Category Archives: Uncategorized

Myla Smith-Drugs.

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Our vices and habits can sometimes be the things that destroy us, or are sometimes the only things we have. And what do we have? Do we ever own anything? I own nothing of worth. The most expensive thing I own are my Docs, they were £50. Material things mean nothing, but I really did need a pair of shoes at that time. They’re close to being ruined now; but they’re all I have. The more money you have; the more you want. I have no money. I panic when I find change in my pocket because I don’t know if it is mine. Like Bob Dylan sang, “When you got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose.” Bobby provides the soundtrack to my life, always has. Always will. Pour out what makes you vulnerable, and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re wrong.

When you listen to Myla Smith’s EP, Drugs you cannot help but think about all the things that make you weak. The things that make you a mess inside and you can only unleash them when you’re alone. A person could be your weakness, I think for most that is the case. One of mine is animal programmes. Watched a programme about a zoo yesterday and pretty much cried all through it. I may look like I’d mug you or something; but I’m too sensitive for my own good. My (fake) leather jacket is my shield. The song, Chemistry shows how a person can sometimes take over our minds and god knows what else with one look or one word. Sometimes this is a good thing; sometimes this is a bad thing. I don’t think I’ve ever let anyone get that close in order to fully relate to that though. But I know what it is like to have someone in the front of your mind. Always. That isn’t a bad thing.

This Time I Mean It is almost like letting go. You realise you need to let go of all the bad surrounding you. We’ve all got things in our lives that make us weak and make us think we’re dependent on them. Truth is, letting go is one of the strongest things a person can do. When you can turn your back on something or someone who is no good for you, it’s like you become a different person. You can become all you want to be. All you know you can be. Walking away is not always a bad thing.

As someone who is massively into lyrics; I simply cannot find any fault in Drugs (the album, actually substances? I do have an issue with. HUGS NOT DRUGS.) Not that I listen to anything to find fault in them. I’m not that kind of person. I’m too kind, I always must see the good in things and people. It’s a vice of mine, or maybe I’m just stupid. It’s alright.

What I’ve noticed this year is that a lot of strong EPs have been more evident than LPs. You can sure put Drugs up there in one of the most honest and beautiful EPs you’ll hear all year.

Drugs is released on the 16th October. Memphis is the home of many inspiring artists from Aretha Franklin to Otis Redding to Howlin’ Wolf, It is just the home of great music, and great musicians. Myla is easily one of them.

http://www.mylasmith.com/

Dum Dum Girls-Lord Knows (video.)

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“Together but all alone.”

Have you got End Of Daze yet? You should. It’s the best EP you will hear all year. Okay, so after what seems like an eternity the video to Lord Knows is finally here.

Before I declare it as VIDEO OF THE YEAR (which it is) you must watch it with a clear mind. Maybe feeling a bit week and lost; because when the video has ended, you will feel complete again. This basically is what happens when you listen to Dum Dum Girls anyway. They give you everything you need, and much more in order for you to carry on. I know it is hard at times; I know more than I should. Lest we try to forget. Fight to forget it, and you end up wearing everyone else’s scars. What a bastard it is. But anyway, Lord Knows is like a call to change. To stop the hurt; to just be better. If this song was around a few years ago, I may not have been such a horrible person to a few. Maybe that all had to happen. I am without them, and I feel much better. Dum Dum Girls make it okay for you to have vulnerable and unsure feelings. The way Dee Dee writes is nothing short of great poetry. I’m talking the genius of Rimbaud. Mixed with the heart of Patti Smith and the soul of Lou Reed. She’s the Patti of my generation for sure. Don’t turn a blind eye, you’ll be missing out. You don’t want to miss out.

Lord Knows is dark and will ease you into self-discovery. If it doesn’t make you emotional then you are watching it wrong. The fragility of the video and song just hits you right in the gut. Christin Turner ( http://www.christinturner.com) has truly directed the best video of the year for sure. It is just 4 minutes and 19 seconds of pureness and honesty. The song and the video are nothing short of beautiful.

End the daze kids, end the daze xx

Cold Cave-A Little Death To Laugh.

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“You give me half the love I need,
And no more.”

In my mind, eyes, heart, soul, body, everything; Wes Eisold can do no wrong. If you want to be vague, call him just a song-writer. If you want to go to the very very core; call him a poet. A poet is what he is, but he is so much more.

My love for Wes, like most started with American Nightmare. Cold Cave became an immediate obsession of mine in 2009. Love Comes Close, hands down one of the greatest debut records of all time. I’m putting it on a par with Psychocandy. It means that much to me. It got me through a shit time, and now I listen to it; it just carries me through life. As does Cherish The Light Years. Wes’ lyrics describe everyday frustrations, vacant love and painful lust. Clinging and clinging with your blood-red hands onto something you struggle to recognise. It happens to us all, but people like Wes make us feel less vile about the whole ordeal.

