Last Wednesday was an incredibly special day for me, as it is every time I get to see my favourite band live. I have often wondered about the meaning of "favourite band" as opposed to "that one band I really, really like", or "one of my favourite bands". What makes Jimmy Eat World my favourite band, the unrivalled band at the top of the list, what separates them from everyone else was something blurry, like mumbling an excuse out of a tricky question you don't want to answer. I wondered if I could genuinely call them my favourite band when I had never followed a full tours of theirs as I had done for other bands. These are way too many questions, in the grand scheme of things. What stopped me from just liking them more than the others and not feeling like I needed to provide the world with an essay on how they were my favourites? This is when I dislike questions, and my hyperactive brain.

I'll never have all the answers, but as far as demonstrations go, Wednesday helped.

It's always going to be tough, for me, to rate the band who's playing before Jimmy, unless I already know them. Every time I see Jimmy Eat World live, I turn into an impatient child and my usual desire to get to know different artists vanishes into thin air.

Amsterdam started with German band Razz, who had already supported the Americans at their Berlin and Cologne shows, in June and July. The quatuor offers us a promising blend of fuzzy rock guitars and poppy sound - think Bastille, just slightly less dark and a little more upbeat. The outfit is very talented and it is clear to see why Jimmy Eat World have chosen them as support on those three shows. Their songs make for a very entertaining half-hour, and they do their job with class and enthusiasm. I wish their music was a little more diverse - I rarely ever pick up on those details, but I felt like all seven songs they played had the exact same structure, and it became a little repetitive halfway through. If they added a little more variety in their set, they could easily go from "entertaining" to "excellent", I felt.

Since I have created this blog, I have seen Jimmy Eat World five times, six if you include the Amsterdam show. It never gets easier to write about it, or to find the right words to describe the amount of love I have in my heart and the amount of joy their music brings me. It feels like those things are beyond words, and yet, I need to try and put them into sentences, I need to try and voice them. What a challenge, my friends. 

What makes Jimmy Eat World my favourite band is the happiness they bring me. I knew this show was going to fly by, as every one of their shows had in the past, and yet, from start to finish, I had the stupidest, biggest, goofiest grin on my face. Two songs in, my jaw started aching because I couldn't help but smile, and even when they played quieter, sadder songs (Hear You Me, 23), my face would not let that smile disappear.
I found myself happy crying during Big Casino. It has always been one of my favourite Jimmy songs - it is a perfect little pop-rock tune, with a soaring chorus that is easy to memorise and ridiculously satisfying to belt out, with just a hint of emotion on the bridge. I have always thought it was one of their best songs, the type of single that had a true shot at daytime radio and number one slots in the charts. It has been released ten years ago and it hasn't aged a day, it is universal, it is timeless. It is what I would call a true masterpiece and I would argue that it is one of the best songs released this past decade. I have always known this, accepted those as facts, and when I would hear Big Casino live, I would jump around, sing at the top of my lungs, take the time to marvel at the fact that the chorus is a thing of beauty. Apparently, on Wednesday, those facts and feelings grabbed me so violently I could not stop crying. I was not even sad - I was just plain happy, satisfied and content. When they carried on with Integrity Blues' Pass the Baby, introducing it as one of their newer songs, I found myself submerged with pride.

I am partial to a "so proud of my boys" moment every now and again, "every now and again" meaning at pretty much every gig I go to. The small bands I see grow make me proud, the bands whose members have been nice to me from the beginning make me proud, the bands whose releases make it to the charts or the bands who win awards make me proud. The pride I felt when Jimmy Eat World played Pass the Baby was not like this - I was just proud to have a favourite band who was not scared to reinvent themselves, even when they were on their ninth album and were established and influential in our scene (and beyond). Pass the Baby is dark, and miles away from bursting singles and tunes like Big Casino. It has a strong Clarity feeling, with an extended outro à la Goodbye Sky Harbor. It is less easy to get into than the singles and it is a reminder that this band can do absolutely anything. They can bottle up happiness in Sweetness, they can capture raw pain in Hear You Me, they can encapsulate feelings we all go through in 23, and they can create unique diamonds that showcase all the faces of their talent like Pass the Baby.

