TRACKS

Image: Birdman Cult

JAMIE TAYLOR CHECKS OUT THE LATEST RELEASES FROM NORTH EAST ARTISTS

Well, I don’t know about you but I need a bit of cheering up. Thank God then for Sophia’s Take A Ride. This steelpan-speckled pop rock hop-along reminds me that life is too short to hang around with losers. I love her upbeat lyrics, her can-do attitude and feisty vocals. The feel-good hit we all need right now.

Bouncing in next, Paige Temperley returns to these pages with her new song, Who’s Gonna Want Me? Her folksiness just isn’t my cup of tea and there’s part of me that really doesn’t want to like this track. Yet there’s also another part that just can’t help but enjoy her overwhelming grace and sophistication as a songwriter. Consider me charmed.

Two tracks down and I’m already felling much better. What a shame then that Fowl go and mess it all up with Kool Aid, a shambling punk rock opus inspired by the Jones Town Massacre. Hats off to them though, this bleak, cliff edge of a song has some lovely turns of phrase and a cracking guitar riff.

Next up, tiredeyes soothe my soul with their new EP, Mallard on the Collar. Their stripped-back guitar and breathless harmonies are a little too soothing for me and I soon find myself drifting off. I loved their sound but after four tracks, I felt the EP lacked the texture and variety to keep me gripped.

Birdman Cult certainly doesn’t have that problem. Their new single, Janet, is just the kind of song that grabs you by the unmentionables and doesn’t let go until you promise to get up and dance. I loved the whip-smart storytelling and sing-along chorus. Great stuff.

Sophia

Keeping my vibe going north, Lazy Rave have got me golden with Music Is My Woman. There’s nothing revolutionary here, just good solid drums, guitar and a Casio keyboard. Like a good cup of instant coffee, it perked me right up.

Feeling fully caffeinated, it’s time to take a listen to Sleeping On Television’s new Underworked EP. This rich collection of layered synths and never-ending arpeggios wouldn’t feel out of place on a sci-fi movie soundtrack. Cinematic gold.

If you enjoyed the music from the NHS’s Couch to 5K Plan, you’ll love McCormick’s single New Tattoo. Alas, running isn’t really my thing and l didn’t get on with this track at all. Likewise, I’m afraid with Julie Grant’s There’s More To Me Than This. There was something slightly off about the timpani and I just wasn’t a fan of the overall sound. It’s nicely put together and she has a lovely voice, so please believe me when I say that it’s just me.

Sid Bano has been to South Shields on a Saturday night and I’m not sure if he liked what he saw. Shields paints a washed up scene filled with fag ends and fistfights that I’m sure any Sandancer will know all too well. I found the song instantly recognisable yet somehow alien and hyper real. Nice work.

I really didn’t think that I was going to enjoy Kenny Cadence’s new EP, Niche. The more I listened though, the more it got me right in the feels. It’s a record filled with self-doubt and regret but also one packed with soul and honesty. She Said is especially heartbreaking and the stand out track for me. Definitely one to check out.

Sid Bano