I picked up a copy of the BOY album ‘Mutual Friends’ when I was in Holland and it is really quite excellent. It will be released in the UK in June.

I also saw the girls play at the Borderline in London last week which was incredible- cannot wait for them to return!

You can listen to the whole of the new Julia Stone album over at Nylon magazine. The record was produced by Doveman (who also did the Hannah Cohen record) and has some divine moments. This track is my favourite, beautiful.

The record is released on Monday.

Henry Skewes is constantly impressing me with his songwriting and smooth voice. Last time I wrote about him I commented about how the recordings sounded a little rough. He has sorted this out with the new EP which is much more polished. The arrangements also work really well. Fans of Ryan Adams should definitely check this out.

Australian singer songwriter Emma Louise has been making a graceful buzz over the last few months. A series of very impressive Great Escape shows have left her stand out song ‘Jungle’ near the top of the Hype Machine charts. But it’s her new single ‘Boy’ which has got my head in a spin. The gorgeously smooth track sounds fresh with a Keran Ann-ish vibe to it. Perfect for chilled out summer days.

You can download her debut EP ‘Full Hearts & Empty Rooms’ from Bandcamp. She has recently completed a UK tour so I wouldn’t expect her back for a while but hopefully when she does return we’ll have a full debut album to listen to.

Click on the poster for tickets + more info!

I started my Saturday off at the Fishbowl with O. Chapman. It was lovely and chilled, I would have loved a sofa and a hot drink to go perfectly with his music!

My evening began in Coalition, with Aiden Grimshaw. This is a bit of a weird one for me. A couple of years ago Aiden was on the X Factor. He was dark and moody and not very ‘popstar’ ish, and so got booted off. Anyway, in my opinion he was and still is the best ever X Factor contestant. A couple of weeks back he released a new song online which was to be his first single. I didn’t like it and I still don’t. But I went to see him because I wanted to see what else he had to offer. Unfortunately it was much of the same. Kinda dark dancey pop music. A LOT of people are gonna love it, I can see it appealing to critics and 18 year old clubbers alike. It’s just not for me. He’s a good performer though, still moody but I like that. I wish the new songs showed off his voice a bit more, because that boy can sing.

After that I did the same thing I did on Friday and decided to spend my night waiting for a ‘buzz band’. Tonight was Alabama Shakes. I arrived over 2 hours before they were meant to go on stage and the queue was right down the street. Everyone predicted this was going to be busy and they were right. Thank god for my delegate pass, I got in pretty quickly.

The evening was presented by Rough Trade records, so I had a feeling it was going to be good. On the way in I walked past Nick Cave so not a bad start. Nick and a whole lot of other people, were all at the show to see Palma Violets. A brand new band from London, who have apparently already been signed to Rough Trade despite having nothing recorded online, except a very shabby video. There set was insanely good for such a young band. The songs are proper pop songs, the sort you find on 80’s film soundtracks. The lead singers voice is low and beautiful and the whole atmosphere of the band is wild and electric. The audience responded and it was an incredible gig which the band seemed very grateful of. If Palma Violets aren’t huge this time next year then i’ll eat my words.

Howler were up next which was a bit average, not bad, but nothing special. And then for the mighty mighty Alabama Shakes. I had seen them before but I think this performance was actually better. Brittany Howard puts her heart and soul into every word she sings and it comes across amazingly. When this band play live it’s like the whole world shakes. The day before I had been to a talk where Michael Eavis and Rob Da Bank were talking about who the next big festival headliners are and Alabama Shakes are certainly in the running for that title in my books. One of the best live bands to emerge in years. And an amazing way to end the Great Escape 2012.

See you next year?

My day started with Martha Paton. I’d never heard her music before and a friend recommended her so I went a lot. The main thing that stood out to me about Martha is her songwriting which is very strong for someone so young. She has a beautiful voice too, I was most impressed and it was such a lovely way to start the day.

After Thursday’s Friends disaster, I realised that if I wanted to see a hype band I was going to get there really early, otherwise I just wasn’t going to get in. So I decided that I definitely wanted to go and see Grimes, and so although she was on at 9, I arrived at 7. I quite like this way of working as you get to see a number of bands that you otherwise wouldn’t have and it sometimes turns out to be a nice surprise.

All night Digital was presented by M for Montreal and Brooklyn Vegan. So it was basically really cool and really good American and Canadian bands. My Best Fiend played first. I really enjoyed their set, heavy psych-grunge-rock with great melodies. The next band I had never heard of before and were called Half Moon Run and were utterly brilliant. It was a very unusual sound, holding elements of rock, dream folk and electronica. The songs were great and I think the whole crowd were totally into their set.

