Songs of the year, number 8: Overcoats - Never Let You Go (Official Music Video)

With their third album, Winner, Overcoats have strayed into what feels like Americana territory, there being a definite country twang to much of the album. 'Never Let You Go', with its crisp pop harmonies feels like an outlier, having more in common with 2020's The Fight than the loose chord sequences of Winner. It's a particularly irresistible ear worm, accompanied by a charming video, that revisits a number of Overcoats themes, including exasperating partners. Hanna and JJ are in fine voice and the songs recurring chorus ensures that it will be circling your head for weeks afterwards,  

3 Songs... about 23

It was only recently, while listening to Baby Queen's new-ish track '23' that I realised how many recent songs there are about the experience of being 23.

Overcoats appear to have begun this trend back in 2017 with their debut album Young, which featured the track '23', a poignant tale of early marriage, bucket lists gone sour and the rueing of wasted opportunities amidst the dawning knowledge that the marriage is failing. 

Leeds band Lucky Iris, meanwhile, released their own snapshot of early 20s life earlier this year, when they released their own song, also titled '23'. While it's not technically about hitting the age 23 so much as arriving at the year 2023, it taps into similar feelings about early twenties life. The track hasn't received as much attention as recent tracks 'Blowing Kisses', 'Maybe I'm too much' and its hyper pop re-work 'Maybe you are not enough', but it's still worth a listen. In comparison to the Overcoats track, in which our heroine has ticked off every one of her goals and has still failed to find happiness and satisfaction, Lucky Iris' Maeve instead finds herself musing that she always thought she'd have life figured out by the time she reached 2023: That she'd be "so old now" and have a decent job, a house, stuff... but it hasn't happened yet. The peculiar extended adolescence of the early twentysomething is what has happened instead and she's not sure how she feels about that. 

This state of peculiarly extended adolescence is not so much baffled about as celebrated by Baby Queen in her own recent track, also called '23', which is something of a hymn to hedonism. That mad spontaneous thing you were thinking of doing? That late night drinking spree on a weeknight? You might as well go off and do it, she says, lighten up - you're 23, this is what it's like, it's what expected of you. 

While each of the three tracks have been written by women in their twenties in a six year period, they all have very different perspectives on the early twenties life moment, and what they all suggest is a sense of a generation in flux. There's a real sense of insecurity and doubt that comes across, even in the Baby Queen song (although perhaps not as obviously as in earlier track 'We Can Be Anything') and perhaps it's no accident that these songs are coming out when they are. A few generations ago, it might have been 18 that was the pivotal moment. Now, it's 23. 

Overcoats - Never Let You Go (Official Music Video)

The third of four (yes, FOUR!) new songs released by Overcoats in recent months, the highly infectious 'Never Let You Go' reveals (much like this weeks new song, 'New Suede Shoes') the bands firm commitment to sophisticated pop songwriting coupled with impeccable harmonies.

'Maybe I love the drama', they confess, 'Knowing I could lose it all' in what proves to be a particularly strong central hook and, with just those two lines, I'm convinced. Not only that the third Overcoats album is going to be an absolute banger, but that 'Never Let You Go' could well be in with a shot of being my song of the year.

It's to be hoped with the release of their third album, Winner (out next month!) that the bands slow-but-steady rise in the US will continue, though it would also be nice if they got some recognition this side of the pond as well. I'm reminded of my early days on (pre Elon) Twitter, when - in the wake of the latest round of excuses by promoters for not booking more women to play festivals - they re-tweeted a report from a US publication, in which promoters claimed they couldn't find any women to book, with the immortal line: "We're literally RIGHT HERE!" 

If only promoters over here would take note, and book them.

Overcoats - Wait For Me Darling (Live at Sixpoint Brewery)

Taken from last years Used To Be Scared of The Dark EP, 'Wait For Me Darling' is here given the summery acoustic treatment.

It's been two years since the band released their second album, The Fight, and they've been slowing building their profile and reputation since then. It might be a long road of small tours, sonic experimentation and juggling music with work, but it will be worth it in the end. 

Song of the year, number 8: Overcoats - Blame It On Me feat. Lawrence Rothman (Official Music Video)

Released as part of their EP of collaborations, Used To Be Scared Of The Dark, 'Blame It On Me' is a straightforward synth pop ballad in which the trademark impeccable harmonies of Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell are entwined with those of LA singer/songwriter Lawrence Rothman to beautiful effect. As has been the case with many of the music videos on my Song of the year list, the video represents an ingenious and very effective way of transcending Covid restrictions by using minimal casting and crew in a secluded setting and manages to be incredibly affecting. Absolute perfection. 

