Top 5 tunes of 2019
~ Best of 2019 ~
We are rounding off the year with our favourite tracks and albums. 2019 has been a brilliant year in the music industry with both new bands and returning bands alike. We have whittled down our favourites to just five tracks and five albums with no artist appearing in both lists.
~ Top Tunes ~
5. After Culture – I’ve Cracked It
Early on in the year, busking videos of Laurie Wright performing Oasis tunes started to go viral across social media with many comparing Laurie to Tom Clarke from The Enemy.
At the time of the videos, Laurie was in a band named The Lodgers who later went through a name change to After Culture and released the track ‘I’ve Cracked It’.
channelling all the inner punk soul of the Sex Pistols but in a more modern way, similar to the way The Enemy did but After Culture delivers much more menacingly. ‘I’ve Cracked It’ is just what the industry needs, a good kick up the arse.
4. Noel Gallagher – Wandering Star
‘Wandering Star’ sees Noel Gallagher go Christmas on his latest offering.
Noel Gallagher has been getting a lot of stick for his ‘Cosmic Pop’ over the last year and half, in 2019 Noel decided to release three EP’s rather than an album, these were mainly more ‘Cosmic Pop’ but Noel also threw a couple of curveballs out with some tradition Noel tunes, first came ‘Sail On’ which was part of Noel’s first EP ‘Black Star Dancing’.
The first taster of his last EP titled ‘Blue Moon Rising’ came during a live concert supporting U2 in Auckland with the track ‘Wandering Star’.
Noel says of the single:
“It was written in Abbey Road last November on the same day I wrote ‘Black Star Dancing’. It’s that good, it sounds like it took 5.4 people to come up with it. It’s already a live standard.“
‘Blue Moon Rising’ is released on 6th March 2020. Pre-order here: https://amzn.to/2EktQKb
3. DMA’S – Silver
The UK’s favourite Aussie export DMA’S gave their first sample of LP number three with the release of ‘Silver’.
With the reveal of ‘Silver’ the trio also announced that their third album will be released on April 24th with pre-order available now. The band also announced their biggest headline gig to date at London’s Brixton Academy, the gig is now sold out.
The third album comes two years after DMA’S released their second album ‘For Now’ and also released their MTV Unplugged session.
Pre-order the third album here: https://dmas.lnk.to/storeWE
2. Courteeners – Heavy Jacket
Courteeners finally announced their awaited album ‘More.Again.Forever.’
‘Heavy Jacket’ is a catchy and punchy tune which jas stapled itself the bands live set and has become a fan’s live favourite.
The video for Heavy Jacket is the first instalment of a three-part collaboration between Courteeners and acclaimed author Emma Jane Unsworth. Courteeners began working with Unsworth after Liam Fray asked her to write something specifically for the band. The story she delivered titled ‘Better’ has been made into a short film that comprises of three Courteeners videos. Parts two and three will follow. The three separate parts of the story will be also available to read online to coincide with their corresponding video – the first part can be found here: https://courteeners.lnk.to/part1ID
‘Heavy Jacket’ is the first studio taster from the band’s sixth album ‘More. Again. Forever.’ Which is scheduled for release on 17th January 2020.
Pre-order ‘More. Again. Forever’ here: https://amzn.to/363hGC4
1. The Specials – The Life And Times (Of A Man Called Depression)
The Specials released the album ‘Encore’, the first with frontman Terry Hall since 1981.
The Two-Tone legends showed that they are just as relevant now as they have ever been. Hitting the subjects that matter to the people. Racism, sexism and depression were some of the topics on ‘Encore’.
‘The Life And Times (Of A Man Called Depression)’ is a track that will be relevant to so many people on hearing it. The topic of mental health is at the forefront of a lot of people’s lives and Terry Hall lays down the troubles of his own life to help others with theirs.
Terry Hall told Uncut that laying down his own troubles was therapeutic,
“I got really ill around 10 years ago, to a level where I could barely walk and speak it affected my brain so badly.
“I’d been recognized as suffering from a mild version of manic depression since I was about 13, at a time in the early 1970s when doctors would give you Valium, which you can get very easily addicted to. It was why I was so reluctant to try medication, but I’m now on meds and they work well.“
The album ‘Encore’ is available now across all platforms.
Order this St Jude print here: https://tinyurl.com/vtgp3pl
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