The Crookes

The Crookes are a band I have been into for quite a while now - in fact I own one of the few plastic-sleeved cd versions of their first 7", and one of their t-shirts! Another great band to come out of Sheffield, The Crookes are definately destined for great things. Search 'the crookes music' on myspace to listen to them - my favourite is 'The Collier's Wife', a sparkly little tune that includes the gorgeous lyric that went around my head for about six months until I remembered who it was ~ 'if I took you by the hand/it was 'cos you could hardly stand/and I could hardly stand still'. Lush ;)

A x

ScreamDon'tWhisper!

ScreamDon'tWhisper! are a local band of mine, consisting of four guys with fringes who enjoy playing disjointed indie rock, although the name suggests perhaps a heavier sound than they are sporting. Sounding very like The Wombats and Jack Penate, look them up on myspace or YouTube to see acoustic versions of their single 'Times Before', and to listen to more songs. Some good stuff from a band that are, for now, still in obscurity. It won't stay that way for long though!

A x

Frank Turner

Right now I'm loving Frank Turner's albums of B-sides, Love, Ire & Song and The First Three Years. My favourites are 'Nashville Tennessee' and 'Long Live The Queen', which also has one of my favourite lyrics ~ 'You will live to dance another day/but now you will have to dance for the two of us'. I love his lyrics because he really writes from experience - so many of his songs are about getting dumped, or just going downthe pub with his mates. Nice to see a down-to-earth "rock star" for once!

A x

Smoke Fairies

I'm always ready to listen to those brave, all girl artists that are struggling to survive in a world dominated by bearded and/or tattooed men, and Smoke Fairies are one of the best emerging girl duos. Their bizarrely compelling mix of ethereal, woozy lyrics layered onto a background of Southern-countrified twanging guitar is truly lush. Great to see a girl playing slide guitar riffs. Smoke Fairies really live up to their name - their music is sparkly fairy dust shrouded in a haze of fog. And is soo gooood... They can be found on YouTube - look for 'strange moon rising' and 'living with ghosts'

A x

The Black Belles

My new YouTube discovery...

A girl group...produced by The Jack White? Well, always surprises from the guy who let the world believe his ex wife was his sister for half their career. Anyway, back to the point. The Black Belles are a bunch of smoke machine toting GIRLS making music that is somewhere between the ting tings and the dead weather. Kinda dark, kinda spooky, but with a great heavy beat and tingly vocals. Me likey :) find them on YouTube with their first single 'what can I do'

A x

Announcedan hour ago...the black keys to tour with cage the elephant. Just need to work out how to get to the US to see them. Anyone wanna lend me a boat? Or perhaps a rubber ring?

:) A x

Always room for one more music blog...

As an aspiring music journalist, I (like to think I can) write about music classic and new, review my favourite and newly discovered bands, and write about any gigs I manage to beg borrow and steal my way into. I am always on the lookout for new bands to big up so if that's anyone out there...email me!

Follow me :)

A x