Overcoats - Blame It On Me feat. Lawrence Rothman (Official Music Video)

One day, someone will write, if not a Phd thesis then at least an undergraduate essay on the impact of COVID-19 on music videos. About how artists, unable to get together with large casts and crews to film videos, used a variety of innovative techniques and approaches to nonetheless make memorable video art. Overcoats and Lawrence Rothman's 'Blame It On Me' is an exemplary take on this. It takes a very simple setting and a minimal cast to create something that matches the spirit of the song while at the same time being beautiful for its own sake. 

Songs of the year, number 2: Overcoats - The Fight (Official Audio)

Overcoats early 2020 album The Fight proved eerily prescient in a number of ways, particularly the song 'Fire and Fury', with its references to the sky falling in. But it's the title track 'The Fight' that really gets to the heart of the matter. In a US where people were struggling and constantly fighting to get their voices heard in innumerable campaigns and battles even before Covid-19,  'The Fight' speaks of a sense of weariness and determination in equal measure. "Put the beer down" it begins, "talk to me now." It's a campaigning, fighting song for 2020 that gives hope and solidarity in equal measure but that never, ever pretends its ever anything but hard. "The only time to start is now" they maintain towards the end of the song, and you can't help but agree. 

Overcoats - Leave the Light On - Lucky Barn @Pickathon 2018 S06E10

There are some great live sessions by Overcoats over on YouTube, but I really wanted to find a live video of them with an audience, and this one of them performing at Lucky Barn for Pickathon was worth searching for. You can watch their full live session for Paste Studio Live NYC from November last year here.

Fantasy Festival number 15: The Lineup

Becky and The Birds: Becky and The Birds is the nom de plume of Swedish singer, songwriter and producer Thea Gustafsson. She released a self titled EP in 2018 and, since signing to 4AD, has released three singles. Were it not for the pandemic, she would be touring now. You can find out more here.

Birch: Birch, aka Michelle Birsky (not to be confused with the singer/songwriter Diane Birch or Gina Birch of the Raincoats) is an NYC based singer and songwriter who makes quietly political observational guitar and synth based music. Her debut album, femme.one, was released in 2019 and included the single 'Spelling Lessons'. You can find out more here.

Connie Constance: Watford singer songwriter and poet Connie Constance released her debut album, English Rose, last year. She has been described as 'indie soul' and early single 'Clouds' certainly promised much. She has been steadily building up her sound since then, as well as gigging and writing extensively. One to watch. You can find her on Insta.

Overcoats: NYC based synth pop/soul duo Overcoats released their second album, The Fight, back in March. Even they recognised it wasn't a great moment to be bringing a new album into the world, but they decided to go ahead anyway in the hope that the album might provide comfort for a few people in an uncertain world. They have a knack for bending genres and singing the unsayable. You can find out more about them here.

Phoebe Bridgers: Los Angeles Singer songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, as well as being an accomplished artist in her own right, has worked extensively with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus (as Boygenius) and with Conor Oberst (as Better Oblivion Community Center). Solo single 'Kyoto' has been something of an indie rock summer hit, and it's taken from her new album Punisher. You can find out more here.

Basia Bulat: Canadian singer songwriter Basis Bulat has her roots in folk but she's also highly capable of making sparkling classic pop as well, as her 2016 album Good Advice will attest. Her most recent album, Are You In Love? was a more sprawling affair, but well received nonetheless. You can find out more here.

Chvrches: Glasgow's Chvrches make sometimes dreamy, often beautiful, many times frenetic, synth pop. Their most recent album, Love Is Dead, was released in 2018. You can find out more here.

Lorde: Auckland's premier electro pop star seemed recently to be gently teasing us by changing her Twitter handle to 'Did Lorde release an album today?' the answer, so far, is No. On the basis of her previous two albums, Pure Heroine, and Melodrama, album number three should be worth the wait. You can find out more here.

"The sky is falling, but we'll get through it": Overcoats - The Fight

As Overcoats sheepishly acknowledged back in March, now doesn't feel like a great time to be releasing an album. But, even with a global pandemic ever encroaching, they elected to go ahead and release The Fight anyway in the hope that it might provide a bit of comfort to fans and new listeners alike.

Ultimately, this was the right decision. Not just because The Fight is a fitting follow up to 2017's excellent debut, Young, but because the deep level of questioning and personal reassurance Overcoats are providing here feels very, very timely.

