Mondesir is a solo project from the London-based artist Josienne. Her EP, It would not be a Rose, includes four songs packed with delicate and heartfelt lyrics. What’s striking about Josienne is the organic and unpretentious nature of her songs. No clichéd lyrics or “cool” gimmicks. She’s the kind of artist you can imagine writing songs on scraps of paper on a park bench.
Single: Wildbeasts – Hooting and Hollowing
Hooting and Hollowing is the latest musical gem from the Wild Beasts. Although the four piece from Kendal still ooze theatrical charisma, the absurdly fantastic quirks that defined their first album are slightly diluted and replaced by mystical guitar echoes, layered arrangements laced with understated funk and a deep bass that punctuates the song.
Album: Pocketbooks – Flight Paths
On first listen to Pocketbooks debut album there is one band name that pops into your head that you fear will be haunting this young group for their whole artistic career. This album sounds so much like Belle & Sebastian you wonder if they would have a leg to stand on if taken to court for plagiarizing by a furious Stuart Murdoch. The vocal tune structure is the biggest give away, rising and falling melodies that continue for longer than groups think to try (maybe this is because B&S made it their own), and that steamroll through each song almost pulling the rest of the instruments with it.
Festival: For Folk’s Sake’s Glastonbury
The mud on your wellies has dried, and everyone’s finally stopped talking about The Boss’s set (yes he played for two and a half hours, yes there was steam coming off him – we know), blubbing at Blur’s emotionally-charged reunion and the has he/hasn’t he rumour that turned out to be very true indeed.
So now is the time to step back and take a look at Glastonbury’s hidden treasures. Three FFS journalists went off the squelchy track to find the gems the BBC didn’t show us.
FFS’s Glasto part #3: Adam Wilkinson – Dan Black, The Dead Weather, Bombay Bicycle Club, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Another year and new legends are born. Which moment will be remember for the longest from this year’s Glastonbury Festival is as impossible to guess as the weather was through this unpredictable June weekend. Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen showed the world that rock stars approaching, or even well into, their sixties can still blow their younger counterparts off the stage, Blur drew tears from everyone as Damon Albarn broke down on stage during the tear jerking classic ‘To The End’ and secret guest appearances from Jack White’s Dead Weather, The Klaxons and even The Boss himself ensured that this would be a year to remember.
FFS’s Glasto part #2: Joe Downie – Stornaway, Regina Spektor, Noah and the Whale, Emmy the Great
The wonder of a festival as big and beautiful as Glastonbury is that it caters to so many different tastes. With a tiny bit of planing (and a lot of walking), if you want to skank to ska all weekend or get deep in dubstep, you can.