Whilst I was living in Australia for 6 months, as quiet as I was on the blog, I was still out and about heading to gigs and festivals. I didn't get to write about them at the time but I did however make notes, so over the next few months I'll be posting reviews of ALL of the shows and festivals that I attended whilst I was out there. Hopefully as I'm out in Germany for the next 6 months I'll be able to keep the pace going with gig and festival reviews because there is a whole HEAP to look forward to in 2016...

Just as November comes to an end, let's see what things we've missed in the last few days...

BIPOLAR SUNSHINE NEW SINGLE "DAYDREAMER"
I'm still wondering when we're actually going to get an album or even an EP from Bipolar Sunshine to be honest. But at least we're getting singles out of this waiting game. This latest single here isn't my favourite of the recent bunch but maybe it will grow on me in time.


LOS CAMPESINOS! NEW SINGLE "WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES"
What better way to start off December than with a festive belter from Los Campesinos!? And hey what d'you know?! It comes as part of a Christmas EP here which you'll probably be playing from now until the 25th.


WAYWARD DAUGHTER EP LAUNCH ANNOUNCEMENT
If you're still confused on a Christmas present to buy for someone close, this would be a great shout. Wayward Daughter announced the launch for their Carry Me EP happening at The Garage, Highbury & Islington on the 16th of December. If it's anything like their last EP launch here it'll be BIG. I'd suggest grabbing ticket from here ASAP.


BEYONCE NEW MUSIC VIDEO "7/11"
To be honest, I'm sure 95% of the people reading this have already seen the video BUT in case you're one of the few who has been deprived of it somehow click here to make yourself smile. I wrote about the song about a week ago here and I still don't think it's a good song but this video is just so entertaining  that I can't overlook it anymore. Beyoncé is queen.


MALLORY KNOX NEW MUSIC VIDEO "WHEN ARE WE WAKING UP?"
I finally managed to catch Mallory Knox live last week (review coming soon) and they were everything that I expected and more and so was this new music video actually. Mikey's voice has improved in my opinion and I loved this sophomore album. This fantastic song coupled with this attention-holding video, yes. Check it out here.


IGGY AZALEA NEW LYRIC VIDEO "BEG FOR IT (FEAT. MØ)"
Even though I'm not really a fan of Iggy I am definitely a fan of MØ and all in all, this is a catchy single. I have to admit that in this song, MØ doesn't really sound like herself but as it's a pretty different genre to her comfort zone she had to switch it up a little. It's definitely the standard Iggy formula for a chart hit but despite the samey-ness I'm sure fans will still listen to it here.


NME AWARDS TOUR LINE UP ANNOUNCED
2015's NME Awards Tour is looking HUGE! Fat White Family, The Amazing Snakeheads, Palma Violets and Slaves all in one show?!?! No doubt that this'll sell out pretty easily. This year's line up here was still awesome but very versatile. Next year's four artists are each pretty similar and also pretty awesome. Check out the flyer here.


FIRST FEW FESTIVAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hopefully most people will have caught the first Reading & Leeds 2015 announcement this week, but in case you didn't, among the names mentioned were Metallica (headlining), Jamie T, Run The Jewels, Pierce The Veil and more. Then Glastonbury announced Lionel Richie for the Sunday earlier today. Finally, Field Day had their first announcement too with Chet Faker, Caribou, Django Django, Patti Smith, DIIV and more. Well, well, well 2015!


SLAVES NEW SINGLE "THE HUNTER"
Yet another reason to go and catch them at next year's NME Awards Tour, Slaves are killing it right now. If this single hasn't already, I'm sure that the tour will generate a lot of new fans for them. I love the bass intro to this track - they would be immense to see live. Have a listen here. Little bit prog rock - I like it.


AS ELEPHANTS ARE NEW SINGLE "BREATHE"
I feel like I haven't heard a lot from As Elephants Are in a while so it's nice to have something new from them to jive to. Also, another band that I'm waiting for a debut record from. I'm sure that that will be their catalyst - they already craft songs so well, a full length would be too golden to ignore. But until then, here's the new track.


WHILE SHE SLEEPS NEW MUSIC VIDEO "FOUR WALLS"
I just love how close this new record seems! Only two singles out and I already know this is going to be an album to write about. WSS's tour next year after the album release will be frenetic. Seeing them at Reading this year was already manic - on the back of these two spectacular albums - oh goodness! Have a listen to the new single here.


