"Life's magical around you"

"I FORGOT TO TELL YOU YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL" - Josh Weller

I was so hesitant to like Josh Weller, mainly because whilst his Twitter account is hilarious 90% of the time, and also occasionally vaguely offensive and sexist, but I cannot help but grin every time I hear this song.

In the video for his new single, "I Forgot To Tell You You're Beautiful", Weller dances around a bedroom in the style of a tacky dating site ad and it's just the perfect summer tune: catchy, playful, a tiny bit kitsch and yet all with a thread of actual sentiment.

And just as it promises: "You'll be lolling in no time."

Recommendations: June 2013

So I accidentally took a massive blogging hiatus in June, partly because I've been all over the country on the craziest of adventures, but nothing is really a valid excuse. I'm home now, with very bad Wi-Fi.

"Full Circle" - Half Moon Run

Half Moon Run have been hotly tipped for 2014 by pretty much everyone, and their first single "Full Circle", shows tonnes of potential - beautifully progressive, dynamic indie-folk-rock. I'm loving their album "Dark Eyes" so far too.

BOXES

This is Athlete's bass player, Carey Willets' solo project - intended to be a band, originally, but has ended up himself, a laptop, a keyboard and a loop pedal - therefore his live shows are that gorgeous phenomenon of physically watching each part of a song being constructed  in front of you. "Silent Alarm" will always be the song I remember drunkenly belting out with my friends, after a gig in Birmingham this month, it also has a brilliantly clever video.

Haim

I've loved Haim excessively since seeing them open for Florence and the Machine back in December, but watching their performance from Glastonbury this weekend has definitely converted me into a huge fan. The three sisters, Este, Danielle and Alana are just brilliant: with a touch of 80s, a touch of Fleetwood Mac, and they're exactly what "Girl Power" should actually mean. I'm definitely hoping to catch one of their gigs as soon as I can.

"Best of Friends" - Palma Violets

"Best of Friends" has a great garage feel, with catchy choruses and an air of mess and spontaneity. It's also totally something I can see popping up in angsty teen dramas on E4 over the summer.

Mother Mash

Led to this little place in Soho after Googling "the best mashed potato in London", my chicken and leek pie with mash and gravy for a not-that-bad price of £8.95 was pretty much the highlight of my year.

Catfish and the Bottlemen

Lead singer Van, bass player Billy and guitarist Ben met at school – the origins of their drummer, Dr Bob, remain enigmatic, something Van only describes as “a very naked story.” As a band, Catfish and the Bottlemen aren’t actually that new, but have spent the last year writing and recording together.

Van spent a lot of his early life in Australia, has a love of tacky horror films and, admittedly, only knows four guitar chords - "My friend's brother taught me guitar, and I think he was scared I'd get better than him."

More of a poet, really than a musician, he describes the band’s writing procedure as more of a process than adding than taking away – it’s all about “romantic lyrics” and parts that “hit you hard”. I say that I think “Homesick” does that – go listen to it. The chorus is an argument; enhanced syllables are great big prods in the heart, and the verses softly accompanied by delicate guitar riffs.

“Homesick” wasn’t a favourite of theirs, but when they presented what would have been their first EP,

Their recent UK tour has showed a huge expansion in their fan base – with heartwarming modesty, Van expresses surprise at seeing that people are actually singing along with the lyrics of the songs. His favourite gig they’ve played so far was at Camden Barfly, the end of May. “We’d just been signed to our label, so it was like a celebration”.

The label they’ve joined is Communion Records – founded by the likes of Kev Jones from Bear’s Den, Ben Lovett from Mumford and Sons and Maz Tappuni, radio presenter of Sunday night XFM goodness. Van describes the label not like an employer, but the way somebody talks about an inspiring teacher or older friend. “It’s like a great big family. They’re all musicians, so there’s no man in a suit telling you “This is how music should be.” They really get it.”

That night, I watch them play Wrexham’s Central Station – admittedly it’s spacious, but half of the crowd that there is run to the very front as soon as the band come on, dancing to every track and singing along, clasping their friends’ hands, headbanging, and raising their drinks in the air. I can’t quite tell who these people are – whether they’re big fans, who know and adore all of these songs, or if they just came out for the night and fell in love straight away. And I decide it doesn’t matter.

Catfish and the Bottlemen’s debut single, “Homesick”, came out last Monday and is already climbing the iTunes rock charts, reaching #11. You can buy it on iTunes, or find a vinyl copy here.