A new single has just been put online by Cold Cave, A Little Death To Laugh which is inspired by the poet, Tristan Corbiere. One of the great French poets who died from TB aged only 29. Personally, I feel Wes writes like the true great French poets such as Corbiere to Charles Baudelaire (my personal favourite.) He manages to convey romance and darkness together in a way that just makes YOU want to pick up a pen and notebook, and set free your own feelings. I guess sometimes we need to do that. I do it everyday, but no one sees it. My lack of self-confidence in my writing stops me from getting my shitty poetry seen. Bedroom writer I guess.

A Little Death To Laugh will no doubt please Cold Cave fans everywhere. Hopefully it’ll get more people into the band. It’s about time. It is always time. Cold Cave are almost like a way of life. Wes projects your darkest and most inner thoughts in a way you strive to. He gets to the very heart of what is spinning around and around in your heart and head. A Little Death To Laugh is obviously a prime example of that.

I could honestly praise Cold Cave/Wes’ lyrics and general being until I turned blue in the face and my mouth dried up from talking too much. It is impossible at times to meet fellow Cold Cave fans. No one really knows what you’re on about, I think it’s about time more made an appearance. We’re a lovely bunch.

Anyway, you can pre-order the single here : http://www.coldcave.net

I’m totally fine with someone getting me one for my birthday. You’ve got just under two months. In the meantime, play the song loud and indulge in Wes’ haunting lyrics and vocals, as always. And forever more. I think this year my birthday present to myself will be a Cold Cave tattoo. It is time.

Beach House- Take Care.

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“It’s no good unless it’s real.”

Sometimes you hear a song that becomes everything to you. This song may come at a time where everything is wrong, and you just need something. Or, you may have heard the song in passing a few years ago, then something happens for you to love it even more. You associate it with a bad time, yet as time passes you, you can link the song to happier times. To a different person, to a different situation altogether. You feel quite foolish for not being so open to it in the beginning. Why on earth did it take something so horrific to make you truly get the meaning of the song? Well, the thing is we never really understand something or truly GET it until we have to face it. Until we are alone and need something to provide the answers. Seek answers, not approval. This one song is your ultimate crutch. This song is the one that makes you think of someone you love with all you have. Someone you want to protect. Is it the song that saved your life, or is it the song that gave you life? The song is your life.

I remember hearing Teen Dream by Beach House when it came out in 2010. I played it almost ritualistically. I regarded it in my soul as one of the best things to have happened in 2010. Every song felt like Alex and Victoria were delving into their souls, and into the listeners. It is a record that you play when you just want to find some inner peace. Beach House make you feel like you are in love even when you are loveless. Even when you are without all the positive emotions possible, they still feel you with such hope. Their music is like a massive warm cuddle to the soul. It is pure, innocent and wise.

Take Care is my ultimate favourite Beach House song. Close second is Saltwater. That’s as far as I can go with saying my favourite Beach House songs, because after these two songs- I’m pretty much in love equally with every single one. My love for Take Care was always there, it just came alive because of a really shit time.

Go to February 2011. I find out my mum has cancer (she’s totally fine now.) She flys over to tell me. I then go to my best friend’s house..and we cry. I never cry in front of anyone. I leave, get on the bus home and play Beach House. For some reason, Take Care starts playing. I try not to cry on the bus. No one wants to be that person crying on public transport, ever. EVER. So I keep it together. I get home. I’m still playing Take Care. The lyrics are becoming more and more apt. Victoria’s voice is easing the crying. I fall asleep listening to it. I seem to have to play the song every day just to keep myself as sane as possible. A few months after, I played the song for my mum. She’s now a huge fan of Beach House.

I now listen to the song with no sadness. The song reminds me of another. A totally different situation. But the sheer love and wanting to take care of them is there. It will always be there, and they know it.

What I love about Take Care is how simple yet wonderfully stunning it is. It isn’t just a love song. In fact, I don’t think it is a love song. I think the song represents the purely selfless act of wanting to place someone above you, and protect them. To just love them, be there and look after them. There’s only a few people in our lives we can dedicate such feelings to. When you find that person, that’s when you know everything bad you’ve done before, every bad feeling you’ve felt and every ounce of hurt that you’ve felt no longer means a thing because of this person. It doesn’t have to be in a romantic sense; it can be in whatever way you wish.

