THE BEDROOM HOUR-Hinterland.

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It’s been a very strange week for me. I went for a job interview on Monday with a charity that are very dear to me, and also a charity I’ve been wanting to work for for some time. I think anyone who’s read anything I’ve written knows that since I graduated from University in 2009 knows that I’ve struggled with finding a job that lasts longer than a few months. I’ve signed on for Job Seekers Allowance more times than I wish to remember, and my fortnightly trips there taught me to never have any self-belief or pride. Going to the job centre made me able to handle rejection and to expect nothing. My luck changed on Tuesday. I didn’t get the job I went for, but they offered me a similar one as I am “too good to not employ.” So now I don’t have to worry about finding a job, and I’m not sure what people use the internet for now! I start in September, and it feels strange. A nice strange. It’s nice to know someone thinks I’m alright enough to do a job you know?

I do know what the internet is for, it’s for finding new music/being sent new music.

Next week a band I love are FINALLY putting out their debut record. The Bedroom Hour have that grand sound in their music that is found in the likes of Elbow. I wouldn’t throw that statement around for just anyone as I really love Elbow and I want Guy Garvey to adopt me.

Hinterland consists of euphoric gems that were created to soothe, to heal and to purify the soul. Hinterland is made up of songs that will at some point make you cry. Cry as you confront whatever it is you’re facing or from sheer joy. Hinterland will tug at your heartstrings in a gentle and reassuring manner, so whatever happens to you as you listen to it- just let it happen. Not everything in life needs to be controlled.

People like certain bands for certain reasons. Maybe something happened, and that band was there for them. Maybe they were searching for something and it led them to that band. Whatever the reasoning is, you cling to that band as a way of holding onto something sentimental. The Bedroom Hour are a sentimental band, they ooze nostalgia for something that hasn’t happened yet. You can drown your sorrows to a sorry-looking pint at your local with The Bedroom Hour playing in the background, you can sort your life out whilst listening to them or you can sit and do nothing with them playing in the background. They aren’t a band you listen to casually, you give them your full attention because for the most part, they are expressing all you would rather not say but must face. I guess if you’re feeling a little lost or confused, then they are the band to turn to. Music is comforting and The Bedroom Hour are a prime example of that.

Hinterland is a beautiful debut record that I sincerely hope they are proud of. It doesn’t matter what obnoxiously jumped up “Music Journalists” say about the record, they’ve got a solid and loyal fan base, and they’ve not released their debut record yet. Every track on Hinterland surpasses the last and has you anxiously waiting for the next one, knowing it is going to be an experience. For me, I’m going to say WW/Me is my favourite track off the record, for now. I will change my mind but now, it’s a solid favourite. It’s got a little Bloc Party feel to it. If Stuart’s voice doesn’t make you cry at least twice on this record, then go see a doctor.

If I was going through my dreadful teenage years again. The Bedroom Hour would be a band I would turn to. A band I would listen to late at night when I should be sleeping. But as a difficult and probably awkward 27-year-old, they just offer reassurance that things work out. Not always in the way you hoped, but they will. In time. Time shouldn’t always be used wisely, but if you want to be sensible, then use your time wisely and listen to The Bedroom Hour.

Music is something to truly believe in, and with bands like The Bedroom Hour it is fairly obvious why.

Hinterland is out 14th July 2014, and if you’re like me and have to face the “ALL STATIONS” route on the Met line, then this record will ease that painful journey. At least it has air-con!

 

PRAYERS.

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I keep getting emailed Christian Rap, I’m not sure why it keeps happening. I’m not even sure the good Lord himself (none of us know if he’s real so…) would enjoy it. Maybe he would tell them to just stop. I can’t, as that would be rude. For everything in life, there is the wonderful delights of the DELETE button. I suppose with the band I’m going to write about now may wake up some more religious rappers to come my way. I sincerely hope not.

