No gigs? No problem.
Spring is here. The sun has finally decided to make its long-awaited appearance, and beer gardens across the country are beginning to host suitable day-drinking temperatures. Things are looking good, and festival season? That’s just around the corner too. Well, it was until Boris locked us all inside our homes whilst we wait for Coronavirus to disappear into the medical history books. But the disease that’s doing the round the world trip many of us had once planned to do, is not upholding an entirely bleak situation. With plenty of time on our well-washed hands, there’s never been a better time to explore new music. We may be trapped inside working through our impressive collections of lockdown snacks and Netflix’s seemingly never-ending supply of shows, but music remains a constant, even amidst Covid-19. In this list, we’ve compiled five of the best artists you should be looking out for this lockdown season, including Plested, Easy Life and Mae Muller.
Lilla Vargen
In a landscape dominated by the overly produced, viral tunes littering today’s poplar music charts, Lilla Vargen’s music is nothing short of extraordinary. Delicately soulful and laced with whimsical virtue, her angelic voice stands heads and shoulders above the rest. Her second EP ‘We Were Thunder’ came in late 2019 following a collaborative effort with fellow songwriter Ollie Green. Filled with tales of destructive behaviours and emotional turmoil, the EP extended an arm to the heartbroken and hard done by; a perfect storm that not only illustrates the hard times but the silver linings that almost always follow too. But it was her previous release ‘Hold On’ that truly bought her to the forefront. Vargen is no stranger to wearing her heart on her sleeve, leaving it open for all to hear and receive. It was this release that gained the attention of Dermot Kennedy, who helped elevate her to new success by inviting her on his UK and Ireland 2019 Tour.
Consistently lyrically striking, her ability to touch hearts through song is, without doubt, the key to her success. To be blessed by this Northern Irish songstress is a dream, and one that should be both remembered and cherished. With Lilla Vargen, soul-tinged pop has never sounded so sweet, offering a slither of calm in this presently crazy and chaotic world.
Plested
Never has there been a greater time to be a British singer-songwriter. With Ed Sheeran on an indefinite hiatus, he leaves a sizable gap for the country’s up and coming musicians to fulfil. And whilst many try to break this challenging yet principal genre, Plested, full name Phil Plested, has this skill nailed to the ground. He’s the lyrical mastermind behind some of modern pop’s most catchy records, making him no stranger to the chart’s upper echelons. Little Mix’s ‘Touch’ came in one fifteen-minute session following a day’s work in the studio, yet he religiously maintains that he hadn’t intended to write for pop royalty. But his A-list clientele does not stop there. Taken from Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent, ‘Hollywood’ by Scotland’s most loved national Lewis Capaldi is another of Plested’s creations.
Think George Ezra with a little more zest – that’s one way to describe Plested. By no means is he dull in his presentation or delivery, but the two often draw a distinct comparison for their pop-prepped guitars. His debut EP ‘First and Foremost’ on NOWHERENEAR records held several of Plested’s career-starting tracks including ‘First Time’, ‘Ribcage’ and ‘Worthy of You’. But hidden beneath the blinding pleasantries of love was ‘Habits’, a darker and more twisted track that marked him as more than just a one-trick pony. If there’s one thing is for certain, it’s that Plested has plenty of meat to dig your teeth into.
Easy Life
“Who gives a fuck about my nightmares?” Easy Life’s frontman Murray asks on their hit single Nightmares. The answer? Likely no one. But if those nightmares contained warning about the global pandemic we’re currently faced with, things might have been a little different. The Leicester quintet aren’t particularly new amongst the indie scene, knocking about at popular festivals and gig venues since early 2017. Their charismatic approach to music and videos separates them from fellow bands like The Magic Gang or The Night Café. Despite the repetitive nature of life in lockdown, their live videos which pepper our social feeds, are keeping the Easy Life spirit alive.
Releasing their seven-track EP ‘Junk Food’ at the beginning of the year brought them back to the forefront of the indie scene. Printed on fiery red vinyl, the record is soaked in glorious summer vibes. Singing of LA’s celebrity culture and a variety of popular liquors, it offers the element of escapism we could all benefit from right now.
Fontaines D.C.
With their 2019 debut EP ‘Dogrel’, Fontaines D.C smashed their way to critical acclaim. Boisterously chaotic in every sense of the word, the record unapologetically whipped the essence of punk into its listener’s ears. Meeting at music college in Dublin and forming from the fall out of other groups, Fontaines pack the punch often neglected from modern-day punk, and all with a treacle-thick Irish twang. Lyrics from early tracks like ‘Chequeless Reckless’ tackle heavy topics surrounding the capitalist beast we’re consumed by: “Charisma is exquisite manipulation and money is the sandpit of the soul.”
But with an understandably limited catalogue for such a young band, if the music leaves you wanting more, then they have also been the focus of a recent documentary by COLLECTIVE Films called ‘Sold for Parts’. Following Dogrel’s journey to release, it explores interviews with the band and their team as they discuss the writing and recording of this pivotal record. It also features unseen studio footage for existing fans, but also offers a unique insight into the recording process of a band’s first debut release. The half-hour-long documentary is available to watch on YouTube.
Mae Muller
Music is calling out for more R&B-centric female artists. Rihanna has dipped off the radar and Alicia Keys has seemingly become America’s go-to talk-show guest presenter. Well, thankfully London is continuing to produce brilliant alternative R&B hits, with young women at the forefront. Enter Mae Muller, the Kentish-Town songwriter whose cutting tongue strikes fear into her exes and enemies. Born from a generation of Soundcloud artists, she’s successfully bridged the gap between digital native and rising pop diva.
Just two years on from writing her first track ‘Closer’, it remains on her Soundcloud today as an ode to her early beginnings. Her fittingly titled debut album ‘Chapter One’ encapsulates the sass exhibited in previous works, whilst slapping an added hint of sarcasm for those who once played her heart. Her most streamed track ‘Jenny’ is all you need to hear to know that Muller is someone to take notice of. Sensationally relatable with an undoubtedly long career ahead of her, Mae Muller is only just getting started.
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