Introducing... The Dress Down Kids

The Dress Down Kids
"Tear the Roof Off"
Unsigned
Released: 12th February, 2013

Stop what you're doing, and listen. Today's 'new music' is so new that I, myself, only found out about the band a few hours back. "How?", you ask... let me explain. Twitter is a wonderful social media site in which anyone in the world can contact anyone else; and that's exactly what the bass player, Tom Buxton, of a band named The Dress Down Kids, did earlier. Surely one of the best methods of getting your music heard is to make it unavoidable, and being the open-minded type, I had no problem listening and sharing their debut single "Tear the Roof Off" to my 100+ followers.

The track is surely a future festival anthem (Reading organisers, please book them!). Fronted by Kele (from Bloc Party) sound-a-like - a comparison I'm sure the lead singer won't mind me using - the track is a gem amongst the music breaking through into 2013. Fantastic chorus, and a well-directed music video; set in an old-person's home. The band's Twitter (@Dressdownkids) reveals the track is scheduled for release on February 12 - a date I'll now eagerly await. Here's hoping 2013 brings you some success boys.

"Blow me like a floating feather"

Peace

"Wraith"

Columbia Records

Released: 13th January, 2013

With Q1 typically the most lackluster in terms of 'big' music releases, I've decided this year to really delve into some new bands; tipped for big things in the coming years. The first to be featured here are Peace, a quartet from Birmingham signed to Columbia Records (home to The Vaccines). Having released a few straight-to-vinyl tracks and created music under new monikers (The Criminal and November), the band are releasing their first official single, "Wraith" on January 13th.

It's hard with bands not to draw similarities, and in Peace's case; the likes of The Guardian and NME have drawn similarities with Wu Lyf and The Maccabees. The stand out comparison for me is Foals, a band now well past their prime. "Wraith" is the perfect way to kickstart 2013, the year heralded as the 'return of guitar music'. The verses are mellow, leading up to one of my favourite choruses on an indie-rock record in recent years; and don't even get me started on their The Horrors-sounding middle eight. The vocals, the guitars and the drums sound perfect together, as we all know; but Peace really hit the nail on the head with this particular track.

How could such a track be captured in the beauty of a music video, I hear you say? Well, the music video really is the icing on the cake. Featuring all four members of the band- including brothers Harrison and Sam - the video sees two fairly-clad black women thrusting around on a stage (see below); to which one Youtube user simply commented "So much jiggly-ness" - and they're not wrong. 

For those of you looking for some new music, or for those that like me religiously follow these music polls (e.g. BBC's Sound of 2013; of which Peace featured), then I'd definitely give Peace a listen to.

Music Video

Introducing... Laura Mvula

Laura Mvula
"She"
From: Sing to the Moon (released: 4 March, 2013)

How best to get back into this music reviewing business than with sharing one of the UK's rising talents with the social networking world. The name's Laura Mvula, and she's creating some big waves in the music industry. Recently announced as one of the BBC's Sound of 2013 nominees (her final position will be announced next week), Mvula has also narrowly missed out on the chance to win a BRIT award - losing to singer-songwriter Tom Odell in the Critics' Choice category. Regardless of awards, Mvula is sure to do well in 2013, a year which'll no doubt be dominated by alternative, folk and slow-dance music. A debut album, Sing to the Moon, is due for release in March 2013, which gives it enough time for the alumni of the Mercury Prize to give it a nod.

Mvula's debut single "She" is a masterpiece, to put it simply. Lyrically, the track is fantastic - discussing the life of a woman (She) who's "looking for a saviour, to save her from herself". Pretty deep once you get into it, which is only aided by the choral/piano-led production of the track. Hard to describe the beauty of the track in words really, so I've uploaded the link to it on Spotify for y'all to listen; you won't regret it.

Spotify link to "She" by Laura Mvula

"I feel like I could stare in them for a lifetime"

Artist: Pitbull

Single: Get It Started (feat. Shakira)

Album: Global Warming

Released: August 26, 2012

Now I'll hold my hands up, Pitbull has undoubtedly been one of the biggest chart successes' in recent times, beginning way back in 2009 when 'I Know You Want Me' reached the UK top 10. Since then, the rapper seems inescapable - Alexandra Burke brought him on for a remix of 'All Night Long' while the likes of Usher and Taio Cruz have brought him on as a collaborative artist; though Jennifer Lopez got a little carried away when she collaborated with him twice in the space of two years; first on the worldwide hit 'On the Floor' and then recently on the copycat 'Dance Again'. With all this success, it was inevitable that Pitbull'd run down the generic route - and so he has, with the likes of 'International Love' and 'Rain Over Me' stealing chords and rhythms from other tracks more-or-less. 

However... It seems Pitbull has finally made a good decision and made something a little bit different to usual - though not as radical as the dubstep-included 'Back in Time' he just released as the soundtrack to Men in Black III. 'Get It Started', the lead single from his upcoming seventh album, Global Warming, is pretty darn good. Produced by an entourage of DJ (including the infamous Sidney Samson) and featuring Columbian superstar Shakira, his latest single is undoubtedly one of his best yet. The chorus, sung by Shakira, is extremely anthemic-sounding and drops straight into the instrumental that'll be championed by the likes of BBC Radio 1 for its drum'n'bass-inspired sound. The verses however, are still... very... Pitbull. Lyrically, Pitbull is hardly a master word smith (he rhymed 'Kodak' with 'Kodak' on 'Give Me Everything') and continues to just name European cities and numbers in an attempt to fill up the verse. Some of the lyrics are actually quite humorous too, take the first: "To all these rappers I apologize I know it ain’t fair" - thought I'm unsure what he apologises for here; perhaps the fact he occupies half of the chart on occasions.

