Nexus Music Blog – Our Yearly Round Up and Looking Towards 2018.
Christmas is just around the corner. And in the full festive cheer of festivity goodness here at Nexus, we have taken it upon ourselves to collect some of our favourite releases and artists this year and showcase them here in this article. We hope that you find this list as memorable and as commonplace amongst your Christmas as Noddy Holder senselessly screaming into your eardrums with “It’s Christmas”. We can not do Noddy justice over a written article, but we are almost willing to guarantee you said that line in your mind exactly how it is said by the Holder-nator himself.
On a serious note though, we want to thank everyone who has sent us submissions this year. Those who have taken time to support us, connect with us, comment, share and send us some love. Also, thank you to all of the artists for an amazing year of music and providing us with such engaging end products.
So, without waiting any longer. This list aims to give you a top 10 of tantalising artistic talent that has in one way or another shaped their year through music to bring them even greater moments in 2018. We have also placed a playlist at the end for your convenience. So then……
10). Katie Mac
We covered Katie and her track ‘Into The Wild’ back in October and gave it a glowing review. At the time, Katie had made appearances at The Great Escape and two appearances at Sound City. Also, Katie released her single ‘Into The Wild’ which was completely self-produced in true DIY fashion. The track itself covers Mac’s journey into leaving full-time work to pursue her passion for music.
It still rings true to us that the track itself has a timeless quality and is one of this year’s fantastic tracks that we have had the opportunity to cover. It’s an opportunity to not only hear, but feel the emotion that is directly connected to this unwavering goal. The track still shows a lot of Katie Mac’s personality and is able to portray that ‘all or nothing’ mentality that Mac has inside of a controlled performance.
Find our review for the track here: Featured – Katie Mac Releases ‘Into The Wild’
Crooked Flames, one of the metaphorical phoenix’s that we have covered this year that have a track titled ‘We Talk About It’ that contains the absolute fire to match the metaphor. The group are made up of individuals from the ashes of multiple bands around Sheffield. Highlights for the band include supporting The Amazons and JUDAS, with an appearance at Tramlines Festival in July of this year.
The track finds itself on this list as one of the most infectious tracks we have covered. We will be amazed if you do not start nodding your head or tapping your foot after getting into the track. For a band that has arisen from the ashes of others, it is amazing to see the undeniable togetherness that Crooked Flames posses through their performance on ‘We Talk About It’. 2018 will be a year to remember if they can build on this track and venture further afield to grow their influence. And if they do? Well, then I suppose we WILL talk about it.
We said that ‘Armchair Psychiatrist’ is one of the best releases that DOLLS have managed so far. And we still remain adamant that this is the case. We want more in 2018, and here is to hoping that we get it.
Read out review of DOLLS here: ‘DOLLS’ Deliver Another Heavy Hitter With ‘Armchair Psychiatrist’
7). Fond of Rudy
One of our best-received articles of the year was when we reviewed Fond of Rudy and their track titled ‘To Be Mine’. The proof is in the pudding. If you have a fantastic track that contains many fantastic elements it will attract attention. And Fond of Rudy managed just that with their incredible return to form with ‘To Be Mine’.
6). Lost like Alice
Lost Like Alice is a diverse solo artist who is based in Wales, mainly focusing on genres such as folk-rock and acoustic. The brain behind the brilliance is Ben Parker who approached us earlier in the year with his EP titled ‘Thread’. The EP itself was excellent and we could do very little to knock it. For a relatively new project, and for an artist who is still finding his way it is an EP that will impress those with an ear for music and the potential an artist has.
One stand out track off of the EP is ‘I Won’t Wait’. If there is one thing that you do, make sure to go and have a listen. Ben has since released his latest track titled ‘Headlights’ that focuses on his emotion and creativity as a songwriter. 2018 promises to be an even bigger year for Ben should he deliver on the platform he has so precisely planned up until this point.
Read our review of Lost like Alice here: Featured – Lost Like Alice ‘Thread’ EP Review.
Read our interview with Lost Like Alice here: Nexus Meets … Artist – ‘Lost Like Alice’
The band have since gone on to release their album titled Hoping Something Anything. We are hoping to hear more of Time For T in 2018 and are so confident in their ability to kick on that we expect to see features delivered directly to us here at Nexus.
Read our Review of Time For T here: FFW – We Wax Lyrical About ‘Time For T’ and Their New Release ‘Wax’
We have really enjoyed working alongside the guys though with their various releases. Also seeing their rise to a group of established up-and-comers despite some turbulence has been an amazing achievement in itself. Peaks stand a solid chance of being well amongst the best that 2018 has to offer, and long may that continue.
Read our latest Glass Peaks Review here: ‘Glass Peaks’ Continue To Deliver With ‘Hold Me Closer’.
Why Healyum you ask? Well, we say thank you for asking, and also get ready to hear what we always mention to others. This band are still not even eighteen yet and they write amazing music, such as their latest track ‘Cheap Alcohol’. All of their music draws you in and makes you appreciate what Healyum are all about. Let’s not forget that they are produced by Kristoffer Harris, and have already appeared on Radio X numerous times. As well as being supported quite heavily by John Kennedy, did we mention how young they are?
It would be either inconsiderate or very naive to not include Healyum high up on this list. Given their youth, talent and their overall positivity since being on the scene, we hope to see much more from them in 2018.
Read our review of Healyums latest release here: Healyum Release Latest Single ‘Cheap Alcohol’.
Healyum’s first feature on Nexus can be read here: FFW – Healyum Release Latest Track Titled ‘Lies’
We know that the boys have very energetic shows and that is something that we are in no doubt will continue long into 2018. However, we want to hear a new track as soon as possible, sort it out, lads!!
Read our review of ‘Separate Beat’ here: FFW – Ivory Wave Release ‘Separate Beat’
Read our review of Jumanji here: Jumanji End 2017 On A High With New Track Titled ‘Constellations’
Our Nexus Playlist Top 10. Congratulations to all!