Multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles has revealed the title to her highly anticipated third studio album, The Blessed Unrest, which is set for release on July 16th through Epic Records. The album’s first single, “Brave,” was co-written by Jack Antonoff from the band fun. and will be released at all digital retailers next Tuesday, April 23rd. Fans can stream the song and view the official lyric video starting today at Sarabmusic.com or check it out right below…
“Beatlesque” is one of my favorite music terms. I mean, who wouldn’t want to listen to music that sounds like The Beatles, eh? Of course, the key is not slavish imitation but to use the influence of The Beatles as a springboard for (hopefully) fresh ideas. Here are some bands that certainly come to mind, when the term “Beatlesque” is brandished about…
THE BYRDS – ALL I REALLY WANNA DO
Yes, I am aware that the song was written but by Bob Dylan, but The Byrds arranged Dylan’s folkie “All I Really Wanna Do” deliberately to reflect their love of the Fab Four, especially on the bridge. And let’s not even get into the hairdos…
BADFINGER – DAY AFTER DAY
A little cheatin’ here cos Badfinger was actually signed to Apple Records and this single was also produced by George Harrison so the comparisons with their heroes were always fairly obvious. Great song still…and certainly a foundation for numerous power pop bands to come…
ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA – THE DIARY OF HORACE WIMP
ELO was formed by Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood to re-create the Beatles psychedelic classics (like “I Am A Walrus”) live. When Wood left, Lynne turned the band into a hit-making machine in the 70s. Beatles inspirations always began as a starting point (like here, the rhythm of the middle section to “A Day in a Life”) to something entire new and different. In a league of its own.
OASIS – ALL AROUND THE WORLD
To the current generation, the closest one is going to get to The Beatles reference would probably be through Oasis. Often derided as Beatles copyists, in fact, the Gallagher brothers succeeded in copping the imagery and look of The Beatles, rather than any creative impetus. That and Liam Gallagher’s ludicrous attempts to imitate John Lennon’s singing style. Best forgotten.
To be honest, it is almost impossible to escape the influence of The Beatles in modern music, whatever ‘genre’ you may choose to discuss. The legacy of The Beatles was not merely four chords, clever bridges and three-part harmonies but constant experimentation. When that stopped (listen to Let It Be, folks), then it was time for The Beatles to end. The above examples only highlight a very simplified perception of what the term “Beatlesque” means and usually referred to by people as Beatles music pre-Revolver, when The Beatles was much much more than that… but that’s another story altogether.
Official video for “Back Down The Rabbit Hole” from the album Green Is Good, released February 26, 2013 on Dive Records.
Yeah a disco anthem about the debt crisis! Check it out…
A review from 2002.
ANDY PARTRIDGE Fuzzy Warbles Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 (APE)
As any card-carrying XTC fanatic will inform you, the Swindon-based band spent the better part of the 90s on strike from their record label Virgin, finally earning their freedom from a draconian contract sometime in 1998. The band then set up their own label – Idea – and proceeded to release two albums (Apple Venus & Wasp Star) in consecutive years!
So it certainly behooves the band to flood the market with as many XTC-related products as possible just to make up for lost time. So whilst ecstatic fans have been lapping up the demo and instrumental versions of the two latest albums and Virgin was kind enough to issue the Coat of Many Cupboards box set, the duo decided to begin releasing the voluminous demos (subject of legend and lore and much bootlegging) Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding amassed during that seven-year industrial action.
Alas, Moulding changed his mind and so we have volumes one and two of Fuzzy Warbles as Partridge begins an ambitious program to give his fans what they have been waiting for a long time.
And is it all worth the wait and the expense? Why most certainly! Here’s why…
From Volume One, Partridge includes the delightful “Dame Fortune” (inextricably left off Apple Venus One), the bouncy “Don’t Let Us Bug You” (written for Disney’s animated James and the Giant Peach – now that would have been something!), a fiery demo of “That Wave” (off Nonsuch) that surpasses the recorded version for sheer intensity, the folky “Everything” (excluded from Oranges and Lemons), the whimsical “Goosey Goosey” (also for Nonsuch), the chirpy “Summer Hot As This” (circa 1984 – with erstwhile member Dave Gregory on guitar, a bonus!) and the offbeat “Wonder Annual” (another that failed to make the grade for Nonsuch).
