The Hot Five - August #1
- Written by Tom Fake
The Hot Five – My favourite new tracks of the week, usually rounded off with a classic, obscure or alternate track from my music collection.
Track of the week: Phil Selway – ‘Coming Up For Air’
Radiohead drummer Phil Selway has recently announced his second solo album, entitled Weatherhouse. Along with this announcement, Selway has premiered single ‘Coming Up For Air’ and it’s accompanying video, a fantastic, Hitchcock-inspired piece created by Spanish collective NYSU. The track itself carries on where 2010’s Familial left off; it’s atmospheric, and in typical Selway style has a strong, striking drum beat that helps to create a clever, and well-rounded piece. It’s a strong track that is sending all the right messages to promote the new album, which will be released by independent label Bella Union on October 6.
Escapists – ‘Eyes’
Atmospheric harmonies and huge vocal character – that’s what keeps you hooked in the opening exchanges of this track. ‘Eyes’ showcases “a more delicate relaxed sound to counterpoint the chaos heard in other Escapists songs”. The minimal arrangement gives the track a simplistic beauty that justifies the immediate comparison to Bon Iver. Escapists’ debut album, Only Bodies, was released on Monday (August 4), and the band has announced a show at the Lexington in London on August 25.
Vance Joy – ‘First Time’
Vance Joy has announced details of the lead single to be taken from his forthcoming debut album Dream Your Life Away, which is to be released on September 15. Building on hit single ‘Riptide’, the bittersweet ‘First Time’ has an upbeat shuffle beat and cleverly basic arrangement that accompanies sombre lyrics of heartbreak and sorrow. To celebrate the release of the album, Vance Joy will begin a sold out headline UK tour on September 21, finishing up with two consecutive nights at Shepherd's Bush Empire on October 2 & 3, the second London show being added due to demand.
Ezra Vine – ‘Celeste’
Continuing along folky lines, here we have self-produced, London-based singer-songwriter Ezra Vine. Vine is originally from Auckland, and ‘Celeste’ enjoyed great success in New Zealand last year; the song is set for an official release in the UK in late September. It’s another uplifting track, complete with a driving drum beat and reverberating vocal harmonies that emphasise the already strong vocal melodies. You can catch Ezra Vine on tour, funnily enough, with Vance Joy in September, and he is also set to perform at Boardmasters Festival in Cornwall this coming weekend.
Hidden track of the week: Beth Orton – ‘Daybreaker’
I’ve just been reading some reviews of Daybreaker, the 2002 album from folktronica singer-songwriter Beth Orton. I’d like to take this opportunity to be publically upset at the man who branded Daybreaker “Beth Orton's third in a series of progressively bland and unadventurous releases”. This particular track is an intelligent, trip hop-inspired piece with a vocal strong and characteristic enough to rival any female electronica artist. It also uses the talents of collaborators William Orbit and Ben Watt perfectly to create the atmospheric landscape of sound effects, drum beats, and reverberating vocals. Hardly “bland and unadventurous”, now is it?
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