MUFF

Hackney Wick // definitely should have been in bed // iPhone // July 2014

SIR SLY - YOU HAUNT ME

Scrolling through Twitter last night and I see Sir Sly are finally back in action, having been squirrelling away working on an album. GOT SO EXCITED I WET THE BED.*

Photo by Nick Walker

Granted, this track doesn't have the intense magic of their older stuff like Ghost, but it's the perfect pop song for freewheeling in the sun on your bike, and offers a nice precursor for what I can only imagine is an incredible album. 

I don't know what it is about these guys but they make music that makes me feel like everything's going to be okay even when all signs point to the fact that it isn't. On this note, I just found this quote from singer Landon Jacobs who says of the song, "Growing up, there were a few songs that made me feel okay about all the anxiety and self-doubt I had...There were a few songs that taught me that moving on is possible even though forgetting the past isn't. I hope this can be that kind of song for people."

That, my friends, is very powerful. Keep on keeping on. 

Album You Haunt Me is out 16th Sep. (Pre-order and get the title track plus four others. WICK.)

*Definitely didn't

LUVBUG FEAT TALAY RILEY - RESONANCE (VIDEO)

An e-mail dropped into my inbox the other day declaring that ex-JLSter Marvin Humes was releasing on his new project Luvbug, also featuring producer The White N3rd and producer/songwriter JKay but I'm not cool enough to know who these people are. Apparently they've been working together for the past 18 months and have been DJing all over the show.

As an ex-teen mag journo (BIG UP BLISS MAG!), I spent much time listening/dramatically lip synching at my computer to JLS' music but let's just say it wasn't the stuff I'd choose to play at home. Bar that one time I was 'DJing' at a club and decided I wanted a slow song at the end so played Love You More. That didn't go down well.

Anyway, I wasn't expecting much from this. BUT OH HELLO, HOW I LOVE TO BE PROVED WRONG. Talay Riley's voice is uh-mazing as per, and he sounds all mellow and Bipolar Sunshiney at the beginning. Subliiiiiiime. Got a feeling this will be one of my songs of the summer.

Just one (of many) question(s) about the video though - where has tattooed bum girl walked from? They're in the middle of nowhere. IS SHE JESUS?

Resonance is out 28th September

BROODS - MOTHER AND FATHER (VIDEO)

This song gave me so many feels that watching the video's kind of ruined it for me with its awkward dancing and general vanilla vibe. One New Zealand publication described it as 'hypnotising' which is just proof that they've never been hypnotised.

Who am I kidding? I still love the song, but I was expecting more from the brother/sister Kiwi duo in terms of visuals. Though I guess that opens the whole debate on music videos - why should artists be judged on what is essentially a promo tool and not their area of expertise? GOD MAN, LEAVE ME ALONE, I'M TIRED.

Mother and Father is out now.

BON IVER - HEAVENLY FATHER

Justin Vernon is back with his first new material under his Bon Iver moniker since 2011, written for Zach Braff's latest indie offering (interestingly funded by Kickstarter), Wish I Was Here. I was cooking my dinner feeling pretty melancholy when Zane Lowe gave it the first spin on his Radio One show on Tuesday and the song matched my mood perfectly. In fact, I'm pretty sure my Italian beanballs came out better for it. Preeeeeetty sure.

It's easy to imagine this sitting nicely during a seminal moment in a Zach Braff film - the latest soundtrack features The Shins (why of course), Hozier and a collab between Cat Power and Coldplay. The trailer isn't exactly whetting my appetite but then neither did Garden State's and watching that felt like someone reaching in, tearing out my heart, wrestling with it a bit, then dumping it back in. Wet eyes man, wet eyes.

Also, I'd never been on the Bon Iver site before. It's really great.

Wish I Was Here has a UK release of 18th July. 
The soundtrack is released 15th July.