Opening track 'I'll Be There' may be vocoder heavy, but it's also the sonic equivalent of a warm hug, a slice of solidarity that is very welcome at the moment. Similarly, 'Fire & Fury', while it might have been written about the resurgence of political activism in the US following the 2016 election, has enough post apocalyptic imagery in it to feel highly appropriate pandemic listening. It's the sound of someone questioning their life, and the lives of those around them, not liking what they see but also being optimistic and pragmatic enough to lace the song together with hope and a catchy chorus: The sky is falling, but we'll get through it.

Previous singles, the gloriously stroppy 'The Fool' and anthemic 'Leave If You Wanna' are classic Overcoats: They're still singing the unsingable when it comes to taking apart failing relationships and marrying the results to upbeat electro pop and their trademark beautiful harmonies. "Some days I love you, some days I don't" being a suitably nonchalant-but-honest lyric.

The shouty, slightly hectic 'Apathetic Boys' meanwhile is reminiscent of Jesca Hoop's more lo fi scuffed indie rock oevre, whereas 'Keep The Faith' is Overcoats revealing their tender side. Set alongside the folky singalong of 'Drift', which is a sublime piece of subtlety that just builds and builds, it shows the quality and ease of their songwriting. 

Title track 'The Fight' is another anthem for our new world "This Is The Fight" they maintain, while acknowledging "I know you're tired. Night after night; the great divide". More than anything, it's this song that shows just how far their songwriting has progressed. Thematically, 'New Shoes' also feels like it was written for lockdown, or shelter in place as they call it in the US. A pared down track on acoustic guitar, it poses the question "What good are these new shoes if I can't leave my room" not because of lockdown, but because of a more traditional problem: He hasn't called. 

The Fight marries bolshy electro pop with beautiful acoustic pop songs, and there's a political charge here that compliments the personal anger. Whether they are focusing their lens on personal affairs or the wider world, they're able to carry it off with ease and aplomb. The Fight is a worthy successor to Young and, if there is any justice in the world, it will build on and enhance the bands musical profile.

Overcoats - Fire & Fury (Official Music Video)

Overcoats second album, The Fight, dropped on the 13th March. The email the band sent around to their mailing list to advertise their new arrival was slightly apologetic in tone, acknowledging that the day Corona Virus (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic might not be a great time to be unleashing a new album on the world. Still, they hope it will provide a certain amount of comfort to listeners and that we all get through this.

The band released one of my favourite albums of 2017 in Young, so the expectations were always going to be high. It's too early into my listening, and too early in the year, to give my verdict, but as 'Fire & Fury' shows, the signs are very, very good.

Songs of the year, number 20: Overcoats - The Fool

It's been quite quiet on the Overcoats front this year. Following on from their debut album, 2017's Young, the band have continued to tour the US while quietly working on new material.

'The Fool' was the first track to be released from a new E.P, and as well as showcasing a slightly new direction for the band, the accompanying video also klaxoned a new image.

It's too soon to tell what album number two will be like, but I wait with a good deal of excitement based on this ferocious slice of synth pop.

Overcoats - The Fog - Audiotree Live (3 of 6)

Still my Favourite New Band

End of year list with a difference

I thought I'd try taking a departure from the usual end of year lists format this year, having not done one since 2014 because:

A.) Florence + The Machine would have won everything in 2015, and that would have made for a pretty repetitive blog post

B.) 2016 was such a weird year it required a different approach.

So, 2017... 

I remember writing in my diary at the end of 2015 'Well, thank God that's over' or words to that effect, little knowing the horrors 2016 would bring, and indeed, 2017...

One last thing:

Because I didn't do a list in 2016, the rule I'm working to is: If it was released in 2017, or if it was released in 2016 but I didn't hear it until 2017 then it's OK to include it. 

Favourite article of the year to write (By me): Women and music festivals, again (The F-Word)

Perhaps this is a little misleading... It wasn't so much a case of 'enjoying' it as being gripped by a hurricane that wouldn't let me go until I'd finished it, 48 hours later. And it led to a whole series of posts on here as well, plus 7 fantasy festival bills I'd like to see.

Expect to read more on this issue, and related issues, in 2018.

Favourite article of the year (Not by me): What I learned from a year of dumpster diving in Australia (Medium)

You will be staggered by this... really staggered, and possibly inspired as well.

Favourite tattoo of the year: This one from The Studio in Manchester

Such a collision of difference reference points, and no one else will have one like it. Genius.