Seeing Jimmy Eat World perform makes you feel elated. They have never struck me as a band who was out there to play rockstar or to play pop-punk band 101. They walk out there, grab their guitars and do their thing. I am so close to the stage I can distinctly hear the sound of Jim Adkins' shoes stomping on the wooden floor. It somehow adds something realer to the show - that is one feeling I can't quite put into words. They have never been a band who ask you to open this shit up and they don't quite jump around, but they have more energy than many bands I have seen. About five songs in, the four-piece is dripping with sweat when the venue is well air-conditioned, and overall, they play in such an inviting way that they end up showing more energy and enthusiasm that the bands who spin-kick around. Every time Adkins talks to the crowd, he sounds a little astonished, a little beside himself that over a thousand people have showed up to sing his band's songs back at him when he couldn't be further away from Mesa, Arizona. This band has been touring the world for twenty years, has released nine albums, has been incredibly successful for the past two decades and yet, they are still surprised at the fact that there are people willing to spend an evening with them. 

I don't know how desperate I would sound if I told you I would be willing to spend every single one of my evenings watching Jimmy Eat World play a live show. I figured out that they were my favourite band and that I loved them more than anyone else because they manage to make me so happy I am shaken up, as if I wasn't sure I could ever be that happy, as if I wasn't sure there was something on this planet who could wake up such feelings in me. For two hours, everything stopped and the twenty-three (twenty-three!) songs they played and the four men that created them were all that mattered. 

Two weeks ago, the iconic festival Lollapalooza was hitting the city of love and baguettes, and lucky for me, all the artists I wanted to see were playing on the Sunday, no clashes - as far as festivals go, this is pretty unheard of.

The festival in itself was a nice and frankly refreshing experience for me. I am so used to going to metal/alternative festivals that I forget I have a music taste outside of the pages of Alternative Press and Metal Hammer. I have a love of pop music, and pretty much of anything that makes my heart beat a little faster, whatever the genre. I often have the thought of pushing myself outside of my alternative/emo comfort zone and go see different artists live, and it was great finally taking the plunge with Lollapalooza - even though, I can't lie, I don't think I would have made the effort if it wasn't for my boys in Donny B. You can't really take the emo out of me.

Obviously, when a festival has the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Lana Del Rey headlining, the atmopshere and crowds are going to be different from affairs fronted by Enter Shikari or Biffy Clyro. The audience was more diverse and, at times, I could see all the festival clichés you might read about in fashion magazines or blogs. The weather forecast rain but I have seen more people donning floaty dresses and flower crowns than wellies and raincoats. I know many people were attending for the name more than the music. Still, I had a great time - if you forget about the toilet queue.

As I said before, the main reason why I found myself in the Hippodrome of Longchamp was my boys in Don Broco. They have found themselves featuring on three different French festival line ups in the space of a month (an exceptional feat when it comes to bands I like), and I couldn't really miss one in my almost-hometown. The sun is still shining when they take the Parisian stage and, as always, they do it with flair, a whole lot of style and boisterous tunes ready-made to wake everyone up. They have a fair amount of fans in the crowd and the number will only grow during the set. On that Sunday morning, while they had the tough task of opening a stage closed by the likes of Lana Del Rey, they grabbed people's attention and refused to let it go. Their summery, stupidly catchy tunes have that power, too - just thinking about it sends Superlove spinning in my brain.
Don Broco showed Lollapalooza what they were all about and delivered an impressive performance - as always, really.

Next up on the second main stage was Charli XCX. I had seen her live before and all three times, I had been impressed by her seemingly neverending energy. The first time I have seen her, she was supporting Ellie Goulding in a rather small Parisian venue, and four years down the line, she has had multiple hits playing on the radio and television and has become able to sell out fairly big venues all by herself. Her set is just that : a collection of hits. Even if you were not a hardcore follower, you would still know most of the songs she was playing as they all are extremely popular. It's been almost a week and I'm still trying to understand why I've burst into tears when she sang Doing It, but, you know. Overall, I've had a blast.

