Music of the Month - June

I am very sorry for the rather large gap in my Music of the Month posts... I have been revising and sitting my AS Level exams, so have been rather busy. All finished now though! To get me through the rather stressful exam time I have been listening to a lot of soothing music. The summer is here finally and the festival season is upon us. I am very excited for Glastonbury this year and wish I was going, but I shall be content with the TV coverage. More excitement is on it's way as I am lucky enough to be seeing Matt Corby this weekend, and Mumford & Sons, plus many amazing guests, next month. It has been a little worrying as Ted Dwane, from Mumford & Sons, has been rather ill with a blood clot on the brain recently, but all is fine and he will hopefully be well enough to play at Glastonbury and the London gig. Anyhow... Here is the music I have been listening to these months; I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! If anybody has any music suggestions I would be delighted to hear them!

Iron & Wine - Jezabel and Boy With A Coin
Iron & Wine, aka Sam Beam, is the most perfect music for getting rid of stress. His voice is so soothing and the blend of instruments, guitar, banjo, accordion, electric guitar, drums etc, make a beautiful combination. I fully recommend the album Our Endless Numbered Days for listening to after a long day - it is soothing yet compelling, both musically and lyrically. Jezabel is a fantastic song, taken from the astoundingly good Woman King EP. It is rich and rhythmical, and makes a thoroughly enjoyable and fascinating listen. Boy With A Coin is another amazing Iron & Wine song, with a wonderful video - the dancers are beautiful.

Dry The River - Bible Belt and New Ceremony

Dry The River are one of my favourite bands of all time. Their sound is so unusual yet familiar at the same time. It is difficult to provide a simple explanation for what the music is that this band creates; it is extremely complex and varied, taking elements from folk, rock, emo, Americana and gospel. Their debut album Shallow Bed is wonderful, taking the bands acoustic versions on YouTube to another level and introducing much energy and atmosphere. However, the acoustic versions  are still equally as fantastic. The Shallow Bed (Acoustic) album showcases the more folky side to the band, highlighting Pete Liddle's fragile vocals, the wonderful harmonies and the violin. Religious influence is very clear in many of the songs, such as Bible Belt and Shaker Hymns - these songs also draw on aspects of American history and the King James bible, lending the tracks a certain seriousness. It was very hard to settle on just two tracks, but I think that Bible Belt and New Ceremony show Dry The River in all their complex and wonderful beauty.

Christopher Paul Stelling - Solar Flares and Brick x Brick

Christopher Paul Stelling is one amazing musician. In my opinion his guitar playing cannot be matched in beauty and excellence. It is too fantastic for words. His new album False Cities is wonderful and I cannot recommend it highly enough, the same goes for his Songs of Praise and Scorn album. The song, Never Been There, I consider to be the most darkly beautiful piece of music ever, of which I was sad not to be able to upload a video. Solar Flares is lovely and the recent song Brick x Brick, taken form Christopher's new album, is fantastic - the video is great too.