Kyle Britton is an indie folk singer, who enlisted the help of some of LA's finest musicians to play on the album and create a powerful, raw EP called, 'Riddle'. Full of surprises, this EP is authentic to it's core and it was a delight to listen to.
The opening track on the EP, 'Sleepover' eases the audience into a stylish, acoustic track with a lot of 'swag' (I can't believe I've just typed that but honestly that's how it sounds) and flare to it which we can see a lot more of throughout the EP. A lighthearted track about spending the night with someone, it's sexy but not crude, it's edgier and everything you would want from this kind of track.
The next track on the EP is 'Riddle' which is the first of two singles from the EP. Now, this is a lot edgier which is demonstrated a lot more throughout the rest of the EP. The use of acoustic and strings adds to the atmosphere of the song. You can hear the pain within Britton's voice towards the end of the track which shows real and raw emotion. A song about a poisonous love affair and the enduring pain that follows, it's still sounds edgy with a sexiness and mystery too it. The track has been incredibly crafted together and shows true talent. 'Villain' for me is very theatrical. You can almost see the movie or scene from a play being acted out in front of you, I really love this aspect of the song and how it strings up such strong images. Repeatedly singing 'I'm a bad boy' we hear the gravally and darker tone to Kyle Britton's voice which draws the audience in deeper. Again, it's sexy and makes you want to know more about this 'bad boy'. With lyrics such as 'the chill in your spine when your lips touch mine is not love', just sound so dark and makes you want to tame the 'villain'.
The final two tracks 'Shade of Grey' and 'Fire Walker' are very similar again, with rock edge to the tracks but still keeping with the acoustic side the entire EP just feels very natural and organically created. His raspy voice is captivating and it's definitely worth checking out. It's a darker take on acoustic music to what I'm used to. But it's also very theatrical and image provoking. Dark, sexy lyrics and melody with a raspy voice, what more could you want?
The indie pop song, Shenna has recently released her single, 'So Low' off of her upcoming album 'Made of Gold' set to be released later this year and if there's one thing this track will do, its get you up on the dance floor dancing along to it.
With infectious beats, there is a great bounce to the track and Shenna's unique voice reminds me a little of Lady Gaga meets Demi Lovato on the track. The track, for me has an almost futuristic sound to it which stems from the beats that have been created. A track that is destined to be a club hit, there's a little bit of everything with techno bass beats and synthesised vocals mixed with parts of rap, it's mixed incredibly well. Shenna also has an incredible voice that's very varied. She can easily switch from a pop sound to her R&B nature. 'So Low' is a track that tells a story of an individual gaining independence and acknowledging the fact that they can make it on their own in the world by letting go of everything holding them back from success. The track was also produced by Austin Bello from Forever the Sickest Kids, his work is also shown throughout the rest of her upcoming album.
If there's something missing from the music world at the moment, for me, it's a classic rock sound. These days, I find that rock music either falls into being heavy 'metal' music or falls between the lines of pop/rock but we never have that classic sound. That's where Love Ghost comes into action with their new single 'Friday Afternoon'.
Love Ghost, surprisingly, is made up of five incredibly talented teenagers, the frontman, Finn Bell is only 15 but that's hard to believe as his lyrics and musical arrangements are mature and beyond his years. They have a raw musical style inspired by the 90's grunge mixing with alternative rock to create their modern sound of rock music whilst still keeping it classic and timeless.
'Friday Afternoon' itself is about standing up for yourself particularly in your teenage years, where I feel a lot of people struggle. The mix of strings with the typical rock sound of guitars and drums adds a unique take. With the soft voice from Finn Bell it's a captivating track with a lot of depth to it. Bell's voice sounds incredibly mature throughout the track and is very impressive to have that amount of grit and emotion in his voice at such a young age. The chorus becomes that of a classic rock tracks that I would listen to when I was younger with that more echoing sound. It's clear to see influences from Nirvana, Alice In Chains and Smashing Pumpkins.
It's a brilliant debut from such a young band who've been together just over a year. They've also had some great success already opening for artists such as The Tubes and Berlin as well as playing festivals including Make Music Pasadena and Echo Park Rising. It'll be surprising if these don't make some noise coming into the world of rock music.
From the first trackLaura Roy had captured my attention and had me tapping away at my keyboard. That for me, is how I know it's a great release. Sometimes I'm sat at my keyboard wandering what to type about artists, though I might like the song they don't necessarily get me excited. Whereas Laura Roy's self titled EP wasn't one of those occasions for me. I couldn't wait to share her music with you.
