this week we're taking a step away from pop and jazz and getting into something nice and indie. yes it's pumpkin spice and everything nice season gang, so get ready to cry over lost loves while listening to jangly guitars and a guy from the midwest. oh wait that's emo. you know, the line between the two is very blurry these days, but what's not blurry is how good this weeks song is. it's a proper banger, and maybe lil bigger than we're used to covering, but it deserves it. this week, we're listening to hippo campus - kissing boys. enjoy it (and it's excellent video) at the play button up above!

click the picture up above to give it a listen!

what i liked! :)

gonna use a colloquialism from my home just now; that chorus is a right wee banger (meaning: it's very very good, usually) with a vocal line that climbs inside your ear and stays there, plus a guitar riff that gives it a leg up. this song knowssssss how to land a chorus. that's not the only section doing the work tho, the contrast between the sections is really deftly handled, for example the vocal line in the verse is almost like a long drawn out interpretation of the chorus. what this does is it means when that sweet sweet hook hits, it sounds kinds familiar. finally, last part of this song that really worked for me; the build between bridge and final chorus is one of those fake out builds that are so hard to get right, it's a kind of ohh we're gonna go quiet now, bazinga, no we're not.

what i didn’t like :(

i thought the guitar solo towards the bridge was a bit weak. that's all really, like i said, songs a banger.

my drunk opinion :S

sorry can't write this section too busy cryin wbu

for fans of

they kinda remind me of future islands, but like, twenty years ago.

should you listen to more?

uhm im gonna go out on a limb here and say that this song is one of the better songs this artist has by uhm, quite a bit. they have a fair discography, but this one stands out from the pack. that said tho, it's also their latest song so that suggests to me that there'll be better things coming down the pip? no idea, hope so tho!

more we’ve been listening to

• labrinth, zendaya - all for us (noooooooo you've been listening to the euphoria soundtrack again in the office and riding out seasonal affective disorder)

• middle kids - questions (another banging chorus for you lighter-in-the-air-ers plus a brass section!)

• hiatus kaiyote - chivalry is not dead (funky, glitchy and, frankly, banging. we recommend you play this one very very loudly)

congratulations to nathan, winner of march’s vinyl prize draw! share a single song review with your friends to enter april’s draw :)

that’s all from us this week! catch you in the next one xo