In this week's edition of LeftLion's Latest Listens, our music team reviews new releases from flöat, The Missing Diamonds, Emily Sanders, Di$mal and Lucy Crisp...
Single: flöat - Catacomb
Whispered, distorted vocals and hypnotic transitions make this song worthy of repeated listens. Heather Jane Blore’s command of tension and momentum are most obvious as the song fades in and out, ultimately resting on just the right balance of melody and obfuscation; the lyrics just out of immediate reach, unfurling with attention, layered and evocative as a tale of twisted love is spun. Sonically, it’s a brilliantly off-kilter track, wrong-footing you without alienating. The backbone of the song is a drum hit hard, the song warping and skewing around the beat like the splash of water displaced by a pebble. Fresh off the release of album Medjool, flöat is providing yet more intriguing, emotionally open music, inviting you to enter their sonic world, sit with it a while and let it surround you. flöat is holding an album release show on 12th December at Mist Rolling Inn. @floatbandfloat (Kieran Lister)
Single: The Missing Diamonds - Call On Me
The Missing Diamonds are an enigmatic collective of Midlands-based songwriters, delivering unfiltered rock and roll: raw, unapologetic, and alive with energy. Deliberately anonymous and anti-image, they reject trends and let the art stand alone. In a world of noise, this band are a reminder of what rock and roll was always meant to be. Call On Me is the electrifying follow-up to The Missing Diamond's debut single Little Wonder. Charging forward with monster guitars, thunderous drums and a chorus that demands to be sung at full volume, it cements the band’s arrival as one of the area's most exciting new rock acts. Bold, anthemic, and impossible to ignore, Call On Me showcases the band’s fearless songwriting range. @themissingdiamonds (Faye Stacey)
Single: Lucy Crisp - Ghostin
Lucy Crisp wears her heart on her sleeve with this latest single in which she tells frankly and openly of her broken relationship. Some say that it’s good to share your pain, and Lucy does this in spades in the lyrics here, telling a true life story of how she was stood up and how she hopes that her relationship can be recovered. It’s all to no avail, however, as despite her hopeful optimism, her ex- boyfriend just ghosts her.
The song’s melody is driven along gently and persuasively by the smart use of synthesizers and electronic drums, with crystal clear vocals explaining how her relationship broke up. The raw emotional power in Lucy’s voice gives a tangible sense of empowerment to her sadness, which is further reinforced in the persistence of the percussive beat throughout. @lucycrisp_ (Claire Spencer)
Single: Di$mal - Mi Amor
Mi Amor, from up-and-coming young Indian hip hop artist Di$mal, is a beautiful laid back composition, with its delicate themes of love and companionship, comprising a delicious fusion of jazzy hooks, relaxing hip-hop rhythms and soft soulful vocals ideal for those romantic nights alone together. The keyboards add structure and support to the gentle melodies, with the enduring percussion providing overall direction to the song. This is a really heartfelt piece of work, articulated in fine style, which features a theme that many can relate to in their lives, with the lyrics expressing those sentiments wonderfully. @dismal____ (Claire Spencer)
Single: Emily Sanders - Horizon
A deliciously crisp beat and a too-funky, muffled bass riff: that's how Horizon begins, announcing an effortlessly laidback and hugely atmospheric track from Nottingham-based Emily Sanders. Evoking the best kind of living room afterparty, Emily's vocals take the lead early, wending between low and sultry and rising high in a carefree kind of flight. We're only with Emily for two minutes, but in that short visit we're shown good times and our cares are put to ease. This track is a small but thoughtful gift to treasure. @emily.bsanders (Phil Taylor)
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