Slide in Volume Two and one gets the unusually stripped down and straightforward “I Don’t Want To Be Here” (recorded for a AIDS Charity disc), the domestic tirade “Young Marrieds” – ‘Love and marriage go hand in hand like horse and horse shit’ (meant for Wasp Star), the political “Obscene Procession” – a precursor of “President Kill” perhaps? (for Skylarking apparently), the jaunty “Ra Ra Rehearsal” & “Ra Ra For Red Rocking Horse” (not quite up to the rest of Psonic Psunspot, I wager), the McCartney-esque “Everything’ll Be Alright” (also for Giant Peach), the frenetic “Chain of Command” (a blast from the past, 1979 in fact!), a gorgeously cod-psychedelic version of Nonsuch’s “Then She Appeared,” the lovely enigmatic “It’s Snowing Angels” (circa 1990) and the vivid “Ship Trapped In the Ice,” written to reflect XTC’s Virgin dilemma.
And there you have it, not meant for the XTC newbie but once you picked up every single fantastic work released by this awesome band, then Fuzzy Warbles tend to become fairly indispensable items to have and to hold. For even if the discs did not contain precious XTC artifacts, the professional sound and overall amazing quality of the tracks here make Fuzzy Warbles important albums for any serious-minded music fan to explore and absorb. A+ (Vol. 1) & A (Vol. 2)
First thing one notices when listening to Natalie Hiong‘s new EP is the sound production — a marked improvement from her debut EP certainly. This time around, everything one hears seems more organic and more ‘human’, and it’s much easier to get into the songs itself. Natalie has also improved in the vocal department and extended her range of singing styles as well. No longer relying on the cutesy little girl vibe of her debut EP, one senses that this is a chanteuse now coming into her own.
Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images
Treading on partially wet grounds for my first concert-going experience at the west side of Singapore, The Star Performing Arts Centre served as a blooming fresh outlet for events of sorts. Despite the grandeur of the new environs, it was let down somewhat by the spectacle of snaking (really year of the snake, isn’t it?) queue lines at the ticketing counter .
Courtesy of Dominic Phua & Now/Live
Judging by the response at the Esplanade Concert Hall on Tuesday night, Ellie Goulding’s first performance in Singapore was an undisputed success.
The full house consisted of a good mix of young tweens and older hipsters, who eagerly lapped up her every word and note. Even Goulding herself repeatedly remarked at her awe and surprise with the number of people at her first show here.
Starting off the night with songs mainly from her recently released sophomore album, Halcyon, such as “Figure 8” and “My Blood”, Ellie Goulding blew us away from the very start with her beautiful voice. It was amazing to hear the entire audience sing along to the chorus of “Guns and Horses”. However, it took some time for the sound engineer to get the mixing right, as it was difficult to hear her voice over her backing track in the beginning.
Also, it appeared that she took a while to adjust to the stage, only moving around to interact with the inviting audience after taking awhile to get used to the venue.
Goulding was not fazed for too long though, and one of the most memorable segments of the concert was when she slowed things down with tracks like “I Know You Care” (she admitted it was about her father) and “Joy”. The audience was also in for a special treat as she sang a wonderful cover of Elton John’s “Your Song”.
Picking things back up with harder hitting songs “Only You” and “Salt Skin”, Goulding gamely danced in her sheer dress through these songs, eliciting more cheers from her fans. During other parts of the show, she also treated the audience to performances of “Hanging On” and “I Need Your Love”, which she wrote with Tinie Tempah and Calvin Harris respectively.
Most of all, it was impressive to see how she took her music to a whole new level with her live show. Her music sounded so much bigger, expansive, richer and complex live than on her studio albums. Moreover, her live energy was explosive, even reminiscent of Hayley Williams (of Paramore fame).
All in all, Eliie Goulding had great charm and clearly enjoyed performing, and her infectious energy in turn made it especially fun and enjoyable for all present. With “Lights” as her final euphoric song, she left everyone without a doubt that she could just very well be the reigning queen of the current crop of synth rock songstresses.
