A change in season means a change in playlist, my current must-haves!
Now the seasons have changed, summery, upbeat and atmospheric holiday tunes just won't do, I need something which I can listen to on those country walks on Sunday mornings, on cold evenings by the wood burner or those uplifting and catchy tunes that can beam out of my car speakers on the way to work in rush hour... (plus those classics that you can't ditch, even when the weather changes; everyone has their guilty pleasures right?)
Here is what my playlist consists of...
LONDON GRAMMAR
If you're a sucker for insane vocals, then you need to give London Grammar a listen, they're so atmospheric and even upbeat at times, so even one of those tracks you can add to your Spotify running playlist.. I know it's in mine!
LEWIS WATSON
After subscribing to Lewis on YouTube two years ago, I was intrigued to see what he would come out with in his E.P., the songs are beaut and the warm acoustic feel accompanied by his vocals are a perfect combination. This Oxfordshire based artist is certainly one to watch in the future (very good live too!). My favourite song of his has to be 'Little Darling', it's so calming and one of those songs I'll happily play through my car stereo after a long day at work.
LORDE
Absolutely love this artist, the songs are so funky, they're right at the top of my playlist after having heard their song 'Royals' on BBC Radio 1 the other week. Surprisingly genuine and inventive lyrics and a toe tapping beat throughout, give them a cheeky search on YouTube and thank me later.
ALT-J
If you haven't heard of the group Alt-J over the past year, there is the possibility you've been living under a rock (or they may not be your taste!), either way, Alt-J are definitely one of my all time faves. After seeing them at Reading Festival in 2012, I was hooked. The unusual vocals and harmonies are what makes Alt-J so addictive and easy to love.
DAUGHTER
Now, the list just gets better and I'm sure by now you're adjusting to my music taste! Daughter combines ghostly vocals and electric guitar riffs and a hell of a lot of reverb, but this much reverb actually sounds
good, I know, surprising! The acoustic versions of their songs are just as good and I immediately fell in love with 'Youth' and couldn't help myself but cover it! Took me a while to master the guitar but I'm so glad I kept at it as it was a pleasure to sing... But another of their songs which gives me shivers is 'Smother'.
THE XX
The XX albums are equally as brilliant, the first one has the classics but the second album 'Coexist' features 'Chained' and 'Angels'. If you're yet to YouTube the XX then I recommend you get right on it as you'll be spending a lot of time tapping your feet to their tracks, and maybe the odd 'I'm alone in the house' dance, admit it, we all do it once in a while...
BON IVER
Saying that I merely like Bon Iver would be an understatement..calming tracks such as those featured on 'For Emma, Forever' are my go to songs for when I feel like something softer yet meaningful. Faves would include the beautiful 'I can't make you love me' and 'Perth'. Worth a listen, these songs are very lovely, highly recommended.
Not forgetting the classics...
Recently, after trawling through playlists on Spotify, I rediscovered some of my old favourites, which now, 10 years on are guilty pleasures.
-'No Scrubs' by the groovy (yet another overused word from my childhood) TLC.
Despite the obvious underlying generalisations and assumptions regarding those sitting in the 'passenger seat of their best friends car', this song is a tuuuuuune and expresses a lot of the feelings felt by many girls after being approached by a guy (that you're...not attracted to) and before the words 'No, thank you' come spilling out. It's catchy and is a feel good tune which always puts me in a good mood, thank you, TLC, kudos.
-'Get Out (Leave)' by JoJo.
Now this is one of those tunes that brings back numerous memories of dancing with my sister in the lounge and inventing what we thought were pretty awesome dance routines whilst playing this on repeat. When a song enables you to reminisce it's almost never a bad thing (unless it's one of those sad break-up Sinead O'Connor 'Nothing Compares' moments...) and this song is no exception. Not to mention, still being able to recite it word for word..