Before I get into writing about Prayers, I just need to vent something. Yesterday I watched Fat White Family’s Glastonbury set on telly and was appalled that nobody watching them moved or lost their mind to them. You’ve got the saviors of the UK Rock & Roll scene up there and all you can do is look at your phone in the hopes your mum has text you to tell you that she loves you, just so you have something to reply to. It’s really sad. Fat Whites are evidently THE most exciting band around in this country. From their Punk-esque sounds to their dislike for clothes and stripping off mid-set is a breath of fresh air. I feel like I am in the 70s experiencing Punk for the first time. Fat Whites are what The Stooges were, easily.  They’ve got that real Punk attitude and feel to their music. And I guess if you didn’t like Punk (what is wrong with you?!) you probably aren’t going to see the appeal of Fat Whites which is a shame because they are the best band in this country. And don’t you dare say the nudity puts you off, the world doesn’t need any more prudes! Go listen to them.

So now I’ll talk about Prayers.

With the sky immediately turning to a questionable shade of grey outside and months of rain falling out of the sky, Prayers are pretty much  the most apt band I can listen to right now. I know NOTHING about the band, and I’m alright with that. We don’t need to know if the singer likes pizza or not, or his shoe size. All we need to know is just how good the music. So in short, Prayers are fucking awesome. But they deserve more than just a piddly sentence.

Prayers have that dark synth sound that is found in my beloved Cold Cave. I think it’s obvious how much I love Cold Cave and how much I adore Wes’ way with words. Prayers are really really close to that. Their subject matters are menacing, the music is eerie and the general atmosphere in their music is tense. Really really tense. To the point where you think you’re on some questionable trip as you listen to them. This is the kind of stuff I love. There’s a time and a place for songs about falling in love and gazing at the sunset, and that place is not in my record collection. Prayers are a real gnarly band with the ability to shut anyone up who listens to them. They’re calling out for something, I’m not sure what but I can’t stop listening. In the UK we have a brilliant band called Natural Assembly, who have got a similar sound going on. It’s just a real pleasure to listen to. On repeat. Constantly. Rafael Reyes is your new savior kids.

Everyone is looking for that one song or one band that really move them, you know? You can easily find it in Prayers. There’s a deep, raw emotion lurking in their music that many struggle to pull out. Prayers do it so effortlessly. Prayers are the kind of band you go to see and just totally lose yourself in their songs. You chant the songs back to them as your sweat falls off your forehead onto the ground, other people’s drinks are mixed in with your sweat and you bump into other bodies as you sway in a trance-like fashion to the music. This band just wake you up, they do something to you. They truly do move you. I know they aren’t to everyone’s taste, but they are seriously good. They are made for sweaty basement bars at 1am when you are questioning yourself and everyone around you, but as the songs kick in like a morphine drip you stop caring and just fall into the brilliant sounds of Prayers.

If you’re at a loss or just want something to move you, then go listen to Prayers. Their SD Killwave release from last year was stupidly underrated, go repent your sins and invest in it now

WIFE- What’s Between.

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Sometimes you hear something that makes you glad you woke up this morning, sometimes you hear something that just smacks you right in the gut and you wonder how you went so long without hearing anything like it. Various factors justify how it all makes you feel. For me,Wife’s record is one of the few things I’ve heard recently that has made me want to write about it. For a while now I’ve not been caring about writing about what I’m listening to. I’d rather shut off than write something sloppy. If I can hear something that makes me want to stop what I’m doing (in this case, working) and to just offload everything great about what I’m listening to, then I will gladly take it. I never know how long it will last. Sometimes it stays for a few months, other times it just goes.

What’s Between by Wife is truly one of the most haunting yet ethereal records I’ve heard this year. You can find gentle music in any genre. Whether you want the swaying and dreamy guitar sounds that can be found in Warpaint or the blissed out thought-provoking tales of Deptford Goth- there is always something there. Wife’s record is possibly the most gorgeous records I’ve heard in a long time. I mean it in its truest form; there is something so vulnerable and accessible about the record that just makes you fel as if you’ve stepped into a world you try to fight yourself away from.

