In this week's LeftLion's Latest Listens, our music team reviews new releases from Grain Mother, ALT BLK ERA (with Wheatus), and Drew Thomas...
Single: Grain Mother - Peripatetic
With the Grain Mother project, Alice Robbins has settled into a new era of ever-more wistful, personal folk-tinged writing. Expressing memories and hopes through beautifully poetic song, Peripatetic combines warm, enveloping sounds: rich with piano and muted guitars and overlaid with Alice's delicately floating vocals. Meanwhile, the band's harmonies hum in support, adding further depth. Listen closely to the lyrics and there's something tough and bold burning there, too, reminding us never to jump to conclusions. @grainmotherband (Phil Taylor)
Single: ALT BLK ERA + Wheatus - My Drummer's Girlfriend
As if it wasn’t already one of the best songs to come out of Nottingham this year, with its ultra-catchy chorus, big indie guitar groove and relatable lyrics about the toxic, unwanted people in your life. Now, sister duo ALT BLK ERA have teamed up with the 00s rock heroes Wheatus for this new remixed version of their viral TikTok hit, My Drummer’s Girlfriend. On top of additional vocal work and instrumentation, it features a new verse from Wheatus frontman Brendan B. Brown where he sings of “selling out shows every other weekend”. It’s a fun update to an already great song, and cool to see one of our city’s hottest acts get the seal of approval from the veteran Teenage Dirtbag hitmakers. @altblkera (Karl Blakesley)
Single: Drew Thomas - I'm Sorry (You're Lonely)
Drew Thomas shows great balance here, resisting the temptation to blast us with energy from the start and instead treating us to a well measured build. I'm Sorry (You're Lonely) opens softly with acoustic guitar at the front and brooding electrics in the background; from long-echoing notes emerges Drew's vocal, sizzling with restraint. A minute in, and everything opens up into a huge chorus combining alt-rock and glam sounds. It's a great tune and Drew has a lot of fun with it, throwing in proficient and artful touches including a brilliant complete stop at one point which heralds a temporarily hushed section before a satisfying rush to the finish. @drewthomasmusic (Phil Taylor)
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