Alt Tracks — Music you must hear this month — November 2016
Originally published on AltReading on 16th November 2016
Our music blogger tag-team of Reading Unplugged and music writer Tyler Hallows bring you the mid-autumn edition of Alt Tracks featuring debut singles, EP closers, infectious melodies, and a potential festival hit for next summer.
InAir — Meant To Be
This is a landmark moment for this new band we spoke to in our A Breath of Fresh Air feature back in the summer as they release their debut single and music video. Contrasting heavy riffs with a space filled clean sections recorded at Reading’s Whitehouse studios. This is a small taste of what is to come from their EP due for release next year.
Kaldera — Through Your Fingers
After announcing that their recent show at Purple Turtle was to be their final for the foreseeable future, due to university commitments, Kaldera didn’t leave us without making a statement. This is exactly what they’ve done on debut EP ‘Operate’ jam packed with tune after tune. However, it is EP closer, ‘Through Your Fingers’, that stands out the most as a track completely different to what we’ve heard from Kaldera before. Featuring a waltz signature, beautiful guitars reminiscent of early Smiths songs, and vocalist Tom Waddington’s best vocals to date, it is the perfect way to close Kaldera’s debut release.
Matt Maltese — Vacant In the 21st Century
Reading’s classically trained singer has swapped our county town for South London to pursue his music career, and continues to add to his impressive line-up of collaborators, on this occasion turning to Maccabees man Hugo White to produce his latest track.
This music video features the images of doomed kids, self-obsessed twins, dysfunctional married drones and a grandmother living in a shopping channel, all of this which is which all thought provokingly inside Great Britain according to Master Maltese.
Mellor — Francis
Reading rockers, Mellor, have released their best track to date in the form of new single ‘Francis’. Opening up with feedback, leading into a killer riff, the song continues on, featuring infectious melodies, a pounding rhythm, and memorable lyrics. One particularly notable line “I had a heart once, but it’s turned to black” will whir around your head for days. Always a highlight from their electric live shows, it’s a testament to Mellor’s rise as one of Reading’s most exciting acts.
Palm Honey — Stick The Knife In
Just squeezing into the list in time is, psychedelic band, Palm Honey’s brand new single from their upcoming debut EP ‘Tucked into the Electronic Wave’, set to be released in the new year. ‘Stick in the Knife’ boasts a driving drum beat integrated with scrappy guitars, a woozy synth, and background feedback throughout, all before bursting into a breakdown that is sure to send crowds wild at their upcoming shows, with a December show at Purple Turtle that should be in all your diaries. Palm Honey are always breaking new ground with each release, and ‘Stick in the Knife’ is an exciting preview for what is to come.
Signal ft. Eclipse — Down
Signal is one of the area’s fastest rising urban stars who is inspired by Enimem, Dizzee Rascal and Skepta and has supported the likes of Chipmunk, Kano, Wretch 32 and many more in a short space of time.
Down features the talents of Jamie Jooste and Jay Picasso, collectively known as Eclipse, and the track has received a respectable level of support as at the time of writing the video has clocked up 25,000 views, notably without being on urban music video platforms such as Link Up TV or GRM daily. The visuals and production on the video are nice and simple, and this will definitely fit in perfectly for the festival season next summer.
