A pointless article about how feminine voices are back in fashion.

Oh were the times when all that was on the stereos were the screeching - yet extremely appealing - voices of Prince and David Bowie. There's no denying that they had high voices; it's like they had helium continuously pumped into their voicebox as they sang. We loved it. They are now two of the biggest pop, ahem, kings of our time.

In the 70's and 80's, it was all about the deep, brooding voices of Ian Curtis and Dave Gahan and the like. Yes, there's no denying that they're two of the most influencial frontmen of those couple of decades. One of the more commercially succesful alt. bands of our time - Editors - have practically stolen the sound of Joy Division. As have Interpol... and obviously Dave Gahans Depeche Mode practically invented the synthy sounds that we hear of (too much, in my opinion) these days.

We've got Orlando Weeks of The Maccabees, Dougy Mandagi of Temper Trap, Hayden Thorpe of Wild Beasts and don't even get me started on the fabulous Everything Everything... they all have got ridiculous vocal abilities which lead me to thinking that they infact, have vaginas. Not that I'm criticising that fact, I embrace it with open arms.

That's all I have to say on the matter, really. A pointless article? Perhaps.

Foals - Spanish Sahara

The Oxford lads are back with this cracker. Lead singer Yannis' voice starts you off, then gentle guitars and tingling cymbals start getting tangled into the song, making your heart race then BAM! Near silence again, and back to where we started, with Yannis' calming, lovely voice, then the gentle guitars.... all this leads into a corker of a chorus towards the end.

"I'm the fury in your head, I'm the fury in your bed, I'm the ghost in the back of your head"

Yannis, with a haunting voice like that, you're not lying, are you?

Much anticipated second album 'Total Life Forever' is out on May 10th, and the boys are giving away a free Mount Kimble remix of 'Spanish Sahara' via their website.

Maccabees @ The Regal, Oxford, 3/2/10

It's a cold, extremely chilly night (as you more than likely gather) in Oxford, and despite this fact, inappropriately dressed indie kids flock to The Regal 3 hours before the doors open. Orlando Weeks teases, casually walking up and down the queue every 10 minutes, just to get a few "LOOK, IT'S ORLANDO"'s from screaming girls.

Upon meeting Orlando beforehand, he told me that he was extremely excited about support band Wilder, whom have just been Julian Casablancas' opening act on his most recent tour. As soon as they walk on stage, you get the feeling that they're nothing new - guy with nerd glasses, testicle-crunching skinny jeans and vintage boots up front, a messy looking rocker chick on drums, and a pigtailed(?) boy looking equally as cool on synth. Then ruining it all, just your average looking bassist. 80's synth-pop wannabe's, perhaps? For once, first impressions couldn't be more wrong. Set-opener 'TBT' launches with a tense, drum-infused intro in which you just want to hear more - much more. These timid Bristolians then introduce themselves, not very loudly, infact, as it causes the crowd to shout in time "SORRY WHAT WAS THAT? WE FUCKING LIKE YOU, WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" followed by Joe, lead singer, repeating himself with a pleased smile. 'Run Jack Run' ends the set, to a much appeased crowd.

The crowd being full of cool, hipster types, you don't really expect there to be much movement when The Maccabees open up their set with 'William Powers', just the odd head bopper and nod in satisfaction every now and then to eachother. Wrong - again. The crowd go fucking mental, and it's clear to see that Maccabees have some die hard fans upon them. It especially goes crazy when sing-a-long 'Precious Time' comes about, 6 songs into set. 500 people shouting 'LET'S. TAKE. OUR. PRECIOUS. TIME. ABOUT IT' is bound to give you tingles, and you can certainly tell it's affecting guitarist Felix White. He has a Cheshire cat grin on him pretty much throughout the whole set, the grin not just set on his face, but on everyone else's too. 'Young Lions', through to the almost operatic 'Can You Give It?' leaves everyone breathless, so it's perfectly timed for a bit of 'Toothpaste Kisses.' The singletons of the world generally hate this song live, especially as when you turn around and see a couple snogging each other's faces off, right in your face, it's bound to make you a bit depressed. Nevertheless, the soothing, acoustic, lovey dovey sing-a-long is well needed breather, but then it takes your breath away once more, through it being pure, raw and beautiful. Another fan's favourite 'First Love' straight after, then 'No Kind Words' up last, and the extremely unself-conscious Orlando starts tap dancing his way around the stage, and as it ends, pretty much tap dances straight off. Time for the annoying part of a gig - the encore. Turns out it was worth it this time though, as The Maccabees treat Oxford to something they've never done before to anybody else - a cover of Orange Juice's hit 'Rip It Up.' You know it's good when a cover version is a hundred times fucking better than the original. Last song of the night is 'Love You Better', and Orlando mysteriously eyes up a few of the crowd, a mischievous glint in his eye... shove, shove, shove in the crowd, and suddenly 2 lads are up on stage with the band, one nearly knocking poor Felix on to his arse. Bedlam occurs with security, one eyeing up the other, wondering who to blame for this mishap, and then the boys are positively rugby tackled onto the ground and off-stage, followed by supportive cheers from the crowd.

And so, this was the NME Awards Tour warm up gig for the boys, and in this cold snap where we're all wrapped up in scarves, gloves and clutching a hot water bottle 24/7, a cup of tea doesn't compare to being warmed up by The Maccabees. Nowhere near so.

My own personal tips for 2010! No, my opinion doesn't really matter, but yes, I'm entitled to give it.

I feel like giving you all (6 followers and a few cool readers) my very own tips for 2010. It's gonna be a cracker, I reckon...