(She's just released a new song entitled Boys and the music video has Frank Carter in it, so I suggest you watch it all now)

The next artist I wanted to see started three hours after the end of Charli XCX's performance, so I sat down with a friend and watched whatever was on offer on the two main stages - a complicated concept. I didn't know Walk Off The Earth and even though I am always a sucker for a good cover, I found it hard to get into what they were doing. By the time they burst into a rendition of Adele's iconic Hello, I had had enough.
I only heard bits of Editors, but it sounded catchy and enticing enough for me to want to give them a post-festival listen.


Everyone knows my music taste usually revolves around the alternative rock universe. I love my pop music and have seen a bunch of DJs live, here and there, but I mostly let it all happen by chance. This is probably the reason why, in my twenty-seven years of life, I had never seen a rap performance live. I have no problem with rap per se - it's just such a different universe from mine that I don't know where to start. Where's my "Rap for beginners" playlist?
I decided to watch French rap outfit IAM. For those who don't know who they are, they have been around and famous for three entire decades and have released eight albums, two live albums and five greatest hits albums. Upon talking about them with my brother, he told me that they could easily sell out stadiums. That's how famous we're talking about. I knew a couple of tunes, so I decided to see them, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. At first, facing a band in which four people had a microphone and no actual musical instrument could be seen was a strange concept, but once I got over my confusion, I could appreciate the performance for its worth. It was good, the level of communication between crowd and band was unreal and I'm pretty sure they won at singalong of the day. 10/10, would bother again, would maybe pay for it next time.





I headed back to the main stage for legend Liam Gallagher. I have always loved the music he did with Oasis, to a point where I can't even remember how or when I started listening to Oasis - it feels like it was always there, always a part of me. I couldn't see myself missing Liam playing, and it was a wonderful set, so honest and beautiful. I think one of my favourite things about him is how he is such a no-nonsense kind of person, the kind of man who has no problem telling what he thinks straight to your face, and then, he just picks up an instrument and plays some wonderful and sensitive songs that tug on your heartstrings. This contrast is everything. He will say that because he came all his way, he's going to treat us to Wonderwall, as if he's doing us a huge favour by simply giving us the time of day, and then he goes and breaks my heart with one of the most beautiful songs ever written. If I ever needed some proof that Liam Gallagher is a legend, I had it.





I think I have been in love with Lana Del Rey's music and universe since I first heard Video Games, and seeing her live was a dream of mine. It was a thing I never, ever thought would happen, and a week before Lollapalooza, I was listening to her songs, thinking that she would be in front of me and I would still refuse to accept it was happening, for real. I wasn't far off the truth - it's been almost two weeks since the festival and I'm still debating whether I dreamt that absolutely gorgeous hour and fifteen minutes of delicate, intricate, unique pop music. Lana Del Rey's performance was absolutely magical, every song felt like a moment suspended in time, something unreal and dreamy, like everything around you stopped, if only for three minutes. She is not the kind of performer who takes up a lot of space, per se - she does not dance, she is not loud, she is not eccentric, she is pretty quiet, almost shy. Somehow, her presence turns out to be huge, she shines so much in all her delicate way. She is beautiful and glamorous, talented and a true icon. Every song stole my heart, but the real winner was, of course, Video Games. The studio version still gives me goosebumps, six years down the line, and the live version brought me to tears. Seeing Lana Del Rey live was a dream, and the reality lived up to my expectations.






My evening was closed off with alternative-rock legends Red Hot Chili Peppers. I am not going to lie, I was so overwhelmed by the prospect of seeing Lana Del Rey and so excited to see Don Broco again that I had kind of forgotten they were playing. The greatest thing about this toned down excitement, how casually I walked near their side of the main stage is that I had so few expectations and was completely willing to be swept off my feet - which I completely was.

The summer is usually quite the quiet one for gigs, and seeing as I was kinda stuck in my home country, I didn't even get the whole jump on a Megabus and find yourself in a sunny/muddy field or overheated venue moment. I stayed home, hit the free gigs (and Guns n Roses' one night in a packed stadium) and listened to the new things that were released, as always. It's a bit more personal, but trying to keep on top of music releases while staying away from social media is a tough one. I haven't perfectly mastered it yet. August, maybe. (I'm not really good at avoiding the socials)

Albums & EPs

I am honestly so, so excited about talking about this beauty that I will leave the "albums first, EPs then" order in the bin. One of my favourite musicians, Mariel Loveland, released an EP under her new project name, Best Ex. It's called Ice-Cream Anti-Social and spoiler alert, it's stunning.

