The Grace Note Blog

  'Quakers Alley' - The Verdicts EP Review by  Grace Calver So as they say, "the boys are back in town" - in this case, Colchester Town. After a quiet 2020, The Verdicts are back with an EP released at midnight tonight (30th January) called 'Quakers Alley'. The Verdicts are; charismatic frontman, Archie, Albie and Fin, who are responsible for some amazing guitar riffs and solos, backed with some great drums by the other Archie, and Harry on bass.  Track 1 and 2, 'Intro' and 'Liverpool Street' are an energetic, punky start to the EP, telling the story of Archie falling asleep on the last train and getting himself stuck in Liverpool Street. This song has the most amazing guitars and an incredibly catchy chorus.  Track 3 - 'Just Another Heartbreak Away'. As someone who has seen The Verdicts live multiple times, this is my favourite to watch them perform. The pre-chorus is one of my highlights from the whole EP, and I have to mention the ou...

  Interview with Will Joseph Cook By  Grace Calver Will Joseph Cook is an artist I have followed for so many years now, and I was thrilled beyond belief when he agreed to let me interview him for my blog! Will is an indie pop artist who released his debut EP 'You Jump I Run' in 2015, followed by his first album 'Sweet Dreamer' in 2017. Now on his own label, Bad Hotel, we have his latest album released November 2020 - 'Something To Feel Good About'. This album is full of uplifting, catchy songs with thought-provoking lyrics and memorable melodies. The fun, light-hearted opening track 'Be Around Me' became the TikTok sensation; "Oh my god did you call me baby?" with over 1.2 million videos made using this sound. You can join Will Joseph Cook's other 298.6K TikTok followers  here.   Grace: How would you introduce yourself at a party? Will: I usually just go in on some random conversation, the formality of introducing myself past anything mor...

Interview with Alfie from The Young by  Grace Calver . The Young are a 4-piece indie rock band - Tom (guitar), George (bass), Josh (drums) and Alfie (singer), who has been kind enough to answer some questions for me.  Over lockdown, they have posted some socially distanced covers that you can watch on IGTV on their  Instagram profile  - the latest being an excellent cover of 'Waterloo Sunset' by The Kinks.  Their latest single 'Seeing The Life' was released on the 11th December 2020. You can find it on  Spotify.    Grace: Can you tell us a story behind your latest single 'Seeing The Life'? Alfie: Seeing the Life came together really quickly, the chorus came first and I wanted to do something with it. I had the intro riff knocking about and used that and went from there. I guess the song's mostly about being bored of everyday life and the 9-5 expectations pushed upon people. The result of being 23, angry and wanting something more. Grace: You have ...

  The Mardlers - 'Mad To Live' Single Review by  Grace Calver The Mardlers are an indie rock band from Cambridge - with a little bit of folk thrown in for extra personality! Their new single 'Mad To Live' is released this Friday 22nd January and has already had its first play on Radio West Norfolk. 'Mad To Live' is a clever, story-telling song, and I can't help but think these stories are probably true! The punchy lyrics of the verses lead into a catchy chorus, and by my third listen I had found myself singing along to "You can see the hunger in our eyes ... I swear we'll be the last ones left alive"! Interesting guitars are interspersed along the way and just add to the catchiness of the song. After listening to this upbeat, narrative song, I think a lot of you will be saying "oh I know someone like that!" 'Mad To Live' is available on streaming platforms from Friday 22nd January, however you can catch a live version on YouTu...

  Apollo Junction - 'On The Ropes' Single Review by  Grace Calver Leeds Indie band, Apollo Junction are back with their first single of 2021 - 'On The Ropes'.  Following on from the success of their debut album 'Mystery', this new track retains the rock feel they achieve so well, but with more of a futuristic sound. 'On The Ropes' is an epic, explosive anthem with powerful synths, strong drums and big vocals. The use of the multiple backing voices makes the whole listening experience quite theatrical, I felt like I was immersed in the song completely and I couldn't help but dance and sing along. This song is big enough to be a definite favourite when played live to a big crowd, and I'll be there singing back the "ah-ahs"!  'On The Ropes' will be released on Friday 22nd January.  You can find Apollo Junction on       Spotify ,        Apple Music ,       YouTube        and   ...

 'Milquetoast' - Gardner Leonard Album Review by @ thegracenoteblog   Gardner Leonard  are a pop punk duo from the West Midlands made up of Daryl Gardner who plays and writes the music and all instruments on the album, and Rhiannon Leonard the singer-songwriter.  Their debut album 'Milquetoast' (which is released this Friday 15th January) contains 11 tracks all recorded and written during this pandemic. This album is heavily inspired by early 2000's emo and pop punk, which in my opinion is the best music ever! The album overall is upbeat, full of cool guitar riffs and songs that are begging to be seen live. Some tracks cover serious subjects, the obvious one being the single “Mine” released earlier this year, while others are more light and fun, such as the opening track “Wish It Was Me” which has a catchy chorus and very relatable lyrics.   My personal favourite from ‘Milquetoast’ is ‘Your Ghost’ due to the beautiful and emotional chorus and unique guitars part...

The Dead Freights are a 4-piece band from Southampton, who describe their music as 'Gothic poetry spat over disco Nirvana'. Their latest single, 'Fever and The Thunder' is a sassy rock'n'roll song with a dramatic kick-ass chorus. The entertainment level of this band, from their music videos on  YouTube to their  Instagram  stories demonstrates another level of creative genius! I caught the drummer, Louis, bored during isolation, and took advantage of this by jumping at the opportunity to ask him some questions for my blog! Grace: How would you introduce yourself at a party? Louis: I think I'd be so excited to be at a party right now that there'd be no time for introductions, no time for small talk of any kind, I'd just get straight to the breakdancing. I probably wouldn't need to introduce myself anyway because it would be my party and everyone would know me, or at least they better pretend! Grace: What is your go to karaoke song? Louis: People ...

  'Cabin Fever' - Ellis Berry EP Review by Grace Calver ( @thegracenoteblog ) In a reference to the isolation and lockdowns in 2020, Ellis Berry has called his debut EP 'Cabin Fever'. Released on the 8th January 2021, it contains six quality pop songs that tell a story of love, separation, betrayal and memories.  The EP has a strong start with 'Our Story' - the first single he released from the EP last August, which contains my favourite lyric; "wish work would fire me so I could spend my days with you". This is followed by more songs with catchy, upbeat melodies; 'Far Away', 'Nothing More' and 'New Friend'. Finishing triumphantly with tracks 5 and 6.  'The Way We Used To' (released as a single on 30th October 2020) starts acoustically and builds up to have an incredibly striking chorus and fun bassline. It has had airplay on BBC Music Introducing.  I can't help but dance to the final track - 'A Place That We Kno...