Pearl Jam’s new single, ‘Mind your Manners’ has been brought to our attention prior to their forthcoming album, ‘Lightning Bolt’. This latest offering from a band renowned for their Grunge-Rock is a hard-hitting, punk-infused statement, almost unrecognisable as something that the ukulele bearing, surfer-hero, Vedder, would create. With hard-core punk riffs, suggestive of punk-rockers Bad Religion or even the Dead Kennedys, it seems that the band have done a u-turn and returned to their roots in releasing this youthfully ferocious song.

The second single to be released from Troubadour Rose’s debut album, ‘Find an Arrow’, is a beautifully traditional folk ditty. Filled with the harmonious sounds of mandolin, banjo and violin, ‘Tell Me’ is both uplifting and evocative. With songstress Bryony Afferson’s simply smooth and striking vocals, along with the flowing melodies and pretty harmonies that are created, this snippet of trad-folk induces feelings of sadness to be missing the wonderful Cambridge Folk Festival this year. However, if you too are missing out, listening to this sweet song will succeed in transporting you to a field on a sunny day, sitting on hay bales sipping on a jar of cider…

Hot Chip’s new, one off, single – ‘Dark & Stormy’ comes out just over a year after their fourth album ‘In Our Heads’ was released. With the characteristic electro-indie sound, the somewhat sinister lyrics about sadness and disease strike one as a contrast to the cheerful heat wave we have been enjoying in recent weeks. However, ‘Dark & Stormy’ doesn’t fail to provide us with the familiar, friendly vocals of Alexis Taylor, making it hard not to sing along to, and the distinctive synth-riffs we have come to know and love invite jovial foot-tapping to the incessant, repeated beat.

Unsigned ‘Tip of the Week’ : Carlito – ‘Dreams’ :

Formed in 2011, Kingston band, Carlito, have just released their new single, ‘Dreams’. Having recently supported the likes of Palma Violets, these indie-rockers have now managed to create a rich and compelling track; with reverb-filled, pumping riffs reminiscent of Queens of The Stone Age intertwined with an impassioned, post-punk sound and hearty vocals, ‘Dreams’ is nothing short of a sophisticated rock song. It therefore seems to me like Carlito’s own Dreams should be coming true sometime very soon.

www.carlitomusic.co.uk

Mari Lane