I’m of the
view that Anglophone people should listen to music in other languages and I never get tired of defending Spanish music, because, you must trust me,
there is life beyond Julio
Iglesias. However, it’d be ridiculous to deny that English music can
boast of quality, quantity and variety. So now that I’m living in UK, it’s
being a perfect moment to discover new music bands that are growing in the
island where legends of music (like The Beatles, The Rolling, Bowie, Oasis and
a never-ending etcetera) were born before.
I’m
not going to talk about the most famous nor the most important nor the best English
bands. This is neither a music review nor a report about the English music
scene. It’s more like a love story, between my mp3 player and the bands that have
been messing up its songs list.
Firstly,
I met the fruity and deep voice of Marcus Mumford, and the addictive choirs of
his sons’ stringed instruments. Mumford & Sons is the actual folk rock band from western London that made
me fall in love with the sound of banjo, cello and accordion, and that made me feel like in a
wooded hut in the middle of a virgin forest. Not really, I just like exaggerating,
but they still sound so good. Apart from the instruments, the lyrics are strong
(and sometimes confusing) and some of them are related to literacy works, such as Much Ado about Nothing, The Oddisey and The Republic. Songs like “White Blank Page”, “Roll away your stone” or “Feel the
tide” stayed in my mind for days and days and I’m still pretty hooked on them. The
videos recorded in the book shop (that you can easily find in YouTube) helped.
Long live the braces!
Then
came The Vaccines: younger, faster and catchier. They are an irreverent rock band
that hits your ears with its fresh sound and its straightforward lyrics. How
could one not like them? “If you wanna”, “Post break-up sex” or “Lack of
understanding” are some of their great songs. Personally, I love their look,
between nerd and Rock and Roll, and the way Freddie Cowan (guitar) can’t stay
still, moving his legs while performing.
The third
band I’m going to talk about is Noah & The Whale. A bit more grown up than
the rest, they’ve already released their 3ยบ album: Last night on Earth. But the
band is not the same that started in 2006: some members have gone and some new
ones have joined. Charlie Fink (vocals and guitar) and Tom Hobden (violin and
keys) have been always there, while their fringe grew and grew. At the moment I
haven’t listen a lot of songs from the first albums, but I can say that this
last one has really great pieces, such as “Tonight is the kind of night”, “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N”
or (my favourite one) “Waiting for my chance to came”. Some of these songs, with optimistic lyrics that make you keep the hope in the human being, are likely to become my summer anthem. In addition, the sexy sound of Hobden's violin makes me irrational and, seriously, have you
seen how Fink dances with the mic? It’s worth having a look, because it couldn’t
be cooler (and more comical).
In short, it’s
not something to be proud, but I feel a bit like a teenager listening to these
bands, begging my friends to come with me to one of their gigs. That’s not good when one is trying to look
like an adult, is it? Anyway, and though I love English music, my message is still
the same: I don’t mind if he’s who has sold more records, Julio Iglesias is NOT
the best Spanish singer.