The album sounds incredibly fun, it's the kind of EP that will get you up dancing just from the melodies alone. The R&B pop singer is incredible! It's not surprising that she has shared the stage with artists such as Jully Black, JRDN, Ludacris, Rakik and Freddy Gibbs and attended the prestigious Gordie Sampson Songcamp put on by the Grammy-winning writer in Nova Scotia for four years as well as being invited to participate in songwriting camps via The Songwriter's Association of Canada in Montreal and Toronto in 2015. It was here that Laura had the chance to write and connect with producers and writers like Rob Wells (Justin Bieber), Alex Greggs (Lady Gaga) Caitlyn Smith (Meghan Trainor, John Legend) and Gordie Sampson himself (Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill). Reading her background it's not surprising that she had managed to create a fantastic self titled EP.
The six track EP is filled with potential hits which is why it got me so excited. The R&B singers music has synth pop sounds mixed with soulful melodies and catchy hooks. Her songs are incredibly catchy and makes you feel like getting up and dance and have fun. The opening track, 'Don't Chase The Feeling' is a prime example of this. The verses are understated but incredibly well written building to this crescendo of a chorus which is so catchy and playful. The bridge shows Laura Roy's more soulful and powerhouse of a voice. It's a brilliant opening track for the EP.
'Looking the Other Way' is next which is a bit more soulful and reminds me of 90s R&B. A song about a broken relationship with lyrics such as 'because you had it, then you lost it, now you're mad that I'm okay' something that most of us have experienced in our lives. Her songs are easy to relate to as well as positive and encouraging for you to get on with your own life. It's clear that she's taken everything she's learnt to create this brilliantly put together EP.
'Bright Lights' is definitely my favourite track off the EP. A song about 'trying to make it on my own' and chasing after your own dreams. I can imagine this in a movie - you know about a team or a star that lost their opportunity and by the end of the movie they get it all back a little bit like Disney movie Ice Princess(just me?). I just think it's so optimistic and encouraging. Laura's voice sounds incredible and you can see her music taking over the charts with this track.
'Full Moon' is a lot softer and definitely exploring her more soulful side whilst still keeping her pop and synth sounds. Again it's a beautiful track about love and 'holding it together'. A song about soul mates and 'finding our way through the dark'. It's romantic about holding on to the people you love through anything. It reminds me a little of Carly Rae Jepson with a little more soul in her voice.
'Take Me Down' has more fight to it, especially melody driven. Her voice takes a bit more of a blues tone to it, particularly in the beginning. It's a little bit more alluring and sultry. Again, Laura uses her powerful soulful voice at the beginning of the chorus. She's managed to find an amazing balance between her soul and R&B influence with a current pop and synth sound, which makes her incredibly unique.
'Plastic' is a little more darker. Definitely more of her soulful sound is coming out in this track, reminding me a little of Rihana's 'Unfaithful'. It definitely has that moody edge to it like that track had too. This track definitely shows off her vocal range and abilities, she's not hiding behind anything. Especially when you listen to her acoustic version you can hear what an incredible artist Laura Roy is. The EP is full of potential and I can't wait to see what Laura Roy has up her sleeve next. Incredibly underrated she is a rising star and one to watch out for. You can download her EP on iTunes now or listen on Spotify.
Check out Laura Roy's acoustic version of 'Plastic' below:
I was rummaging around my makeup collection the other day when I stumbled across a lip product I had never tried before. I think it must've been a free sample in a beauty box or something and the colour terrified me a little which is probably why I never even tested it but, when I found it the other day it got me a little curious to try it. The lip product in question is from Too Faced a brand I've heard so much about but only ever tried one eyeshadow palette from before and it was there Melted Fuchsia Lipstick that caught my attention.
I've been wanting a new lipstick for a while something light and creamy on the lips, I'm not a big fan of lipglosses as I find them too sticky unless they are the liquid lipsticks, but lately I've wanted a bit more of a sheen to my lips so I thought I'd give this a go. It's a sponge applicator and as you squeeze the tube the product sinks through. I'm not going to lie I thought this would be a nightmare to apply especially because the colour seems so bright but it actually applied really easily. The sponge sticks to your lips a little making it easier to apply instead of just slipping all over the place. Although the product is really well pigmented it's not quite as vibrant as I was expecting but I quite like this as I'm not really into bright and bold lips at the moment. It's much more muted down.
