Continuing the countdown is one of the most charismatic artists on this list, making some of the silkiest Sunday afternoon tunes I've heard in a while - at 24 it's Mac Demarco with This Old Dog.

I feel like if you'd asked me to review this album after first listening in May, and then asked again now, the two reviews would be near on exactly the same. This is probably one of the only albums on the list that has held the same consistent feeling for me this whole year. Even speaking about the title song "This Old Dog" when it dropped here, I can see that my opinions haven't changed since.

As I said before, this album has received a lot of lazy Sunday afternoon plays and featured heavily on walks, but after seeing Mac live for the second time at Primavera Sound this year it really struck me just how different his performances are from his songs. His shows always feel pretty adrenaline driven, with the band really giving heaps of energy on stage, and so listening to this album to mellow out almost doesn't seem to make sense. However, Mac plays both sides of the coin effortlessly and never lets the differing tones affect the quality of his fantastic songwriting. This album is a prime example - jam after jam after jam.

My clear cut gems from This Old Dog are - "My Old Man", "Still Beating", "One More Love Song" and "On The Level". I feel like this record might just be Mac's best in regards to flow and cohesiveness. Every note seems deliberate. Despite it sounding effortless, the fact that he played every instrument and produced every note on this album; it becomes clearer and clearer with each listen just how much of Mac went into this. Perhaps Mac Demarco's most personal album yet and if I'm honest, perhaps my favourite of his so far. I'll be listening to this for many Sunday's to come.

It's been a long time since I've dedicated a post to music news, especially with Instagram around, but there's been a ridiculous amount of musical gems popping up over the past few weeks! So I thought, as a belated Valentine's Day treat I'd give you some new music to listen to for the rest of the month.

LITTLE DRAGON NEW MUSIC VIDEO "HIGH"
So very, very smooth. It's a breath of fresh air having new Little Dragon music in my life. As always this track is coated with their signature soulful sound with the added hazy undertones; it's got me buzzing for their next record. Nabuma Rubberband was a quality, classic record but if "High" is anything to go by, then Little Dragon haven't stopped growing, and the next record will be memorable to say the least.


THE STAVES NEW MUSIC VIDEO "TIRED AS FUCK"
I have to say I was a little surprised at this title coming from The Staves, but also super excited to see whether it brought with it a bit of a new sound. In regards to the video and the song, I love the minimalist feel to it. Those three part harmonies will never, ever get old to me. Not so much a new sound to it but the electric guitar definitely brings a fresher feel and a harder edge to it. "Tired As Fuck" is definitely a new favourite of mine.


SiR NEW MUSIC VIDEO "ALL IN MY HEAD"
I hadn't heard much about SiR up until recently with him featuring on Isaiah Rashad's and Little Simz's records, and after finding out that he was part of TDE he had my full attention. As soon as the beat kicked in on this track I thought of Anderson .Paak. That soulful bass has run throughout so many of my recent favourite songs, and I think it's time to add "All In My Head" to that list.


SEVDALIZA NEW MUSIC VIDEO "AMANDINE INSENSIBLE"
A shamefully fairly recent discovery for me - Sevadaliza has the potential to be a serious gamechanger and we have the pleasure coming into contact with her right now. Honestly, true artist. This new video for "Amandine Insensible" shows just that. Simple but mesmirising. The instrumental on this song reminded me of some of James Blake's material too.


CHAPEL NEW MUSIC VIDEO "FOOL'S GOLD"
I've been interested in Chapel ever since I found out that Kortney Grinwis was the drummer and when they dropped "Fool's Gold" it was my first chance to properly listen to their material. I love what I'm hearing on this single! The video is neither here nor there for me but it's a great song. Now that they're under Rise Records, I'm expecting something pretty exciting for their next release.


GRIMES FEAT. JANELLE MONAE NEW MUSIC VIDEO "VENUS FLY"
I'm not sure what I was expecting sound-wise from this collaboration but as soon as I saw Grimes and Janelle Monae in the same sentence I knew that aesthically this would be unforgettable. After watching, I stand by that 100% - this video is phenomenal. On the first few watches it was impossible to take my eyes off of it. In terms of the song, at first it was a little bit take-it-or-leave-it for me, but with the video so ingrained in my mind, I couldn't help but find the song there too.


WILD BEASTS NEW MUSIC VIDEO "ALPHA FEMALE" 
Okay! Again this is a video that I can get behind. I love this theme, I love these visuals. After listening to Wild Beasts' record Boy King last year I can't say that "Alpha Female" stuck out as a main highlight for me back then but after hearing it alongside this visual I might be listening a little bit differently from now on.


M.I.A. NEW SINGLE "P.O.W.A" 
After being dormant for quite a while now M.I.A. is back with this new release and I have to say, I'm not all that impressed. As a single it's really just not the most enjoyable in my opinion. The video definitely boosts its memorability - after all M.I.A. has always had a way with visuals but I just needed "P.O.W.A" to bring an audio to match and it did not in this case.