Favourite disclaimer of the year: Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, Duke of York Theatre, London

Favourite foul mouthed ear worm of the year:

A tie between St Vincent's 'New York' and Peking Duk/Icona Pop's 'Let You Down', both of which feature copious and enthusiastic use of the f word.


Favourite anti-Donald Trump song of the year:

Grace Mitchell 'Kids (Ain't Alright)' did it for me in the end, conveying as it does a real sense of bewilderment and 'What the fuck just happened?!'. That said, favourable mention (obviously) goes to Arcade Fire and Mavis Staples for 'I Give You Power', which they had the foresight to release on inauguration day.


Favourite double edged single of the year:

Natasha Kmeto, 'Pour Down/Free For Tonight'

Side A: Full on rainbow coloured lust on the dance floor

Side B: An equally killer dance anthem but with the underlying razorblade in the floss that it was a song pointing to the fragility of LGBTQI spaces

Favourite breaking artist of the year:

Overcoats.

The New York duo more than punched above their weight this year, with an impeccable debut album and strong singles. Their tours in the US are now headliner tours and are getting longer and longer. Let's hope we see them in the UK soon.

Most fully realised psychogeographic album of the year:

EMA, Exile in the outer ring

A dystopian postcard from the US mid west. 

Most eerily prescient album of the year:

This is a tie between Kate Tempest's Let Them Eat Chaos and Father John Misty's Pure Comedy. The former hinted, in various ways, at a number of societal factors that were all about to converge in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster, whereas the latter clearly signposted the warning signs of a US that had just elected Trump president.


Favourite video of the year:

Georgia, 'Feel It'

Favourite 'Where the hell did that come from?!?' album of the year:

Kelly Lee Owens, Kelly Lee Owens, as signposted by Piccadilly Records.


Favourite gig of the year:

A tie between Gothic Tropic at The Castle Hotel as part of the Manchester leg of Dot To Dot, 26th May 2017 and Honeyblood at Gorilla, 21st December 2017 (review currently in progress, stymied by Christmas...)

Band to watch in 2018:

Pearl City

They provided strong support to Honeyblood at Gorilla on 21st December and are a Manchester duo who used to be known as Bernard & Edith and now appear to have renamed themselves after a mancunian Chinese restaurant. They sound a bit like Kate Bush fronting a dark wave band... Am expecting good things. 'Flames' is out now.

Albums of the year:

15) Wolf Alice, Visions Of A Life
14) Jesca Hoop, Memories Are Now
13) Bully, Losing
12) Rews, Pyro
11) Pink Milk, Purple
10) Zola Jesus, Okovi
9) Kelly Lee Owens, Kelly Lee Owens
8) Noga Erez, Off The Radar
7) Honeyblood, Babes Never Die
6) Wild Ones, Mirror Touch
5) Helen McCookerybook, The Sea
4) Gothic Tropic, Fast or Feast
3) St Vincent, MASSEDUCTION
2) Overcoats, Young
1) XX, I See You 

Songs of the year:

I have made a Spotify playlist of these songs, but Helen McCookerybook's most recent album is not available on Spotify so I have included a link to the song on YouTube instead.

20) Grace Mitchell, 'French Becky'
19) Halsey and Lauren Jauregui, 'Strangers'
18) London Grammar, 'Truth Is A Beautiful Thing'
17) Rews, 'Miss you in the dark'
16) Daughter, 'Burn It Down'
15) Beth Ditto, 'Savoir Faire'
14) Wolf Alice, 'Beautifully Unconventional'
13) Bipolar Sunshine, 'The Scientist'
12) Noga Erez, 'Noisy'
11) Georgia, 'Feel It'
10) Honeyblood, 'Sea Hearts'
9) Lorde, 'Liability'
8) Wild Ones, 'Parathesia'
7) Helen McCookerybook, 'Big Brother'
6) XX, 'Replica'
5) Overcoats, 'Nighttime Hunger'
4) Gothic Tropic, 'Stronger'
3) Natasha Kmeto, 'Pour Down'
2) St Vincent, 'Los Ageless'
1) Miya Folick, 'God Is A Woman'

Overcoats - I Don't Believe In Us (Official Video)

Hanna and JJ are back with a new song! Yay!

'I Don't Believe In Us' features on the deluxe version of their debut album Young, which is out now. The pair are currently touring the US and the tour dates are available on their website.

Small tip: Were it not for the XX's I See You, Overcoats Young would definitely have been my album of the year.

Overcoats - 23 - Audiotree Live (4 of 6)

There was a severe lack of live concert footage of Overcoats available online, so I've chosen to revisit their session for Audiotree back in May. Which gives a good sense of what I live gig might be like. You can watch the full Audiotree session online.

