump and his supposed ties to the Russian government: 

“Donald Trump is a chump, know how we feel, punk Tell ‘em that God comin’ And Russia need a replay button, y'all up to somethin'”

now whilst the rapper he’s referring to isn’t named at any point, there’s lots of little hints for fans to mull over. the current speculation is either Drake of Big Sean, or even both. bars like: “I’ll Big Pun ya punk ass, you a scared little bitch Tiptoein' around my name, nigga ya lame” make us thinks its Sean. but lines like “I'll let y'all worry about a list, I'm on some other shit” could be a shot at drake, who’s recently rapped about his spot in the rap game. On “Grammys:”

“Whole city goin' crazy, top 5 no debating”

and much more recently on “Gyalchester:”

“I know I said top five, but I’m top two And I’m not two and I got one”

and just when we all though he was finished laying in to other rappers, he hints at a possible album release on April 7th. April 7th is looking like a great day for the genre with Joey Bada$$ also making a return on that friday. 

anyway. it’s great, give it a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbYIUnV8u7E 

[lastknightinsweden-blog]

ah the glorious return of one of britain’s best loved bands

“you’re in love with a psycho” is the first single off of the full-length follow-up to 2014's 48:13. this single gloriously ditches any hint of experimental-ism and in turn delivers fans with a clean cut rock song with plenty of swagger and style on the side. in a recent Instagram post, guitarist Serge Pizzorno says 'You're In Love With A Psycho' is "a weird anthem for everyone. You've either been in love with [a psycho] or you are one. [this single] celebrates that." 

the new album drops on 28th April via Parental Advisory 

listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPvzhVZnkjw&t=127s 

[lastknightinsweden-blog]

anticipation.

this being the first post on this blog, i can almost guarantee that nobody will ever read it. just as a warning this post probably won’t be that good, but hey, everyone has to start somewhere. so here goes, you may find that the bands and artists you are about to read about are rubbish, but i disagree, i think they're all pretty good and have a chance of creating a good reputation for themselves as the years roll on. lets say 6, sound good?

number 1: estrons 

hailing from cardiff, estrons are what seems to be a loud and aggressive post-punk/garage revival band on first listen. but whilst the music is somewhat like that, the difference is frontwoman tali källström speaks her mind about hot button topics. things like the objectification of women make up some of the lyrical content. rhodri’s filthy and distorted guitar riffs marry with her Tali’s voice perfectly.  all of the hype garnered from sources like BBC Introducing... and the NME is certainly well deserved. having released an ep titled ‘She’s Here Now’ in autumn last year, it feels like there’s other project on the way,or at least there should be, although there’s no confirmation as of yet.

i think their best tracks are probably ‘Make a Man’ and ‘Belfast.’ give them a try and spread the word if you feel the need. 

number 2: rejjie snow

born alex anyaegbunam in dublin in 1993, slap bang in the middle of the golden age of hip hop. these sounds of the west and east coast are a massive influence on his music. he has so much prowess and these lyrics flow so well with the signature chilled and laidback vibe that all of his singles thus far feature heavlily. put all of these together with a soft irish accent and you have the most interesting and exciting hip hop talent on the british isles. oh and he’s recording his debut album with some of the same producers from kendrick’s last album To Pimp a Butterfly and some of Schoolboy Q’s production team, as you do. 

his best works so far include ‘Keep Your Head Up’ and ‘1992′ (featuring my boi Loyle Carner)

number 3: the amazons

the amazons are criminally underrated. the four-piece, who have built a solid reputation by playing a brand of indie fir for stadiums already that combines the splendor and intricacy of arcade fire with the raw power and attitude of nirvana in their prime, have already begun to sell out venues up and down the british iles already. all of this made is even more impressive considering they only formed in 2014. 

having been on tour with the kooks, the amazons are set to grow hugely over the next few years or so. they’re also poised to rule the airwaves on alternative stations all over the country with instant  indie classics like “junk food forever”, “stay with me” and the consensus fan favourite “ultraviolet” 

their eponymous debut album is available to pre-order  noe and is out june 2nd via fiction records

number 4: get inuit 

get inuit are a dirty rock band from Kent in England, and have been thumping out indie pop anthems a plenty since 2013, but are only now starting to gain traction with their music. as described by the band themselves they make “dirty, surf inspired pop music.” that they do, and they do it so well. all this is achieved by the relatively simple method of combining frontman Jaime’s nasal vocal delivery, surf rock style guitars and some relentless drums in the background.

tracks like ‘pro procrastinator’ have the potential to resonate with many teenagers like myself by using lines like “I’m wasting my, liiiiiife” sung with what sounds like teenage angst. other great tracks include ‘teriyaki’ or

number 5: maggie rogers

of all the acts on this list, maggie rogers is the only one you might have potentially heard of before now. its now been over a year since she had a once in a lifetime meeting with Pharrell Williams at her uni in new york. her ambient blend of folk, from her native Maryland, and dance music, which she discovered in whilst on her gap year in europe, create blissful new age pop perfection with tracks like ‘alaska’ and ‘dog years.’

as mr williams said, it's completely unique, but she’s certain that other pop artists share her way of thinking. most people disagree. it sounds completely unlike anything else in mainstream circulation. 

number 6: fickle friends 

brighton indie pop five-piece Fickle Friends have been cutting their teeth the old fashioned way, with two years of solid touring and consistently releasing great singles for 3 years as well. 

with 80s pop influences aplenty, they create a chilled out laid back sound that would be the perfect soundtrack to a long summer evening with your best mates; you just know it’ll be a laugh. soundtrack you evening with tracks like “swim”, “paris” and “play”

and there we have it. my personal favourite acts that are just about still under the radar who i and many others think will have great success in the coming years and beyond.