Hello, Music Fans!
Reading week is over and it’s back to the daily grind – we hope you used your week off wisely! (Oh, who are we kidding?)
The Demon Music team are a little ‘themed-out’ lately, so it is back to another Songs of the Week for this week’s Monday Playlist; here’s what we’ve been listening to across the past seven days.
It’s been another jam-packed week on Demon Music hasn’t it?! Last Monday’s playlist was our Bonfire Bonanza playlist, which we hope kept you warm as the orange glow of Bonfire night disappeared for another year. On Wednesday, Bradley told you all about singer Mark Hole’s performance in the DSU Lobby as part of the Coffee House Sessions Tour, whilst Thursday saw the first of many Demon Online/Demon FM collab posts, as the lovely presenters from Catalyst popped by to tell us what they’re sharing on the air waves in terms of new music. Friday welcomed back our very own Alex for another ‘From The Archives’ review, and refreshed our memories of The Clash’s London Calling record; it’s been non-stop!
Here at Demon Music we are still on the look out for some new writers to join our brilliant team! So if you want to get involved and write about your favourite music, be sure to grab yourself a Demon Media membership before dropping me a message at nicolaclaireallen@gmail.com. I’ll then get back to you as soon as I can with more information about joining Demon Music, and the types of content that we’re looking for.
‘Til next week,
Nicola x
Music Editor, demon-media.co.uk
P.S: You’ll need to download Spotify and grab yourself an account to access the playlist!
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1. ‘These Streets Will Never Look The Same’ – Chromatics
Ethan Williamson (@E523W) says: “As a calm but utterly arresting look at the other side of nostalgia, this track washes over the listener. It’s almost impossible to talk about this song without lapsing into near-Pitchfork levels of pretension, so I’ll stop before phrases such as “bathing in sonic bliss” start creeping in. If nothing else, worth a listen just to prove that auto-tuning DOES have a place in serious music.”
2. ‘Back In The Game’ – Jamie T
Natalie Whitehouse (@_natbcfc) says: “The man who has been labeled a ‘one-man Arctic Monkey’ delivers this, a wonderful, stripped-back track which showcases his talent superbly. The scrappy sound and the clever lyrics (‘takes four do you connect?’) are very much his trademark, but this song is so much more than that; just Jamie and an acoustic bass guitar, it’s definitely one of the stand outs from his debut album Panic Prevention.”
3. ‘Bed Peace’ – Jhene Aiko feat. Childish Gambino
Tom Elliott (@TomElliottUK) says: “A song about staying in bed and making love not violence. The simple beat and Jhene’s sweet vocals make this song a real ‘must listen.’ She asks us to “sail out”, and that’s the message from the song; to be free and go with the wind, as she explains. Childish Gambino is the next big thing in the rap game and he brings his chilled out voice to the mix, to create a really simple work of art.”
4. ‘Crooked Smile’ – J. Cole feat. TLC
Sarah Seaton says: “This Song from J.Cole’s recent album is very uplifting, and has an old-school, hip-hop beat. It is a very encouraging number for anyone having an off-day, just wondering how they look. J. Cole looks deep into what beauty means to him, and the phrase of keeping your smile because that’s what God blessed you with.”
5. ‘From Time’ – Drake feat. Jhene Aiko
Sarah says: “The combination of Drake and any female singer is amazing, but Jhene’s simple beat and introduction to the song offers a soft and warm feeling unlike anyother. She talks of being a woman, and keeping the strength and confidence in a relationship, alongside Drake who goes into a poetic story covering both the ups and downs of their feelings. An easy-listening song with a nice concept.”
6. ‘What Doesn’t Kill You’ – Jake Bugg
Alex Underwood (@broadcasteralex) says: “As the first single released from Bugg’s second album (entitled Shangri La – look out for the review next week), this is much more of a ‘proper’ rock song than one expected after listening to the Nottingham youngster’s self-titled and debut LP, which was more of a country-folk affair. Despite the change in sound, this is still a solid song.”
7. ‘Fake Tales Of San Francisco’ – Arctic Monkeys
Alex says: “Admittedly, I’m quite a bit late to the Arctic Monkeys party, but I’ve picked up from the start. This song is from their first album, the lengthily titled Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not. This is a stand-out track from a stand-out album; one of the best of the past decade. If you don’t like Alex Turner’s singing style of exaggerating his accent, this definitely is not for you, but it fits very well with lines like: “You’re not from New York City, you’re from Rotherham.“
8. ‘ARTPOP’ – Lady Gaga
Nicola Allen (@NicoClaireAllen) says: “It’s here! It’s finally here! YES, ARTPOP is on the shelves. Since hearing an early preview of this song during Gaga’s iTunes Festival 2013 show, I have been looking forward to hearing the recorded version of the album’s title track. This is a sultry single with an addictive synth undertone, but the vocals on the recorded version are questionable. I’m a little disappointed that she hasn’t indulged in her rich, womanly tones on the recording as she did during the live performance, but this is nonetheless a brilliant song from Mother Monster.”
9. ‘Falling For You’ – Busted
Nicola says: “Noughties kids rejoice – our boys are back! Well, two-thirds back anyway. Today, ex-bandmates Matt Willis and James Bourne announced that they were going on tour again as Busted, alongside buddies McFly but sans a certain Charlie Simpson. McBusted is the name of the new pop-rock supergroup, who will be playing venues across the UK in April/May 2014. Tickets go on sale this Friday (November 15), at a price of £38.50 each. With that in mind, here is one of my favourite and in-the-main underrated Busted tracks, ‘Falling For You’, a classic pop-rock number that oozes the year of 2003!”
10. ‘Surfer Babe’ – McFly
Nicola says: “It wouldn’t be fair to talk about McBusted without talking about McFly. I’ll be honest, I fell out with McFly when they released Radio:ACTIVE as it all went a bit downhill after that in terms of quality pop songs. Yet, as the tour announcement was made this morning, I have found myself indulging in some of their early material for the remainder of the day. ‘Surfer Babe’ is my top non-single song from the band’s debut Room On The Third Floor, as it echoes the musicality of The Beach Boys whilst reminiscing the mind of the boys’ teenage vocals. Did I mention that it’s hella-catchy too?!”
If you have a couple more minutes to spare, why not check out the past week’s other content?
