First word from Musical Lotty

Hello everyone 

I hope you are all well! I thought for the first time in three years this blog has run for; I thought I would start a word from the editor section starting today and will be doing so every week. Well things are all good here; I graduated university last week and I started my internship at Terrorizer Magazine today which I will keep you guys updated with. I have also recently started to work with local radio station Voice FM.

Another new thing I will be trying for the blog are video reviews; I have been into making films since the age of sixteen and because of some inspiration received whilst doing some days at IBM's Media and Graphics department I am starting to make it happen; starting with the top 5 albums and singles of 2013!

That's all from and stay tuned for more updates
Musical Lotty! 

Don't Let Anything Hold You Back

This is a story I have published for a website about autism!

In my first year of what's known as mainstream school, I always felt I was different somehow. I often didn't know what to say to my classmates and when to start talking, I felt like an outsider when they laughed at me for not fully understanding what they were telling me. When I started secondary school however it all became clear when I was told I had autism.

Autism is often likened to being in a different country where everyone else speaks a different language where you only understand very few words. Watching old family videos I could see it effected my ability to communicate with others around me or even talk.

Fast forward to the present day. I am writing this story the day after my graduation ceremony where I received a Second Class Bachelor Of Arts Honours degree in Media Culture and Production which took me three years of hard work and motivation to achieve. This is my biggest achievement to date since I remember being told that I would not have been to cope with GCSEs at secondary school; this didn't stop me wanting to do GCSEs with my friends and achieving twelve after two years of hard work. I then went on to college and achieved my A Levels.

None of that would have been possible without all the right help and support! So therefore I would like to thank the following people; Mum and Dad for their undying love, support and guidance even when things were tough, my sister Emily for being a best friend, my grandparents for being there to talk to and the delicious cakes of course, to all the learning support assistants (Felicity, Jilly Bull, Lois, Clio and Claudia) I had during education, my cousin Emma and all my friends who have accepted me!

My message from me to you is don't let anything stop you from achieving your goals!

Three Times Over - Self Titled EP

Right on my doorstep, Eastleigh rockers Three Times Over are becoming a favourite with local radio station Voice FM. Listening to their EP it is easy to see why.

Opening tracks Get Over It and Vampires are great hooks to get you listening to the bands amazing rhythms and melodies. Reminding me of Fall Out Boy duetting with Seether, Three Times Over manage to produce an original fresh rock sound.

My personal favourite track on the EP is Here We Go Again; the intro for this is just epic. It's one of those songs that you instantly know what it is in the first few seconds. Excellent vocals, profound guitars and rolling drums are the three elements of a brilliant rock song. It's also a song I can imagine going down very well at shows!

Closing with My Little Liar allows the listener one last listen and rock out! 

Overall a brilliant debut EP! The first one for a while to make me tap my foot and bob my head along to.

Words by Charlotte Whittingham

R.I.Y.L:  Seether, Blink 182 and Fall Out Boy

Find Three Times Over on Facebook

Vicki Musselwhite - Salt Air EP

Receiving an invite from a school friend to download an EP I was very intrigued. After having listened to this EP I was glad I accepted the invitation.

The EP got off to a beautifully mellow start opening with the song Lighthouse, one of the things that caught my attention was Vicki’s beautifully smooth voice. I found out today that it was recorded in a living room, which I found pleasantly surprising, as the quality of the sound is excellent.

My personal favourite song on the EP is Tug of War; the intro of this song has you captivated in the first five minutes and I think this is the song that shows Vicki’s vocals at their very best.

Vicki Musselwhite’s EP is another vital example of why we should support our local music scene; she is a very talented singer songwriter who is right on our doorstep. So overall, a truly fantastic EP that I highly recommend.

Words by Charlotte Whittingham

I should also note that all the money she makes of this EP until January is going to Clic Sargent charity, a very worthy cause. Click the link below to find out more.

Clic Sargent Charity

For fans of  James Morrison and Nina Simone

Find Vicki Musselwhite Facebook and her official website

Hollow Giants - This Girl EP

Today is the release date of Hollow Giants EP This Girl! In the review below I explain why you should give this EP a listen. 