(Melissa Ng)
Thanks to Dan Gordon (Now/Live) for making this review possible.
Here’s your chance to catch Sarah Cheng-De Winne live as she delivers her soulful pop music with her deep, sultry vocals.
The showcase is open to the public, as long as you bring a physical copy of Sarah’s album that you have previously purchased, or you can purchase a copy at the venue (one per person). Check out the album sampler below.
This is so infectious it should be illegal! Seriously!! I first saw Dru Chen at an open mike years ago and was deeply impressed with his swagger and innate soulfulness BUT this new single from the Melbourne based modern soul singer-songwriter exceeds all expectations. I mean, “You Bring Out the Best in Me” should be blaring out of every single radio station in Singapore. Be warned though, once that groove hooks in, you’re in trouble. Awesome.
I was interviewed by my former Budding Writer mentee Karen Gwee (now New Paper reporter) last night about the whole Ken Lim saga and she brought up an intriguing point about how the local indie scene may also have the commercial potential needed to save the local music industry from the verge of extinction, as Ken eloquently (and quite correctly) reckoned.
Case in point – this new single from The Summer State – which video has already garnered over 4,000 views in about a day! Rather removed from the emo-pop-punk style that I remembered the band playing in various auditions/gigs I have witnessed before. In fact, the song is a very radio-friendly pop ballad and targeted for mainstream audiences, with shiny production values to boot. Not my cup of tea, mind you, but I can understand the appeal the track will have for teenagers and tweens and this can only be a good thing for the local music scene. Check it out.
Charles J Tan is back with the first single from his upcoming album, Maybe Somewhere North. According to Tan, “the single is an upbeat tune that celebrates friendship, love and community”. The song features Aarika Lee (of SIXX) on guest vocals. It’s a toe tapper for sure, and perfect for those cool sunny mornings that hopefully we’ll get more of in surprising Singapore.
The official music video will be released on 14 February 2013 to coincide with Valentine’s Day. Charles will kick off a series of album launches starting with the first full band concert of the year at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre at Mosaic Music Festival on 11 March 2013. Fans can expect to hear the new album performed live for the first time ever in Singapore. In the meantime, check out the lyric video below and if you like what you hear (and why wouldn’t you?), pick it up at iTunes.
To be honest, I never expected to write this review. Up to the point that I received the email from Peipei (LIKES Communications), I had not even heard of Hong Kong/Canadian singer-songwriter Ellen Loo. And when Peipei invited me to catch Ellen’s show at the Esplanade Recital Studio, I was feeling a bit mixed. After all, I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a fan of Mandarin pop but I thought – “nothing ventured, nothing gained” – and I am so glad that I took the plunge.
This is gonna be FUN. (Sorry)
The band that has captured the hearts and minds of people with its breakthrough #1 hits, “We Are Young” and “Some Nights”, will be making their way to Singapore! Don’t miss out on the experience to catch this pop phenomenon LIVE and be treated to a night of pure good FUN! (Sorry, again!)
Ticket Price: S$68 (Standard) (excluding S$3 SISTIC booking fee) Tickets will go on sale on January 15th at 9am via www.sistic.com.sg.
Visit https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/126212707546698/ for more info.
Organized by Warner Music Singapore.
Every now and then, I get an email with a link that makes me sit up and take notice! Well, here’s one good example - Photo Ops aka Terry Price, who plays every instrument on the upcoming LP, How To Say Goodbye, scheduled for a February 26th release. “It Makes Me Cry,” shows Price’s knack for an infectious hook coupled with poignant lyrics. Lovely epic heartfelt pop music!
Photo by Isaac Tan
The Sam Willows: Watch Out! This Band is Going Places FAST in 2013!
Attending The Sam Willows’ EP Launch back in October 2012, little did I know how quickly this homegrown band was going to travel far and wide. My first impressions of them were positive. No actually, it was much more than that.
XTC.