The gloriously intense build-up on (my favourite) the track Tongue is astounding. It’s the kind of song you play when you feel like everything is against you, and everyone is chiding you. It’s the perfect song to escape to; the whole record is like that. What’s Between just ooozes escapism a way that makes you feel like your comedown from it all might not be so bad. Of course everyone is going to pay attention to the fact that James used to be in a Metal band and is now making this kind of music, but it’s not really relevant. What is relevant is the fact that is shows just how great a musician he is.

I described his Stoic EP last year as being something of a sacred listen, and to just freak yourself out as you listen to it. The EP sounds nothing like What’s Between. What’s Between flows beautifully after the Stoic EP. In a way you can say it is less darker, but there are still slight insights to darkness on this record, but for the most part it’s just a bloody good record with the ability to be listed as one of this year’s best releases. However, that does depend on what you read and such things. It’s one of those records you play on that long and tiresome journey to/from work. Fruit Tree might be the song that gets those lazy dancers moving, if they aren’t feeling too precious about themselves.

As someone who likes “noisy and depressing shit” (not my words) I can safely say that Wife is unlike anything else I “usually” listen to. Quotes because I’d be even more boring if I only stuck to one style of music. The thing is, What ‘s Between is pretty much like the Stoic EP in the sense that it really is a sacred listen. You want peace and quiet when you listen to it; you want nobody or nothing getting in your way as you listen to this utterly captivating and soothing record. Sure you’ve got your menacing moments on the record, at times it feels like Massive Attack versus Pop.1280 (which for me is bloody wonderful.) Sometimes you listen to a record and you just know it is something remarkable, and must be treasured. That something that spurs you on, that makes you realise just how much you really really love music and without it, there wouldn’t be much point.

*(Note to whoever reads this, when it hits dusk- gaze out of your window or go sit in a park and listen to Living Joy..just do it. )

AUTUMNS- Untitled LP.

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A few months ago I wrote a little preview about the Autumns record. On this clear Sunday evening whilst avoiding whatever it is I’m supposed to be doing, I thought I would finally write something. I’ve sort of lost interest in writing, but the love of Music is still there. It’s there because of people like Christian/Autumns who make Music that means something. What it means specifically I do not know, only he can tell you that. I can only write as a fan, never as a “professional writer.” A fan has love, a person who takes it all too seriously looks for faults.

What I immediately saw in Christian’s music was what I saw in Alex’s/Dirty Beaches. I saw that one person can make a lot of noise in such an intense manner, that to turn away and to not be a fan would be incredibly stupid. The Mini LP that Christian has put out consists of tracks to zone out to on public transport or just siting around waiting for something to happen.

The LP (much to my appreciation) has Keep On Sinking on it, which I think was the first Autumns song I heard. How can someone so young make music so bloody good? Quite easily, because age shouldn’t be a factor.

There are a handful of bands/singers I love that make me wish I had even the slightest bit of musical talent, Christian is easily one of them. When you listen to his music, especially this LP, it really does make you want to pick up a beaten guitar and pour your heart out in the most raw and honest way possible. If someone can do this on their first LP, if they can leave you feeling inspired and whatever else, then you know you’ve found something truly special and something that will undoubtedly last.

I sincerely hope that some teenage misfit finds this record and is left knowing that it’s alright to make some noise that truly does mean something. I hope he/she finds a copy of this record and sticks two fingers up to what their friends and family want them to be. It’s a record that you can drown the world out to, it’s a record to find answers to. You won’t find a cure, just some clarity. I remember when I saw Dirty Beaches live last year, and suddenly his music made much more sense to me. Some things you just have to see for yourself to gain a different insight, and that’s one of the many things I get from Christian’s music. I firmly believe that when I finally see him live, I’ll have a different view on his music. What I mean is, that when you see a band or singer perform live you can pick up on what the songs mean to them. You can’t fake certain feelings- the feelings that come from music.

