Sound Mouth.

January may now be almost over, but I couldn't let the month pass without finally sharing my picks for my favourite albums of the preceding year. Given how strong and varied 2019 was for music, it was difficult to limit this list to an easily-digestible ten record selection, so there's also a few honourable mentions towards the end. Some picks may surprise you or seem out of place alongside each other, but that's part of the fun. Let's get to it... 10 . The Darkness - Easter is Cancelled  This may seem like an unexpected start to a 'serious' year-end list, but hear me out on this one. I went back and forth on this choice more than any other, debating whether this sixth LP from the glam rock revivalists really deserved a top 10 spot or would be a mere honorable mention. However, recently returning to the album left me with no doubt. Easter is Cancelled is comfortably The Darkness' best effort since their still-brilliant 2003 debut Permission to Land, seei...

After posting last month's Top Tracks feature so late, I promised myself that I would get the November article out much sooner. Well, since today is the last of the month, I've just managed to keep that promise. But, before you take a look, be sure to check back here some time in December for my upcoming Top 10 Albums of 2019 list. It's going to be a big one! Until then, read on to find out what you should be listening to as we inch closer to the end of the decade... Dua Lipa - Don't Start Now The perfect comeback track for one of the biggest artists in pop, Dua Lipa has unsurprisingly stuck with the infectiously catchy dance-pop sound which brought her huge success last year through collaborations with Calvin Harris and Silk City. 'Don't Start Now' is in many ways familiar territory for Lipa, especially with the lyrics about thriving in the aftermath of a break-up, yet the undeniable groove and funky chorus bassline also feel refreshingly differ...

From the Human League to Def Leppard, Arctic Monkeys to Bring Me the Horizon, Sheffield has produced some of the biggest and best acts in British music over the last few decades. This trend shows no sign of stopping any time soon thanks to rising indie-pop outfit The Seamonsters. After releasing a string of strong singles and establishing an eye-catching visual aesthetic, the band has today dropped their latest offering, How to be Famous . Building from an effects-smothered guitar riff, through a subdued pre-chorus, and then letting loose on the punchy, infectious main hook , this is undoubtedly The Seamonsters' most confident and effective track to date. The quintet have cited early Blondie and Aztec Camera as key influences here, yet the inspiration taken from New Wave never causes How to be Famous to come of as trite or stale. Rather, The Seamonsters have again displayed their ability to echo the past whilst forging a sound that feels completely unique and refresh...

September may have seen Green Day and Blink-182 dropping some of their most embarrassingly bland material to date, but there was also enough greatness from across the music spectrum that I could have easily made this month's list even longer. Either way, I've stuck to my usual five picks of the very best tracks of the past month. If you haven't heard these yet, get them in your ears! Foals - The Runner This second single from the upcoming Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part II is a more than worthy follow-up to last month's excellent 'Black Bull'. While not quite as furious as that track, 'The Runner' sees Foals continue to deliver on their promise of heavier material for this new album with a formidable, fuzzy lead riff and production that packs a hefty punch. The chorus is a straightforward but hugely effective showcase for Yannis Philippakis' soaring vocals, while the frontman's conceptual lyrics are, as ever, owed your atte...

Now that the summer of 2019 is over, I've been in a retrospective mood, so it felt appropriate to look back on some of my favourite tracks of the last month. August was a pretty busy and diverse time for new releases, so I limited myself to my five favourite tracks to keep things concise. Get this stuff in your ears! Foals - 'Black Bull' The Oxfordshire indie giants are really spoiling us this year. Following the March release of Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part I , perhaps their best album to date, the band have recently dropped the first single from the upcoming Part II record. 'Black Bull' is a rough and raw bulldozer of a track , probably the heaviest Foals have ever released, and I absolutely love it. 18th October can't come quick enough, nor can a chance to hear this hard rock rager live. The 1975 - 'People' Foals are not the only band to have dipped their toes into heavier sounds lately, with indie-pop megastars The 19...