I can easily sit for hours listening to Beach House. I can quite happily have Take Care as the only song I listen to all day and not want to listen to anything else. A heavenly sigh comes out of you as you listen to it, because you know everything is going to be alright. Take Care goes beyond reassuring you. It becomes almost like a mantra. As you close your eyes and sway your body to the song, you feel yourself being transported elsewhere. All that is there is you and another. You choose who you want to take, and you dedicate this song to them. This song was written for them. A partner, a friend, a relative- it doesn’t matter. You just feel utter love when you listen to this song.

Then you have the flip side of it. When you feel low, playing Beach House makes you feel instantly better. Playing this song makes you feel like you can carry on. It is the piece of advice that you’ve been searching for. The song makes you feel complete, that you have enough in you to keep going. It is just a simply powerful song that makes you feel more than you can wrap your head around.

Take Care is easily one of the very few songs I know in 10, 20 years time I will listen to and still feel this way about. I’ll remember the day I first heard it. I’ll remember everything surrounding this song. It is the purest form of love and devotion. I think it is a song that everyone needs to have a moment with. Whether it be alone indoors or outside wandering around until everything feels better. You may feel lost, but Beach House always manage to find you and put you back together again. The heal you better than any form of medicine could.

Not everything in life lasts, not everything can leave you in awe. This is why I love Beach House, because they’re like no one else. Take Care is like nothing else I’ve ever heard, and may ever hear.

Cat Sized Panda-We Will See You Now.

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Remember, remember the 12th November- as it is my birthday. It is also Charles Manson’s birthday. On a happier note, it is the day Cat Sized Panda’s record We Will See You Now comes out. You should buy it. I’m useless trying to sell anything to anyone. This would happen, Me: “Do you want to buy this?” Person: “No.” Me : “Alright then, as you were. I probably wouldn’t either. I’d shop elsewhere.” However, I am not like that when it comes to music. If I could poke and prod you (easy now) to make you buy Cat Sized Panda’s record, I would. Instead I am just going to tell you about it and hopefully you may listen to me (I know, I know) and invest in We Will See You Now.

I first wrote about CSP in June I think?! I was amazed at what I was hearing. You see, although I love music that is dark and full of strange and wonderful lyrics; I have a massive place in my heart reserved for the likes of Burial. I have no idea what genre he’s classed as, and to be honest- I don’t want to know. I hate defining music by genre. Music is an expression, it is a form of freedom therefore we shouldn’t define it. With CSP, you have to listen to him as you would listen to Burial. Night time. On a bus, or in your room. Alone or with scattered strangers. Darkness or flickering street lights. CSP makes the kind of music that makes you create a different life in your head.

As there are no lyrics, you are able to create stories in your head and the music is the soundtrack. Maybe this is just me, but I find this the perfect way to listen to CSP. He gives you free reign with his own creativity. I know lyrics are a big deal for me, but music like this is equally as beautiful. Like most situations in life; you don’t always need words. You can quote Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode for the full effect..

The Universe Stops When You Smile is EASILY my favourite on the record. The title alone was enough for me to know I’d fall in love with it. This isn’t a record where you fall in love with a person. No. This is a record that makes you create beautiful moments in your mind that you can fall in love with. The record just oozes purity, atmosphere and positive energy. To find any fault in it, well, you must be out of your mind.

I get annoyed slightly when people call their music “experimental” when all they’ve done is use a different guitar or something silly. They ignore the true essence of the meaning, making it redundant. CSP is a true experimental artist. He’s a rare one, and that alone makes you treasure his music even more. I usually write about records as I listen to them, sometimes skipping back to songs because certain parts blow my mind. I listened to We Will See You Now in full before I wrote anything down because this is the kind of music that requires ALL of your devotion, time and attention. You cannot have it on in the background, you cannot multi-task whilst listening to it. You truly have to devote yourself to listening to this record.

Most people are out getting vile and drunk on a Saturday night. I’m sat drinking tea and writing about one of the most ethereal and stunning records of the year.

I could quite happily sit here and write a thousand more words about how wonderful CSP and this record is, but you simply must buy this record on 12th November. This year has been pretty damn good for music, CSP is easily one of those reasons why.

“We can all be free, maybe not in words. Maybe not with a look. But with your mind.”

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The connection you feel to a piece of music, or even a band has the power to be the most powerful connection you will ever know. That moment when you are alone and all you have is a song; that’s when it all takes over. You slip away from reality and fall into the unknown. Crawling out of it isn’t exactly what you want. And you place every desire on hold for a specific moment. These moments mean more to you than you have ever known. Have you ever truly known anything? Everything others give you has the potential to give you an aching heart and a swine of a headache. Push it aside, they’ll say you’re wrong. Deal with it, and they will still say you’re wrong. Ignore the fools. That pat on the back that crave had better come from you and nobody else. As they will not mean it; but you will. You truly will, because you will know you deserve it. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait.