This is just a prime example of me being unable to write like a “Music Journalist.” I can only write as a fan, and as a fan of Autumns I can wholeheartedly say that this LP is one of the best things I’ve heard this year. It’s everything I look for in a record, and it is everything I love about music. And from a totally personal perspective, it makes me want to write about music.

CLARA ENGEL- Looking-Glass Fire.

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Some of the greatest singers/bands go unheard for years before someone is turned onto them. Time is just a thing, a measurement for those who need everything to be validated when really time is one of the least important things in existence. But time is something we all run out of. Like hope, love and faith. It is something that can be strengthened and lost. It is something you cannot control.

Singers like Imogen Heap and Brandy St John have this ability to get right to the core of what you are feeling, in a way that makes you curl up because you dislike the fact someone else posses the ugly feelings you try to hide. But the fact that they aren’t afraid to let it out makes you feel less alone and horrific for carrying it around with you. There is a singer who I believe fully is as great as Imogen and Brandy St John. I’ve written about Clara a few times, and her voice is like the ocean- crystal clear and beautifully therapeutic.

Her new record, Looking-Glass Fire is out 16th June and going by hearing only two songs from it I can honestly say it is my favourite record by Clara. Lesser Known God has a beautifully gnarly tone to it. It makes you think of Patti Smith belting out her call to the outcasts at CBGBs with such force and purpose. Like Patti, Clara can sing in an aggressive tone then flip to having this gorgeous angelic sound. She sings with utter passion that can make non-singers like myself envious of her voice.

Her words are poems for the soul; in the hopes of clinging onto something, anything just to get through the day. Take baby-steps whilst listening to her music and you’ll get there. I can imagine people leaving Clara’s live shows in tears after experiencing a voice so pure and a talent so rare. She is bold, honest and just a beautiful soul. Her songs are humble life lessons for anyone- regardless of who you are, what you do, just anything. Her music and her voices sets part of you free that nothing else really can. I adore the line “If I’m no good, well you’re no better” from her song Be Good. She writes lyrics that you can study or quite simply, see yourself in.

Clara’s voice has this way of soothing the soul whilst making you truly aware of all that you are feeling, and more importantly WHY you are feeling what you are feeling. It’s alright to have ugly feelings, it’s totally normal. Music is an outlet for so many people and is something to believe in. Clara’s lyrics, her songs…they are believable. If you can share your vulnerabilities in such a way, then people will believe. She’s just brilliant, I really cannot praise her enough. Her music could be played in the background of Poe or Ted Hughes poem. She’s a real inspiration.

You can pre-order her record, Looking-Glass Fire here:  http://claraengel.bandcamp.com/album/looking-glass-fire

WARTIME-(War)Time Won’t Let Me (video.)

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My love for Crocodiles is fairly obvious isn’t it. I even went to Bedford to see them! The venue was pretty cool though, I had my eye on a large photo of Iggy Pop that sadly I did not steal. Sometimes it’s alright to steal, isn’t it?! Anyway, break the law in your own time.

Charlie’s side project Wartime is obviously incredible. I’ve been playing it on my way to and from work, and I find different pieces to love about it with every listen. Brandon and Charlie can do no wrong; separate or together, the music they make is just brilliant. Wartime has got ferocious energy to it, and if you’ve seen Crocodiles live then you’ve seen Charlie fling his guitar about in a gloriously rambunctious fashion. He’s the kind of person you would want to teach you how to play the guitar, that’s just my view anyway. Everytime I’ve seen Crocs play (only 6) I’ve left wishing I had some musical talent. But I just do what any internally frustrated music lover would do, I write about it instead.

The video to (War)Time Won’t Let Me was shot by the talented Scott Kiernan who also did the video for Up Is Up by Haunted Hearts. He’s a super talented guy, that’s evident in his work of course. I urge you all to buy Charlie’s tape and to just play it all the time. It’s nothing like Crocodiles, but that’s no bad thing. When you listen to Wartime you wouldn’t know you were listening to Charlie from Crocodiles and I think when someone can shed the skin of their band when doing a side project is brave and wonderful thing. Haunted Hearts doesn’t sound like Crocodiles or Dum Dum Girls; if anything, it just shows how talented they all are.

