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Sunday Singles Club #5

2 months ago
0

Listen to our Sunday Singles Club Playlist here!

 

 

FACES by Chloe Rodgers

 

I have to admit, I’m quite late to boarding the Chloe Rodgers hype train.

 

 

For this, I ask forgiveness from the Nottingham Music Scene Gods for her music, so far, is something to behold.

Something sacred, perhaps.

There is something about the powerfully delicate atmospheric soundscapes of her compositions that cover the listener entirely in a thin veil of linen or in an aura of sweet, lilac tenderness.

It’s funny that, as I wrote that sentence at 16:51pm, the autumnal sun outside my basement flat window has almost set, applying in its wake the most gentle lilac tint to the late afternoon sky.

Maybe, just maybe …  the gods are in on this.

The Nottingham Music Scene Gods, that is.

Why am I formatting this review like some kind of a low-brow haiku? Well, maybe it’s because ‘Faces’, her second single to be officially released, demands it of me.

The song demands for the listener to rest and be one with it, to take it in with as many of the senses as possible.

It asks you to consider the connection that you have with the totality of the universe that you belong to, that you are not separate from. A gentle, all too gentle reminder that you are not just one individual entity scuttling around from one task to the next, one paycheck to the next.

You are here, among everything and at one with everything.

And all that’s before I’ve even listened to the lyrics properly!

The sun has set over here now. I’m alone in my flat, listening to the track again on my headphones. Usually, I might be feeling sad by now. Especially when listening to music like Chloe’s but, counterintuitively perhaps, it’s providing a Scandinavian, Hygge-like warmth to my evening.

A hot cup of cocoa to my northern lights.

An appreciation of the cold, the dark and the loneliness that only comes from experience, from growing accustomed to it and embracing it.

From what I can tell, Chloe Rodgers has been through it, become one with it and is now expressing it in a way that is warm and smoothly captivating.

Like an esoteric chocolate fondant.

I love music that appeals to the mind as well as the body.

Chloe’s music appeals to the soul.

And it’s beautiful.

Review by Liam MacGregor-Hastie

Stream ‘Faces’ out now through Crowds ands Power Music here!

More importantly buy ‘Faces” here!

 

SLOW by Jonny Olley

Wow. I’m going to start this one with a wow.

So you know it’s going to be good. Make no mistake about this folks, this is a 2020 Nottingham Anthem! Everyone in the greater Nottinghamshire region and beyond needs to hear this track and take note of the name.

I’ve lived in the city for seven years, give or take, and I have an idea of what its general character and personality is like. Notts is raw, Notts is loud and Notts is often crude but, when the lights go out and it very reluctantly goes to bed, left to its own thoughts, Notts comes to terms with its own dysfunctionality and its fear.

I call Jonny Olley’s ‘Slow’ a 2020 Nottingham Anthem because it captures a meaty bite of this feeling of worry and dread that we feel so strongly and yet we choose to ignore for another day. The wisdom that tells us that things shouldn’t be this way but that it’s too inconvenient to confront. Whether it’s the monotony, the fake virtue signalling and IG-filter ‘progress’ that we’re so desperate to display or the selective blindness towards those who so obviously need our help the most.


Jonny’s debut single, which shows all of the artist’s maturity and many years on the circuit, is a hard pill to swallow but – just like the one mentioned in the chorus – one that can provide comfort and warmth. At least for a moment, we can take rest in knowing that we are
not alone in this dread and unease. It is the elephant in the room or, perhaps, the room itself. Certainly now, in late 2020 more than ever.


Nottingham, in all of its ‘in-your-faceness’ is, at heart, a city of vulnerability. Speak to any stranger in a Lace Market smoking area, at a Lenton tram stop, a Sneinton market stall, a Clifton library or a Forest Fields house party and it won’t be long before they tell you their story, their struggles and their strengths. The people here are confident and open, especially when
it comes to their vulnerabilities.

I almost teared up when Olley mentions legendary artist, personality and now, unfortunately, homeless busker Wycliffe in the second verse. A person who every Nottingham resident knows and a truly tragic figure that embodies the heights and depths that one can reach in these modern times. This and references to Forest Recreational Ground as well as “going west” are nods to the midlanders who have lived in these streets and known its lurid temptations.

Whycliffe is a musician and busker in Nottingham with an interesting career. 

In other words, this song has helped resurface many emotions and memories of this city that I have lived and loved in for many years. I no longer live there but now I want to go back. 


Jonny is a pure testament to its bubbling and sometimes overflowing quantity and quality of raw and creative brilliance.

Of course, the lyrics are not exclusively relatable to Notts people. They are especially relatable to those who are struggling, feeling isolated and noticing a void of meaning as well as too much distance between themselves and a life that matters.

I have to give a nod to the crisp and profoundly atmospheric production quality of the track and the instrumentation which gives just the right amount of backing emotion to the lyrics.

Jake Bugg can fuck off now, quite frankly. This is much better.

Review by Liam MacGregor-Hastie

Listen to SLOW (out on Rec Records) here!

But definitely buy it here!

One for the album……

GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Dirt Royal!

It’s been over 3 years since I reviewed the debut album ‘This is Now’ by Dirt Royal for ‘I’m not from London’, so it’s very encouraging that they are still together banging out hooky and melodic anthemic rock n roll. Their musical roots are clearly still positively inspired by the rebellious explosion of the punk era of the mid to late 70’s, mixed with the more new wave of pop in the early 80’s, fused with the heavier side of jingle jangle Brit pop guitar bands of the mid 90’s.All in all a pretty appealing combination if you ask me and this latest release is once again very well executed with a production that packs a punch!
 
In general, the album contains a consistent collection of ‘happy go lucky’, catchy, melodic little ditty’s throughout, with tunes that could well have been written by or for the likes of ‘Supergrass’ or ‘Dodgy’. Mainly upbeat, as is their nature, Dirt Royal songs tend to put a smile on your face and the gloves are well and truly off by track 10 with a song that will appeal to many ‘Oi Punk’ fanatics with ‘Don’t Let The Bastards Grind You Down’…..more like the ‘Members’ than the ‘Macc Lads’ in its texture, but a great sing along chant and rant all the same.
 
Having said that, this band is no ‘one trick pony’, demonstrating their versatility prior to this when the acoustic guitar, brushes and Zippo lighters are out for track 9 with ‘Never So’. For me, this change in tempo and style is reminiscent of ‘Electrasy’, who had a brief period of fame in the late 90’s with the one hit wonder ‘Morning Afterglow’, which catapulted their career with minor chart success. Electrasy, like many bands at the time, were riding off the coattails of Oasis popularity and with any luck, followers of bands like the Libertines, Arctic Monkeys , Kaiser chiefs and more current acts renowned for ‘fan loyalty’ like the Courteeners, will hopefully discover the talent of Dirt Royal and help them climb up that ladder to the summit and reach the wider audience they deserve.
It’s been a while since we heard from this tight tuneful trio, but even a pandemic hasn’t dampened their passion or commitment to keep delivering the goods… ‘As the title says….
‘Great Expectations’… let’s hope so!
Craig S#arp-Weir
 
Stream ‘Great Expectations’ here! 
 
Buy a copy here through Time For Action records  
 
Watch the video for ‘Lose Our Way’
 
 
 
 

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