Tracks Of The Week, 23.04.15 - GigslutzGigslutz

Four piece Pretty Vicious are a group of five teenagers making music for clubs their age permits them to remain outside the walls of. Following the Welsh group’s first single, ‘Cave Song’ – which caused an almighty storm in the form of gaining mass attention from NME and Radio 1 – is the death-defying ‘It’s Always There’.

Driven by the rough-and-ready, raw vocal of front-man Brad Griffiths, ‘It’s Always There’ is a swirling whirlpool of mass destruction, pummeling and overruling any other rock release seen this year.

Prepare for the onslaught. If ‘It’s Always There’ – the boat-tipper – is anything to go by, then Pretty Vicious, who are signed to Virgin EMI Records, are going to change the course of music history. You can catch the band at this year’s Reading & Leeds Takeover at Club NME, where they perform alongside The Maccabees (and Rat Boy), this summer.

The latest signing by Parlophone Records is a nineteen year rascal, whose first official single sees the coolest thing to come out of Essex, admitting he’s previously lost a job in Weatherspoons, that he is in possession of shoes with “holes in the soles” and is living in “second-hand clothes”.

Rat Boy‘s (who is fresh from touring with Liverpool’s Circa Waves) debut track, ‘Sign On’ – which has already gained Radio 1 airplay – is the most electrifyingly exciting sound we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing since the release of Jamie T’s ‘Sticks N’ Stones’, and maybe even The Streets’ iconic, ‘Fit But You Know It’.

Already a firm favourite of the legendary Steve Lamacq and now Fearne Cotton, Rat Boy, and his contemplation of signing on, are a breath of fresh air.

‘Sign On’, the debut track from Rat Boy, is released June 1.

With the definition of her name being “a natural, electrical phenomenon”, Norwegian songstress, AURORA, has managed to spark complete chaos, by releasing the title-track of her forthcoming debut EP, Running With The Wolves. A perfectly pristine concoction of pure-pop, heart-felt ballad and affluent electronica, ‘Running With The Wolves’ is a heartstring-tugging celebration of carefully crafted talent.

Being the follow-up single to the previously released ‘Runaway’,’Running With The Wolves’ pronounces the Bergen-born singer-songwriter as holding one of the most graceful and elegant voices in the business. Keep your eyes peeled for the Running With The Wolves EP, set to be released via Glassnote Records.

With HBO’s Game of Thrones making a return, it’s fair to say that the notorious AGOT fever has hit us hard… Again. A band who’ve recently completed a live session for BBC Introducing at the renowned Maida Vale Studios have managed to put the world’s infatuated obsession with the cult-like show’s heroine, ‘Khaleesi’, into writing. The culprits? Ambassadors for the ever-growing North-East music scene: Lisbon. Their ode to the Game of Thrones leader boasts a juxtaposition between commanding vocals and swooning guitars, making this track the perfectly tainted anthem for the extensive, scorching summer we’ll probably be lucky to see this year.

Playing a string of festivals this summer, including Kendal Calling, Lisbon are well on their way to making it to the top, as well as permanently altering the way ‘Khaleesi’ rings in your head forever.