Tag: Recommendation

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Manuel Bellone – A Case Of An Endless Blue

Happy New Year! Today is not blue monday, but given the fact that for many of us it is the day we return to our daily routines/work after the holiday season, I’d say it comes pretty close in second place. If you’re like me, in days like these you’ll prefer to listen to sad/melancholic songs instead of happy ones, and if that’s indeed the case, I got the perfect song for you. A Case Of An Endless Blue is the latest track from Italian folk-rock singer/songwriter Manuel Bellone, who got inspired by the difficult year we all had in 2020 and being stuck at home for os long. Manuel got a raspy voice that is just perfect for the type of music he makes, including this track.

Despite being from Palermo, Sicily, Manuel got his roots in styles of music that are traditionally associated with America, such as folk, blues and country. Influenced by the likes of Ryan Adams and Neil Young, his goal is to sound classic but unique. He’s been releasing music and touring Europe with his band rather successfully since 2013, with plans to go out on tour again soon and release a new album this year. Give a chance to this true musician and hopefully A Case Of An Endless Blue will get you get through this day.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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HD Bradley – Enough

This is likely to be my last post of 2020 so I’m going to make it count by featuring a song from a talented artist who cares more about his music than himself. If you visit HD Bradley‘s social media pages, all personal info you’ll be able to find is that he’s from Chicago and likes coffee and dogs. I got his real name, Bradley Dean Honeyman, from looking at his songs’ credits on Spotify. His music gets all the spotlight.

HD Bradley is a singer/songwriter who just started releasing singles this year. Most of them consists of just an acoustic guitar and his voice, with a few exceptions. Enough, for example, got some really nice electric guitar in the bridge and backing vocals. However, the important thing to highlight here is that Bradley‘s voice is really satisfying, perfect for this type of music, and his melodies are always nice and interesting. You can listen to them all day long without getting tired. Start with Enough right here and then continue with his back catalogue. Hopefully, he’ll continue making great music in 2021.

P.S: You might notice that some of the mixtapes have fewer songs now. That’s because I have moved their songs to 2020-specific playlists, that way the mixtapes won’t become too big.

P.S2: Hope you are all enjoying the holidays break and have a much better 2021 (the bar is not too high). Thank you for your visit and see you in Jan!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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Kendall Street Company – In A Little While

Remember The Shrugs from early November? One of its members, saxophonist Jake Vanaman, also plays in another Virginia-based band called Kendall Street Company, who released recently their fourth studio album, The Stories We Write For Ourselves (I love this album name. Not only do they have a similar vibe to The Shrugs, but they even invited Abbey Potter as a guest vocalist in some of the tracks, like lead single Lady In Green. That being said, the tune that caught my attention was track #11.

In A Little While is a folk rock song with an acoustic charm and great storytelling. The vocals from lead singer Louis Smith are also perfect for that kind of music. However, do not make the mistake of thinking all 15 tracks in the album (including a prologue and epilogue) sound the same. There’s a little bit of everything, with bits of classic and experimental rock mixed in here and there. KSC are becoming a popular jam band in the Virginia region. Don’t be surprised if that starts being the case in other states too.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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Deep.Sleep – You and I

Deep.Sleep is an indie rock band from Newcastle upon Tyne that, at least before 2020, was turning heads touring the UK and even The Netherlands pretty successfully. Their music is generally upbeat and anthemic, not that different to bands like The 1975. The Geordie band has spent this year honing their craft, resulting in the release of their latest single, You and I. It is a song about anxiety, specifically the one frontman Dan Frend felt a few years ago when his then-girlfriend moved away to study and the fact that he felt he had to tough it up because of the toxic masculinity mindset that surrounded him. He managed to find a way to make it a light-hearted and catchy tune, and that in a nutshell represents what is great about this promising young band.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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The Lutras – Give It Up For Christmas

Don’t worry. I’m not going to start spamming you with holiday-themed songs. You can get plenty of those pretty much everywhere else. The thing with Give It Up For Christmas is that it got a couple of nice things going for it: first of all, it is actually a really good song, and, on top of that, it is a charity single with ALL proceeds being split between the Music VenuesTrust #saveourvenues campaign and Shelter. The catchy single was released earlier this month and counted with the collaboration of over 40 musicians and artists, including Edinburgh’s The Phoenix Choir. If you like alternative rock songs, you’ll like this track regardless of your position towards Christmas tunes. The fact that Give It Up For Christmas supports two well-deserving charities is just the cherry on top.

