If It's Too Loud...

Artist : Vona Vella Album : Carnival Quick Thoughts : I believe this is my first exposure to the alt-rock stylings of Vona Vella, but my goodness what an introduction it is. Carnival mixes alt trappings with a power pop sheen in songs as catchy as "Bear Trap" and "You Can Be So Ugly" with other great tracks that show the breadth of their talents. An amazing listen. Songs of Note : "Bass Driver," "You Can Be So Ugly," "Over and Over," "Settle Down," "Brand New Boy," "Selfish Dogs," "Bear Trap" Artist : Rosie Carney Album : Doomsday...Don't Leave Me Here Quick Thoughts : Rosie Carney leans into dreampop a lot with this latest album, and it works really well. I find her work consistently compelling; she offers a type of musical perspective that sets her apart from others, and it shows in songs like "Sixteen," one that stuck with me for a while after hearing it for the f...

Photo by Roger Sargent If you also can't wait for the new album from Nottingham's Vona Vella even though it's out tomorrow, you're in luck! The band just released one last single from the album, "Brand New Boy." This one is quieter than the previous singles, but still has the dream pop sound we've come to love from them. This one adds in a little bit of the groovy 60's, and if you're anything like me, combining dream pop and 60's pop is kind of a something I didn't know I needed. "Brand New Boy" is such a smooth sounding song that will inject itself into your soul in the best possible way. We're less than twenty-four hours until the new single from Vona Vella, and we could not be more excited. Singer Izzy says of the band's latest single: “One of mine. Very Velvet Underground. About someone being too good to be true. About not believing something could be so good, so you’re holding off, waiting for it to go wrong.” You can...

"You Can Be So Ugly" is the kind of song you're going to fall in love with within the first seven seconds. Vona Vella have done something truly special here. The Nottingham based band have created this sound that is partly early The Strokes and partly dream pop. A lot of the guitars and vocals are reminiscent of the first Strokes album, but everything is a little more jangly and coated in a thing layer of haze. Not to mention that "You Can Be So Ugly" is almost too catchy, possibly due to a little bit of 60's doo wop hiding just under the surface. We were first won over by Vona Vella back in September, and "You Can Be So Ugly" has us even more enamored. Co-founders Izzy Davis and Dan Cunningham say of their new single: "It's about accepting the ugly side of friendships or relationships. Even your favourite people have that side to them but you learn to live with it if you want to be around them. It's saying 'you can be a right idio...

Photo by Roger Sargent Nottingham's Vona Vella have an intriguing new single out that is fairly straightforward but still hard to define. "Carnival" has quite a few elements of indie pop, but it's a little too rock based for that. It's an undeniably catchy and lovely song, with fuzzy guitars. It's the type of song that instantly grabs you with the first guitar riff. It's reminding me of Jeff Buckley's heavier songs filtered through a modern alt-pop prism. "Carnival" is a little pop, a little alt-rock, a little punk, and maybe even a little folk. Vona Vella are an interesting band with a giant potential based on this new single. Vocalist/songwriter Dan Cunningham says of the band's latest single: “ It was written when life was getting on top of me and I felt that my head was spinning out of control. I use the funfair as a metaphor because the overstimulating scenes there reflected my emotional state. The verse is Izzy [bandmate and partner...

Photo by Roger Sargent Nottingham's Vona Vella have a new single out that you're going to want to check out. "Bear Trap" is a bright and shiny song that straddles the line between indie rock and indie pop. Back in the 90's we would have considered it more of an indie rock song, but these days a song like "Bear Trap" is considered more pop. It's filled with jangly guitars and glorious harmonies, and if you tend to like those sorts of things, this one will be irresistible. It's also the type of song that you're going to love more and more as it goes on, and somehow packs so much joy and energy into three and a half minutes. The subject matter might not be quite as joyous as the song, but Vona Vella have crafted an absolute dream of a song with "Bear Trap." Co-lead vocalist Dan Cunningham says of the band's latest single: “I was working a job, and it was a pretty nasty work environment, a café, and due to finances, I had to stay. O...