outside the window spring is here.

but we´re gonna hibernate all year, under a pile of a4 snowflakes. (stornoway - "we are the battery human")

 if you don´t own this album yet, buy it!

my friend flora posts some interesting music videos on her blog from time to time under the category "i´ve been listening to..." and i thought i´m gonna pick this idea up and share some of the songs that are on constant repeat on my ipod lately. and by the way, it´s not necessarily the video that´s great (which is rarely the case anyway) but more the song that is amazing. so here we go:

first up is jonathan jeremiah with his new single "happiness". i´ve mentioned him before but he sure deserves more attention. i absolutely love the string arrangements in this song. the whole album "a solitary man" is basically full of them which makes this record simply a pleasure to listen to.

up next is richie syrett with "mondays always come". now richie actually is the perfect example why i like social networks like facebook and twitter, despite all the trouble they may cause. they just make it easier to get in touch with musicians or find new music in general. i can´t tell you much about his music yet but after listening to "mondays always come", i ordered his debut album which should be here soon. so far, all the songs i´ve been listening to, had some sort of country-blues flair which sure was nice. so we´ll see how the new album is coming along some time soon hopefully.

then we have joe mcadam with "sweet sister" and "going to new york". really, his music is addictive. after seeing him at the odd bar almost two weeks ago, my itunes is full of all the live performances i could find. i absolutely love "going to new york". his own vocals combined with the backing vocals - it´s heaven on earth. so below you can find a live version of "sweet sister" from 2009.

i was born in 1990 but i really think this can´t be right. my birth certificate may say that but i´m so much into 90s music that it should say 1980 instead. i was too young to actually appreciate music in the 90s and no, i´m not talking about take that, backstreet boys or any other boy/girlband that emerged out of bad taste and thousands of collapsing 14-year olds. 

i´m actually talking about bands like mike and the mechanics or new radicals.  "over my shoulder" (1995) by mike and the mechanics is one of the most played songs on my itunes. this song and "you get what you give" (1999) by new radicals simply have this 90s charme that i cannot resist. when i saw the video for "you get what you give" for the very first time, i actually thought they were joking. i never thought a guy like that would have voice like that. lesson learned.

again, thanks to facebook and some record labels/organisations/websites i´m following on there, i heard of ahab. and it seemed like it was meant to be, because i found out they did a session for songs from the shed (always worth checking out!). so here´s a wonderful acoustic session of "lightning bug" filmed for songs from the shed in april 2011.

moving to manchester was probably the smartest move ever - music-wise for sure, otherwise i probably wouldn´t know anything about some amazing bands. one example: blind atlas. they played a wonderful acoustic session for mcrscenewipe last year. not to be missed!

there is a reason for my new tattoo and this reason is, of course, the travelling band. i´m rambling on about them but believe me, i´m only doing this because i really think they´re brilliant. i haven´t been this excited about a band since stornoway and keane, so yes, the travelling band is special. they did a small acoustic version of one of their songs from the new album "screaming is something" for secret sessions which was filmed somewhere in the woods at the shambala festival this year. so here´s the soundtrack for my new tattoo: "sundial".

and while we´re on the subject of stornoway. here´s "the old blind man". it´s not an official video from the band or anything but i love the song. if there´s one song out there that makes me smile every single time, it´s definitely this one.

second to last, here we have other lives with their new single "tamer animals". they were fantastic at the haldern pop festival this year and i seriously can´t wait to see them again at the end of october. and the video is actually fantastic too.

and last but not least, here´s ben howard with "keep your head up", mainly because i´m more than excited for his album "every kingdom" which will be released next monday. i know my deluxe edition has been shipped today, so there´s definitely an album review coming up some time during the next week.

that´s it for today. lots of gig reviews coming up in october and november. here´s an overview:

*bombay bicycle club + dry the river (7 oct) @apollo, manchester
*ben howard (20 oct) @the ruby lounge, manchester (sold out!)
*ahab (21 oct) @band on the wall, manchester
*ash (23 oct) @hmv ritz, manchester
*other lives + young galaxy (30 oct) @the deaf institute, manchester
*the travelling band (2 nov) @academy 3, manchester
*the travelling band (5 nov) @telford´s warehouse, chester
*agnes obel (9 nov) @the ruby lounge, manchester
*wild beasts (17 nov) @cathedral, manchester (sold out!)
*wild beasts (19 nov) @anson rooms, bristol

by the way, if anyone wants to join me for any of these gigs, let me know... 

oh, and i usually don´t do this but here´s a huge shout-out to my friend amy who´s on the way to chicago right now to see fleet foxes tonight! :)

ben howard album review next week. till then, have a great weekend. xx