Local Natives

This five-piece American band are simply an urban version of Fleet Foxes, and are very much on their way to achieving the same success as the Fleet. The opening song to their debut album 'Gorilla Manor' is 'Wide Eyes', my personal favourite, although it confuses slightly. I simply cannot decide whether I want to revel in it's beauty and let it slowly drift me off to sleep, or whether I want to stand up and dance around the room and appreciate it's trippyness. I'd be quite happy doing either. The other stand out song that I care to mention is 'Camera Talk', a string-and-percussion happy number, with an extremely catchy chorus.

>LISTEN<

Everything Everything

I've been a fan of these since I heard them on Zane Lowe's show a few months ago, with their debut 'Photoshop Handsome'. Very much appreciated in the blogosphere and in the "Oh, look at me, I'm so indie and cool because I know this band that have totally fucking weirdo lyrics" world. Yes, incase you were wondering, they do have extremely er, odd lyrics; "Foxhound frolic on the abattoir floor, up in heaven it's symmetrical," is just an example. Yes, weird to say the least. But song 'MY KZ, UR BF' is so amazing that it makes my heart skip a beat nearly more than my own boyfriend did. Sad, yet true.

>LISTEN< 

And now, for some quickies:

Frankie and the Heartstrings

Just read my previous blog on this band, sums them up. Watch the new video for 'Fragile' and listen to the plain grooooovy 'Hunger'

Fenech-Soler

Fabulous, synth savvy, indie-electro. 'Lies' - an anthemic indie floorfiller.

Two Door Cinema Club

Painfully cool Kitsuné signed band, with some epic choruses and catchy indie beats. Listen to either, or both, if you're feeling particularly awesome, tunes 'I Can Talk' and 'Undercover Martyn'

Delphic

Slightly controversial, yet I think, perfect electro-pop. Listen to new song 'Doubt'

The Drums

Anybody who knows anything about new music has heard of this Brooklyn based band. The Drums are what would've happened if The Cure ever took the surf-pop route. Watch the new video for 'I Felt Stupid'

The Cheek

Formerly known as the charmingly named Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds, these guys have certainly matured since then, and have risen with some gloriously deep tunes. Listen to 'Hung Up'

And that's about it. But keep your eyes peeled for the BBC Sound of 2010 shortlist, so far The Drums are in 5th, and Hurts in 4th. They always seem to predict the future painstakingly perfectly. Roll on 2010, it's set out to be a bloody good one.

No 'Doubt' that Delphic are brilliant.

Delphic are currently splitting opinions. Whilst some think they are the next best indie-electro band since Klaxons, others are saying they're predictable, boring and wannabes.

Seeing as reviews are all about opinion, I'm going to give mine straight. I think they're bloody fantastic.

New single 'Doubt' is a slight progression from debut 'Counterpoint'. Annoying overlapping, monotonous voices start off the song, but as soon as the chorus kicks in, you're hooked. It's anthemic and extremely catchy. What else does a chorus have to do, other than that? The video ain't half bad, neither.

It sounds a lot more mature on the new single, and a bit more thought has gone into how it can become more commercial. Considering this band are on the BBC Sound of 2010 poll, I think next year is going to be a massive year for Delphic. They're touring, album out mid-January and this time next year, everyone is going to know about them.

Listen to it >here<

I'd eat Late of the Pier's 'Blueberry' muffin.

Late of the Pier are finally back! Aren't we all glad to have them around again? Don't all shout at once, kids...

'Blueberry', at first, seems typical LOTP style; overlapped instrumental craziness. There's a certain Big Pink feel to the first 36 seconds, to be precise... Then the voice of Sam Eastgate is introduced. Both beautiful and haunting, it's not too often we get to hear his voice so untouched and angelic without the sound of absolute insanity overpowering. There's going to be plenty of David Bowie comparisons, that's for sure.

Synth heavy and really quite appealing, this will no doubt become an indie anthem rather soon.

If this song really were a foodstuff in the form of a blueberry, I'd happily suckle it dry.

Listen to it >here<

Zane Lowe - bit of a hero, I'd say

Not only has this New Zealand born DJ opened my ears to beautiful music over the past year or so through his Radio 1 show, but he also presents what is, in my eyes, the best, and most entertaining, music programme on TV - Gonzo.

I am happy to spread my passion for men in music, as seen before with Frank Turner and the like, but it's almost too hard for me to express my feelings for Zane. Wow, I sound like a fucking pervert, but seriously, he's a big influence on me.

It's great how he isn't a one genre man... he spreads the word of all. From British hip-hop to house, from dubstep to the best in new alternative music, there's no doubting he's a rather respected figure in music. Most DJ's nowadays stick to one genre - Huw Stevens and his indie, Annie Mac and her dance... I understand that's the way it is, but I reckon we need more open-minded DJ's like Zane.

And just to top it all off, once upon a time he saved Ryan Jarmans life at the NME awards all the way back in 2006. Imagine life without The Cribs in it? Nah, me either. If Zane hadn't of raised the alarm that Ryan was lying in a corridor bleeding like a fuckwit, that would of meant I wouldn't of met Ryan himself earlier this year, and wow, that'd be an utter travesty.

BBC Radio has got some great shows. I reckon most people think of BBC Radio as a 'mainstream pop with the occasional bit of indie-wankerness' type of radio station, but switch over to BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq show on at about 4 or 5 in the evening, and feel your ears melt in a flurry of orgasmic music, and of course, Zane Lowe's show at 7 on Radio 1.

I am now bored of my own BBC related rambling, therefore will end this with blog with a full stop. As you do.