Five Star Songs: Side

To celebrate the release of a new Travis album, let's look back at one of their most famous songs to date, Side, from their 2001 album The Invisible Band. The very first time I heard (about) Travis was actually when I saw the music video for Closer. But it was only when I listened to Side, that I fell in love with them, and, well, the rest is history. Travis became one of my all time favourite bands, and since then, I awaited all their albums eagerly. It's a shame they haven't released that many of them over the recent years. On the other hand, if they are all as good as the last one, then I'm okay with it.

Few songs ever havve been so unbelievably catchy and so immediately likeable, and Side is one of those I could never get tired of.

Where You Stand

Just what I needed to hear to make my day better. Travis will realease a new album soon, and I didn't even know they were recording. Where You Stand comes out August 20th, and I am beyond stoked. Stream the title song below.

Older albums revisited: Meltdown

I discovered Ash through Kerrang, back in the day when I still thought that magazine was worth following. They actually featured a useful article, which was a guide to the essential bands of an average present-day rock fan. Among all the AC/DCs, Metallicas, Placebos and Jimmy Eat Worlds, there was a band I hadn't heard of before but started to love them straight away. (As a matter of fact, that guide is still on Kerrang's webstite.)

As clichéd as it may sound, in the following years, Ash became one of the bands that helped to form my taste in music. I used to spin their records endlessly. From the sophomore album 1977, which approprietly kicks off with the sound of a TIE fighter passing by, to their last, much darker, Twilight of the Innocent. Because above all, the band has always stayed unbelievably consistent throughout the years. You won't run into many weaker songs in their discography. Instead, you are bound to find lots of brilliant ones.

Shining Light is the band's biggest selling single to date and was also covered by Annie Lennox. There can be no better invitation into their music...

Free All Angeles might the their most popular album so far, since it contains the phenomenal singles Shining Light and Burn Baby Burn and was their biggest critical success to date. It's most probably the best showcase of Ash's ability to write truly great lovesongs, as well as the tenderness and vulnerability in their music.

Although I treasure all their albums deeply, Meltdown have always remained my favourite. (Or perhaps on par with Free All Angeles, the more I think about it.) It presented a much darker and heavier side of Ash, with the sound infused with even a dash of metal at times. Thankfully however, that doesn't mean their melodic sensibilities got lost in the mix. If anything, the exact opposite thing happened. From the opening title track to the closer Vampire Love, the songs are all killer, no filler. And they're all so damn fun and catchy, with guitar riffs you just can't get out of your head.

Well, I guess I can't praise this band enough. Simply put, I think Ash are one of the most underappreciated and overlooked bands on the planet. They must be shaking hands with Feeder and Idlewild somewhere right now. It's a shame, really, that Ash refuse to release any more albums after Twilight of the Innocent, focusing only on stand-alone singles. Because if those are of any indication, fans would've had much to look forward to.

Thouhgts?

Travis

Sometimes, I tend to forget just how great some bands are. Right now, I've realized that with Travis. Somehow, I stumbled upon one of their songs and remembered I hadn't listened to them in a long while. To be honest, it's also partly their fault becuase the Glasgow quartet hasn't released any new material in four years. Fortunately, they plan to release a follow-up to Ode to J. Smith sometime in the first half of 2013.

Introducing: Sound of Guns

First and foremost, let me be the first to say I think this is an awful band name. Now that that's past us, let's talk music. It's hard to put a genre on this band. The bands debut, Angels and Enemies, covers everything from brit pop to rock to indie. When I first heard the new single, "Sometimes", I got a vibe of Cold War Kids mixed with instrumentation of The Midway State. Upon further listen to their most popular tune of date, "Antarctica", I got a strange recall of early The Killers, Glasvegas and Doves. With such a wide reach and a gaining support from the likes of radio1 & friends Funeral For a Friend passing fans to their video to millions, to selling out shows in England at the O2, Mint, and The Cockpit, Sounds of Guns is an up-and-coming band with a lot of vigor and heart, making them a band to watch going forward. 

RIYL: The Midway State, All The Young, Glasvegas, Longview

"Antartica", the bands most popular song to date.

the bands new single, "sometimes"

Ride the Tiger

"Check out the Ride The Tiger video trilogy from Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds featuring new UK single 'If I Had A Gun...' plus 'The Death Of You And Me' and 'AKA... What A Life!'."

Crashland

Crashland were the UK's next big thing for a few seconds back in 2000. They released just one album and disbanded shortly after. However, Glued is one of britpop hidden gems. If you like Ash, Blur or Razorlight, you may give it a chance.