Best Ex is Candy Hearts' poppy little sister. You can tell both have grown up listening to the same stuff and share the same influences, but Best Ex has chosen the eighties influenced keyboards over the fuzzy guitars. The end result is the same in the way that my heart is stolen, big time. Other than that, Ice Cream Anti-Social is very obviously music made by the supremely talented Mariel. Her delicate vocals get along with the keyboards like a house on fire and her lyrics are still the beautiful, honest kind.

In Lonely Life and Someday, Best Ex sing of trying to figure things out, of not knowing what the future is made of, of doing the best we can despite the hard times and dark nights, the frustration and the broken hearts. In Lonely Life and Someday, Mariel has penned anthems for a generation of twenty-somethings who are struggling, every day, to find their way, to figure things out, to do their best. 

The reason why I had fallen in love with Candy Hearts was the way Mariel speaks of love, the way her songs are stories of her life but can easily become the story of yours. In Ice Cream Anti-Social, she's done it again and produced three wonderful moments. February 4th is a lovely acoustic ballad about a long distance relationship, See You Again is the wish of the perfect end to the perfect summer fling and Jellyfish depicts a love that has ended badly, with someone feeling diminished and hurt. ("This is the last time that I will give you my heart again. This is the last time that I will let you walk all over it 'cause I had a life, I had a spine, when I was alone, everything was fine" - let me tell you, this is all too real) The mix between the ukulele, Mariel's vocals and the heartbreaking lyrics could easily make it this EP's crown jewel - but then again, this EP, as a whole, is a shiny jewel, stunning and delicate. 

As always, Mariel's writing is never sugarcoated - on the contrary, it's always honest and real. All six songs in Ice Cream Anti-Social feel and sound like snapshots into her life, right out of her brain and heart and turned into pure art. The beauty of art like Best Ex's music is that it tells a very precise story and yet, it becomes a piece in your own personal puzzle, even though it isn't about you. Ice Cream Anti-Social is wonderful from start to finish, and I already cannot get enough of it. 

July offered us more music made with awesome ladies. After Best Ex, say hello to Milk Teeth's newest EP, Be Nice. This EP is one of this year's surprises for me - I'm not surprised Milk Teeth have done a wonderful job with it, I just was not expecting new music so soon and so suddenly. Be Nice is a wonderful follow up from the band's groundbreaking debut album, Vile Child, and has all the elements that make Milk Teeth the outstanding band they are. There is the very nineties, college rock sound (even though Fight Skirt has punk undertones here and there), Becky Blomfield's heavenly vocals and the unique bass sound, acting as a lifeline throughout the songs. Be Nice is only four songs long ("only" because I'm being greedy and adore Milk Teeth enough to want more) and it is full of anger and passion, it is a little time bomb ready to explode. Once again, the band hits the nail right on the head with the slower numbers - Hibernate is nothing short of a masterpiece. It starts off slow and reflective, I could have almost called it a ballad, but then, there it is - the time bomb explodes and the harrowing cries ("Don't let me fuck it up") turn the beautiful song with the heartbreakingly relatable lyrics into pure, unalterated pain. 

With Be Nice, Milk Teeth show they truly are a gem in this scene, able to be angry and honest and to master a whole spectrum of sound, from satisfyingly catchy to quiet and delicate, and they so it with such grace and talent that it's almost impossible not to get on board. 

Technically, this EP has been released on the 30th of June, but what the hell - it will count as a July release, sorry. With Sainte, Taylor Jardine goes from We Are The In Crowd's cheerful pop-punk to catchy pop that's bursting at the seams with colour and energy. Eyes Are Open does a wonderful job of opening smile, and wave - it is explosive and carries a "now, this is what's up" sentiment about. This song (and EP) are positive and full of live, and they strangely make you want to grab life by the horns. The more upbeat songs in smile, and wave (Technicolor, With or Without Me, Feels So Wrong) are little pop-rock bombs and hits in the making. They perfectly showcase Jardine's unique, slightly broken voice and the ease she shows in going from deep to higher notes. They are also the perfect representation of the general feeling in smile, and wave - there is something very empowering about this EP. A lot of the lyrics are about people who have deceived you and, as a consequence, not wanting to be burdened by their lives, wanting to get out of it and make it on your own. These words scream independence and power, if you ask me. This EP, as a whole, is the musical version of the voice in your head that says you have had enough and you deserve better.
smile, and wave is a brilliant, boisterous start to Sainte's career and I am very excited to see what the future holds. It's a very positive piece of work, a colourful collection of perfect summer tunes with meaning and feeling.

