URN

Two LanesTim McGraw’s newest release represents the product a wise journey into several areas of crossover Country which Tim has taken throughout the years. In this time he’s done everything from pure acoustic redneck on the likes of his earlier stuff to a more soulful and jazzy sound which he toyed with on 'Emotional Traffic', his 2012 offering. What we get with Two Lanes of Freedom is the perfect balance of all of this with Tim’s styles and skills represented in very fair measure throughout the 13 (or if you’re a REAL Tim fan and bought the Accelerated edition, like me, then 15) tracks included on the album.

The exciting title track 'Two Lanes of Freedom' sets the tone for the rest of the album. With its boldness, confidence and… well, freedom, it makes it clear that Tim has let himself take the wheel for this album and do things exactly how he wants to.

Dot-to-Dot 2012

This year, Dot-to-Dot Festival returns to Nottingham on Sun 3rd June. Dot-to-Dot has built up a reputation for being the place to see the very best new and upcoming artists; Previous line-ups have included Friendly Fires, Laura Marling and Simian Mobile Disco to name a few. Last years festival brought sets from SBTRKT, Ed Sheeran and Darwin Deez, each on the brink of a huge 2011/2012.

The festival takes place across Nottingham city centre, with artists playing in 5 of Nottingham's live venues - queue a mad rush across town from Rock City to The Bodega, and then back to Rescue Roooms to cram in as many acts as possible! One ticket gets you into all the venues.

If you missed our preview show on Monday, these are some of the artists we're particularly looking forward to seeing:
Jake Bugg
The Drums
Bastille
Hooray for Earth
Clock Opera
Last Dinosaurs

You can find all the information on artists, venues and tickets here:
http://dottodotfestival.co.uk/

and here's the Spotify Playlist!
http://sharemyplaylists.com/dot-to-dot-2012

nme2

As we entered Rock City, there were all the signs of NME-induced hysteria. Ripped posters of the Arctic Monkeys lay scattered on the ground and a looping video of the 2010 Libertines reunion played out on the big screens. As you’d expected for a sell-out night, it was packed. Only the bar was conspicuously empty, and on closer inspection, it became clear that the average was hovering around sixteen.

Feeling decidedly old, we bought a drink and watched first act, Azealia Banks’ uncertain arrival onstage. The Harlem rapper comes with a formidable build-up of hype, with almost every review praising her feisty flow and “potty mouth”. With only an accompanying DJ, she looked a bit lost on the big stage and is faced with the unenviable task of playing to a room of white teenagers awaiting the arrival of their indie heroes. I was won over when she laughing asks, “How many of you got school tomorrow?!” But the lights are a bit too school disco, the flow’s too fast to decipher on your first listen and it all falls a bit flat until she closes with single ‘212’ and it’s slow morph into the Prodigy’s ‘Firestarter’ – everyone finally starts dancing and she leaves with a much more invigorated crowd.