Time is precious, so they say. So is patience and your own feelings. A lot of things are delicate but we seem to no longer handle with care. We are disposable with others, and it is frightening how cruel everyone is to each other.

Connection is important. You don’t have to feel like you belong, but you can help by making others feel welcome. Open your heart up for the right ones. The second someone holds what you say to them against you; walk away. Fast. Or run if you want. Just leave them alone. Bad people, bad vibes. You don’t need that. Find it in a song, find the trait you desire and move on. I have no idea where this is coming from. But it’s okay, because it isn’t something one should read. It is simply something one had to write down. I use “one” in the least upper-class way possible, I just didn’t want to use another word. And I like the word “one.” It stands for a lot, and can mean a lot. Even if it is a singular.

We can be alone in heart and mind. Yet, we can be free in heart and mind. Body also.

Find that connection.

“I’m the fury in your head, I’m the fury in your bed. I’m the ghost in the back of your head.”

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I was walking home from my morning ritual of slowly killing myself at the gym (it needs to pay off one day) and it began to rain. I already looked a mess, so what harm would a bit of rain do?

Everything in that moment seemed alright. Maybe it was the songs I listened to. Or maybe I knew I was going home, and I was going to nap. Sure it was a really shit nap, but I was going to be asleep. I like being asleep because I’m no trouble to anyone. I’ve gone back 10 years, I feel 15 again. It’ll pass. It must do.

Everything positive has something negative. Everything negative has something positive. Everything seems to be balanced, but you always find yourself leaning towards one side. Or maybe you are being pulled towards a side you cannot stand. Yet you must go there. Rock bottom is a lesson for us all. Does it exist? Is it just an idle threat to make us feel worse than we already do? You always think you’ve hit your lowest point, you think you cannot get any lower. Like things cannot get worse, but can they? They get better. They also can get worse. See, it is all balanced out.

So you close your eyes around 2am hoping sleep comes. It comes eventually. When you sleep, do you dream? Do you doubt yourself in dreams too? You don’t always get what you want- dreaming or awake. I hate that I function better when I am tired. When I am tired, certain things make more sense. When I’m awake, I think I usually want to sleep and watch Disney films.

Sometimes we make ourselves out to be awful. Maybe it is from past abandonment, maybe we’re not sure of ourselves, maybe we’re not truly awful. We’ve all got our faults, we shouldn’t let them rule us.

As I’m not one for ever listening to myself, have some songs that made dragging myself home in the rain a lot less awful.

Dum Dum Girls-End Of Daze (EP.)

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“I get so frightened. No one else seems frightened, only me.”

I have typed this over and over, hoping I could start it and go into something that makes sense. It didn’t work, so I downed some Jameson whiskey and I feel human again. Before I really get into this, if you aren’t aware of my love/admiration/respect for Dum Dum Girls then you may not understand anything I am about to write. Thing is, I don’t understand half of what I write. Out of sheer love for Dee Dee, Sandy, Jules and Malia- I am going to do my best get this to make sense. I make no promises.

There are so many things right about this EP. I have one problem- it’s an EP, not a full record. I want more and more. That’s just me being a greedy fan. I’ve got past that though, I can fully see how much we need End Of Daze, as an EP- not a record.

My love for Dum Dum Girls started a few years ago. Catholicked was the song I heard. “These sins are my own.” I heard that line and knew immediately I had found a band that would just mean more to me than anything else. Songs such as Rest Of Our Lives to Coming Down mean more to me than I can put into words. I stand by that their cover of Oh Those Eyes by The Vagrants is the best cover ever. I’m meddling in the past here aren’t I. I should tell you about End Of Daze.

You’ve heard Lord Knows already, right? Waiting for the video? Me too, but it will be worth the wait. Anything DDG do has always proven to be worth the wait. When a band can grip your attention and leave you always wanting more- that’s when you know you have found a band that are going to be your lifeline. What I adore about End Of Daze, is that from the very start you know it is going to be one of the most pure and beautiful things you will hear all year. I said before I heard it that End Of Daze would be the best EP of the year. Now, I am rarely right- but I am right with this. I can just feel it.

I cannot help but listen to the EP with a massive smile on my face. I don’t want to be THAT person, but a couple of months ago I put on Twitter something like “Wouldn’t it be cool if Dum Dum Girls covered Just Like Honey.” Dee Dee asked me to email her..who has their VERY own cover of Just Like Honey? I DO. I could reel off my favourite things that have happened this year, and that would be my number 1, for sure. It is something that I cannot put into words. Honestly one of the best and beautiful things anyone has ever done..I’ll never understand why Dee Dee did it, but I’m forever grateful.

