It’s once again time for a look at some of the songs that caught my attention this week and again the majority of songs are from an artist that I have not heard of till this week. I always think that introducing yourself to music and artist that might not be in your normal playlist is a good thing that broadens your appeal for culture. It seems that this week I was in a Indie Dance/Indie Pop mood as most of the songs are from British Indie groups.
Shine – Years&Years
This is a trio of guys from London who’s band was formed in part by a shower audition. The trio walked away this year with the BBC Sound of 2015 award after their singles topped the charts in the UK. Zayn Lowe also featured them as one of his Hottest Record of the Day segments. The song “Shine” that I fell in love with is a a very synth pop heavy song that will have your toe tapping. You’ll want to explore some of their other songs once hearing Shine. You also don’t have long to wait before their album “Communion” as it releases on July 10th.
Ego – Tove Stryke
A contestant on the Swedish version of Pop Idol she placed third and after the show signed a record deal with Sony. She grew up with music in her blood as both of her parents were artist her dad even scoring a Swedish number one hit in the 70’s. Tove was influenced by artist such as Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash and has had numerous top hits since debuting her songs.
Mixed Up World – Sophie Ellis Bextor
Indie pop artist Sophie Ellis Bextor is a double platinum selling musician whose latest album “Wanderlust” topped the charts at number four. She appeared numerous times on the BBC program “That’s Life” of which her father was a director and her on the show “Blue Peter” whose presenter was her mother. The early career start in the Melody makers ultimately led her to the career that she has now having released 5 albums.
Crying for no Reason – Katy B
Katy B has released two albums during her career in music, having been signed to a deal in 2009. She is a graduate of the Goldsmiths University of London obtaining a degree in Popular Music. The song Crying for no Reason is a nice song that is a good mix of funky and house and will have you wanting more of her voice.
They Don’t Know – White Sea
White Sea is the solo project from Morgan Kibby a musician from San Francisco. She has described the record as a break-up record of sorts saying in interviews that it was the only way to purge herself of the extreme grief and loss. “They Don’t Know” as well as her album is both very synth heavy song and grandiose.
The Lonely – Christina Perri
The only artist that I did know prior to this week was Christina Perri whose latest album Head or Heart was where I first fell in love with her music. Literally every song on that album is listen worthy a rare feat in todays world of music. This song the Lonely is actually from her first album Lovestrong which was released in May of 2010. Her career took off after she was signed to a record deal after her song “Jars of Heart” appeared on the FOX tv show So You Think You Can Dance. An unsigned artist at the time her friend passed along the copy to a choreographer on the show which ultimately led to that song selling 48,000 digital copies in its first week.