Sean Lam’s Hanging Up the Moon project has become akin to a loyal friend – dependable and consistent in providing comfort, solace and joy!
The amount of new music releases in 2015 is staggering. And it’s basically impossible to be able to listen to everything out there. But when it comes to Singapore Rock, well then it is possible to almost do just that.
Thus, a justification for this list – our recommendations for those of you who have recently come aboard the S-ROCK train. Welcome to the rest of your life!
by Jazreel-Anne
The new kid on the block, Neon Lights sought to cover as much ground as possible in terms of appealing to the broadest demographics. Presumably, this was deemed necessary by Neon Lights to distinguish itself from the other big-scale music festivals in Singapore viz. Laneway and The Gathering (formerly Hostess Club Weekender).
by Neon Lights
To that end, Neon Lights featured comedy, arts and children entertainment, possibly in an attempt to encourage families to make it a day (or two) out for the weekend.
Neon Lights Festival is upon us this weekend (28 – 29 Nov) and these are the acts we are most looking forward to.
… that isn’t retro-themed.
The one that is getting all the 90s kids hot & bothered is of course, Ride.
More info to come, boys and gurls!
Regular visitors to Power of Pop will be aware that my definition of “pop” is pretty wide. But of course, in the context of modern pop (read: vacuous) , that definition becomes somewhat irrelevant for my purposes. Also, if I say “rock ‘n’ roll”, most people will think of the 50s (read: dated) and so, sometimes I need to be uber-specific and say “country-folk-pop-rock” to describe the type of pop music that I love. Hope that clarifies. From that perspective, I wanted to share very specifically, the bands and artists in Singapore whom I feel fit that particular bill and hope that you’d discover some new music to love as well.
CHEATING SONS – JEFFERSON (LIVE)
Though still unreleased, this country-folk masterpiece always resonates with me whenever the band plays it – which in my view is not often enough!
Pick up the new Cheating Sons album from Bandcamp.
HANGING UP THE MOON – THE DIVERS
Sean Lam (aka Hanging Up the Moon) somewhat resists any attempt to associate his wonderful music with that of the past (which I appreciate) but seriously folks, this gorgeous music is highly evocative of early 70s folk-rock. And what is the problem with that??? Beautiful.
Available at iTunes!
Future Islands by Cliff Yeo
What was my day like at Laneway SG 2015? Really good fun actually, meeting loads of cool music people (you know who you are!), boozin’ and enjoying pretty useful festival food as well. The people watching was fruitful – looking at the sweet young things in their hipster outfits made me feel like an anthropologist (okay, not really).
I was so comfortable and chilled out that I wasn’t even bothered by the fact that most of the music was average at best. Also, rock bands were showcased in the afternoon (where the audience was smaller) but it all felt like an afterthought.
Who says you can’t make any money doing music in Singapore, eh?
But seriously folks, this is indicative of the Singapore public’s interest in music in 2014 and a great way to start the musical calendar. I will covering the festival as usual and am looking forward most to good music and good company.
My personal picks are: –
Hanging Up the Moon (Cloud Stage, 6.35pm)
.gif (Cloud Stage, 5.20pm)
News about the lineup for Laneway Festival 2015 came out yesterday. There was the usual hand-wringing and whining about why so-and-so wasn’t coming etc but overall, I believe that the response has been fairly positive. For me personally, having endured the dark days of the 70s, 80s & 90s when rock music events were far and between, I never take these things for granted. Sure, none of these bands compare to Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath or Deep Purple in their prime but in the context of rock & pop music circa 2015, this lineup looks intriguing. Apart from St. Vincent, Lykke Li and our very own .gif and Hanging Up the Moon, I am not too familiar with most of the names but that’s the joy of discovery, I guess. So expect more information about the above bands/artists in the weeks leading up to the festival, from our typical critically objective perspective!
… still there’s more …
