So, as Paloma said in the last post I took my first ever trip to Scotland. It lived up to every expectation, so quaint and beautiful with cobbled streets, old brick and cute characterful passageways. Not to mention all of the independent cafes and lunch bars including where our own Kate and Wills went on their first date.
We had the most amazing weekend although it was bloody freezing, i couldn't bare to leave, resulting in tears on the train home, oh well, we'll be meeting in Bristol in a couple of days, not long now.
Sorry for the cheesy, albeit it honest, title but I do love a wee bit of alliteration, what can I say?! (Generic English Lit student right here!) So last week Jess took the 'perilous' journey-Storm Abigail really did give it her all- to St. Andrews so she could pay me a much needed visit at uni. Despite the weather, we had an amazing time (of course) and even managed to take a little trip down to the beach, truly my favourite place to be in my adopted town. These photographs were snapped amidst the gush of waves in the serene cove of castle sands, the perfect setting for a perfect weekend.
Here are a few pics from our trip to Manchester. We had both only been to Manchester once, so we were both relying heavily on Google Maps but despite running around like headless chickens, we had the most amazing weekend sightseeing and checking out the Manchurian night life.
Our main reason for visiting the city was to see Spector, one of our favourite bands, who you should all give a listen to. We had the most amazing time being front row at Gorilla, a small yet perfectly formed venue. Moth Boys, their new album is available on spotify, check them out!
Its been a while but we're back and back for good! Last weekend I made the trip down from Scotland to visit Jess at uni in Lancaster. We had such a great time, but its always so sad when we have to say goodbye again, best friends should not be separated! Despite being a four hour train ride away I somehow managed to co-ordinate my outfit with Jess when she came to pick me up... some things never change!
Autumn is finally with us, which means layering, burgundy and my favourite day of the year, Halloween (keep your eyes peeled for a spooky post soon)! Seventies is back with a bang this season and it is impossible to walk into a high street shop without feeling like you have been transported back to 1973, but as my mum nostalgically reminisces, who wouldn't want a return to suede, hoops and all things a little bit groooovy baby.
This summer we have made a habit, perhaps the best kind of habit there could be, of going for coffee by the Thames. Although I have the luxury of living by the sea whilst at university (St.Andrew's you stunner) there is something so magical about the London riverside in the midst of the August sun. The ice cream vans, ducklings, picnickers, row boats drifting by and the mad rush to get your tan on... Summertime in London is truly beautiful.
Having survived and matured as a band for ten years whilst other indie guitar bands have faded into obscurity, The Maccabees are an unique, even miraculous entity. When their debut record Colour it In, a bouncy album of hook melodies and timid lyrics, first appeared on the scene back in 2007 few would have said that such a band would have stood the test of time. The band were put into the bracket of yet another generic British indie-rock group with their jerky sound and nervous vocals (nothings perfect and i'm hoping i'll do...but i will not do). However a decade on, with a mercury prize nomination and an Ivor Novello award under their belts even the Maccabees' harshest critics have been silenced.
The Maccabees' remarkable journey continues to unfold through their latest record Marks to Prove it. Two weeks ago today the band's fourth album hit the coveted number one spot in the British album chart. In doing so this london based quintet not only defied the current mainstream music market by giving some much needed lime light to the hugely underrated alternative music scene but also smashed one of their own records through scoring their first ever chart topper.
Marks to Prove it is unlike any Maccabees album before it. Instead, the record works by retaining the band's characteristic guitar rifts and timid vocals whilst layering this with the added element of piano and haunting female vocals. This myriad of sounds contained in one record is simply breathtaking and undeniably the band's greatest work so far.
The album, centred around Elephant and Castle, documents the journey from dusk through to dawn in the city. The album's pervading themes of change and mortality were likely inspired by the band's South London hometown which in recent times has been victim to the negative effects and social upheaval of gentrification. The portrayal of silence in a usually bustling centre is a powerful and eerie oxymoron that carries chillingily throughout the record, building gradually to a triumphant climax through the aptly named dreamy final track, Dawn Chorus.
The album's title track and first single, Marks to Prove It (much like the single Pelican from Given to the Wild) stands out like a sore thumb (to quote the frontman himself) to the overall sound and feel of the record. With its pounding guitar and loud vocals that represent the chaos and pandemonium of rush hour in the city it stands out amongst the later calmer, slow building tracks. It would be easy to think this album a feel-good listen due to its dreamlike sound, however, Marks to Prove It provides the listener with a thought provoking narrative that deals with relationship breakdown and the realisation of human morality, concepts that are a far cry from the band's debut record about wave machines and lego. On Kamakura, frontman Orlando Weeks launches into a chilling chorus which ends 'Your best friends forget you get old', a brutal reminder of the creeping hands of time.
The record also deals with the struggles and reality of everyday life, in particularRiver Song in which Weeks' describes staying in an unhappy relationship whilst then reminding us that 'the truth is we've all done the same'. With it's honest lyrics that ring all too true whilst retaining an overwhelming sense of beauty Marks to Prove it has proved the Maccabees are one of (if not) the greatest band of recent times.
Paloma
(P.S -- these photos were taken at an intimate Maccabees gig at Banquet Records, Kingston where we were lucky enough to meet the boys themselves, who were completely lovely by the way!)
