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: Brian Ferry – ‘Loop De Li’
I know these days that Brian Ferry is a name that is likely to be associated with BBC Radio 2, but hear me out. Despite respecting Ferry as an artist both in his own right and with Roxy Music, I can’t say that I’d ever delved too far into his back catalogue. However, a faultless headline set at West Holts on the Saturday night of Glastonbury Festival this year and the quality of new single ‘Loop De Li’ are quickly changing a young man’s view on a musical icon. There’s a great sound on ‘Loop De Li’; it’s well produced (by Brian Ferry himself) and the atmosphere that the track creates is very modern and up to date. Ferry’s new album, Avonmore, is set for release on November 17 and will feature artists including Flea, Johnny Marr, Nile Rogers and Mark Knopfler.
Band of Skulls – ‘Himalayan’
Ahead of their performance on Later... with Jools Holland this week, Band of Skulls announce brand new single 'Himalayan'. Other reviews suggested that Band of Skulls lack originality, but ‘Himalayan’ does display a blues rock sound that has a killer riff and is, for want of a better word, cool. The combined chorus vocals of guitarist Russell Marsden and bassist Emma Richardson's give the song it’s USP, lifting it above the large number of average tracks released in this genre. After a busy summer of festivals (Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Sonisphere), the band are due to embark on a UK tour kicking off in late October - which includes a headline gig at London's Eventim Apollo.
Frank Turner and The Levellers – ‘Julie’
One of the Levellers' best loved songs, the 1993 single 'Julie' has been re-worked by Frank Turner in his own style, with the Levellers performing as his backing band. Turner is known to be a huge Levellers fan, and stated that ‘Julie’ was one of his favorite songs to play whilst growing up. ‘Julie’ is the latest video in a series from The Levellers, which also includes collaborations with Imelda May, Billy Bragg and Bellowhead. All four tracks appear on all versions of The Levellers' Greatest Hits album, which is released on Monday 29th September.
Amber Run – ‘Thank You’
Following the dark two-part video to ‘I Found’ and ‘Pilot’, Amber Run have released a third track from their new EP, Pilot. You can really hear the influence that Coldplay have had on a new generation of bands here. The arrangement and melodic hooks of ‘Thank You’ definitely pay tribute to the style made famous by Chris Martin and co. (particularly the riff from ‘Paradise’). Don’t let this take anything away from the track; it’s a fantastic track that you can play over and over again, with great vocal melodies and production. Having just finished a series of summer festival dates, Amber Run were recently voted as one of the top 10 acts who played the Isle Of Wight festival by attendees. They will support Lewis Watson on his UK tour this September.
Hidden track of the week: Crowded House – ‘There Goes God’
This is a song that I remember from my childhood, mercilessly drummed into my head by my parents from an early age. Written by brothers Tim and Neil Finn for the album Woodface in 1991, Tim Finn joined the band during the recording of the album but subsequently left during the UK leg of the world tour that followed the album’s release. The song features former Beach Boys and Rutles multi-instrumentalist Ricky Fataar on drums.
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