Alright, enough of me talking about how much I love them and whatnot….here’s the video of Charlie looking all dapper and handsome in a black suit and an extremely stylish hat:

 

MORGAN DELT.

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This week I have mainly been feeling sorry for myself due to having some kind of stomach bug. Since throwing up on Monday, I’ve spent the rest of the week going from feeling like my face is on fire to like my body is on a slab of ice. All the sleep in the world can’t stop me from feeling tired, so the best cure for feeling weird is to listen to something weird. I didn’t need to dig too deep to find what I was looking for.

Sometimes I’m lazy and sloppy with my writing, it’s only when I feel ill do I make some kind of attempt. I don’t know what this says about me, I don’t think I want to know. For the most part I listen to music that is probably a bit aggressive; I like to listen to music that doesn’t match my personality. Again, I have no idea what this says about me nor am I about to try suss it out. So aside from listening to music that could make someone wish they were never subjected to it again, I like stuff that sounds like someone climbed a mountain and got stoned out of their mind and found a solution to all the wrong in the world.

Morgan Delt. I know nothing about the guy, I just know his music is really weird and makes me want to become a recluse, and wear some awful tie dye gear. His sound makes you feel as if you are floating through time and space without a care in the world. I think a lot of music is made for the listener to get totally immersed and lost in it, to just wander for days looking at nothing in particular and roaming freely in their thoughts. Music has this ability to make the most trapped mind feel free; it is one of the most powerful things in the world. Morgan Delt really captures being free and caring about nothing in a way that doesn’t seem selfish or self-obsessed. He’s a brilliant musician who merges music and escapism wonderfully.

His music is like Strawberry Alarm Clock had a sordid affair with Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and made this colourful and enigmatic sound. It’s a sound that is beautifully strange and lures you in like a hypnotic dancer in a questionable establishment. I have no idea what is going on when I listen to Morgan Delt, and I’m really fine with that. Sometimes problems arise when you are constantly aware. This is the perfect music to shut off to.

Sure he’s got a typical 60s Psychedelic feel to his music, but that doesn’t mean a thing really. He takes that sound and adds something truly gorgeous to it, and makes it his own. The best bands take brief influences and make something sacred of their own. One of the shittiest traits in a person is music snobbery, so no part of me is going to say “Morgan Delt is for people who like……” Morgan Delt is for people who like music, that’s it. It doesn’t need to be complex or stupidly pretentious at all, if you like music then give Morgan Delt a go. If you like it, cool. If you don’t, that’s okay. His music is like a gentle sway, a caressing lullaby for the soul.

With the days getting longer, Morgan Delt makes the kind of music that eases you into dusk after a long and tiresome day. I don’t recommend listening to him if you have a long commute to work as you may zone out totally and miss your stop. Or you know, it may ease you in for the day so you don’t slap the idiot next to you in the tube/train who has no concept of personal space. Take your pick, just give the guy a listen. His hazy sound is perfect for doing nothing to. Sometimes you just need to stop and do nothing, and if you’re in that kind of mood, then Morgan Delt is the one for you.

Go listen, and go free your mind.

http://morgandelt.bandcamp.com

CROCODILES: Live.

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Initially I was going to write about Crocodiles two live shows this weekends in separate posts (London and Bedford) but after seeing them live three times this month (they supported Dum Dum Girls) the only thing for me to do is to write about their live shows. I’m writing this after throwing up this morning (I’ve had too much fun this weekend) and from being woken up by my dickhead neighbour playing The 1975 so loud. There’s no need to play them that loud, or really, at all.

Crocodiles are probably the most exciting bands to see live. If you want to go to a show where you leave covered in your sweat, more than likely someone elses and the urge to start a band afterwards; then they are the band you need to see. I’ve been a fan since 2009. I wasn’t aware of them or their previous bands, but I picked up Summer Of Hate because I loved the front cover. It looked a bit strange, so I bought the only copy in the shop, went home and played it. I played it almost religiously. On the same day I bought Cold Cave’s Love Comes Close. Both records came into my life at a time where I needed something I was missing, I’m not sure what but I’ve always found the answer in music. Summer Of Hate had a beautiful raucous feel it, the kind of sound that you can really let go to.

