Top 10 Albums of 2014

1. PVRIS - White Noise

It's not often that when I discover a band, they can make such an impression on me within the matter of weeks. Welcome PVRIS, a band that I only stumbled across in September time, but when their debut album White Noise was released in November I was head over heels. With dark, haunting words entwined with fuzzy synths and Lynn Gunn's incredible vocal tone, every track is a masterpiece and that is why it's my top album of the year. 

Favourite Track: Fire

2. Lower Than Atlantis - Self Titled

As soon as that bouncing riff in 'Here We Go' made it's way to our ears and firmly stuck itself to our brains, it was obvious that whatever LTA had in the pipeline for the album was going to be huge. They did not disappoint, though more melodic, their fourth studio album is full of anthemic tracks that beg to be played to thousands, all wrapped up with a nice dose of cheeky Mike Duce charm. 

Favourite Track: Stays the Same

3. Twin Atlantic - Great Divide

My favourite Scot’s returned this year with this absolute belter of a record. Taking things in a new direction, a little more wild and with a little more party all put together into a Rock and Roll record - Great Divide has it all. It still retains everything Twin Atlantic are known for but they’ve pushed their sound to it’s peak and delivered bold, beefy tracks that'll have you fist pumping for days. 

Favourite Track: Hold On

4. Moose Blood - I’ll Keep You In Mind From Time to Time
I've been swooning over Moose Blood and their punked up love songs for some time now, but 2014 finally saw the release of their debut album I'll Keep You In Mind From Time To Time. Brimming with emo influences and grainy guitars, it's like a dose of nostalgia with a modern twist. 

Favourite Track: I Hope You're Miserable 

5. Mallory Knox - Asymmetry

I was a huge fan of Mallory Knox's debut record Signals, so there was no denying to see how they'd step up and do better with sophomore album Asymmetry. They certainly delivered, combining Mikey's impressive vocal talent with echoing guitar melodies, they've also improved upon their songwriting abilities - making this album standout amongst many of the others released this year. It has its ballads and it has it's full-throttle, punchy anthems which make it an absolute treat to listen too. 

Favourite Track: She Took Him to the Lake

6. Neck Deep - Wishful Thinking
There's no denying that I have a big place in my heart for pop-punk, having grown up around bands such as New Found Glory, I'm very fond of the new, rejuvenated era that has taken over 2014. Neck Deep are a band that have absolutely dominated the pop-punk scene, with debut album Wishful Thinking scoring them trips around the World and high-fives from the genres heroes. This is a band that the UK should be incredibly proud of and I can't wait to hear what they've got in store next. 

Favourite Track: Losing Teeth

7. BANKS - Goddess

Despite the fact my music taste very much focuses on the heavier side of music, I like the breakdowns and the huge chanting choruses, but sometimes I discover a gem on the complete other end of the spectrum that I just cannot stop listening to. Welcome BANKS, the goddamn sassiest singer that I have completely fallen head over heels for this year. Her debut album twists incredibly dark lyrics, with vibrating basslines and an RnB soul. It's smooth and sultry, with a hidden bite and I can honestly say her voice is one of the most astonishing I've ever heard live.

Favourite Track: Drowning

8. Natives - Indoor War
Potentially the least well-known band on my list, but the debut album from New Forest pop-rockers Natives has been on repeat most days since its release way back in the first quarter of 2014. There's no heavy breakdowns, there's no stadium-ready anthems, but what it is full of is eleven tracks of pure upbeat, bouncing riffs and choruses to make you smile. I'm losing count of how many times I've seen these guys live now and I'm still not bored of hearing their music, good vibes for days!

Favourite Track: The Horizon/Can't Say No

9. Charlie Simpson - Long Road Home

From Busted through to Fightstar and now onto his solo career, I've followed Charlie's music career since I was twelve and we're now in the era where he is at his finest. His debut Young Pilgrim announced Charlie as an established singer-songwriter and the latest addition, Long Road Home has only further cemented his worth within this industry. With beautifully written acoustic melodies accompanied by an old English charm, Young Pilgrim was written for long summer days and cosy winter nights. It's an all-year round record that never fails to please your ears.

