music makes me wonder: natalie mccool

one thing i´ve never wanted to do: write a review for a female musician. but then i didn´t expect to come across someone like natalie mccool.

take christina, britney, miley, leona or even madonna and lady gaga – once you´ve made it through one of their records, you can´t help but feel like you´ve just heard the same song twelve times in a row. they may put on huge and (sometimes) great shows but that just proves that they´re mainly performer, not necessarily musicians. (plus it´s totally ridiculous what they expect you to pay for a concert ticket but that´s another issue.)

real musicians don´t need such shows because they´re able to reach their audience through their music alone.

speaking of natalie mccool – if you haven´t heard her name or music before, you definitely missed out on something great. just like goldtrip, she´s signed to grammy award winner steve levine on hubris records (mr. levine obviously knows his art!).

natalie´s new ep “black sun” was released on 9 may 2011 featuring the title track “black sun” and two more songs, “size zero” and “your hero”.

when i first listened to “black sun” i was quite surprised. i didn´t know anything about natalie or her music. i´ve seen a few pictures of her but that was about it. so i honestly expected something á la joss stone or christina aguilera. but “black  sun” certainly proved me wrong. this song is as dark as it can get, just like the title itself. mixed with some great vocals and a little bit (!) of (background) pop music, you´ve got the perfect song.

“size zero” is a completely different story. this song took me a lot of getting used to. it´s just as dark as “black sun” (the whole ep probably is) but the sound is rather different. don´t ask me why but this tune sounds like a mix of phil collins, placebo and laith al-deen; and that´s certainly a pretty rare mix. the most touching feature here are the lyrics. lines like “i will choke on my pride” or “her face wide and weary, not a hair out of it´s place” make you wonder. i came to like “size zero” after i had a close look at the lyrics. so if you have “trouble” with this song too, make sure you check out the lyrics properly.

the last song on “black sun” is a live studio version of “your hero” – my personal favourite. the unique guitar sound combined with natalie´s amazing vocals make this song a true pleasure to listen to. natalie pretty much describes it herself when she sings “your voice is like a flame on a dying fire”. a great way to end the ep but see yourself…

 

if you like natalie´s ep “black sun”, i highly recommend her first ep “shoot shoot” which was released 25 october 2010 including the title track “shoot shoot”, “prophecy” (really really great!) and “little end”.

one thing that truly makes natalie mccool stand out of all the bubble gum pop music that´s out there these days, is her sound - it´s dark and mysterious but at the same time warm and full of melancholia. her music is simply unmistakable.

and now, go on and buy both eps, put them on repeat and enjoy! xx

The “black sun” ep, as well as the “shoot shoot” ep are available on itunes.

follow natalie mccool here:

website: http://www.nataliemccool.co.uk

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nataliemccoolofficial

twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nataliemccool

(again, every word expressed here is simply based on my own opinion. i do not own any of the pictures or videos posted.)

(and i will not write a review for the new young rebel set album "curse our love" cause (in my opinion)  it´s just not as good as i hoped it would be.)

music makes me wonder: the travelling band.

i haven´t had this much trouble with getting an album for a while. it´s always rather difficult to get a hold on a record that has not yet been released in germany. the new the travelling band album “screaming is something” just popped on may 30^th – in the uk that is. their fans in germany have to wait till september to actually get their hands on the new record. but as usual i managed to get a copy before anyone (maybe not anyone though) else in germany which also means i have to deal with questions like “woah, where did you get this?” and “who are they?” a lot.

nowadays it´s not too hard to get things that aren´t available in your own country (yet), thanks to the internet - granted of course that you know where to look.

i don´t know much about the guys from the travelling band, except that they´re from manchester (which is always a plus if you ask me). but, i don´t really need to know anything about them because their music says it all.

there´s been a huge hype over all those new indie-country-folk bands that emerged out of nowhere last year – most of them not really measuring up to bands like the travelling band. i still don´t understand why people are so obsessed with mumford&sons but i can certainly see why people would recommend the travelling band.

the new album “screaming is something” was released on may 30^th. after all the trouble i had with actually getting it, i can definitely say it was more than worth all the anger and annoyance.

the album kicks off with the new single “fairweather friends” – a great way to start the album. this song gets you singing and dancing, always having your best mate right next to you. the only thing i would criticise here is that this song is definitely way too short. i definitely could´ve handled a minute or two more.

the title track “screaming is something” follows “fairweather friends”. let´s just say you would expect something totally different. when you hear lines like “screaming is something we all do” you´d expect… right, someone screaming. but no, this song shows another side. stay calm and everything will go their way because “screaming is something we all do”…

the third track is one of my favourites actually, the famous “sundial”. i don´t know how to explain it but ever since i first listened to this song a few weeks ago, it keeps coming back to me. the lyrics, the music, the vocals – all those things just work very well together. when a (small) choir joins in for the last minute, you can´t help but feel free and relieved.

“battlescars” certainly gives you the country-feeling and everyone should enjoy a little bit of country from time to time. especially when it comes from manchester – a place you´d probably never expect to find music like this. highly recommended!

the fifth song on “screaming is something” is “magnetic anywhere”. this one has got to be the “loudest” song on the record so far. louder and quieter parts constantly change here but you won´t find time to relax throughout the whole song.

i´d consider “under the pavement” to be the best song of the album. of course that´s different for everyone but i feel most connected to this one. not because of the lyrics but simply because of the music. it´s a great mix of country, pop and rock. 

the seventh song is called “hindsight”. here you have a 50-second long mystic intro before the amazing calm vocals begin. this song practically forces you to close your eyes and simply enjoy what you hear.

number 8 is “the horizon, me and you” – THE festival song par excellence. i usually try to avoid checking out a music video before i haven´t heard the song but i actually watched the video first which is probably the reason why this song totally screams “festival season”. the video was filmed at the glastonbury festival 2010. 

if “magnetic anywhere” is the loudest song, “one dime blues” has got to be the opposite. get a blanket, your sunglasses, a good book and this song on your ipod and you´re ready to head outside to lay down somewhere in the middle of a meadow. believe me, you won´t regret it.

the album finishes with the amazing “on the rails” – seven minutes of pure perfection. the intro is over a minute long, the vocals mysterious but at the same time so beautiful that you don’t lose interest in it at any point. “on the rails” leaves you full of joy even though it´s a rather slow song compared to the rest of the album. they couldn´t have picked a better song to end the album with.

if you´re still looking for the perfect album to kick off the festival season with - no need to look to further. give “screaming is something” a listen and you´ll want to pack your bags and head off to glastonbury, haldern, hurricane or pukkelpop pretty much right now.

and now go, check them out, get a beer and enjoy! xx

the album is available on itunes (uk), via amazon.co.uk and the official the travelling band store.

follow the travelling band here:

website: http://www.thetravellingband.co.uk

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thetravellingband

twitter: http://www.twitter/thetravellingband

° the next review (probably): "curse our love" - the debut album by young rebel set

(again - i didn´t intend to generalize anything, so this review is totally just my own opinion and i hope that no one will read too much into it but instead will try to make up their own minds about the travelling band; none of the pictures and videos posted in this review are mine)