BW and his maracas.

BW and his maracas.

What I’ve notice each time I see Crocodiles live is that everybody in audience just loses it. From swaying their bodies in a weird fashion (myself included) to going completely nuts during I Wanna Kill; their fans at their shows are awesome. Of course their London shows tend to be slightly more wild when the beloved Omar turns up, and you can usually find him near the front of the stage making fun of his pals on stage. He just seems like a really cool guy. Last night’s show in Bedford was probably the best show I’ve seen of theirs. When I spoke to Brandon after their show, he said they were more used to playing venues like this. Esquires is a broken-in venue that holds a lot of history. Apparently it used to be a church, and now it is a sanctuary for live music. Last night’s crowd seemed a little more tame compared to a typical London crowd and a lot of the women last night were dressed up wearing shoes that aren’t made for dancing. The crowd at Bedford cannot be faulted at all. There aren’t really any dickheads that attend a Crocodiles show, which is good because there’s usually one person who likes to ruin it for everyone else.

Their set list currently has Billy Speed, Hollow Hollow Eyes and Jet Boy Jet Girl; finally seeing these songs live is brilliant but I will never grow tired of watching Robert go absolutely crazy on Refuse Angels or watching them all seem to fall into their own world during Me And My Machine Gun. One thing Brandon and Charlie have managed to do is shut up critics/idiots who labelled them as rip-offs of The Jesus And Mary Chain, but as someone who obviously loves both bands, I really cannot hear the comparisons at all. It’s just lazy journalism really, and as you listen to their records you cannot find a band to compare them to- which is one of the many reasons as to why I love their music.

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Crocodiles are a band made for sweaty and intimate venues; venues where you can really soak up the atmosphere and feel like your part of something. I’ve said it many times before, but Crocodiles are easily one of the few bands I would happily watch for the rest of time. They’re just everything I love about music, and their live shows is everything a live show should be.  They are a band that need to be seen live even if it is just for the energy they have. You know something special is about to happen when Brandon gets his maracas out! It doesn’t matter where you see Crocs, just know you’ll be in for a mind-blowing time.

The first time I saw them live was in 2012 at Rough Trade; a half hour set was evidently not enough for me so my tally is now up to six times seeing them. Each show is better than the last, but don’t just take my word for it. Each of them are mesmerising to watch; the way Charlie flings his guitar about and plays with such fury is enthralling to watch. If I was a teenager in the prime of my youth seeing them live, I’d leave with a strong desire to start a band. Instead I’m just a 27-year-old who really loves this bloody band. They make you really care about music. They make you want to spend hours in your local record store just looking for that next thing that moves you. They make you want to spend the rest of your life just writing about music and being totally immersed in it.

Off stage they are the most genuine and lovely people I’ve had the privilege of meeting. After last night’s show I didn’t feel I was hanging out with a band I love, but with friends instead. There’s no ego, and that’s what make them fucking awesome. So this is for Crocodiles and their music and to their kindness this weekend. Until next time! (Oh and please always have Virals support because they’re one of the strongest bands in this country right now.)

Last night after the show.

Last night after the show.

And of course this happened:

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HAUNTED HEARTS – Up Is Up But So Is Down.

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“She’s gonna love you ’til she’s dead.”

 

With Brandon’s seductive glare and Dee Dee’s lustful gaze, Haunted Hearts have put out one of the most alluring videos of the year. Their record, Initiation is out at the end of the month on their Zoo Music label, and if you care about good music then you should probably invest in their releases.

Initiation is a beautifully mellow and spacey record that is made up of moments that make you realise why you love music. I didn’t expect the record to sound like it did at all, meaning it sounds nothing like Dum Dum Girls or Crocodiles. I’m just glad it is only a matter of weeks before it comes out.

