At the end of January I hopped on a ferry from my home city of Portsmouth to a place which was one of Queen Victoria's favourites to visit; the weird and wonderful Isle of Wight. I was there for an evening of musical finery presented by Sunday Best Records at the Quay Arts Centre in Newport, with a celebratory DJ set of David Bowie tunes by Rob Da Bank, complete with colourful Bowie visuals. Plus there was live music from Alice Jemima (who has been long supported through this blog, first featuring in April 2011 and being named as One To Watch in 2012 - a little early perhaps?). Alice is now signed to Sunday Best so you can fully expect an LP this year. Heading up the bill was Xylaroo, another act that I named as Ones To Watch in 2016, so I thought I had better take my own advice and go and watch them.
Xylaroo was excellent. Wonderful sisterly harmonies backed by just one acoustic guitar and a very cool, almost casual, delivery. The obvious comparison remains First Aid Kit and I can imagine Xylaroo having spent a fair amount of time rifling through the same record collection as the Swedish sisters - the presence of the likes of Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Rilo Kiley could all be heard in their heartwarming songs.
With an album called Sweetooth due for release in June, the first single from it is Sunshine. It's a tune with a positive outlook on life, focusing on leaving life's negatives behind and absorbing those natural rays of hope. "If you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain," they sing. Sunshine has a timeless appeal to it and the video, which streams below, is also full of a charming warmth.
Xylaroo - Sunshine (Video)
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