Fantasy Festival #5: The Florence Festival - Lineup

Connie Constance: Connie Constance is a London based singer/songwriter who originally trained to be a dancer, became a poet, and then moved into song. The single she recorded with Jelani Blackman, 'Clouds', reflects this combination of poetry and song. She was tipped by ID as a future soul star in their Class of 2016 piece. She played the Afropunk festival in London late last month.

Georgia: Former footballer and drummer for Kate Tempest, Georgia released her 'post punky hip hop soul' debut album in 2015. She played a number of festivals in 2016, including British Summer Time and Eurosonic, and has just released a new E.P 'Feel It'. She has just played LeeFest, and will be playing Lost Village festival later this month. 

Speech Debelle: Mercury Music prize winner Speech Debelle is a London based rapper and social activist who makes understated, multi layered, narrative urban survival music. She has released two albums and, last year, a self released EP. She is currently touring the UK and is playing Shamabala Festival and Greenbelt Festival in late August. 

Overcoats: Overcoats are a folkatronic or 'folk-soul' duo from New York whose music has been likened to Simon & Garfunkel. They released their debut album earlier this year and are touring the US throughout the summer and autumn. They would have played at all three of the Dot To Dot festivals in late May, but pulled out in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing.

Kate Tempest: Musician. Novelist. Poet. Playwright. There is seemingly nothing Londoner Kate Tempest cannot do. She headlined The Great Escape in 2015, "moved people to tears at Glastonbury 2017", and was the guest director at Brighton Festival in May. Her current, extremely timely, album Let Them Eat Chaos was released in 2016. She is playing a large number of festivals this summer.

Angel Olsen: Angel Olsen is a singer/songwriter from St Louis, Missouri. She began her musical career with Will Oldham (Palace Brothers, Palace Music) but her 2014 debut took her away from alt. country territory and into dark indie rock. 2016's My Woman married folky strumming to Velvet Underground infused guitar pop and garage rock distorted vocal stomping, all with a dash of eighties synth pop and sixties girl group melodies. It gained fans amongst the staff at Piccadilly Records in Manchester, Florence Welch, and Helen McCookerybook, amongst others. Angel is currently touring Europe, including the UK, and will be touring the US throughout the autumn. Her date at Green Man festival next week has sold out. 

Cat Power: Cat Power, aka Chan Marshall, from Atlanta, Georgia, has been making music since the early 1990s. Her early work featured choppy guitar work and raw vocals. She then went through a slow, minimalist phase, a critically acclaimed soul phase, and has in recent years emerged as a full blown soul electronica artist with anthems such as 'Cherokee' and 'Ruin'. She played a US date last week, but it looks as though no other dates are planned at the moment.

Florence + The Machine: Londoner Florence Welch formed Florence + The Machine in 2007. The name derives from the stage names Welch and keyboardist Isabella Summers gave themselves when writing songs together as teenagers: Florence Robot and Isa Machine. The bands first appearance at Glastonbury in 2007 was later described by Welch as "A complete shambles" and comprised of a muddied, sleep deprived and tearful Florence singing her set acapella until her guitarist arrived. These days, ten years and three albums down the line, Florence + The Machine are a veritable orchestra (there were twelve of them at the last count), no strangers to the festival circuit in the UK, US and Europe, and have headlined Latitude in 2010, Glastonbury in 2015, and British Summer Time in 2016. The band are not currently touring.

Overcoats - Leave The Light On

While Hanna and JJ were off on their European tour, they also released a video to accompany their single 'Leave The Light On'. As you would expect, there's lots of excellent dancing.

Unfortunately the band didn't play their UK dates at the Dot to Dot festivals, which is a shame, but perfectly understandable in the circumstances. In the meantime, I have reviewed their excellent album, Young, for The F-Word and you can get a flavour of the live experience by watching their Audiotree live session in Chicago in May. 

The album review was quite hard to write. Not because Young is a difficult album, or hard to write about, but because I found myself writing the review in late May in what was a very traumatic week for Manchester, and for the UK. I don't feel the circumstances in which it was written have overshadowed the review, but they have shaped it, for better or for worse.

Overcoats European tour dates: 16 - 28 May

Overcoats - Little Memory

'Little Memory' was the first song Hana and JJ wrote together in their final year at college. You can see from this why they've been written of as being a female Simon & Garfunkel for the modern age, but you can also hear a hint of darkness and the sparse bleakness of Chet Baker. An early snapshot of what was to come.