This J.R.R Tolkien fan and 20-year-old singer songwriter from Grantham, Lincolnshire, UK seems to be poised to make a splash with her music that bridges the divide between pop and something a little more earthy and organic. New artists are finding it harder and harder to break through, but if you are a betting person, you might be advised to have a little flutter on Holly Humberstone doing well. She certainly seems to be ticking all the right boxes. Last year her name cropped up on the bottom of the bill of a whole bunch of festivals including the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury, despite never having released a single. Then she kicked off 2020 by supporting Lewis Capaldi on some of his big European shows. Clearly this isn’t all just the luck of an indie bedroom artist, the big guns are out firing; in fact she’s working with management and label team Closer, who also work with George Ezra, James Bay and JC Stewart. There’s a good reason why Holly is getting these breaks; she’s very good. At the end of January she released her debut song Deep End: “Throw me in the deep end, I’m ready now to swim,” she sings, outlining perhaps her readiness to now embrace the fickle world of the music industry, although the song is actually a hymn of support to one her sisters who was going through a difficult time. Musically Deep End’s sound is calmly downbeat and autumnal, the minimalist production throwing focus on Holly’s touching vocal. Holly has been reported as being inspired by Phoebe Bridgers and Damien Rice and you can hear these influences subtly seeping through on this track, Her second song however contrasts nicely with Deep End. There’s undeniably a big Lorde sway in both the production and songwriting (so much so you might find yourself checking if the name Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor is listed on the credits – she isn’t) but a good song is a good song whatever its reference points and Falling Asleep At The Wheel is undeniably that. So that’s 2 out of 2 so far for Holly Humberstone. One to watch.
Today’s new band purvey a breed of socially aware intensity with guitars. They are arguably one of the best new groups to come from the south coast of the UK. Even better, for a change, they’re from Portsmouth rather than Brighton which seems to be the usual case of things. Hallan are for fans of The Murder Capital and Shame. That is to say their music growls with a monstrous amount of atmosphere and punkish strut. The fact that the two songs they have on Spotify at the moment are released through a label called Scum Sludge probably says it all. Previous tune Habit bites with outsider observation: “Eyes roll when I enter this establishment, and I feel the gaze of a dozen loyal locals filled with rage, a dozen loyal locals who can’t stand change. When I went down to the loo, all I saw were three young adults, snorting lines off each other’s legs and bashing ceramic tiles on their heads.” Then Hallan ramp things up, repeating a line over and over. “Does your mum know about your habit?” Expect frenzied moshing to this. New single Yesterday (With Him) released last Friday is even better. It spits with slow-burning menace from shadowy corners. In an age where the rules of pop say that every song needs to be a Spotify friendly 3 minutes long and go for the hook from the off, Hallan put two fingers up to that, clocking in at a gloriously full 5 minutes and 5 seconds. Like Habit there are more examinations on life that seem to come from the pub: “She’s almost as loud as you. Oh my god she’s spilled vomit on her one-hundred-pound tracksuit.” The lyrics are delivered in snarling disdain, with lead vocalist Conor commenting on the uselessness of modern society: “I don’t care what mascara you use from Boots. I don’t care if you watch Ru Paul’s Drag Race.’ It’s all rather f*cking brilliant. Put this on, turn it up loud and annoy your neighbours. Hallan - Yesterday (With Him)
Nobody really knows what goes on behind closed doors, but I’d like to think that during these getting bleaker self-isolated times there are plenty of people dancing around in their bedrooms in just their underwear, safe in the knowledge that no one is watching. A bit like the debut video and song from brand new Midlands four-piece Spoort. According to the blurb I’ve been sent on them Spoort's primary influences are You Tube algorithms, US astronomer Carl Sagan and cult jazz man Bill Evans. If you want to hear how that odd collection of reference points actually sounds, it’s time to click play below. The answer is 'pretty damn good actually’. It’s got grit but it’s groovy. It’s laid back and lithe. It shows that white indie boys can still from time to time make music you can dance to. Say hello to Spoort. This is Self. Spoort - Self
Well, here we are again. Anyone out there? Hi. How’ve you been doing?
