How was July for you?
Thirty one days gone in a flash… In seconds actually. Just over 5 million of them. But it’s the same every July of course. The beginning of the end of the year… In music writing terms it’s the beginning of preparation for the end of year polls, the ‘Album of the year so far’ threads, and the traditional whining over the Mercury Music Prize shortlist (cough, Ed Sheeran).
No need to fully embrace the wind down mode though when there is still so much fresh music out there to get us worked up. We’ve covered a lot of it, we’ve missed a lot more, but here are some artists who have also caught the eye this month with new releases:
Fenne Lily – What’s Good
Delicate, sparse and beautiful, this new single from south west UK singer songwriter Fenne Lily has an equally engaging and intimate video to accompany it. “What’s Good” is about the loneliness of realising you want somebody more than they want you. Appearing in the video in a host of football shirts, Fenne explains: ‘The idea behind the sportswear aesthetic was to visually reflect the feeling of something one sided’. Fenne Lily on Facebook
Talos – This is your earth colliding
This, the third single from the album Wild Alee, showcases Talos’ (Eoin French) vocal style once again. Having the same cinematic fragility as previous singles “Contra” and “Odyssey”, it’s an anthemic blend of Elbow and Sigur Ros and backed with twisted Irish landscapes in the video. Talos on Facebook
Johnny Kills
The UK garage/surf/indie rock trio are releasing four songs over the summer. Debut “Let’s talk about me now” had a mid 90s Blur/Supergrass feel to it, and the 90s sounds continue in latest song “My Shirt Guy is High”. It’s more of a college rock vibe this time though, less catchy than the debut and having elements of the early releases from Weezer and Dandy Warhols. Luckily there’s enough contemporary fuzziness to give the band their own identity and you may want to pay attention for future releases. Johnny Kills on Facebook
TUSKS – Dissolve
Signed to the renowned One Little Indian label, TUSKS (Emily Underhill) will be releasing her debut album, Dissolve in October. She released the title track in July though and it was a true teaser…an atmospheric grower, with spine tingling dreampop and a definite European slant. It ends too soon which could be a good or a bad sign. TUSKS on Facebook