I reviewed their single Dead In Me where I particularly praised it for it's strong beats and enticing chorus, check out what the rest of the EP consists of. The rest of the content have original quality guitar riffs that hook you instantly; this is clearly demonstrated in songs such as Round On You and Heaven True where an anthemic guitar riff that particularly reminds me of the classic rock song American Women. 

This EP consists of enticing vocals, brilliant guitar riffs and beats that will get you all moving! A band to watch out for in 2014!

Words by Charlotte Whittingham

For fans of Muse and Artic Monkeys

Find Hollow Giants here

Voice FM Halloween Party

NEW DEVICE

TOXIC SHOCK, EVERLONG AND BASECAMP

THE TALKING HEADS, SOUTHAMPTON 30/10/2013

Things were certainly spooky at the Voice FM Halloween Party featuring some ghoulishly great music from four fantastic bands!

First up were rockers Basecamp, I was surprised to walk into the stage area to find out how young they were. As well as performing some fantastic covers of well-known songs such as Firework and Still Into You, they performed some of their own material. Writing good songs is no easy task yet they pulled it off so well.  Finding out from manager Andy Ayres that they were all aged between ten-twelve was also remarkable. Overall, a brilliant set from Basecamp!

Everlong were next up! Their stage presence instantly got the crowds attention, what was brilliant about this crowd is that it reminded me of college where I would go see a friend’s band at The Talking Heads with a lot of my best friends and classmates. I really liked their sound and how they got their crowds going, their passion for their music was clear in their performance and I really think they could go further up the music ladder.

I am familiar with the kick ass rock tunes and energetic stage presence from the main support act Toxic Shock. This one was no exception, I found myself head banging to the songs and blown away by their live show. Particularly when frontman Ash Lynhurst got down from the stage and sung his heart out on the floor amongst the crowd.  Toxic Shock are a vital example of why we should support local music, they are simply fantastic and they are right on your doorstep.

I had not seen headliners New Device for a good few years until Wednesday evening; in between I had seen frontman Dan Leigh’s solo acoustic, which I have praised before in my blog for being fantastic. From Wednesday’s show I can confirm they are back and mean business! Starting off with Make My Day and On Fire made me smile as the familiar modern classic rock songs were starting to fill the venue.  What was also exciting about their set was the new songs from their latest album, Here We Stand; singles Save Your Life and Here We Stand were very well received by the very energetic crowd. 

Ending with their anthemic hit Takin Over allowed the crowd to have one last mosh before marking the end of a successful set.

Overall the experience of the Voice FM Halloween party was just amazing!

Words by Charlotte Whittingham

Find Basecamp here

Find Everlong here

Find Toxic Shock here

Find New Device here

Hollow Giants - Dead In Me

In time for an upcoming EP launch this Saturday, London based Hollow Giants have made a mark with their new single which is due for release in less than two weeks.

It brought me back to my teenage years where I would listen to indie rock whilst hanging out with my friends. With it's enticing chorus, clean cut vocals and some excellent guitar riffs, Dead In Me has that chilled out yet ready to party vibe. 

They could actually be in line to support Muse in the near future as I think their sound is very much like theirs minus synthesisers. All I can say is if their EP is as good as this single I have nothing to worry about.

Hollow Giants - Dead In Me

Words by Charlotte Whittingham

For fans of Muse and Arctic Monkeys

Find Hollow Giants on here

Jettblack Needs You!

On the recent Facebook news feed I spied a post from personal favourite band Jettblack! They are about to make a new album but they need your help! Pledge any amount of money to gain goodies from the band but most importantly to help them produce a brand new album. Here you can watch the video of their press conference that took some shocking twists!

Click the link below to find out more! Pledge, retweet and most importantly share and share alike!!

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/jettblack

In the meantime enjoy some of my personal favourite Jettblack songs!!!

Prison Of Love

Sunshine

Get Your Hands Dirty