Short Cuts: The Best Songs Heard On December 23, 2017 From The Indie World

Young Sierra, “Dream On”
Fans of Charli XCX, Muna, and The 1975 should check out the London-based group. It’s a grower that cannot be denied. Band member Ben says of the track, “It’s about falling for someone you know will reject you. Almost like a love letter to doomed romance.”

DJ moe, “Dat Kitty”
DJ Moe is the youngest DJ who has performed at ULTRA EUROPE in Croatia, ULTRA JAPAN and other festivals at the age of 18. Earlier this year, she started her own radio show “mtmt_talk” on block.fm and her sense of music and fashion made her one of NYLON’s official blogger, and she will be starting her own clothing line “Neon Mafia” later this year. This is the track that will bring her music to the front of it all, with a fuller sound that will be familiar to fans of EDM.

Birdyhop
On the Street Where You Live
(Andy Williams cover)
This is Birdyhop’s version of the Broadway musical classic ‘On the Street Where You Live, like you’ve never heard it before. It’s easy to hear why it’s one of the band’s favourite songs, and the comparison of Elbow and Radiohead gets somewhere close to the classic sound of Williams. It’s the honesty, the warmth, the vulnerability that shines here.

Melanie Edwards
Daniel’s Lane
Melanie Edwards is an award-winning singer, songwriter, pianist, violinist, and was recently named DC’s #1 singer/songwriter by The Deli Magazine. In addition, Melanie was chosen as a panelist for the prestigious DC Mayor’s Arts Awards and is a huge advocate for local artists. Crammed with melodies and lush harmonies like fans Damien Rice, Tori Amos, will delight for, and echoing the brilliance of Alanis Morrisette and Adele, too.

Lee Smythe
Waste Away With Me
Lee says, “You haven’t heard a song like this today!” Ha, oh, Lee, you have no ide…wait…are those kazoos? At once compelling and strange, the song sweet sweetly along without being overly sugary, nudging along until you want to hit repeat. Which I did.

Cortel
First Snow
An early taste of the upcoming album Find Your Soul by the Russian band. Vocalist Sergei says: “Development excepts stability. Stability excepts development.” Both make strong appearances here, making the song a late-night banger. Relax your mind and float downstream.

Blyne
Water
Jan Hammele, 26, and Andreas Huber, 25, are two ambitious and experienced producers, multi-instrumentalists, DJs and live-acts who have been making music together for six years. On their debut EP Blyne collaborates with international vocalists like James Chatburn, L Devine and B O K E H, and is a musical journey you can take in your own home. A fuller sound based on the influences, you’ll immediately fall in loce with this hook-laden song. The rest are waiting for you.

Zenzero
Ordinary illusions
Tim Kellett (The Durutti Column, Simply Red, Olive) and Rosie Doonan (Birdy, Peter Gabriel, Coldplay) join forces to create the first single from Zenzero’s debut album Ordinary Illusions. These bands + this song = have a deep thought or two about the slacker the rest of us are. Dig this cool psych jam and dive into the rest of the the solid album.

The New Ravis
Everywhere
(Fleetwood Mac cover)
From Ireland, the duo put their own spin on one of my favourite Mac songs. Let them indulge you, it sounds like something from a dream full of heartbreak, then hope, you won’t want to wake up from.

Rizk
Something
There’s no shifting here, nothing that is going to confuse you on the chill dancefloor, but it’s nudging towards your brain with passion and honesty. A great use of space where words don’t need to fit.

Steven Blane
I Confess
The Steven Blane Band has completed a new album, Motel Blue, to be released in March 2018. It features Nashville recording artist Rachel Horter on vocals. He married the love of his life and became an audio-book producer. If that wasn’t cool enough, he also became a Cantor and a Rabbi. It’s time his original music hits front and centre, with this wonderful sounding song that is as good as anything else in the Americana genre on AAA radio right now.