Before I listened to Always Lose for the first time, I only knew three things about The Gospel Youth. A, they supposedly are from Brighton (even though their Facebook page says "South Coast"), B, everyone loves them to the moon and back and C, they kind of belong to the UK pop-punk scene, but not really. By the end of the album opener, I Will Deliver You to the Fireflies, I know another thing : love at first sight is real, and I have just experienced it.
The piano reminds me of one Andrew McMahon, the general nostalgic feeling of the lyrics has something of Deaf Havana, and I don't know about you, but I call this a match made in heaven. All throughout the record, there is a classic pop-punk vibe in the English's sound, and at the same time, The Gospel Youth are not a band who are trying to revive something that belongs to another decade. There is a lot of nostalgia and sadness in the lyrics, yet the end result is strangely comforting. Always Lose, in all its beauty, sensitivity and purity, feels like it could be the perfect soundtrack for any moment you could think of - a rainy day, a road trip in the summer, a sweaty gig in a basement, it all works. This album is, overall, perfect, with outstanding drums, soaring vocals and satisfyingly nostalgic lyrics, and it is a breath of fresh air. In the space of half an hour, Always Lose and The Gospel Youth have given me music to fall in love with, to fall for with all my tiny little heart. I might just go ahead and call Always Lose one of the best albums I've heard this year, a stunning piece of art considering it's only a début album. I suppose that's what love at first sight does to you.



This month, you should also listen to Silverstein's newest record, Dead Reflections, Oceans Ate Alaska's new album Hikari. If you fancy magic, Manchester Orchestra's A Black Mile to the Surface exists, and if pop is more your thing, Lana Del Rey is here with Lust for Life.

The playlist

• This month's playlist will, of course, include a bunch of Linkin Park songs, as a forever thank you to Chester for everything he has created as a musician and done as a human.
• The All-American Rejects coming back with two new tracks, Sweat (a personal favourite) and Close Your Eyes.
• The Xcerts signing their come back with the ¨uber-catchy Feels Like Falling in Love. I think I have run out of words to tell the world to give them a listen. This band feels like home in all its glory to me.
• In Hearts Wake have chosen Nomad as their new single, and the position taken for the music video is that moshpits aren't just a boy's game. This is another thank you, because us girls need bands like In Hearts Wake to stand up with us against those boys who think they're the kings of the pit. We're here, we matter and we can hold our own, please and thank you.
• New tunes from Don Broco, Neck Deep, Arcane Roots, August Burns Red, Knuckle Puck, Stick To Your Guns, Couterparts, PVRIS, Enter Shikari, and new singles from Courage My Love and Waterparks.
• Seaway announced they were coming back with their sophomore record, Vacation, out on September 15th. There's a new single, the excellent Apartment, featuring a lot of feelings and dogs.
• One of my favourite bands, Four Year Strong, have announced a new record, Some of You Will Like This, Some of You Won't, composed of new songs, rarities and unplugged golden oldies. The (I'm sure) beauty is out on September 8th. The lovely The Wonder Years have also announced a new EP, Burst & Decay, which will include reworked versions of some of their songs.
• Another friendly reminder that you should pay attention to Muskets' fuzzy guitars and catchy tunes. Chewing-Gum is a great tune.
• Stray From The Path have a new album out in September, too, and to keep us all waiting (and moshing), they have released a single entitled Goodnight Alt Right. By far their most controversial single to date, Goodnight Alt Right stands up against nazism (as we all should, really) in the most aggressive way possible.
• New Australian pop-punk in the form of Stand Atlantic. The outfit is soon going on tour alongside New Found Glory.
• A little bit of lovely acoustics with Trash Boat's Brave Face for Idobi and The Maine's Bad Behaviour.