With regards to The Lutras, they’re one of Scotland’s hottest emerging rock bands, topping a public vote across nearly 1000 artists to be crown winners of Firestone‘s annual search for the UK’s best independent music artist in 2019. After originally starting in 2013, it wasn’t until 2016 that this 4-piece band recorded its debut EP and things really started to take off in 2018. This year was lining up to be huge for them with a really busy schedule but then coronavirus happened. Luckily, from the sound of their latest single, it seems The Lutras will be able to pick things up right where they left off.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Fradama – Promenade Sunset

Dave Mathers is a classically trained pianist and composer from Scotland who loves all kinds of jazz music. He has been playing piano for 20 years (since he was 8) but still thinks he has much to learn, which is the right attitude to have. He started to release music last year under the moniker Fradama while working as a piano tutor for a music school in his country, and doubled his efforts this year in order to take advantage of the 2020 situation. Amongst his latest releases, I particularly liked his beautiful piano piece Promenade Sunset, which is a short but captivating track as relaxing as a walk in an actual seafront promenade.

Fradama hopes to get better known with time if he keeps releasing more music. Promenade Sunset demonstrates that he is talented enough to achieve his goals. All he needs is a little bit of luck. Give him a chance below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax

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The Break Plans – Crossroads

If you visit The Break Plans Facebook page, you will find that they describe their music as “Rock n’ roll with an EDM soul” or “indie pop music you can dance to — with an alternative rock vibe”. After listening to some of the singles they’ve released so far, it’s fair to say that both descriptions are pretty accurate. This band from Freehold, New Jersey, started in 2018 when lead singer Colton Braun replied to an add the other two band members, Mike Jahoda and Phil E. Eichinger, posted on Craig’s List. Getting inspiration from bands like Walk The Moon, Coldplay, and The Killers, their songs are certainly catchy and fun.

Their latest single, Crossroads, is exhibit A of everything mentioned above. It is an indie pop track with hints of alternative rock, some cool synths and even some EDM vibes. A song about feeling incomplete without that person who complements you, Crossroads is one of those tunes you could easily play on repeat. If you don’t have an aversion to radio-friendly songs, don’t lose sight of The Break Plans and check their back catalogue out. You won’t be disappointed.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie
  • Pop

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College feat. Electric Youth – A Real Hero

College feat. Electric Youth

I can’t claim to know much about the work of electronic music composer and producer David Grellier, aka College, because, unfortunately, that’s not the case. His goal is to “synthetize into [his] music the emotions of [his] childhood”, reason for which his music is heavily influenced by ’80s pop culture. If you watched the movie Drive (2011), you should have heard his most widely known song, A Real Hero, co-written with Austin Garrick from Canadian synth-pop duo Electric Youth, duo that also features on the track. If you just listen to this song, you’ll quickly notice two things: a) It certainly has an 80s vibe, and b) It is a mesmerizing track.

Despite getting nominated to an MTV Music Award for ‘Best Music’ and becoming an underground hit, A Real Hero is still relatively unknown to the casual music fan. Even then, it has been covered multiple times by established and not so established artists (and I’m planning to feature one of those covers here soon). In fact, a fun anecdote is that a few years ago, while I was on holiday in Malta, one night there was a really good guitar player performing some music at the hotel we were staying. Near the end, he started playing a song that instantly reminded me of A Real Hero. I quickly dismissed that thought because surely that song wasn’t popular enough to be played randomly by a guitar player in a small island on the Mediterranean Sea. Well, it was A Real Hero and it was one of the highlights of that trip. Enjoy this tune as this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry.

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Fonzy & Company – Hella Sweet

When I first heard of Fonzy & Company, I could have sweared they were from Nashville or Missouri, not Bristol, England, with members from across Britain and even New Zealand. This alternative rock band certainly flirts with the Americana sub-genre and that still holds true with their latest EP released last month: Is It Me?, which has six tracks including its lead single, Hella Sweet. Their style is guitar-based and got the peculiarity of having multiple vocalists with Olivia Jury’s voice being their secret weapon.

Hella Sweet is a fun and uplifting track that showcases all of the above. You could argue that they’re not breaking new grounds with it but as you can see in the video below, the band had a lot of fun playing this song together and they were able to transmit exactly that. When the music is this good and amusing, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. If you like Americana rock, make sure to give Fonzy & Company a try.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Lone Kodiak – Bones

Lone Kodiak is an alternative rock band based out of Los Angeles, even though it started in Portland, Oregon, when Dainéal Parker and Daniel Alden met as teenagers. They have released one EP and a few singles since 2017 but are expecting to release their debut full-length album next year. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of bands such as Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, and Explosions In The Sky; Lone Kodiak‘s music is a dynamic mix of meaningful lyrics, engaging rock and layered vocals; and the best example for that is their latest single, Bones: an exciting sign of things to come.

Bones is a stunning track with poignant lyrics about life’s ephemeral essence. It got some cinematic vibes and an interesting melody. The vocals from Dainéal are great too, as his voice reminds me of Johnny Rzeznik‘s, which is perfect for pop-rock. Unfortunately, for now there is no video/audio track for this song on Youtube, just the teaser that you can watch below. Header over to the mixtapes you can find at the bottom of this page for the full song. It deserves a listen.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative