Here’s a non-regular review of some of my favourite singles released in the last few weeks in no particular order.
Grey Skies – Teenage Waitress
The first official release from TW second album the fantastically named Your Cuckoo.
I’ve been a fan of Dan’s since I first heard Leaving Berlin from the debut album Love and Chemicals. I’ve been waiting for new stuffs for a while now to see what he has up his sleeve.
Grey Skies takes the formative steps from the debut and jumps into 2023 with an earworm of a track that just gets better the more you hear it. A kinda electro bop of a tune which incorporates all the best bits of the TW sound and lyrics, it’s almost like your transported into a cool 1982 universe but with a modern twist.
Main man Dan is the kind of cool Alt-pop icon we need right now, like blending up the best bits of Jarvis, Elvis C and Weller in some wacky science experiment. Wonky Pop – 100%!
Real Thing – Docksuns
Sunderland’s Docksuns have been building on a solid foundation of early tracks from their 2019 formation making lots of friends with their accessible and catchy indie pop/rock tunes. Real Thing is their best yet combining great vocals with some strong melodies and another great chorus.
To these ears it has a great Wannadies feel to it which is high praise indeed – my only disappointment is that its not about the great The Real Thing group from Liverpool – however turn it up loud and enjoy near on 3 minutes of joy.
The North East is really building a great new music scene at the moment with audiences willing to fill venues to see what’s hot. Expect Docksuns to stretch their legs further and continue to make progress all over the country soon.
Like Dynamite – Jake Davey
Singing postman Jake has gone all in with his recent releases and is showing ever growing song writing maturity and class with a varied sounding collection of recent releases that deserve checking out.
This for me is his best yet. A song and sound right out of early 70s soul, Isley Brothers, Al Green and Curtis Mayfield come to mind. The style and tempo suit Jake’s voice which sounds cool and confident. Echoes of Paul Wellers debut or True Meanings album also comes to mind. This is also a song for the summer for sure, as we bake in the 40 degree heat. Get those postie shorts on Jakey lad and stay cool.
Sight Unseen – Distant Images
Scottish duo formed of Jilly and Macca (not that one) surprise all with a more up-tempo rocky banger to contemplate their already impressive catalogue.
A group that has enchanted and beguiled me ever since I heard a live acoustic session they did for In Your Ears, combining the sounds of The Cure and Mazzy Star to great effect. Sight Unseen shows off a more louder side to the awesome twosome which I’m sure hits the mark at live gigs, it reminds me of mid era Manics (The Holy Bible) and even NIN in places – Jilly sings about “taking over now” – well they’ve taken me over and many more to come I’m sure of it.
So there you have it – that’s just a brief selection of what’s been going on and down at Tanner Towers these last few weeks, these songs and many many more are all available on my Rebirth Of Cool 2023 Playlist which you can listen to on Spotify below – please check it out and spread the word.
Until next time – stay golden.
PNL
Michael
The Rebirth Of Cool 