Favourite Track: Comets

10. Ben Howard - I Forget Where We Were

My favourite solo artist returned this year, however this time around he's swapped the acoustic for an electric and has created an extremely haunting record with an incredible amount of depth. The guitars are slick and echo alongside Ben's moving vocal tone and this record really flaunts off his skilled musicianship to its finest. It's quite the change from the debut record that threw him into the spotlight, but I Forget Where We Were shows Ben in a whole new light, which makes it even more enticing.

Favourite Track: Conrad

Video of the Week 1-5 July

Blitz Kids - Run For Cover

Blitz Kids are absolutely storming their way through 2013, having toured with Lower Than Atlantis earlier this year and joining The Blackout in October, as well as a number of festival appearances over the summer, it would seem things are on the up for them!

Run For Cover is their newest single and the video sees vocalist Joey James getting into all sorts of bother with some ladies in their knickers. MEN EH?! The single will be released on August 5th so keep your peepers out for that, because well, it's just a bloody good song! 

Mid-Week Music Video's

A bunch of ace videos have been released this week, there's one thing with all of them though, they're all a bit.... odd? Take a look and see what you think! 

1. Lower Than Atlantis - Something Better Came Along

The next instalment from the LTA lads. Moral of the story? Don't fall asleep on the tube kids. 

2. Two Door Cinema Club - Handshake

Bowling with human heads. Hopefully a sport that won't catch on any time soon. 

3. Young Kato - Something Real

Apparently Jaws isn't the only thing in the water to be afraid of. That aside, this is an awfully catchy tune! 

See what I mean? Directors are coming up with all sorts for video's these days! 

The Great Escape Festival 2012

This weekend sees the return of The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, running over three days, the South Coast's busiest city plays host to a number of brilliant bands, from the new and upcoming to the favourites that have been around for years. It's a brilliant chance to find new artists and explore the best parts of the city, so if you are lucky enough to have tickets, then here are some of my recommendations to go see!

Bastille - Thursday 10th @ Green Door Store

Lower Than Atlantis - Thursday 10th @ The Loft and Concorde 2

Kids in Glass Houses - Thursday 10th @ Concorde 2

∆ (Alt-J) - Friday 11th @ Blind Tiger

Clock Opera - Friday 11th @ Brighton Dome

Laurel - Friday 11th @ Komedia Studio Bar

Dry The River - Friday 11th @ Corn Exchange

Lucy Rose - Saturday 12th @ Blind Tiger

I could go on forever with all the musical talent that is filling the city over the weekend, but the above are ones that I will most certainly be going a long too, and if you can squeeze them into the busy gig schedule i suggest you come see them too! 

If you're going to The Great Escape I hope you have an amazing time! For those of you that aren't, I'll do a write up after the weekend & make sure you buy tickets for next year!

On Monday night i ventured into the unknown, i attended my first gig where i was completely by myself. These days i struggle a lot to find people to come to gigs with me as many of my friends are very picky with what they listen too and aren't particularly into the pop-punk music i like. So anyway, i made my way down to The Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth to see Pegasus Bridge, Lower Than Atlantis and Futures. For those that don't know, Futures are an updated version of the band Tonight Is Goodbye who split and reformed a couple of years ago, and since becoming Futures they have constantly excelled themselves at everything they do, already they have signed to Major record label. Not bad eh?

Pegasus Bridge and Lower than Atlantis were both amazing acts who warmed up the crowd wonderfully, the two bands have quite different styles of music, with Pegasus Bridge providing more pop/synth punk and LTA providing deeper chords and breakdowns. But both are adored by the crowd that have gathered.

Futures bring the evening to a whole new level though, from start to finish they have the crowd jumping around with their arms in the air, treating us to a few new tracks from the forthcoming album, mixed with the majority of the tracks from their record The Holiday, despite it being roughly a 200 person crowd the sing a longs are still loud and everyone is clearly enjoying themselves. Futures play the show with confidence, they know what they're doing and if the rest of their shows are like this, it probably won't be long before all their tours are sold out.

Despite the fact i stood at the back alone, i still thoroughly enjoyed the sets from all three bands, although it would have been nice to have someone to dance and sing a long with, guess i'll have to start finding more friends!