The Melted Lipstick feels really nice on the lips. It does feel quite moisturising especially compared to liquid lipsticks at the moment and considering it's colour pay off. It doesn't feel tacky on your lips at all, in fact it feels like you're wearing nothing more than lip balm. I feel like you'd get better results if you did line your lips first however. I will definitely be trying out different shades as I'm surprised by how much I like the product and the colour of it too. I might have to have a cheeky Too Faced splurge soon, I saw their chocolate palette in person for the first time the other day and it looked amazing. Also everyone always raves about the brand so I might need to invest in a few pieces.
Have you tried the Melted Lipsticks from Too Faced, or any other product? Let me know your favourite below.
Whilst I was recently watching YouTube I noticed that a lot of people were using a water bottle with a gauge on the side that informed them how much water they needed to drink at certain times of the day. I'm one of those people who does actually like drinking water but I could never keep track on how much I was actually drinking so I wanted one of these bottles so I could be sure I was drinking enough water in the day and doing it properly. The brand is called HydrateM8 and I love my bottle.
HydrateM8's are a clear bottle with different coloured lids and straws, I picked myself up the orange bottle and I got Scott the blue bottle. Each of the bottles have a slogan printed on them too with a little bit of motivation, such as 'carpe diem' or 'summer mode' which I thought was a nice touch. Down the back of the bottle is where the gauge is printed on informing you how much water you should've drunk by a certain time. There is also some motivation down the side too such as 'keep drinking' 'nearly there' and 'good job' so if you don't really like drinking water I feel like this helps to encourage you.
They're brilliant for taking around with you too. The lid is very sturdy and the straws folds away so you don't have to worry about it leaking all in your bag or anything. They're brilliant for if you have to do a lot of driving. Whether that's your job entails you to drive a lot of if you're just going out for the day and it's a long drive as you don't have to worry about unscrewing any lids you just pull the straw up. I've had mine for a week now and have used it every single day. Both myself and Scott are a little obsessed with using them at the moment. I also prefer using the bottle than having to go out and keep buying bottles of water each day. This way I can keep a jug of water in the fridge and fill my own HydrateM8 up and I'm good to go.
I would highly recommend. Especially if you're someone who does need to drink more water. They're not too cheap at £13.99 but they're definitely worth it and the quality of the bottle seems amazing. HydrateM8 also Children's bottles. Obviously these are a little smaller but they're perfect for your child to take to school with them. Finally the brand also does Fruit Infusers, so if you like your water to have a little more flavour to it, you can use these to help them taste a little sweeter.
Since Christmas I've been really trying to focus on when to spend money and where to save it. For me, this hasn't always been easy. I love shopping, in particular I loved online shopping but I found that I was buying things and then never wearing them. When Anna from ViviannaDoesMakeup started her capsule wardrobe I really started to question more about my own shopping habits. Though I'm never going to be as strict with myself as some people I feel like I've come along way from where I was and I actually have some savings now.
(these were definitely not purchased in one go)
Anybody who knows me knows I love to shop. In fact when I was leaving school and you get everyone to sign your shirts, one teacher wrote on mine 'SHOPPING TIME' because he used to see me walking into town most days after school. Lately, I've been trying to only buy things when I really need something. I've also been trying to buy more investment pieces. So instead of buying a cheaper pair of black trousers for work, recently, I went to River Island and got a pair that I knew fit me well and that looked stylish because I knew I would wear them a lot more than any old pair of trousers. I feel like this is the key. With some items I feel like it's okay to spend a little more if you know you're going to get a lot of wear out of them, such as black skinny jeans, black trousers and a leather jacket to name a few. I feel like for your staple items in your wardrobe it's better to invest and spend that little more if it's going to last you longer.
Also in recent months I've been shopping in places that I know fit me well, sometimes I'd buy things because I really liked the pattern or style but when I actually put them on I either didn't feel comfortable in it or it didn't fit me very well. I've still got too many items in my wardrobe but I feel like they are things that I tend to wear over and over.