Next up, Grimes. Basically, she blew my mind a little bit. She spent the set jumping around, still singing and playing brilliantly. She was joined on stage by two Japanese backing dancers who basically were fairly shambolic dancers but just added to the high energy set. It was incredible, if you can catch her live this summer she is a must see. Probably my favourite gig of the year so far.

After Grimes I didn’t really wanna do anything except for watch Grimes again, but unfortunately she wasn’t playing again, so I headed to Horatio’s for another ‘buzz band’, Wild Belle. I love their sound and she is a really fantastic singer, their are elements of Amy Winehouse in her voice. They were good live but they need a bit more spark. The songs are excellent though and one song towards the end of the set was sung by Elliot, and although his voice is not as strong as his sisters, the song was so well written I hope it makes the record.

My night ended with Lianne La Havas. Unfortunately the crowd were a bit chatty, I think it was too late at night for such a quiet gig. She was lovely and ‘Lost & Found’ was absolutely stunning, by far the highlight of the set.

Great Escape has become of my musts every festival season. It’s a fantastic opportunity to see loads of new bands and discover Brighton which is a wonderful city. The festival is a little like the British version of SXSW. Lots of venues, lots of showcases, lots of amazing bands just before they break, and lots of industry folk. Last year my ‘band of the festival’ was Cloud Control. After seeing them three times in one day, it lead to a long romance with their debut album ‘Bliss Release’ throughout the whole of the summer. I also saw incredible performances from Anna Calvi and Olfar Arnolds. And yet again, this year was no exception for amazing talent.

I have decided to split my Great Escape review into three parts, basically there is just too much to write about! So I will start with the first day of the festival…

My Thursday started with Passenger, busking on the street. Brighton is alive and thriving in culture even if you don’t have a wristband. You can walk round the city and see lots of talent for free and Passenger is a great example of this. Despite being huge in Australia, he is still busking, and he attracted a big crowd with his beautiful performance despite the rain. I then headed to The Loft where I caught the last of an Emma Louise song, which sounded lovely and then for Giovanna, which was quite frankly the oddest thing I saw all weekend. She genre hopped between piano ballads, trip-hop and erm, accordion drum and bass. She also treated to the audience to some running on the spot with added air punches and bum shaking. It was unusual to say the least.

Oliver Tank next at the Australian showcase, which was outside and it was unfortunately raining. His music would have perfectly suited a chilled day in the sun, but it was very nice anyway. I then headed for Komedia where a big crowd had gathered to see 18 year old Jake Bugg. He is one hell of a songwriter. Melodies that could be confidently compared to Oasis and Dylan. It will be so interesting to see him develop as a songwriter, I hope his label do the right thing with that young talent. Next up I wanted to see Friends as Horatios, which is a venue at the end of Brighton pier. Unfortunately when I got there is was full and there was no hope of getting in so I went to the church where I waited for Hannah Cohen.

I also saw Hannah the night before at Vortex Jazz Club in Dalston which was her debut UK show. It was beautiful beyond words. Her band were incredible and the venue was so perfect. Her performance at the Unitarian church was also pretty flawless. She didn’t have her amazing band with her, just her with Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman) on piano. It was heartbreakingly beautiful. I am so in love with her music.

I then caught a couple of Gross Magic songs which sounded epic. I love his sound, I think it’s one of the best things to come from British guitar bands in a long time (except maybe from a band which I will mention later). Finally my night ends with Mystery Jets. I have seen them several times before but unfortunately this time the set was unfortunately a little flat.

My new favourite Alice Jemima song. Sublime! And excellent lyrics.

Saturday is the final day of Great Escape and tends to be the wind down chill out day. Not this year though, as the incredible Alabama Shakes end the festival. Here are 5 bands you should catch this Saturday.

Like Spinning

Looking forward to catching the beautiful Kari and band live. This is part of a fringe event, see the rest of the line-up here.

BOY

I really love this duo and am very much looking forward to seeing their super happy songs and great melodies live.

Alabama Shakes

This band are so good it’s insane. If you don’t go and see them, then you are seriously missing out.

Slow Club

So they are technically playing on Sunday as they are on at half past midnight, but still, I really couldn’t think of a better time to watch this band.

Philco Fiction

Really like this band, beautiful Scandinavian electro pop.

Tickets for Great Escape are still available, go and get your here.