Lopez Blogs

I love a good balls to the wall, deliriously gleeful, wonderfully wacky dance orientated pop number I do. What's fluffy and throwaway to one is gold dust to me and I savour every nuance, note, beat and boogie along the way. It makes up much of my listening material to be honest with you. But that doesn't mean I am not completely appreciative of what some may class as a deeper level of artistry - where the song is lovingly crafted by the singer and a composition comes together that is musical poetry. So this post is the first of two dedicated to finding the best unknowns (to me, previously anyway) out there who music makes me soar...

• Luke Leighfield ~ Luke is on his third album at the moment, so shame on me for not noticing him sooner. However, better late to the party than not turning up at all - and I'm taking one of Luke's songs with me on my guest slot on The Morning Jolt radio show tomorrow morning. His latest album Have You Got Heart (click on the title for more info) is full of heart on sleeve pop tunes, built around intricate piano melodies and heady guitar riffs that are reminiscent of troubadours like Ben Folds and Julian Velard. Lyrically, there's little subtlety within the songs and you know exactly what the young fella is talking about - this isn't a criticism; rather it's a rallying call to the masses to share in the musical experience and relate to your own life. I love this type of writing - Robbie Williams excels at it, and he's done all right out of it. For Luke, it seems the message in the music is to share your passion and that's mirrored with his campaign to give the album away (or make a donation - highly recommended option for the quality of work you are going to get). The vocals, the floating piano, the aggressive guitar - it's all pulled together by an excellent production value and draws you fully into what is ultimately a completely rewarding listening experience. Do check him out...

• Joe Brooks ~ I wrote about Joe Brooks about 3-4 years ago, when he was just a young whippersnapper of a lad and he kindly sent me a signed cd. Which i still have. He is currently touring the UK (with one of tomorrow's blog subjects, Jason Reeves) promoting his corker of an album Constellation Me. What you get with Joe is someone who manages to weave an intricate web of melody and lyrical incisiveness that is both painfully aware and candidly uplifting. His musical style is both earnest and engaging, and the fella knows how to craft a tune with his magic guitar fingers that will stay in your head for days. There's a personality that shines through the music and Joe clearly favours craft over current trends as he creates a sound that transcends shelf life. His vocal performance on songs such as Rules of Attraction and Superman make the music emotive, powerful and heartfelt. Definitely one to watch out for and apparently effortlessly charming live (i'll let you know later next month!)...

• The Woe Betides ~ It seems disrepectful to say that The Woe Betides are like a casserole of pop, but I mean it with sincere love and admiration. They take elements of musical styles, such as grunge, electronica, lo-fi folk, mix it all together and produce something that by all accounts should be a gigantic mess, but is actually entirely intruiging. It's the harmonies and handclaps, the infusion of cold emotion or hot passion (dependent on the need of the song) into the vocal delivery and the structure & life within the songs. Their debut album Never Sleep mixes things up throughout the tracklisting and will often exchange instruments and vocal styles seemingly at a whim, but always to the benefit of the tune you are listening to. There's often a juxtaposition within the music too - innocent sounding vocals play off against fuzzy guitars or intense melodies to great effect. If you are just starting to check them out, you could do worse than begin with their catchy single Sylvia - and try as you might, you'll end up singing "sylvia' you're a terrible person/but i'll never love anyone else" all the live long day. Splendid.

Tomorrow: More singer songwriters from USA inc. Jason Reeves, Matt White and Jason Walker!