There’s millions of bands out there doing their thing, but very few have something special about them, and even fewer will get anywhere.
Brisbane’s Millions are hopefully one of the ones that could get somewhere. They’re currently touring with Last Dinosaurs and have some crackings songs. They’re releasing their upcoming EP, Nine Lives Six Degrees, in the next few weeks/months, and the first song we’ve heard off it is the brilliant Arctic Monkeys-inspired song, Slow Burner:
And here’s their song Guru:
They recently filmed a video for their song Those Girls. It’s not necessarily the song I would have chosen to make a video for, but I can understand why they did it (it features lots of lovely looking ladies). Have a look:
13 year old Mahalia has a very bright future ahead of her. The Leicester born singer/songwriter is already creating a lot of hype and the only thing holding her back is her age. Yes, for once it seems that being too young is the problem, rather than the usual problem of past-it rock stars who have reached their sell by date.
It is pretty clear that Mahalia is going to have a successful career, but there is little point in her signing a deal with a major now. It wouldn’t be worthwhile for her to leave school this early, and she probably wouldn’t release an album until she was 15 anyway (following in the foot steps of amazing 15 year old Birdy), and so why not let Mahalia develop on her own for 2 years? Out of the limelight, without any pressure and unwanted, unneeded hype, she could carry on writing great songs, playing small shows (although for how long they’ll be small we’ll have to see) and doing what she does best, and being allowed to grow up like a normal teenager. If she gets signed to a major now, she won’t have a normal life, will put out a rushed album because the label somehow thinks that the younger she is the more impressive it is that she’s writing these songs, but they could be even better if they let her develop for a year.
I know that probably won’t happen – she’ll probably get signed in 2012. Hopefully she will be given the time to develop on her own, but labels are so scared of missing out on the next great thing that they tend to act first and ask questions second.
As an A&R scout I’m sure it’s better to scout 1 amazing artist and 9 flops than to just scout 10 OK artists. The record industry is about stars, we need stars, and I think that Mahalia will be a star.
Here’s her beautiful cover of Mardy Bum by Arctic Monkeys:
From this cover you can see that she’s got a pretty special voice, even more so when you find out she’s only 13 years old! And it gets even better when you realise not only can she sing but she plays piano, guitar and writes her own songs. Here’s an acoustic version of Let The World See The Light:
Watch out for Mahalia, she’s going to be huge! Maybe not in 2012, hopefully not even in 2013, but she’s definitely one for the future.
Giving off vibes somewhere between Radiohead, Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys, their debut album As Bright As Your Night Light really is special. It didn’t get the attention it deserved when it was released last year, but I hope that changes this year. I hope it gets re-released and their music gets to as many people as possible.
Coming from Louisville, Kentucky, this group have a very strong future together. On their bandcamp it’s described as ‘electronic rock’ although that’s a little wide of the mark. Yes, some songs are rock-y, and some songs are electronic-y, but some are indie, some are pop, some are a little bit alternative, but every song is a little bit special.
I could probably have posted any of the songs off the album, it truly is an amazing album. Kale, Swimmer’s Ear, As Bright As Your Night Light – they’re all immense songs, and even more so when you consider how young the band is, and how it’s their first release. However, I’ve gone with Get Left In The Dark, it’s just a really pretty song. Go and listen to Nails To Scratch With on their bandcamp too, it’s immense.
Please go and download them album, you seriously won’t regret it.
