We recently played the BBC introducing stage at radio one’s big weekend, on Sunday 11th May. The line up was great, personal highlights on the Sunday being teenage punk band Outl4w, but on the Saturday a band co-headlined called ‘White Lies‘. This band only have two tracks up on their myspace, two of the best tracks I’ve heard in a long time. They’ve consistently played these two tracks at all public appearances (Jools Holland, radio etc), which although has been frustrating because I’m dying for more, has hard rooted them in my head! They are linked below. The highlight being ‘Unfinished Business‘ the current single being given away for free download at their myspace site, also linked below. All I really know is that the bassist Charles is the boy friend of an old friend of mine (tenuous link!) and used to be in the brilliant Fear Of Flying who I think I remember seeing play at the Forum in Tunbridge Wells supporting either Jamie T or Jack Penate… I think they had a lot of similarly high profile support slots but it never really got going for them. This band however, is destined for eternal greatness! In my heart anyway.

I honesty believe that ‘unfinished business’ is an all time classic indie anthem much like this next track which to me (although not chronologically) is day one in terms of indie anthems. This is the best of the best. It has everything. And anyone who doubts it, quickly changes their mind as soon as the drums come in, and as soon as the vocals wrench you by your heart strings down to the floor they promise to never doubt it again. It’s a track called ‘The Rat’ by The Walkmen, off an album called Bows & Arrows, ancient I know and I know a lot of you will already have it but to those less lucky, this is a real treat! I’ve linked it below, hope you enjoy it!

Tom x

myspace.com/whitelies
www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/bigweekend

White Lies - Unfinished Business.mp3
White Lies - Death.mp3
The Walkmen - The Rat.m4a

This song has been in my head for a week or two, but unlike some tracks which get boring extremely quickly I’m still loving it every time it plays in my mind… It’s the new single by an African-Anglo-Italian dreadlocked reggae singer called Natty, who was first noticed by many after his appearance on Later… last month and has also been featured heavily on the playlists of Sound, Freshly Squeezed and Radio 1.

Natty is 24 and hails from London, from where he takes refuge in cafes and on sunny streets to write his heavily-Marley-inspired soulful tunes. The lyrics are brought up to date with ’street’ references (‘c’mon and give a hoodie a hug / don’t be shy, don’t be shy / they don’t bite’) and snappy rhymes and raps. The highlight of the track for me, however, is the music that accompanies them - riff-infused indie guitars and an amazingly contagious chorus line, which is the bit I’ve been singing all week…

[download#15]

When I opened my emails a week ago it turned out that I was one of those lucky few to get tickets for Big Weekend at Mote Park Maidstone.
I actually ended up getting tickets for both Saturday and Sunday…

Read it all..