The video to Up Is Up features the stunning New York drag collective, Chez Deep. The video will make you want to dance under a disco ball wearing a smile and some heart-shaped sunglasses. It’s a wonderfully shot video that makes you feel as if you’ve stepped out of a Hubert Selby Jr novel (of course I mean Last Exit To Brooklyn.)

Watch the video and allow yourself to be sucked into a glorious world consisting of Haunted Hearts and Chez Deep.

KC.

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A loss is a painful thing to experience and is something nobody can avoid. You can attempt to shut off from the world and wrap yourself in some form of a protective bubble but something will get in and you will experience an all too frequent situation.

Regardless of how close you were to the person you have loss, you are told several clichés in order to make you feel better. At the start it is raw, your brain is in some weird state and your heart aches. The loss can be temporary or it can be permanent. The feelings however, well, nobody can tell. The beauty (and isolation) in emotions is that only you know how they feel to you. Others will be feeling the same thing, but it hits you different.

Part of me feels like I shouldn’t be writing this, but I’m a person who is more than likely too sensitive for their own good. I can cry at the sight of a cute puppy just like I can cry quite easily at all the bad happening in the world. “Better out than in” is something that probably seems quite apt.

I was born on the Isle of Man. It is home to strange things such as cats with no tails and it’s in the middle of the Irish Sea. I saw the bad in it on a daily basis when I was living there- it is far from everything I know. But if you wander round the place you will see some truly beautiful places. I miss being away from the sea because there is truly nothing more relaxing than staring out to the sea with the sea air whirling around you. Play your favourite song and stare into the unknown. Peel beach is my favourite beach on the Island; even when it is cold and pissing it down, it is still beautiful. More importantly a woman who many (myself included) regard as a fighter and just a beautiful spirit lived there.

In December 2012 I wrote about a woman named Katherine Crow who had recorded a song at Abbey Road studios in the hopes for a Christmas number 1. At the time I was working at HMV and I refused to serve anyone who was just buying one copy of the single. Why buy one when you can buy three. This sales technique worked, but I don’t have the guts (or the extremely outgoing nature) of working sales. I was just passionate about the cause, like everyone else on the Isle of Man.

On Wednesday evening Kath passed away. Aged only 39, that ugly and vile disease that affects so many took her. Cancer is part of way too many people’s lives and to live in a world where no more families or friends or loved ones had to ever endure the pain and hurt it causes, well…I just live in hope. We have to, it’s the only way.

I did not know Kath personally but like anyone who knew her story or is from the Isle of Man; they were just touched by how tough and just how bloody lovely she truly was. To write this in past tense goes beyond my head, I have to keep going back to change it because it makes no sense. I have no point as to what I’m writing, and I’m fully aware I only ever write about Music as it is all I know. But, if you knew of Kath you knew she had a gorgeous voice. I only saw her perform twice and both times I sobbed. See, I just cry too easily- especially with live music.

I remember a story she told both times; she would say she had to drink a lot during performances otherwise her top lip would disappear and demonstrated this, it was too funny and is something I’ll always remember. That voice, that humor. When I was living at home and was forced to go food shopping with my mum, we would sometimes bump into Kath outside Tesco and she just had the glowing presence about her. Just watch this interview below and see how genuine and lovely she was.

Her presence, her smile, her voice and so much more will be missed. Her strength, passion and determination was infectious and inspiring. If we can take anything from this heartbreaking and devastating event (I’m sure there is a better word, but I can’t think of it right now, sorry) then let it be the courage and passion she had.

An event is being held on the Isle of Man on 31st October til 2nd November for the Isle of Man Hospice; The Big Beat For Hospice. A group of talented musicians are going to be making a load of noise for charity. Three days of drumming, sounds perfect right? You can donate to the cause right here: http://www.justgiving.com/bbfh Just donate whatever you can for a cause that’s sole purpose is to really make a difference. You can find out more about the event on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheBigBeatForHospice

Rest easy Kath. You’ll be missed xx