Wow, what a busy few weeks I’ve had! Well, vaguely busy with a lack of motivation thrown in for good measure, BUT, rest assured I have still been listening to a load of new music. So, to make up for this post not quite running to schedule – which, let’s be honest, is something that only really matters to my little perfectionist brain – this playlist will feature more tracks than usual.
Now I said I’ve been listening to a load of new music, but the past few weeks have also caused me to return to a classic. Right back to the year I was born in fact. Black Hole Sun. Though this may be fairly old news now, I cannot tell you how sad I was to hear of Chris Cornell’s passing. Only a few weeks prior I had been talking about how much I adored his music, and that I would have to get back on to his records as I reminisced about my little sister, aged four, referring to Audioslave’s ‘Cochise’ as the ‘firework song’. He had become a family favourite for a period of time, and Audioslave in particular hold a lot of memories from a point in my life where I didn’t really know what was going on. Soundgarden was something I came to appreciate in its own right a little later on, and I’ve probably listened to Black Hole sun more in the last few weeks than ever before.
On a slightly more cheery note, I have found a load of new bands to adore, thanks to Common People Festival, as well as recommendations from friends.
I had already started to like Blaenavon but since seeing them at Common People I just can’t stop listening to them. The festival also reignited my love for The Magic Gang, and introduced me to Black Honey, who may well have been my favourite act of the weekend. I also included a track from Laucan; their chilled out set was incredibly haunting and even reminded me of the RY X show in London that brought a tear to my eye.
There is a track on this week’s playlist that I feel I need to talk about. Pink Guy’s ‘SMD’. This comes from an album recommended to me by Milli, and having listened to it for the first time at 2am, it just killed me. The song titles alone are stupidly funny, and then you listen to them and it’s really… awful, but kinda great at the same time. I chose ‘SMD’ because it is exactly what I expected, and actually turned out to be a really good power chant to sort out my pre-interview nerves. (I recently got given a promotion in my store and my first interview was around the time that I got told to listen to this album. Hilariously, it will now always remind me of that day and the fact that I was successful.)
Two tracks on this playlist got me super excited, as two bands I love returned with new music. First is Alvvays, their track ‘Undertow’ the perfect track at just the right time. Then there’s the riotous ‘Yuk Foo’ from Wolf Alice, a band who never fail to amaze me. Both bands have announced tours with shows in Southampton so I’m a pretty happy thing right now.
I featured Yuk Foo as Track of the Day over at Vulture Hound.
I am also mega excited to see that Metronomy will be playing at this year’s By The Sea with The Libertines and Everything Everything. I had the most incredible time there last year, so I’m prepping myself for another wonderful weekend in my home town, surrounded by the best music.
Check out my playlist here:
https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/1121399730/playlist/1Q7OxisIX9cCsZ8WWxfXYp
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Come back next week for more music finds and hit me up at Twitter (@samaanthamae) for any recommendations.
x
SAMANTHA MAE 
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