MAC DEMARCO NEW SINGLE "THIS OLD DOG"
Old man Mac - it's been a while. "This Old Dog" is the title track from his new album dropping on the 5th of May. This peaceful, Sunday afternoon, summer stroll track took me back to summer 2013 where I was listening to things like Bibio, Darwin Deez, Delphic, etc... It would have fit in perfectly back then and I have no doubts that this new album will be featured heavily in my summer 2017.


ARCANE ROOTS NEW MUSIC VIDEO "CURTAINS" 
This video for "Curtains" has actually been out for a while now and the single since last year but I had to say something about it because I like the song so much and the video is just as compelling. The video left me pretty speechless after first watch if I'm honest. It was almost exactly what I'd pictured (except, better) after listening to the single so many times before. Arcane Roots are not a band to overlook right now I'm telling you.


GRAMMY'S IN GENERAL... 
Well I'm sure by now everyone's heard about the Grammy's and all the "scandalous" events and wardrobe malfunctions. Aside from that - the performances. I'm just going to come out and say it - Beyoncé, Beyoncé, Beyoncé, wow. What a goddess. Chance the Rapper, again with a soulful and inspiring performance. To name drop a few others - Metallica and Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, ATCQ and Anderson .Paak, and Adele. All amongst stand out performances across the night. What a spectacle.


That's not even the half of it for music news over the past couple of weeks but it's just a few standouts and things that I found particularly exciting to tide you over into March. Keep your eyes peeled for more musical goodness over the rest of the month.

I actually came to this show on a bit of a whim - a friend of mine was visiting and we wanted to go to a show but didn't want to pay too much, and here's where we ended up...

The first band up, Kondakova, were surprisingly great! Not that I was expecting them to be terrible but I just wasn't really expecting anything. They have huge potential. They needed a little development in terms of stage presence but being their second gig ever playing in the set up they were in - they played really well. Good instrumentalists, solid song-writers, and a very professional feel about them, especially being younger artists. I really look forward to hearing more of these boys in the future, and maybe even seeing them over on UK shores.

On the other hand, the second band - Jarrow - were pretty underwhelming. The band as a whole had terrible stage presence. All except the lead singer who really carried the band. The drummer looked liked he'd rather be a thousand other places and on top of that he was a little sloppy so it just came across as lazy. The band as a whole though had some real gems - Mac DeMarco/Jamie T type vibes - but this just didn't translate too well on stage. I need to give their studio recorded material a listen or maybe even see them in more of a festival environment because I think there's something there, it just wasn't coming across well on stage.

Before coming to the show I managed to listen to one When We Were Small (now called Soft Corporate) track ("Untied") and I liked the sound of it - I wasn't buzzing but I liked the sound. After seeing them live though, I was definitely buzzing! They have some amazing tracks in their arsenal. At the very least, they have a EPs worth of songs behind them. The only problem which I've been finding with Indie bands is that they always sound like other bands. WWWS reminded me most of Kins, Maccabees, Two Door Cinema Club, Los Campesinos and Spring Offensive. If you like any of the bands that I just mentioned, definitely check these guys out. I feel like if this band was from the UK or the US they would already have quite a big underground following - we really need to get some people out to Australia to manage all of this hidden talent.

Overall Rating - 7.5/10


Here are some pictures from the night...

Although I didn't manage to see as many artists as I did on Saturday, Sunday actually ended up being the most entertaining day in terms of music. Some of the best sets I've seen this whole year, let alone at Field Day....

EAGULLS
I actually think that I might have enjoyed them more here than I did when I caught their headline set here. It just felt a lot more relaxed, the crowd were definitely more responsive and the band really fed off this - absolutely killer set to start off the day.


DIIV
I've been psyched to see this band for ages now, I'm actually a little surprised that I hadn't seen them until now. Either way, they were awesome! Perfect for a summer morning. Their debut album Oshin sounded glorious live and their new songs from the upcoming album sounded just as strong. Of course when the bass riff to "Doused" rang out headbanging kicked into overdrive. I look forward to much more from this band.


MAC DEMARCO
The talk of the weekend! The most charming hillbilly in the world 100%. This felt like the most improvised set of the day. Most of the time it just felt like a jam session, it was so comfortable and personal. Obviously got a little bit rowdy towards the end, with hotdogs and footballs being thrown on stage and Mac being thrown off it - euphoric atmosphere.


PATTI SMITH
Absolute legend. I felt nothing but honoured to be in her presence that day. I just remember saying "it's sad that nobody really sounds like this anymore". Killer set, and it just felt so effortless. It's definitely easy to tell when an artist has been performing for a while - seasoned but fresh. To top it all off, she played the entirety of Horses - yes!


SAVAGES 
Honestly, the best set that I have seen in 2015. I can say that with some confidence. Savages are like a myth. The intensity in the tent was palpable. They're like a band you'd tell people about and they wouldn't believe you. For them to be able to start off a set with "City's Full" already suggests the calibre of their tracks past, present and future. The whole experience just felt spiritual. This is not a band you want to sleep on - outstanding musicians. Also, Jehnny Beth is a marvel to behold - my goodness! 


RIDE 
I didn't really know too much about Ride before seeing them headline but it was a nice way to end a great weekend. Chilled out summer music. Although a lot of their songs sounded very familiar, I'm sure that I haven't heard anything by them before. Cool old/new discovery for me.