All in all, 'Get It Started' is well worth a listen if you haven't done so already. It's released on Sunday, August 26, 2012 - and will surely début somewhere inside the top 10 (though X-Factor 2011 winner's Little Mix are sure to occupy the top spot).

Throw Bombs on it.

Labrinth featuring Tinie Tempah
Earthquake
Released: 23 October 2011
From: Upcoming debut album

For those unaware of who Labrinth is, let me just fill a few gaps. The breakthrough of 2010, Tinie Tempah owes his life to Labrinth, a producer signed to SyCo. The track 'Pass Out' dominated the UK charts back in March '10 and it's successor, the #2 hit 'Frisky' also enjoyed success thanks to the Labrinth-production. In October, Labrinth released his debut single 'Let the Sun Shine' - a feel good track, which despite showing no particular skills as a producer, showed great vocals; earning him a #3 single. More recently, Labrinth has appeared on Professor Green's 'Alive Till I'm Dead', Devlin's 'Bud, Sweat & Beers', as well as producing for Loick Essien and the singles 'Neva Soft' and 'Wonderman' by Ms. Dynamite and Tinie Tempah / Ellie Goulding respectively. All this makes a rather impressive first year in the industry.

With the introduction out of the way, here comes the best bit. 'Earthquake' is the second solo effort from Labrinth and is due for release in the UK on 23 October. Having already received praise from BBC Radio 1 - including Greg James - the track is a sure fire contender for #1. On first listen I was hasty towards the track, what with it's futuristic introduction - "Labrinth come in" - but by the third/fourth listen I was hooked. Describing the song becomes progressively difficult, I'm tempted to just say 'it sounds like everything a song should', but in reality what I'm classing as incredible production is just heavy synths and a mash-up of high pitched chords.

The message of the song is that Labrinth plans to create an earthquake with the track, even roping record label boss Simon Cowell into the track - "Hey Simon, we're fucking them up. Turning them SyCo, we bring the house down to rubble and dust". Of course it'd be unjust not to mention Tinie Tempah's inclusion on the track. With five top 10 singles and a number-one album under his belt, I guess the collaboration is Tempah's way of repaying the producer that may him - evident when he claims the track is hitting a full ten of the Richter scale.

I eagerly await the release of the track, and under Simon's control - an X-Factor performance isn't out of the question entirely. Let's hope it's heading for the top end of the chart #teamlab.

So trashy, it's addictive.

"When I came to Spain, and I saw people partying - I thought to myself 'what the fuck?!'"

I'm sure you've all heard of the superstar DJ that is Sak Noel? No. I wouldn't worry too much, the song sounds like a one-hit wonder a la 'Fireflies' by Owl City and 'We No Speak Americano' by Yolanda Be Cool & D-Cup.

'Loca People (What the Fuck)' is by far the trashiest song of the year - even beating Cher Lloyd's 'Swagger Jagger' - but there's something about this track that I find enjoyable. It's been heralded as the club anthem of the year, selling bucket loads all over Europe; but come Sunday the UK get to download the best thing to come out of Spain since... Umm... I'm not so sure.

I've posted the original mix below.

'We Found Love In a Hopeless Place'

Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris
We Found Love
Released: TBA
From: Upcoming Sixth Studio Album

So it was revealed yesterday evening that Rihanna was releasing the lead single from her sixth studio album. Instantly, it may strike fans to know that the Barbadian singer is onto her third album in less than two years: Rated R (2009), Loud (2010) and now TBA (2011).

In the space of two years, Rihanna has managed to achieve 10 top 40 singles, including: 'Russian Roulette' (#2), 'Rude Boy' (#2), 'Te Amo' (#14), 'Love the Way You Lie' with Eminem (#2), Only Girl (In the World) (#1), 'Who's That Chick' with David Guetta (#6) 'What's My Name?' (#1), 'S&M' (#3), 'California King Bed' (#8) and recently 'Cheers (Drink to That)' (#19). Now that's pretty impressive by any standards - so 'We Found Love' will no doubt clock up an eleven T40 hit for her when it sees release in the upcoming months.

The track, produced by Scottish-born Calvin Harris, is a club-banger, there's no doubting that. The chorus, 'We Found Love In This Hopeless Place' is preceeded by a drop into an incredible piece of dance music, equating to a radio-friendly track that'll appeal to fans of both credited artists. It's fair to say that this is not Rihanna's best work, but anything is better than the gloomy slit-your-wrist songs that featured on her Rated R album - which saw release after the whole Chris Brown situation.

I've posted the track below for y'all to enjoy. Feel free to comment on what you think of the track - sound a bit too much like 'Only Girl', reckon it'll be a contender for #1?

Rihanna - We Found Love by carelpedre