Probably one of the finest ‘pop’ bands to ever write and record music in the rock history. Well, that’s my humble opinion anyways. The band built around the songwriting core of Andy Partridge (vocals, guitar) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals) and ably supported by Terry Chambers (drums, 1977 – 1983), Barry Andrews (keyboards, 1977 – 1978) and Dave Gregory (1978 – 1998). XTC effectively dissolved in 2005. These ten songs below represent merely the tip of the iceberg of the truly amazing music produced by XTC and hopefully, you will be inspired to find out more…
(The best online XTC resource)
One of the best old school classic pop offerings from anyone in Singapore came from an unlikely source – bilingual singer-songwriter Tay Kexin. Kexin is probably better known in the local pub & club circuit as a wedding singer and somewhat specializing in jazz-pop standards but on this debut 3-song EP, Kexin demonstrates that she will be a force to be reckoned with in the pop market as well.
The first two tracks are Mandarin pop numbers – a little cliched in parts – but the melodic and harmonic goodness will just leave you with chills down spine so those technicalities will fade into irrelevance. Better yet is the sole English track – “Someday You’ll Be” – which is delightfully crafted in 80s soul-pop stylings. Tastefully presented with acoustic guitar, electric piano and breezy vibes, Kexin’s message of positivity rings true down to the sweet vocals (occasional shaky diction, notwithstanding) and backing harmonies. Definitely one of the better local pop songs of 2012.
A triple threat wonder (good looks, good voice and good songwriting!) to keep an eye on!
Official Site
It was intriguing to reconcile the unassuming young woman with the wide smile and the shy “thank-yous” (whenever the raucous applause greeted her efforts) with the musical powerhouse that was unleashed at the Esplanade Theatre on the Saturday evening before Christmas 2012.
(BASE Entertainment Asia press release)
Sir Cliff Richard OBE, with global record sales beyond 250 million and a ceaseless performance schedule spanning 54 years, is set to return to Singapore for two nights only with a hit-packed national tour Still Reelin’ and A-Rockin’. Tickets are now on sale.
Photo credit: Anthony Scarlati
Engaging & Connecting with Rick Price
On 7 Dec, I found myself seated in the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Concert Hall, waiting for an acoustic show to start. The setting was a lovely venue with great acoustics, and the stage held a Steinway piano, an acoustic guitar, a harmonica, a table with 2 bottles of mineral water, and a standing mic. After a short introduction, a man dressed in a shirt and jacket, wearing glasses and a hat walks onstage, and starts to play the guitar and sings. He moves effortlessly between guitar, piano and harmonica, and 20 songs later, he has me leaving the concert hall feeling like the world’s a better place. Who is this man? It is Rick Price.
There is a nice balance of pop sounds and styles in Sarah Cheng-De Winne’s new album. Previously categorized as a jazz-folk-pop singer, this single-minded lady (and her production team) has done a bang-up job in taking different strands of the pop milieu and incorporating the same into her own distinctive soulful pop brand.
American songstress Rachael Yamagata returns to Singapore for a fifth time, in support of her new EP Heavyweight. Concert promoters Greenhorn Productions recently announced that Yamagata will be performing on 2nd March 2013 at the Esplanade Concert Hall and that tickets at $48, $68, 88 and $98 (excluding Sistic charges) will be available from www.sistic.com soon. Stay tuned for details soon at the official Facebook event page. In the meantime, check out the title track of her new EP below.
KAMCO Music artist Maricelle Wong launches her new single “Apple of My Eye” on Saturday, 8th December. PoPTV: Talkin’ the Line caught up with the young singer-songwriter (who just turned 22 recently!) for an interview and acoustic performance.
PoPTV: Talkin’ the Line is brought to you by Walk On Music and Power of Pop.
Catch Maricelle in performance at the OOOM Music Festival on Saturday 8th Dec at 1pm at OOOM Chamber @ Square Garden (Basement 1), NLB Building.
Find out more about Maricelle at Facebook and her Blog.
Armed with a self-titled debut EP, musical quintet Seyra made a strong debut in Baybeats 2011 and toured the city ever since with their hits such as “Skinny Lips”, “You Make Me Go”, “Forwards and Back” to name a few. Excited to spread the love to India, the band led a launch party last night at The Pigeonhole, alongside the brilliant The Sets Band and upcoming singer-songwriter Jonathan Meur.
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