I never thought I’d be writing this again in this form and style, but recent events have brought me back.
Last September, after more than a decade I decided that it was time to dedicate my spare time to other pursuits and (almost) stop the blog. I say almost because I’ve kept the thing limping along like a battle-worn exhausted soldier with a monthly post about my new music playlist (follow it by clicking here) and a few end of year lists.
Finishing the blog did free up a significant amount of time – so much so that I’ve returned slowly to long distance running after a ten year hiatus. The emphasis is on the word slowly – my speeds are now a sluggish plod compared what they used to be – but considering that around a year and a half ago I was in intensive care after open heart surgery following the discovery of a congenital valve defect after a sudden and unexpected heart attack, I consider myself pretty lucky to be alive still and the running makes me feel even more alive. Possibly even more so than music.
Ironically, it’s because of that heart attack that today, for a while, I’m writing this blog again. I’m now categorised as ‘high risk’ due to my underlying health condition and I am working in isolation from home for the foreseeable future to reduce my risk of catching the Coronavirus, as I have more of a chance of being badly affected by it than a normal person. I'm the equivalent of an over 70 year old even though I'm no way near that.
So, during that isolation period I will have some more spare time. With no gigs, festivals, art galleries, theatres, restaurants or cinemas to go to or friends to see and catch up with when I’m not at work, I need to keep myself busy so that I keep sane. I've pondered if any developing / smaller artists would considering doing acoustic house gigs to very small audiences (perhaps just an audience of 3 or 4) that i could put on to get my new music fix and help support musicians; If you're one of those and interested, get in touch with me on Twitter @BMWavesBLOG or via email, I'd pay you all the money I'd usually spend on a months worth of gig going to experience that.
However, the obvious solution (given that I like to feel productive rather than just binge watching Netflix) is revisiting the old Blogspot template. So I’m bringing Breaking More Waves back from the near dead for a while. A bit like what my body has gone through.
I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to be posting yet. New music obviously – that was the blog’s raison d'être after all, but I also may veer off tangent a little. We’ll see. As I’ve always said, this is my personal blog, not a proper professional website, so I can do the bloody well what I want.
I don’t want to dwell on Coronavirus, as I do want this to be a place for people to visit for enjoyment, but it’s really important to me that at this juncture I mention two of my favourite places in the world.
Southampton Joiners and Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms were two of the first music venues I went to when I moved to the south coast just over 20 years ago. They’ve experienced all sorts of storms and survived over that time period, but this time is the worst imaginable shit show for all sorts of culture and particularly venues like these. If you value these places (and I really do) please follow their social media and try and support them in whatever ways you can. These spaces are the lifeblood of emerging artists and are places where I have formed friendships that have lasted many years. Some of the developing artists I’ve seen at these 200 and 400 capacity venues include Coldplay, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Oh Wonder and The Libertines to name just a few. Many of them have gone on to headline huge festivals. But just as important as those artists are the ones that never made it big, that are now long forgotten, but who provided me with memorable experiences.
The Joiners has set up a crowdfunding page which you can click on here https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-survive-corona-virus. Money is a worry for a lot of people right now, but once we get through this, we need those venues. A city bereft of culture is a city with no soul. Please do whatever you can to support them.
They provide exuberant fun, amateur dance routines that will make you sweat way more than a temperature of 37.8C and big old disco bangers that are as close to sex as pop music can be. Watch your hips, because they’re going to get thrusting.
Imagine Confidence Man had gone to Sheffield and dosed up on Giorgio Moroder, Kraftwerk and Cabaret Voltaire. Yes they’re that f*cking brilliant. They’ve already put out a critically acclaimed album, and later this year will release their second. It’s called Pop Gossip and will be available in late May. Get ready to be oscillated (right round baby) with their new single.
The band describe the track as follows: “This is a song for our kind of freaks and miscreants and the incessant snobbery faced by them for liking good pop music, good disco, genres that on the surface might not be deemed cool, but actually save souls...This is Don’t Diss The Disco.” Sounds like it’s my kind of tune.
International Teachers Of Pop - Don't Diss The Disco
