Songs of the year, number 28: Lauran Hibberd - How Am I Still Alive? (with Lydia Night)

In years to come, the Media Studies students of the future will look at the music videos of 2020 and 2021 and discern a specific aesthetic trend: The Lockdown Music Video.

A collaboration between Isle of Wight punk pop singer/songwriter and The Regrettes singer/guitarist, Lydia Night, this rousing slice of energetic punk pop sarcasm and sass appears to be taking as its subject matter the toxic relationship. Rather than have some kind of 'romance gone wrong' themed video however, Hibberd and Night have elected to collaborate on a video via video conferencing software and have, perhaps inadvertently, also managed to capture the stasis, boredom and repetitive nature of lockdown on both sides of the Atlantic in the process. Start listening for the guitar hooks and attitude, stay for the camera in the fridge, the cute animations and Hibberd attempting to mirror her dog's forlorn expression. 

Lauran Hibberd - How Am I Still Alive? (with Lydia Night)

There's an air of lockdown cabin fever in the overall vibe of this collaboration between Lauran Hibberd and The Regrette's Lydia Night. It provides an element of humour to what could be read as quite a bleak song considering how upbeat it sounds, sonically. In this dissection of annoying/toxic relationships the line 'How am I still alive?' feels oddly chilling at times. 

Lauran Hibberd - Call Shotgun (Glastonbury 2019)

This is Lauran Hibberd performing live on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury 2019. She recently did a PRS Presents LCKDWN show, which you can watch in full here.

Fantasy Festival number 7: The lineup

Becca Mancari: Understated US folk musician Becca Mancari has just released her second album, The Greatest Part. She's also a member of the supergroup Bermuda Triangle. You can find out more about Becca here.

Lauran Hibberd: Isle of Wight 'slacker pop' star Lauran Hibberd should have been in the middle of a summer of gigs right now but, even though that's on hold, she continues to get radio support, particularly across the BBC. Good things are expected, and rightly so. You can access her Soundcloud here.

Gazel: London based composer, songwriter and producer Gazel Algan draws on her Turkish roots to create mesmerising soundscapes fuelled by dance music and traditional instrumentation. Gazel's Book Of Souls was one of the most underrated albums of 2019. You can find out more about Gazel here.

Zola Jesus: Nika Roza Danilova, aka Zola Jesus, has been creating brooding, sometimes bleak, industrial soundscapes since 2009. Most recent album Okovi was a hard but necessary listen, and probably her strongest release yet. You can find out more about Zola Jesus here.

Jehnny Beth: Former Savages front woman, now rising solo star, Jehnny Beth was one of the stars of the 6Music festival just prior to the UK lockdown. Her solo album, To Love Is to Live, is out now. You can find out more here.

Sleater-Kinney: After more than twenty years (and, it's got to be said, partly due to that ten year hiatus in the middle...) Sleater-Kinney are finally being appreciated for what they always were: A thumping great rock band. You can find out more here.

Anna Calvi: Four albums in to her career (this years Hunted being a re-working of last years critically acclaimed and Mercury nominated Hunter), Anna Calvi has most definitely arrived. With a commanding stage presence, voice and excellent guitar skills, she is a woman more than ready to be given a festival headline slot. You can find out more here.