The Music ¦ Junes Picks

Well it's been a while since I've talked about music on here, hey? Over the past 3-ish months I sort of fell out of love with my music collection and just music in general. I've always loved music but I have a tendency to go through phases and I have the unfortunate ability to get into, what I call, "music ruts".

But this month I made a conscious effort to branch out and find some new music; I made a real effort to source out music and find out what I liked. You know when you hear a song, you love it and you hear it everywhere you go, but you are never able to catch the name of it? I've made an effort to find out and note down the names of songs. (With the help of the Shazam app!) So this months picks are a culmination of what I have found.

1/THE SHINS

I've known/loved The Shins for a very long time. They take me back to a time where I was 14 years old, sitting on my bed and marathoning One Tree Hill ahh youth! But I never really explored them past a few songs, I just never thought to. But this month I've been loving the song 'We Will Become Silhouettes'. An upbeat melody that perfectly accompanies a cup of coffee on an Autumnal morning or even a lazy Summers Sunday afternoon; this song is just so lovely. The catchy melody and soft lyrics will have you humming along even if its your first time listening to it. It is slightly reminiscent to Weezer's early stuff but that's not a bad thing at all; The Shins have their own unique sound that is perfect.

2/THE BOXER REBELLION

Now this song is a good'un if I've ever heard one. Slightly romantic, with a classical "indie film" edge this song is reminiscent of those un-known American films you may watch on a lazy day. A soft build-up that remains throughout with a slight hint of rock that could be compared to Coldplay. But the voice/lyrics changes that. The soft but deep voice of Nathan Nicholson adds a more sophisticated, mellow tone to the song. You know them days where you don't know what to listen to? Yeah, them. Well this is the cure to that music-block you maybe be suffering from.

3/ MATES OF STATE

You might be noticing a slight theme here, that's because the majority of these songs are from the film "The Art of Getting By". I did a review of this a few (okay maybe 6) months back, you can find it here. Probably one of my favourite films. Cliche? Totally, but I love it. This song is a perfect ensemble of two voices (male and female) that blend to form an off-perfect harmony against the off-perfect beat of instruments. But it works and it's a lovely song that acts as one of them transitional songs. You know? The ones that lead from one song to the next? A perfect melody.

4/ EARLIMART

This song is slightly more punk and a bit more upbeat to the others but the mellow voice counteracts, and compliments, this beat providing a perfect nostalgia. I feel like this one caters a little less to the majority of you than the other songs. It's something that I can't really categorise but it's something you should all listen to. I think some of you will appreciate it and some of you won't like it. And that's fine. Just give it a listen.

5/ LEONARD COHEN

I have only heard this one song of Cohen's but I really like it. Nothing much happens in it, there's no dramatic build up and no particularly low parts, it's all very much on one level. But it's so incredibly catchy that I had to include it. In fact, the lyrics don't even change that much. But there's something about the repetition and the gentle voice of Leonard that soothes and relaxes me. Whenever I feel a little wound up I throw on this song and it just sends me into an abyss of relaxation. The soft strumming of the guitar works beautifully with the other instruments and provides a beautiful ensemble.

That's it for this months round up. I plan on doing these on a sort of monthly/bi-monthly basis. I get stuck in ruts with things like music and I don't really experiment much. So if you have any recommendations do leave them down below! I'm desperate for some music in my life.

xo