JUCE NEW MUSIC VIDEO "6TH FLOOR"
The three piece girl band literally bringing the old school back to the present. Of course almost every artist has had old school influences that work their way back into the mainstream, but JUCE are bringing it back with no changes. These songs sound straight out of the 80s - vibey. Listen and watch here.


THE NIGHT VI NEW SINGLE "FEARS"
Yay! I am loving this six piece at the minute and I don't think that that'll change too soon. All of The Night VI's songs just sound so silky smooth. It'd be lovely to hear them live. Always happy to hear something new from them be it an original or a cover. But until the next one here is the enchanting "Fears". Grab the EP it's from here.

I've had quite a few 'new discoveries' these past few months but Prinze George popped into my mind again because they actually released a new song today. I'll explain how I found out about them first though - I was listening to something on soundcloud and I just let it play on afterwards with the 'suggested tracks' and the song "This Time" came on. Instant headbanger. Super catchy. The techno pop sounds lift up the vibe from just a standard indie tune to an indie-pop anthem. Before I knew it, I was writing down the band's name before the song had even finished.

After this encounter, I followed them on soundcloud and Facebook, listened to the song a couple more times and then didn't really do much else about it. It wasn't until, they posted about the release of this new song, on Facebook, that I really remembered that I liked them! Here is the new track...

PRINZE GEORGE - Make Me




I'll be interested to hear what a full album of theirs sounds like. I'm not sure if I'd like an entire body of work as much as a single from them, but I suppose that I'll have to wait and see. I can definitely hear them being played a lot in summer or at festivals. I'm intrigued more than anything to see where they end up within the next year. Keep an ear out for these New Yorkers.

LET IT BE KNOWN...

A band that I'd actually not heard of until recently when I saw them support Loom here, but I'm seriously glad that I found out about them. It would seem that a lot of good music is coming out of Birmingham lately and these guys in my opinion are definitely ones to watch. Check out their new music video/single...

JUICE - Sugar

This year hasn't just picked up where 2013 left off but has somehow managed to rise up where 2013 fell down in the space of less than two months! Are you kidding me?!! The latest festival line-up announcements all have me convinced - I'm not sure what kind of conspiracy has happened this year,  either every festival has decided to book fantastic artists or all artists have decided to step it up and become awesome. Either way, here's what I've been giddy about so far...

ISLE OF WIGHT
Now, previously I had not really seen Isle Of Wight as a festival that I had to be at and it had never really come out on top for me when choosing festivals. But here's why I mentioned it first - Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kings Of Leon, Biffy Clyro, Rudimental, Swim Deep, Deap Vally, Peace, The Horrors, John Newman and The Strypes... And that's not even the full line-up yet, are you freaking kidding me?!


READING & LEEDS
R&L is always in the toss up for me when deciding which festivals to go to and again this year is no exception. On just the second announcement, they already have - Blink 182, Arctic Monkeys, You Me At Six, SBTRKT, Warpaint, Architects, Royal Blood, Disclosure, Metronomy and Of Mine & Men. If that's just the second announcement, I know that it can only get better to be honest.


BESTIVAL
Bestival is a festival that I always liked the idea of but I never found myself getting tickets to when it came down to it in the end. This year might just have to be the year though, with artists like - Outkast, Foals, Beck, Disclosure, Major Lazer, London Grammar, Wild Beasts, Sam Smith, Caribou and Laura Mvula - how can I not be excited?


WIRELESS
Another festival that has always had a line-up that I liked, but never enough to actually acquire a ticket. However, as 2014 is proving, it's a whole new ball game entirely. Artists already on the bill include - Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Basement Jaxx, Ella Eyre, Drake, Rudimental, Azealia Banks, Chance The Rapper, Outkast, Bruno Mars and John Newman. In other words - yes, yes and yes.


PARKLIFE
This festival has never really been on my radar until this year. The price (£80 weekend) especially is enticing me as it is seemingly the festival with the most value for money at the moment. To be able to see - Snoop Dogg, Foals, Rudimental, Disclosure, London Grammar, Kendrick Lamar, SBTRKT, Warpaint, Sam Smith, Ella Eyre, Bipolar Sunshine, Bonobo (DJ), Jamie XX, Annie Mac and TEED - all for under £100... you must be having a bubble?


All of this, and Glastonbury and V Festival still have yet to make a main announcement. Even festivals abroad like Open'er, Outlook, Unknown, Primavera Sound, etc.. are pulling out the big guns this year. The only thing that I can say on all this is, ROLL ON SUMMER 2014!