Top 25 - 14 February, 2016

Ella Hooper, Motez + Two People!

1. Montaigne - In The Dark (#1 for 4 weeks!)





2. Two People - Fading (NEW)





Jo's Pick of the Week: I’m still lamenting the loss of Snakadaktal, because, well, who didn’t love the name Snakadaktal? However, the sorrow can be mended slightly with the sounds of Two People, a little duo whose name describes it all, consisting of ex-Snakadaktal members Pheobe Lou and Joey Clough, who haven’t lost their Snakadak-ey roots, but have moved on and grown up a little with this track, the first from their debut EP, due for release later this year. ‘Fading’ is all atmosphere and drive with a certain darkness pushing its way through, the repetitive synth hypnotising and the voice of Pheobe pleading for you to listen over and over. Looking forward to hearing what else these Two People (boom! See what I did there?) have in store for the rest of 2016. (Jo Michelmore) 


3. Highasakite - Someone Who'll Get It





4. PJ Harvey - The Wheel





5. Ella Hooper - Monkey Mind (NEW)





Matt's Pick of the Week: Earlier in the week, Ella Hooper released a preview of her upcoming New Magic EP in the form of 'Monkey Mind'. After last year's somber, heartbreaking and reflective Venom EP, 'Monkey Mind' promises there are brighter days ahead for one of our longtime favourites. Hooper is no stranger to reinvention. She's always leaned in an alternative direction, but here we find Ella with arguably her most 'pop' sound and I couldn't be loving it more. There's a constant drive to the beat and some mighty fine electronic touches behind the guitar lines. But despite a more summer-y demeanour to the music, everything we've come to love about Ella Hooper remains. As a storyteller, she continues to prove she's at the top of her game. You'll be listening over and over again to explore and interpret the lyrics. And about the lyrics... there is something so deliciously Stevie Nicks-esque about a line like, "is it wrong to hold on, child?" that puts the biggest smile on my face. The more I listen to 'Monkey Mind', the more I love it. (Matt Bond) 


6. Lanks - Golden Age (NEW)


 

7. Ecca Vandal - End of Time





8. Motez ft. Tkay Maidza - Down Like This (NEW)





9. Beyonce - Formation (NEW)





10. Grimes - Kill V. Maim





11. Violent Soho - Viceroy





12. Major Leagues - Better Off (NEW)





13. Le Pie - Up All Night





14. Dear Plastic - Zero





15. Missy Elliott - Pep Rally (NEW)





16. Nocturnal Tapes - Superficial Light (NEW)





17. Mia Dyson - Right There





18. colourwaves - Archons (NEW)





19. PASSERINE - Lost In Each Other





20. Santigold - Banshee (NEW)





21. James Blake - Modern Soul (NEW)





22. Niki and The Dove - So Much It Hurts





23. Gideon Bensen - Talk Talk





24. Bad Pony - Zombie





25. Nicole Millar - Tremble

Video Review - Archons

Archons

by Colourwaves

There was a point late last year during the giant countdown that Matt and I compile at the end of each year in which Matt asked me if I could listen to an (unnamed for the purposes of this review) song and tell him what some of the lyrics were so we could pop them in said countdown we were compiling. It was at this point I realised how much I love the lyric video. I sat at my laptop for ages and ages, listening over and over to a song I loved, but having very little idea what the vocalist was singing. I knew it was a language I could speak, I just couldn’t decipher what was being said. Great song but. All of this leads me to Colourwaves and the recently released clip for ‘Archons’, which, by the way, is a beautiful piece of chilled electronic music. Not a simple lyric clip, it's a stunningly shot couple of minutes, in which Ryan Dodson (aka Colourwaves himself) is a distant participant, an observer in an all too familiar cityscape, creating a sense of detached warmth. Perfect accompaniment to a perfectly produced track. But, like I said, the thing I really like are the subtitles running throughout the clip, which I know were an artistic choice and they do add a certain something to an already pretty clip, but they are also a godsend to time limited bloggers like ourselves. Now, if only I knew what that last line was. Ummmmm…down sit you want really? Great clip but.

Jo Michelmore gives ‘Archons’ three and a half party popper emoji out of five….