As well as my shopping habits, I've been trying to spend money on less takeaways (why I was eating so many, I'm not quite sure) and using that money for myself and Scott to do things. I much prefer us actually going somewhere for the day or just going out to a restaurant rather than eating fast food all the time. I feel like it's important to do things as a couple whether that's go to the cinema, or out for a meal or if you want to go to the zoo. There's an endless amount of activities you can do as a couple and I feel like you get to a stage where you become really comfortable with each other that you forget to actually have fun. Me and Scott got to that point where we were just coming home from work cooking dinner and watching a film and it got boring so lately we're we've both been saving money we've decided to actually go out to different places. Try different pubs around us or go a little bit further away from home (my tapping in postcodes into the satnav could be better) but it's definitely been a lot more fun.
Again, this has been one of those rambly posts from me today, but isn't that what my Tuesday posts all about? Just to get my thoughts out there. Let me know you're own thoughts on spending your money more wisely.
Today's music post comes in the form of cinematic dirt rock band, Forebear with their latest single 'Delroy Lindo'. I had no idea what to expect when I started listening to the band I was expecting something quite heavy with the description of 'dirt rock band' but was pleasantly surprised that the track was much more meaningful and thought provoking. The track showcases the bands signature sound of brooding vocal hooks, clashing guitars and mournful strings.
The band is made up of four musicians each who have worked with incredibly artists in the past such as Bastille, Randy Jackson, Keith Urban and more. The four of them met in early 2014 before forming the band. Each of the band members bring something different to the band Scott Goldbaum's vocals are gorgeous, and incredibly haunting on this track which I think helps to draw you in as well as playing the lead guitar. Molly Rogers plays the viola which adds to the atmosphere of the song, giving them that brooding sound which is a unique in this genre of music. Whilst Mike Mussleman and Nick Chamian pull the band together with their methodical rhythm sections of drum and bass.
'Delroy Lindo' itself is quite a dark track about broken promises and romanticising situations. It starts quite soft and reminds of Josh Record debut album (which we all know I loved) before the drums and viola come into play. The track is incredibly atmospheric and makes you feel a lot of emotion that you can imagine the characters going through. With lyrics such as 'pack your boxes before one us changes their mind again' and 'it won't do you're the loneliest of nations I have ever served' it emphasises the breaking down of what they were hoping would be perfect. To me, it's a very sad track facing disappointment of what they hoped California would be. Scott Goldbaum's vocals are incredibly, his tone is so beautiful and perfect for this track. Quickly shifting from his chest voice to falsetto. It's beautifully unique just like Forebear themselves. Good God is set to be released August 26th.
When summer comes back around I always find myself reaching for a couple of perfumes that sit on my shelf through the cooler months. This year there's been three that I've been gravitating towards more than the rest. Whilst my normal go to perfumes are the YSL Black Opium or the Vera Wang Lovestruck perfume there's been three others that have been stealing the lime light lately.
First up, I love Vera Wang Be Jeweled for spring and summer and I always whip this one out in the warmer months. It's very girly and light, I feel like it's a younger girls perfume so late teens and 20's - that's my personal opinion. I find it very floral with a little bit of a musk to it, the perfume is described as 'top not of Be Jeweled seduce us with an irresistible blend of red currant, pomegranate and champagne. The heart adds fruity zests of passion fruit combined with pink honeysuckle and pink peony. Base notes complete the pink feeling with accords of pink crystal-sugar accompanied with a a sensual trail of musk and Australian sandalwood'. I simply love it for spring summer as it's fresh and light, I don't like wearing anything too heavy especially when it is warmer outside or I find it to heady. If you're a little bit younger I would definitely recommend checking this perfume out. The packaging is really cute too shaped like a jewel with embellishments around the neck of the bottle.
Next up is Marc Jacobs Honey again every spring I pull this one back out. I find it's a little heavier than the previous but a little sweeter too. It's a lot more fruity than the previous as well in my opinion and I feel like anyone can wear this. It's described as 'Marc Jacobs Honey opens with the instantly catchy medley of pear and juicy mandarin. A sultry white floral heart of orange blossom and honeysuckle is brightened with luscious peach and apricot, before a melting honey, golden vanilla and smooth woods dry down mesmerises with blissful warmth'. I love this perfume, it takes me back to the summer where me and Scott became friends again before we started seeing each other so it's full of good memories for me.
Finally, the last fragrance is a lot cheaper but the one I've been reaching for the most this year at the moment and its the Zoella Beauty Sweet Inspirations Body Mist. I've been loving this product. It's very sweet and light and every time I wear Scott says I smell like white chocolate. It smells a little bit like baking but it inspired by macaroons so what do you expect. I love it though and I've been non-stop wearing it lately. I would highly recommend this body mist.
