New Music Monday – Kettle’s weekly reminder that keeping track of pop music is a futile activity best left to teenagers with too much time on their hands.
Gold Celeste – Is this what you could not do?
Hailing from Oslo, Norway, Gold Celeste are a three-piece guitar band brought together by a shared love of Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Beach House, and My Bloody Valentine.
Their latest single is, in a word, dreamy.
Guitar, bass, and drums float along to a melancholic melody – the sort of soundtrack I imagine The Flaming Lips might use for their Sunday afternoons – whilst singer Simen Hallset croons away introspectively.
The track is very reminiscent of the recent ‘B-town’ scene – Jaws, Peace, Swim Deep, etc. – just a lot breezier.
Jack Garratt – Weathered
There’s been a very subtle trend going as far back as Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly. in the last decade of singer/songwriters obtaining laptops and suddenly becoming multi-instrumental hit-makers – Ed Sheeran, Kate Nash, even Alex Clare if you remember him.
The latest in this line of Macbook musicians is twenty-year-old Jack Garratt who, as anyone who’s listened to XFM in the past few weeks will tell you, is rather good.
‘Weathered’ is an emotional ballad tempered with the sort of maturity expected of someone well beyond their twenties. With guitar licks and bright, electronic wobbles, this is a bold introduction to an artist that obviously has so much to come.
Ella Eyre – Good Times
Forgive me, for this song is already a week old, but it is part of an album, released this week, that could be one of the biggest British pop records of the year – Feline.
Ella Eyre first made her name on Rudimental’s ‘Waiting All Night’ – a track typical of the bands drum-and-bass-meets-pop-music style. It’s this upbeat, semi-emotional, tempo-driven Tom-foolery that Ella has tried to channel in her own music to good effect.
The first four tracks on Feline; including singles ‘Together’, ‘If I Go’, and ‘Good Times’; are massive, chorus heavy, sing-a-long hits that could get anyone dancing around their living room. These are then complimented by more sombre second half containing ‘Two’, ‘Even If’, and ‘Home’.
It’s an album that’s big, quiet, danceable, and personal – textbook, really.
Rae Morris – Don’t Go
Rae Morris is a songstress who should by now be very familiar to you. Having been long listed for the BBC sound of 2015 poll, she’s since released her debut album Unguarded to critical acclaim and a top ten chart position, as well as releasing a number of top tracks along the way.
This track, the sixth (sixth!) single from her album, has been chosen have a special charity video for the ‘Coppafeel’ organisation – the charity encouraging people to ‘cop a feel’ and check their breasts for lumps.
The song is already a little bit of a tear-jerker, and combined with the serious nature of the video this song guaranteed to leave you teary-eyed.
What do you think of our picks this week? Let us know in the comments below!
