SOUND SCOUT - MIXTAPE #43
Reviews for Jack Nash, Polo Lounge, Jamie Rosso, Elle-Marie, Blackstone and Squangey Bobbins
REVIEWS
TO PLAY SOMETHING SWEET - Jack Nash
3:11
Lo-fi singer-songwriter Jack Nash has released single To Play Something Sweet.
Taken from a collection of songs, instrumentals and demos recorded for cassette with broken and dusty guitars, the new track was recorded at his summerhouse shed overlooking The Roughs in Hythe.
Spurred on by a trip to Chicago in the winter to visit a transatlantic love, To Play Something Sweet is subtly beautiful. With layered lo-fi guitars that wrap listeners in soft analogue warmth and a signature heartfelt crooning delivery of lyrics grappling with limerence and yearning, Nash calls back to artists such as Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley as an esoteric and wounded songwriter. To Play Something Sweet lends itself to solitary listeners and lonely souls and is also the first release by Nash to be finalised in a studio at Tonetic Records in Margate as part of the Tonetic Artist Programme.
FRAMES - Jamie Rosso
5:12
Margate-based electronic artist and producer Jaime Rosso announces his debut leftfield pop EP Away via Domino.
Inspired by Jaime’s time moving from rural Kent to south London, the Away EP explores the tension between movement and stillness, community and solitude, urban intensity and coastal calm. It was recorded across both locations, using his characterful hardware synthesisers and sample-heavy approach as a way of processing his surroundings. House, soul and dub form the foundations, morphed into something wholly singular through Jaime’s own psychedelic production style.
We have picked out track Frames for its lush, soulful keys and drumbeat. Jaime’s music blurs nostalgia, his clubland influences and his own voice through a sample-heavy, psychedelic lens.
THE BUZZ - Polo Lounge
3:50
Get ready to dive into the electrifying world of Polo Lounge - a four-piece indie/alternative rock powerhouse hailing from Ramsgate.
With a pulse-pounding energy and hooks that stick like glue, they’re shaking up the scene with a sound that’s impossible to ignore. Channelling the moody intensity of Arctic Monkeys, the dancefloor dynamism of Bloc Party and the expansive textures of Foals, Polo Lounge fuse post-punk rhythms with gritty, immersive layers.
The Buzz blends groovy indie rock with a sexy, late-night energy - but beneath the swagger is reflection. It captures the uneasy feeling of chasing a high that’s lost its thrill. It’s about realising the party isn’t fun anymore and wanting change.
FAIRYTALE LOVE - Elle-Marie
2:37
Elle-Marie’s debut EP Fairytale Love is a deeply personal body of work exploring heartbreak and self-discovery.
Title track Fairytale Love is a song of acceptance and strength. It reflects the realisation that love isn’t always the fairytale you imagined, but you’ll be OK and, eventually, you’ll move on.
“This EP was my therapy,” Elle-Marie shares. “Each song gave me a way to understand what I was feeling and to let it go - almost like keeping a diary, but through music.”
The EP also includes intimate acoustic versions of Take Me Home and Fairytale Love, reimagining the tracks in their most vulnerable form. These stripped-back renditions showcase Elle-Marie’s vocals at the forefront, offering a fresh emotional perspective compared with the full productions.
SALOON OF DOOM - Blackstone
3:32
Blackstone are an alt-hard rock and metal band hailing from Maidstone.
Concept album Tales of 1864 regales audiences with lore of the Old West. Put on your moshing boots and prepare to be introduced to gunslingers, outlaws and frontier-town saloon bartenders, with music inspired by the likes of Avenged Sevenfold, Black Label Society and Metallica.
Blackstone are for fans of British metalheads in cowboy hats, two-stepping to hard-hitting breakdowns and head-banging until the neck gives out.
FAKE I.D. - Squangey Bobbins, ft. Billy Lunn
4:02
Squangey Bobbins are aiming to become the first-ever Margate band to enter the official UK album chart - doing it completely independently, with no management, label or industry backing.
Their new album Margate Crows (out 9th January) features an impressive list of collaborators, including Billy Lunn (The Subways), Sean Hutchinson (Bleachers, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen), Peredur Ap Gwynedd (Pendulum), Ivan Hussey (Liam Gallagher, Jay Z), Dan Konopka (OK Go), Dan Sealey (Ocean Colour Scene) and Tommy Gleeson (Feeder).
The album, available for preorder exclusively via Rough Trade, is mastered by Nick Brine (Oasis, The Stone Roses, The Darkness) and Alex Wharton (Abbey Road Studios), while the Margate Crows also features striking artwork by Roger Stanger Photography, capturing the beauty and grit of Kent.
The first single, Fake I.D. featuring Billy Lunn, is out now.
