Last month has been a bit of a roller coaster for my playlist. I've taken a trip down memory lane, which I completely blame on my annual nostalgia trip to Germany and Poland, and added a tiny sprinkle of folk, while also trying to discover new artists to listen to. Well, let's just say I wasn't really successful with the latter. A spontaneous trip to Rome and additional unforeseen events prevented me from dedicating my time to what I'm usually really passionate about, resulting in not only having been forced to merch my July and August playlist together, but also creating the probably most unexciting and bipolar playlist I've ever made. I could of course just blame it on me being lazy, but this is my blog, aka my rules and my excuses.
It started out quite well with the perfect melancholic roadtrip tunes such as 'Bros' by Wolf Alice and the all time classic 'I'm A Man' by Pulp. I even spiced it up a little with some new fresh music from Declan McKenna and not-so-fresh but fresh-enough Arcade Fire, right before losing myself in pretty unexciting and probably predictable artists like Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, the Rascals, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Radio Head, and good ol' Jimi Hendrix. I don't know who punched me or what spider bit me when making this decision, but I even included Earth, Wind & Fire's 'September'. Nothing wrong with a little bit of American funk, right? I'm sure Hendrix would've done the same, right after dropping one of his insane riffs in 'Foxey Ladey', which also made it into the playlist. If he would've agreed to combine it all with folk AND rap however, I'm not too sure about.
As I was scrolling through my playlist to remind myself of the bipolarness that I diagnosed my playlist with, I noticed that, apparently, I wasn't a complete failure after all. Bedroom/Boredom was the new, and pretty decent, indie band that dominated the playlist for a while, with songs from their debut last year, including 'Lemon', '9:8', and 'Ghost'. They're just a little more rock-y than the Magic Gang, who by the way supported Circa Waves on tour after releasing their second album 'Different Creatures', so they're definitely worth checking out, too. I might or might not be slightly biased though, since I was lucky enough to see them perform at Cambridge Junction a couple of months ago, and I might or might not feel slightly closer to them because I definitely made eye contact with their vocalist Jack Kaye. Anyways, no matter if played in your bedroom out of boredom or not, Bedroom/Boredom is definitely a band worth checking out if you like the Magic Gang, Declan McKenna and Superfood.
One last thing I need to mention before you scroll through the playlist is that I've been absolutely obsessed with HAIM's new album. Yes, I'm fully aware 'Something To Tell You' already came out at the beginning of July, but it's just too good. Even their music video for 'Want You Back' is so perfectly simple but meaningful, how could you stop obsessing over them after listening through the album only two or three times? No bizarre costumes, no weird borderline pornographic sex scenes were needed in the making of this video. Although being three sisters blessed with amazing genes, they stayed completely true to themselves, expressing the real identity of the band and doing exactly what they want to do, refusing to surrender to the rules of Mainstream Music Video Making a la butts and boobs 101. Shoutout to one of the few female rock bands that dare to shove their middle fingers up the face of our commercialised music industry.
Another band that I'd go to hell to for not mentioning is Queens of the Stone Age and their new album 'Villains'. I jammed out to one of my personal favourites, 'The Way You Used To Do', already in June, and after what I believe must've been hardworking sessions filled with blood, sweat and tears, they managed to complete the album and finally released it on August 25. I think Josh Homme is just as relieved as his fans are, saying the best thing about the album was that he's "done making it. 'Cuz that shit wasn't easy", according to an interview on NME back in March. I'd say their new album is definitely different from their previous ones, but they incorporated some of the same riffs, style and of course vocals that make their music so authentic. Some hardcore fans might go nuts, but let's just hope that one of the most popular rock bands of all time are allowed to reinvent themselves, especially with amazing new songs like 'Fortress', 'Head Like A Haunted House' and 'The Evil Has Landed'. But I'll leave it to you now. Go and see if everything I've been preaching about in this blog post was utter horseshit or not, enjoy: