Drowners Review (Rough Trade East, 22/2/14)

Photo by Avalon Hale-Thomson

It's not often that you are placed into a room (out of choice, obviously) with a bunch of people you recognise from the internet, who all happen to be asking the same question: 'Now, what's her @ again?'. Well, last Saturday, I experienced exactly that. Rough Trade was (not quite) full to the brim of denim jacket wearing, Doc Marten owning, iPhone clutching teenage girls (and a few boys), all waiting in anticipation to see Matt Hitt's actual, real life face. Admittedly, I was one of those girls too, but it didn't really occur to me at the time and if it did, I don't think I would be particularly bothered.

By Mia Fox

Drowners started off with 'Ways to Phrase a Rejection', which didn't make much of an impact on the quite-tired-already crowd, but you could hear the small squeals when Matt Hitt smiled or when Jack Ridley pointed his guitar higher in the air and that definitely got the crowd moving. Next (correct me if I'm wrong) was 'Unzip Your Harrington'. More people knew the words to this one so it made it more enjoyable automatically. Matt dedicated the song to a girl obviously wearing a harrington, who panicked and squealed even more. I still need to find out who that girl was. Both 'Luv, Hold Me Down' and 'Long Hair', were definitely the most enjoyable songs, as everyone knew the words and no one cared about looking stupid whilst dancing, especially me.

 The 'gig' (not too sure if it can be classed as a gig) was at 1pm, so was a lot less hassle than it being at night, and the crowd were not extremely rough, which I think was perfect for Drowners, and enabled me to actually pay attention to them, which is always a bonus.

By Mia Fox

One of the many great things about Rough Trade instores, is that you get to meet the band/artist afterwards. Matt Hitt had his own small section in the extremely unorganised queue and being quite drunk, he just said whatever came to his mind first. I don't know how many selfies he was forced to be in but however many there were, he looked damn good in every single one of them.

Although sometimes forgotten, the other members of Drowners that were willing to meet many, slightly breathless teenage girls, Jack Ridley and Erik Lee Snyder, were indeed, very nice and had the most beautiful New York accents ever. I wish they sang on the album, just so they could show off their accents. All members were very chilled about the whole situation, which surprised me, but then I remembered that band members are real people.

If you live in London and haven't been to an instore of any kind, then, what are you doing? They are genuinely the best alternative to normal gigs and provide that intimacy between the band and audience that everyone seems to moan about now because it 'never happens anymore'. And if you, unfortunately, don't live in London, make sure that the next time you come down is for a Rough Trade instore. You won't regret it.

- Amy

Introducing: Luna Webster

 I'm not sure if 'home grown' could even be a phrase to describe a certain type of music but it sounds nice anyway. Even if it doesn't exist, I would describe Luna Webster as a 'home grown' artist. Based somewhere in Scotland, her live music has stayed there, but her music online been spread throughout the UK, thanks to the magical world of social media. A lover of many interesting things, including Quentin Tarantino, Arcade Fire, feminism and Breaking Bad, you could say Luna is 'relatable' to many teenagers today. She's very interesting even before we get onto talking about her music! Her debut EP was recorded over a year ago and although she apologises for the lack of recording going on and states 'I'M NOT DEAD', she is always, reassuringly, writing songs and producing wonderful stuff.

Her EP is so lovely, I really do adore it. So haunting yet inviting at the same time. Even Jim from Tribes has a copy of her EP! 'Hollywood May be Dead but Let's Dance on the Gravestones' is the title, and I'm sure it has some secret, personal meaning behind it but I'm not going to bother guessing for you, you can figure it out yourself. As I said earlier, Luna's popularity has really increased through social media. A well known face on twitter, Luna and her small, yet strong, fanbase are always there to promote Luna's music and work. I remember when I first heard my favourite song by Luna, Liquor and Lipstick , I tweeted Luna saying how much I loved it and she thanked me, genuinely. I can't imagine what it's like being told that your music or work or whatever is truly loved by someone you may have not even met anymore. I'm sure it's a wonderful feeling.

You can buy Luna's EP here (I strongly suggest that you do)
Check out Luna's Facebook here, her Soundcloud here and Twitter here.




I guess by 'home grown', I meant someone who has managed to do a lot of their work themselves, and is really proud of it, even if it is not as widely appreciated as they'd like it to be. These 'home grown' artists could one day take off and be HUGE and have a HUGE fanbase but of course, it would be pretty hard to forget the people who were there 'from the start' (to put that phrase in the least cringey way possible) and the people who helped them. There are many artists like this, just like Luna Webster, and long may they continue.

- Amy

Review: So Long, See You Tomorrow - Bombay Bicycle Club

9/10

It had been three years since A Different Kind of Fix and fans were starting to become restless. The creators of the album had kept a low profile for most of these three years, until, one day, a new album was announced. Those fans were restless no more. 

Bombay Bicycle Club's fourth album came out earlier this week and being a die-hard Bombay fan, I found it quite hard to fault. I have to admit, I did feel quite impatient during the three year gap between Bombay's third and fourth albums. This may come across as biased, seeing as I am a huge BBC fan, but, So Long, See You Tomorrow, was 100% worth the wait and one of the best albums of 2014 (so far). It is absolutely stunning, sounds very different to the previous Bombay sound but makes me feel so special, as if the band were holding a private gig in my front room. 
I'd heard that the whole album was inspired by Jack Steadman's travels, so I was unsure of what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. 

The first track, Overdone, feels like a song that you would wake up to, to then find yourself in a heaven-like paradise. There are violins, clarinets, and many other orchestral instruments which would be amazing to see live. It flows so well into It's Alright Now, a song that you can imagine slightly drunk hippies dancing away to in the middle of a field (in the best way possible of course). Carry Me is next which really doesn't need explaining. IT'S SUCH A GOOD SONG. I found myself singing the riff on the tube the other day and someone opposite acknowledged the song and we smiled for one short moment. Home by Now is the song where Jack Steadman could have reached a traditional town in Sweden during his travels. It's so happy and carefree. You could say that Luna is the United States of the album. It sounds hopeful, powerful and inspiring and has a good walking pace, so could be quite encouraging.  Come To is one of my favourites on the album. Like many second-before-last tracks, it's the calming down song, a preparation for the last final phenomenon. The final song does sadly, eventually arrive and what a way to end a fantastic album! So Long, See You Tomorrow is a six minute extravaganza of every sound on the album (and perhaps even their previous albums) put together. Obviously, it is a great extravaganza and by the time it is all finished, it shall make you realise how good Bombay Bicycle Club actually are. I hope you had realised that before. 

-Amy

The Garden

By Rachelyn Remz

Obsessions are strange things and can sometimes become uncontrollable, hard to explain (like The Strokes song) heartbreaking and annoyingly enjoyable. It doesn't matter what it is about or when you'll have one, but everyone is GUARANTEED an obsession.

My latest obsession are the Shears twins, also known as The Garden, who have been floating around the media for quite some time. They're long-legged, black-indulged, floppy-haired and have the 'I don't care' attitude, which is the best way to go about things in our confusing world.
The band 'The Garden' is made up by the two twins, Wyatt (bass and vocals) and Fletcher (drums) Shears, who are signed to Burger Records and both have side projects. Wyatt's is 'Enjoy' which sounds quite different to The Garden sound and could be classed as '80's funky music', or something like that, but Wyatt says that he has no influence from the 80's WHAT-SO-EVER. Fletcher's is 'Puzzle', which again, sounds very different to The Garden and you could say that it sounds much like his brother's side project, but I don't know if I have the right to say that.
Their debut album 'The Life and Times of a Paperclip' was released mid - 2013 and even though they are still a relatively un-heard of band, it did boost their popularity. You could describe The Garden's music as 'punk rock' but as the twins have explained in various interviews, they didn't feel as though they had to be categorised into a genre that already existed, so they created their own. Vada Vada, which is them in their own world. They even have their own dance. The song, Vada Vada, is very very fast paced and seeing it live online looks quite intense as you never know what speed it's going to be played at. It consists of the lyrics 'I want to do the vada vada vada vada. Let's do the vada vada vada vada. Vada-vada, vada vada vada vada vada. Vada-vada, vada vada vada vada vada vada.' Brilliant.
All of their songs are only about a minute long, the longest on their album being 1 minute 36. I think it's great that they're quite short because it keeps you excited, eager to hear more. All songs are played really really fast which is something that has been influenced by their father's music.

I sometimes imagine what it would be like to see them live. I've watched clips online of their gigs and have seen the mentality of it all and how exciting it looks. All the jumping around probably wouldn't be ideal for a 5ft 2 fourteen year old but that wouldn't matter - the thrill of it all would almost distract everyone from everything else that would be going on around them, hopefully that excludes the music. The Garden are actually setting off to Europe tomorrow to play some shows. Unfortunately, many are 18+ which restricts a lot of people (including me) but hopefully they will be back soon with some all ages gigs (the constant wish for fans of various bands).  


Another unsurprising fact is that both Shears twins are also models. Long, skinny legs seem to get you everywhere these days. They explain in an interview with 'The Fashion Law' (read here) that 'a guy named Patrick' spotted them during a gig and 'emailed some people'. These people happened to be the managers at Yves Saint Laurent and soon enough, both twins were walking down the catwalk for the Men's Fall/Winter 2013 collection. Wyatt opened the show and Fletcher closed it. The best decision Hedi Slimane has ever made. You can relive the whole show here. As always, there is a campaign for every season at YSL and the Winter/Fall '13 was done by The Garden. It showcases various shots and drawings of Wyatt and Fletcher, with the band's 'What We Are' playing in the background. You can watch that here. 

A short documentary was recently made about the twins, who share the influence of their father's music, being in their own universe and how they were forced to play roller hockey. It's a wonderful short video which makes me like the band even more. 
It must be terrifying to have long flowy hair, long skinny legs, an intriguing personality, a twin AND be the dream of many teenage girls. I don't know how The Garden do it.

Links:                        

Facebook      Twitter      Soundcloud      Instagram 

-Amy 

Review: Warpaint's self titled album

8.5/10

Everything Warpaint do always turns me into a meaningful, trying-to-be-interesting teenager and honestly, I love it. I love that they're a girl band and they haven't turned out crap because lets face it, most do. Warpaint make me feel important to the world and make me want to go out and do everything I've ever wanted to do. Their latest album is no different.

Warpaint's self titled, second album is not a huge change from their usual sound but feels a lot more complex than anything that they have done before. It's been three (and a bit) years since their debut and an extraordinary ten years since they formed. They have certainly come a long way, and it has all been worth it.

'Intro' is obviously, an introduction to the album. It starts off with a steady, repetitive drum beat and a calming guitar riff, along with a few intentional "Sorry, I came in at the wrong time" type lines. Keeping it raw. 'Keep it Healthy' comes next, staying very close to Warpaint's routes. Echoey vocals, a short yet VERY catchy riff and a drum beat that you find yourself nodding along to. Next is the single 'Love is to Die', which is definitely one of my favourites. When first hearing it, it kept me hopeful, knowing that 'Warpaint' would not disappoint. A few tracks go by, then my personal favourite comes along. 'Disco//very' feels quite different to the rest of album. It makes me want go out and be really cool, in a hoody, and go round and cause trouble. It's not surprising with the lyrics 'She'll eat you alive'. For such a short and simple name, 'CC' is a very interesting song. It's third to last on the whole album and feels like it's preparing you for the end, sort of like a calming down song until we do, unfortunately, end up at the last song, 'Son'. Just from the name, the meaning on the song could be interpreted in various ways. Although it is the last song and the song which finishes a fabulous album, it does feel like Warpaint have gone right back to their first songs, which is definitely not a bad thing! Perhaps it is a reminder that they are still the Warpaint they were when they first started, seeing as both 'Exquisite Corpse' and 'The Fool' got some very good reviews. And who could blame them?

-Amy

Pussy Riot and their rightful freedom

Pussy Riot in their memorable balaclava's 

I honestly smiled and let out a small squeal (something I seem to do a lot now) when I found out that both remaining members of Pussy Riot had been freed recently. A few months back I watched a BBC documentary on Pussy Riot and felt extremely angry whilst watching it. I also felt quite confused as I thought that what they did wasn't that bad. But I'm not religious so I guess I wouldn't have anyway.
I'm sure that most people know who Pussy Riot are and what they did but here is a very brief summary: they were/are a feminist punk group from Russia who protested and performed their song "Punk Prayer - Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!" against the President ,Vladimir Putin, in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Three of the members were arrested on March 3rd 2012 but one was released a week later. Since then, the two remaining members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, have faced various trials whilst their families and other members of Pussy Riot have protested for their freedom.

Yekaterina Samutsevich, Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (Left to Right)

People who were oblivious to Pussy Riot (before reading this) may have missed out the fact that they were a band. They made protest songs and sung them in various places and of course, one of these shows led to arrest. I'm not entirely sure what my views on these songs are because I am not a big 'punk' fan and their songs are in Russian so I have absolutely no idea what they're saying.
It's lovely to hear that whilst they were in prison, people around the world were protesting for them and holding meet ups and spreading the word. A song was made called 'Free Pussy Riot' which thankfully isn't in Russian and it shows many people supporting them. There's a clip of The Hives showing their support which I think is pretty cool of them.
Of course not everyone is going to agree with what Pussy Riot did and people who aren't feminists won't find them to be good people but I don't think that they should let it slip their minds about the courage that these women used to get their cause across.
I now feel as though I've lost a small sense of my purpose as it's irrelevant to tweet #FREEPUSSYRIOT constantly or to share a dozen links of the latest Pussy Riot news or to blab on about how angry I am. Although, I would never put doing these things above their freedom. I'm just happy that Putin has had some sense to let them go.
After a few minutes of thought, I've created a new hashtag which hopefully catches on.

#LONGLIVEPUSSYRIOT

- Amy 

Bedroom Walls

I am guessing that most teenagers of this day and age have bedroom walls covered in posters, gig tickets, photos and other precious memoirs; I am only assuming this though. I have discovered that here at FIBLAR, we have quite a varied range of bedroom walls which are all magnificent and need to be shared. 

Molly's Wall

It's kind of typical nowadays for a teenager's bedroom walls to be entirely dominated by pictures and posters of the things that they love. The wall behind my bed used to be just that; every inch covered in tiny little pictures cut from magazines, no order or pattern at all. Thankfully, that phase has ended and around a month ago, I decided I no longer liked how my wall looked. I took everything down and kept only the biggest things, arranging them in a new, minimalistic and almost symmetrical way, which I am immensely proud of. The wall includes Palma Violets, The Smiths, The Vaccines, JAWS and more, but taking centre stage is Biffy Clyro (I also have a poster of them on my ceiling) because really, I just love looking at Simon Neil.



Amelia's Wall

  This is above my desk. My stereo is blocking out a lovely picture of grimes and hidden behind my lamp is the poster of peace that came with In Love.

This is a close up of my main wall featuring some bunting and fairy lights. I think I stuck this up around the time In Love came out and every magazine was filled with Peace pictures as there seems to be an alarming amount. Having a slanted ceiling makes fitting stuff in a challenge but all the more rewarding when it ends up looking ok.








Laura's wall

 Filled with indie dreamboats, memories, tickets and whatever else is up there; my walls are the best part of my room. The photos of me and band members from gigs of the past are there such as Peace, Swim Deep and JAWS. Smaller sections are dedicated to various artists such as Everything Everything, Arctic Monkeys and Haim. Almost every band or artist that puts a smile on my face, they're all on there.




Sometimes I take a moment to step back while music hums in the background and look around my walls - reading what the Peace lads wrote on the back of the photo we got together in April, seeing photos of me and JAWS taken inside the Think tank and Swim Deep outside. Metro tickets with the dates of shows on them, reminding me of how good thise nights were and that limited edition poster of Mark Owen my friend got me last year when I thought I'd never get to meet him. Everyone on my walls, they're all there for a reason - because they mean something to me.


Paige's Wall

 I tend to hoard any music related 'stuff'. That stuff is usually posters, old tickets, ripped magazine articles. This is for a few very basic reasons which I shall list:

1. It makes my very dark room look very cool

2. I feel like I'm hanging out with a different rockstar every night - a thrilling idea!

3. It's a form of escapism for when I want to burn my school work






Rohanie's Wall

 I have 3 walls covered in various scraps of paper and magazine cuttings, but this is the wall by my bed and so is my favourite.
I moved on from the plastering my walls from top to bottom with posters when I was about 14, since then I've been blu tacking various gigs tickets, adverts, articles, photos and posters until I was almost back to my circa 2009 roots, this time without dodgy google images of mgmt and Jonny Pierce (of The Drums) printed from my more than temperamental printer. My favourite parts of this wall are my Horrors tickets signed by the band when I met them in 2011 and Felix of the Maccabees' plectrum I caught in a fantastically James Bond moment at their gig in Birmingham in January 2012. My room was once a hideous cerise colour (the paint was actually called "sexy pink" which made my 7 year old self feel so punk rock) but it got painted to a more ~mature~ pastel colour, that ended up acting as a canvas for the scraps of all sorts that ended up being stuck on the walls. Other highlights include the 7 pictures of Grimes, a limited edition print by artist Robert Ryan and a handwritten setlist by Gareth of lc!, handed into my very hand by the then bassist Ellen, a moment that I replayed in my head in the car journey over and over until I had near convinced myself it hadn't happened and was a materialisation of my dazed mind. 

As skin crawlingly embarrassing as it may appear, my walls feel like memories, scrapbooks of what's happened so far in my life, although the majority is gig tickets from the past 3 years, there's dodgy disposal camera photos from a school trip to Germany when I was 14, clothing tags from the first time I went to brick lane aged 12, a photo of me dressed as elvis Presley as part of my tap dancing classes aged 3, a Drums poster I took off a notice board from Birmingham city university social sciences department when waiting for my mum to finish work. The only regret I have is when I move away for uni in (hopefully) 2 years, and having to intricately prise everything off the walls, pack them away and reapply them to my prison cell of a halls room, nostalgically reminiscing of a time when I had pastel pink walls and enough floor space to ultimately unsuccessfully practise doing the splits for 8 years. (the bird paintings came when I was on a school trip to france and my mum got bored)

ps. the square shaped hole is where one if my mums paintings was before being used for an exhibition, I haven't found anything suitable to fill the geometric gap yet

Nina's wall

I wish I could say there's some really deep meaning behind the posters on my wall but really all that's behind them is blu tack. But at the same time I guess certain posters can bring back memories like songs can such as my Swim Deep tour poster which reminds me of where I met one of my now best friends.

Avalon's wall 

I have always enjoyed having posters on my walls - when I was ten, I had a slightly creepy obsession with the youtuber charlieissocoollike, so I built my own 'wall of stuff' to match his. This summer, I decided that the jumble of pictures on my walls was pointless, outdated and ugly. I spent two days tearing them down and painting the wall white. I listened exclusively to Splashh and Dog is Dead and wore only my bra and faded denim cutoffs. Starting from scratch I made a 'music wall' - basically a shrine to my favourite bands and musicians. The pictures are a combination of ebay and tour posters, cutouts from NME, and A4 sheets printed secretly from my school's art room. There are a bunch of gig tickets, and awkward photos with band members, and just things that make me happy - photos taken on broken disposable cameras at gigs, polaroids with friends, pages ripped from magazines, photobooth pictures. I add things to it everyday, and it is very much still a work in progress. I am not even sure that it will ever be done!

Amy's Wall

I don't like my room. I never actually have. The first stages of my wall started in the summer of 2012 where I thought I was very cool having pictures of YouTubers and small, motivational yet cringey notes stuck up on every inch of my wall. I then started reading NME and a huge Jake Bugg obsession hit me like a swarm of flies; this urged me to have NME cutouts and front covers arranged on my wall in a messy fashion. My skin would be crawling if I had to re-live that wall and see the chaos of it. My next stage came quite recently, perhaps during summer this year, and is now the stage of my current wall. I decided that order and organisation satisfied me a lot so wanted to portray this on my wall. I built it around my Ben Howard poster which I bought at the Summer Stampede earlier this year. I have a small section dedicated to David Bowie as know that my obsession with Bowie will (fortunately) never leave. I bought The Beatles poster with no real reason at all; It just fitted in the gap that my wall once possessed. I only put the christmas lights up earlier this week but may have to keep them for the whole year until I need a new set. A few weeks ago, I decided that, yet again, I dislike my wall. I haven't tried to rearrange it as I simply do not have the effort. I plan to paint all my walls white so it feels minimalistic and clean; just how I want it. I probably won't change it for a while as I know my mind will surely return to the state that it were once in.

-Amy x

Our Favourite Albums

Hi guys, Laura here! I guess we all have a favourite album so a few of us thought we'd share ours with you all...

Georgie - My favourite album is definitely Primary Colours by The Horrors. I started listening to The Horrors when I was in Year 7 of secondary school and I guess that was the time my taste in music really began to develop and change. Of course, I loved everything about Strange House- but there's just something about Primary Colours that no other album will ever beat (for me personally anyway). It's literally everything you could ever ask for from music and everytime I listen to it it blows my mind how something this beautiful was created by human hands. There's no end to the reasons of why I'd recommend it to someone as it's incredibly difficult to put into words just how great this album is. Like, seriously. It's amazing. Listen to it.

Laura - My favourite album is probably Reality Killed The Video Star by Robbie Williams. It was the first album of his I heard and instantly fell in love with it, my 13 year old self was obviously very pleased with what she heard as the love has lasted. The album kicks off with Morning Sun, a slow ballad-like song hich was the official single for Sport Relief 2010. The album glides through a range of genres including the pop sounds of Do You Mind, then the more dark electro sound of Last Days Of Disco and a little dance-rock before ending with Morning Sun Reprise, slow and graceful. I recommend this album to anyone and everyone. It doesn't fit the classic Robbie Williams sound and is quite unique. 

Molly - I always say that choosing a favourite album is tough, yet there's always one that comes into my head straight away when asked: What Did You Expect From The Vaccines, by The Vaccines (funnily enough). It was the first proper guitar album I really got into, and I have spent many a happy hour prancing about in my bedroom, pretending I'm a part of the band (usually switching between being the air-guitarist and the air-drummer; I've pretty much perfected Norgaard). In summer I'd lay down in a field listening to Wetsuit or stroll through a wood to my personal favourite track, All In White. Now it's winter, I often bring out my What Did You Expect vinyl for a spin and quietly appreciate the thrashing guitars (bit of an oxymoron there) and often serene melodies that go with them. I honestly love this album like a child loves their favourite cuddly toy, and I don't know what I'd have ever done without it.

Amy - I don't think it is ever possible to have a specific 'favourite' something. You can have favourites, but not a favourite, as people's minds change all the time. One of my favourite records I own is 'Precious'. It's a compilation album of various britpop/90's song of the 'indie rock' genre. As most people know, I am a huge fan of this era so 'Precious' is a perfect album for me. It includes many artists such as Blur, Suede, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Lush and obviously, a lot more. It being a double album is also great as there is always a slight satisfaction about owning two vinyls in one hard sleeve. My mum owned it before I borrowed/stole it. The great thing about having similar music taste to your parents is that you get all of their old CD's and vinyls. Something worth treasuring.

Paige - Although there are many albums that have touched my heart over the years (NB: The Smiths Hatful Of Hollow and David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust album) and made me instant fans of their music. However, there is one album that sticks out as being one of those "favourite" albums. For me, this is (rather unsurprisingly) MGMT's second album Congratulations. Released in 2010, I didn't discover it until a year or so later, when I quite whole-heartedly fell in love with the richness of the sound the general all out weirdness and fuzz that made it so brilliant. It was also one of the first albums I was very excited to buy because I had just got into my soon-to-be-favourite-band-of-all-time and actually felt cool being a girl who listened to MGMT. My favourite song has to be Brian Eno for the last 2 minutes where it feels like your head is going to explode into a fog of glitter and you are going to break into a dance wherever you are. Other favourite tracks include Siberian Breaks (unadultereated heartbreak) and Flash Delirium (silly money you're my honey) because they are guaranteed to take you somewhere else.

Top 5 songs to walk to

If you are like me and extremely fussy/paranoid about most things in the world then you will know how hard it is to find a good song to walk in time to. Yes, you may want to listen to your favourite song but can't because it has a too slow pace or if you decide to walk in double time then that's way to quick for your legs to keep up with! A lot of people will not understand what I just said there and quite frankly, I don't either. 

Greatest Hits // Mystery Jets

I guess you could say this song is for a 'brisk walk'. I have recently rediscovered my love for Mystery Jets as I was walking home from school the other day when it was dark and listening to this; it was magical. It took me a while to actually realise that the song is about some of the 'greatest hits' from the past 60 years or so. It mentions some of my favourites like 'It's a Shame about Ray', 'No Need to Argue' and 'Remain in Light'. Many Mystery Jets songs have fabulous walking paces but this is probably the best. 

Bros // Wolf Alice

Another song for a 'brisk walk'. Just make sure you don't annoy people behind you by dancing along to it. The video is also pretty cool as a part of it is filmed from the top deck of a bus, travelling around an area of London which seems pretty sweet. I once almost bumped into someone in Central London as I was focussing too much on the song so make sure you don't do that too.

Days Are Gone // Haim

Many people are still unsure if they like Haim or not but it doesn't really matter as this song has a GREAT walking pace. There is some feeling of satisfaction when you find a perfect walking song. It makes you want to take a long stroll around the park whilst listening to that perfect walking song on repeat, over and over again. Days are Gone is a song that can be used for many things. I've suggested it as a warm up song in dance which got some good response; it was very pleasing.

Chicken Dippers // Palma Violets

I have to admit that most Palma Violets songs have a perfect walking pace but this is probably my favourite Palma's song generally. I've walked home after buying some fancy art paper during a sunset to this and it was absolutely brilliant. I wasn't exactly alone on this walk so I did get a few odd stares from other people. The introduction makes me feel so intense and I always feel like something very dramatic is going to happen whilst I'm listening to it. That dramatic thing would probably be me falling over with excitement.

Bound // Ponderosa Twins Plus One

I though I'd end on a slightly romantic/chilled note and this is the perfect song for that. I recently discovered this song as the chorus is sampled in one of Kanye West's songs and after that, I fell in love with it. I have been playing this song on repeat for way too long. I can't say that I'm sorry about this though. The best time to walk to this song is when no one is around you or you are in an environment where people will not get bothered if you walk slowly. There are many places where this can be achieved, you just have to find them first.

Amy x

Ultimate make out songs

(this photo is cute + romantic and it's from someone's twitter)

Everyone has (or has had) (or is going to have) that someone who they think about constantly, who is never out of your mind, who makes your heart tingle whenever you think of them. It happens. You also can't go thinking about someone without thinking what it's like to make out with them. And even if you are a One Direction fan, you don't want to be making out with someone whilst 'Best Song Ever' echoes in the background, so make out songs are very important. To everyone.

Blush // Wolf Alice

Taken from Wolf Alice's latest EP, this song starts softly and makes you believe that it will stay this way. In the soft moments of the song, you can imagine everything around you being silent and you can only see that one person. You walk towards them slowly but as soon as the heavy drums come in, you race to them and the rest....well that's for you to decide.

She Changes the Weather // Swim Deep 

Seeing this song live was stunning as everyone stood still for the introduction, just waiting for that moment. Even to a non-Swim Deep fan, this song would sound utterly beautiful. The intro is an echo of Austin William's voice accompanied by a soft piano and guitar. Then the repetitive (but lovely) piano part comes in, complete with sounds of Swim Deep talking in the background. This song reminds me of someone chasing the person that they love and not giving up (as cheesy as it sounds). Like the first song, it seems like a song where you ignore everything around you and your mind is just focused on that one person. I think the video says just that and as a whole, it's very moving. 

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out // The Smiths

Every fan of The Smiths adores this song and I am sure it is very familiar to non-fans too. Just by listening to the lyrics, you know that it is a love song. "To die by your side, well the pleasure, the privilege is mine". Morrissey sings about doing anything for your loved one. Morrissey was (and still is) obviously a very poetic man but deciphering his lyrics is not hard. You can also dance away to this song which makes everything better. 

Warpaint // Baby

A lovely soft, calm song from Warpaint. You can imagine slow dancing to this after a wedding or sitting in the garden after a big party whilst feeling sorry for yourself. To me, this song is also about being maybe too protective of someone. "Don't you call anybody else baby" could have various meanings but I think we should stick to the romantic side of it.

Baby Blue // King Krule

All King Krule songs are absolutely beautiful and could all potentially be wonderful make out songs. Baby Blue is so slow and sweet and I would love to be listening to it whilst sitting under a tree, watching the sun (oh summer I miss you) and just thinking about people and love etc.

Teenage Riot // Sonic Youth

Undoubtedly one of my favourite Sonic Youth songs. This is definitely a song you have to dance to and it's up to you when you decide to stop dancing and make out with that someone. It would preferably be great if you and that someone were both teenagers but it really doesn't effect how great the song is.

My Kind of Woman // Mac Demarco

Mac Demarco makes me feel very lovey dovey and all over the place sometimes. He's a very silly but romantic person. I've walked during a beautiful orange sunset whilst listening to this song and it was such a wonderful experience. This song doesn't have the best rhythm to walk to but you can fool around and dance about instead. 

This is the Last Time // The National

This song was actually only introduced to me a week ago by one of my closest friends and I have absolutely fallen in love with it. The song title itself seems very romantic, but also very tragic, as if someone has had enough. The lyrics "I won't be vacant anymore" also justifies the unwanted feelings in the song.

Youth // Daughter

This is the single version of Youth which I prefer massively compared to the album version. Everyone fell in love with this song when they first heard it. The lyrics put across a sense of braveness but also sadness. "Setting fire to our insides for fun" sounds like something you would write on a protest banner but also something you would write on a goodbye letter. You can choose which way to interpret it. 

"The key to a kiss is a good song"

(Quote by me)

Amy x