Each week we like to champion the music scene with ten songs in our playlist that all have a connection to the RaW (Reading and Wokingham) area and sometimes beyond. This week we have three new tracks for you from acts with connections to Reading and Wokingham. As always, we have a wide variety of musical styles, but we think they’re all worth a listen and we hope you find something new to enjoy as well as maybe getting out to experience the thrill of live music.
1. Forgotten Gods – Everybody’s Hero –
We went along to the Prog for Peart event last weekend and it was excellent! It wasn’t too far away (in Abingdon), it was for charity and there was great music over two days so, if you’ve never been before, it’s well worth getting along next year. One of the bands there was Forgotten Gods and you don’t have to wait until next year to see them as they will be at our own, Wokingham Festival, on Bank Holiday Monday, August 31st. Their melodic prog sound was delivered with passion and technical expertise by a tight band of musicians fronted by the confident vocals of Mark Cunningham, who founded and runs Prog for Peart. We are looking forward to seeing him and the band in Wokingham very soon. This track is from their impressive album, Memories – https://www.forgottengods.co.uk/
2. Purple Grace – Just 19 –
Also at Prog for Peart we bumped into Lewis, the drummer from Purple Grace (who we last saw performing at the Wokingham Mela), who was helping with running the event. It also reminded us we hadn’t yet featured their latest single released back in May, so here it is! We’re looking forward to seeing them on the Marquee stage at Wokingham Festival on Sunday, August 30th. https:// www.facebook.com/purplegraceband
3. I See Orange – Doll Guts –
We’ve featured the Swindon-based alt-rock/grunge band before, and we’re excited to learn they are releasing their debut album, Pining for Apollo, at the beginning of September; they’ve also been playing gigs in the USA! In the meantime, this is their most recent single, a tale of horror and revenge, set in a dolls house! https://www.instagram.com/iseeorangemusic/
4. Hollie Rogers – Everything’s Fine –
Hollie Rogers is based in London, and originally from Cornwall, but she recently launched her solo album just down the road at The Harlington in Fleet. The venue was packed, and Hollie and her band, plus a few special guests, delivered a great show (Andy was there to shoot the occasion for Emerging Rock Bands magazine.) It is not hard to guess Hollie’s favourite colour, everyone on stage was wearing orange! This is the title track from her album, which reached no. 2 in the official Jazz and Blues chart, and was co-written with Elles Bailey and Beth Nielsen Chapman who also feature on it. Look out for her on tour from the end of this month. https://www.hollierogers.com/
5. Bone-Idle – Liquorice –
We missed the launch of Reading-based Bone-Idle’s latest single the other weekend, but it was a great gig with support from Verdagears and The Strand. They are definitely a band to watch as we’ve seen them getting better each time we see them, and each release shows how they’re gaining experience and confidence. https://www.facebook.com/boneidleband
6. Who Ate All the Crayons – Bare Your Teeth –
It’s good to see bands we’ve been following for a while as they develop and improve over time. Who Ate All the Crayons will be headlining the second stage at Wokingham Festival this year, on the Saturday night. This track is from their latest EP Evergreen, and features the distinctive vocals of Harry Stradling and a plangent guitar backing. https://www.facebook.com/ WhoAteAllTheCrayons/
7. Belle and Sebastian – The Boy with the Arab Strap –
We love outdoor shows like the recent series of On The Mount concerts at Wasing Estate and the unique style of introspective, but uplifting, melodic songwriting from indie pop stalwarts, Belle and Sebastian, fitted the location perfectly. Following an impressive rendition of the whole of their If You’re Feeling Sinister album, the band performed a selection of rare and classic songs. The beaming smiles on everyone’s faces reflected the pleasure of this joyous and life-affirming event – https://www.belleandsebastian.com
8. The Outliers – Suzie –
Bracknell-based The Outliers, who we last saw on stage in the Fanzone at Reading FC, released this, their latest single, just over a month ago. It’s another in a sequence of great alt rock tracks from the four-piece band, and we look forward to seeing them on the Marquee stage at Wokingham Festival. https://www.instagram.com/theoutliers_band
9. Nothing Rhymes with Orange – Shearwater –
Nothing Rhymes with Orange are from Bristol, and we saw them back in March at the Purple Turtle on a bill with Cheap Suits (who will be at Wokingham Festival this August). This track has been on our personal playlist since then, and deserves a much wider hearing; a haunting ballad with a powerful finish. https://nothingrhymeswithorange.co.uk/
10. Hawkwind – Hurry On Sundown –
Those masters of the psychedelic universe, Hawkwind, landed in Reading recently at the Hexagon. They performed a powerful assault on the senses with their set of exceptionally strong performances from throughout their career combined with their always impressive video and lighting effects. We are featuring the classic that closed the set and shows that as well as psychedelic workouts the band have written some great songs too. This version of Hurry on Sundown is a previously unreleased recording that appears on the band’s recently released album, Psychedelic Selection – https:// www.hawkwind.com
You can listen to all the songs featured in our Spotify playlist at https://bit.ly/rawsoundstoday