The EP opens with Mine Tonight. If you’re like me and you pay very close attention to lyrics, you will probably see yourself in the lyrics. This pretty much goes for every song on the EP. There’s hurt, pain, death, love and loss surrounding End Of Daze. Yet the last track on the EP, Season In Hell feels like Dee Dee is telling you everything bad that has gone on, all those ugly feelings you posses so well- let it go, let it all go. It is over. End Of Daze feels like a healing process and is vulnerable. It is truly perfect and a joy to listen to.

Trees And Flowers is a stunning cover. I’m talking, “stops you in your tracks” kind of stunning you know? The lyrics seem much more  frail and open when Dee Dee sings them. For those who feel like their mind is a prison, you may enjoy this one more than most. I get it, I truly do. We all find our own way out in the end. It is okay to be scared. I guess you’re never alone, even if you feel like you are.

Something I truly adore about Dee Dee is how honest she is with her lyrics. When your art is your life, you can’t afford to be someone else can you? Sure a good writer puts themselves in other people’s shoes. But to allow yourself to be so open and exposed- that takes guts, heart and strength. A trait that I fully support, and wish more did.

One of my favourite lines from the whole EP comes from Season In Hell, “A confession’s not a cure. There’s always darkness to endure, on a path to be redeemed.” You truly pick up life lessons from a Dum Dum Girls song, End Of Daze is full of them.

I could quite happily sit here and right a thousand more words as to why I think it is the most beautiful thing I have heard all year. However, you can stream it here, a week before it is released : http://stereogum.com/1154362/stream-dum-dum-girls-end-of-daze-ep-stereogum-premiere/album-stream/

It is dark, it is comforting, it is pure and it is accurate. It is everything you want from a band that you love and more. I knew my mind was going to be blown, I just didn’t expect it to be as wonderful as this. Dee Dee, Sandy, Malia, Jules- Thank you xx

The Kills-Wild Charms (video.)

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“How it stirs me, how it stirs me now. To think my fire burnt them out.”

For the past 1o years, The Kills have been more than a band to myself and so many others. I believe that they make music that makes you fall in love with them instantly. They’re not a band you play once and forget about. They’re a band you listen to once, and your mind is well and truly blown. You listen to them, and everything changes around you. You see things differently. You probably see things more clearly. They invite you into their world that is so passionate and brutal and raw. Above all, it is honest. It is a world that makes you feel as if you belong. Be an outsider, struggle for what you believe in. Fight for your art. Be bold, be passionate, be everything those fucks you know said that you couldn’t.

I remember the first time I heard The Kills, I was only 15/16. My uncle and I bonded years before over a love for the Velvet Underground and The Jesus And Mary Chain. It’s a bond that I treasure, and learn from. He handed me a magazine article about The Kills. I read it, and instantly did all I could to listen to their music. Their debut record, Keep On Your Mean Side corrupted my mind in the most pleasurable way and moved my soul in a way no one and nothing else ever will. I don’t just love their music, their videos- I love the way they are with each other in interviews and on stage. They have a beautiful chemistry that I think we all wish we had.

Wild Charms is directed by their good friend, Kenneth Cappello who also took the photos over the past 10 years in their book Dream And Drive. Wild Charms is one of my favourites off Blood Pressures. Jamie’s voice is just so pure; much like the lyrics. It is a delicate ode to love. The video is wonderfully shot. The Kills do make music videos or just songs- they make works of art. Works of art that leave you in awe.

Cat Power-Cherokee (video.)

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“Feels like time is on my time. Bury me upside down.”

Chan Marshall isn’t just a singer. The woman is a beautiful voice who makes art that just, well, it is good for the soul. She pours out every emotion you’re probably afraid to feel. She exposes vulnerability in a way that you wish you could. I remember hearing Metal Heart (original version) and just sobbing. I sobbed as if someone had told me someone I loved had died. My heart broke, but pieces were mended because finally- someone got it. Finally someone was unleashing all these ugly feelings for me. Her music isn’t something you play in the background, it is something you feel. You truly connect with her. She breaks your heart and makes you believe in every single word. Much like Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin, Patti Smith. She is on that level.

Her new record, Sun is on a par with You Are Free. You Are Free is my favourite record by her. The artwork alone is just stunning. The video to Cherokee is nothing short of wonderful, and was directed by Cat. I hope this brings her new fans who truly appreciate the genius and beauty that is, Cat Power.