Music Monday: English Rain Review

     

            I have been looking forward to the release of English Rain with fervid anticipation, which my (now former) roommates could attest to with rolling eyes. Gabrielle Aplin has long been on my list of people to watch out for since about the same time I started blogging, but her youtube presence goes back much farther than that. My sister Abby at that time paid far more attention to online talent than I ever did. Her insistent calls for "come look at this singer/dancer/instrumentalist" were always met with my exasperated sighs, knowing I was in for another individual every bit as "talented" as the previous. Aplin, however, was a discovery from my own online trolling. Since my sister and I differ to the extreme when it comes to music, I knew I had found something special when my attempts at impressing Abby with my discovery were met with a shrugging "meh"(actually we differ to the extreme on most things come to think about it...).

        Even at her beginning stages it was Gabrielle's self-penned songs that hooked me. Her poetic, almost parable-like lyrics got me right in my hipster heart, in the same way (but not the same way at all) in which T-Swift's immature boy-bashings relate to broken hearted 13 year old girls!

          Most people now know Gabrielle as the artist behind the Christmas 2013 cover of The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, which was featured in the John Lewis Christmas advert, and made no. 1 in the UK charts. What a lot of reviewers don't seem to realize is that this sudden success merely sped up the inevitable; Aplin was always going to be noticed. She has been quietly cultivating her audience in the youtube world over the years, and this has given her the edge in the months leading up to English Rain's release. The Power of Love's unexpected success was merely a stepping stone. Signing onto Parlophone records, Gabrielle shrewdly went back to her roots and her fanbase, relying on her online presence and the strength of her original songwriting rather than banking everything on the successful no. 1 single. English Rain was set up for success after the release of her EPs Please Don't Say You Love Me  and Panic Cord. I have always enjoyed Gabrielle's EPs but I've been itching for a full length album to be released. After listening to the debut at length I can honestly say that it doesn't disappoint, but it's far from perfect.

          Don't let the fact that Aplin's career began online, and at age 17 cause you to jump to conclusions. There are far worse places to enter the music world these days (X-Factor anyone?), and this is no repetition of the Bieber storyline. Gabrielle has shown a strange, and unique maturity and her special way with words sets her apart from the crowd of undiscovered artists scrambling to be noticed. Hipster fans of The Lumineers, Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling etc. will find English Rain  more than appealing, but there is also enough catchy fun to please mainstream radio listeners.

       Not surprisingly The Power of Love (the only cover) is highly misplaced in the album selection and  it might have been better left out. On the other hand, Aplin is still relatively obscure and to remind her audience of who she is, could be seen as necessary. The re-recording of Panic Cord (it was featured on her 2011 EP Never Fade) was a smart move and opens the album with the almost playful musings of a relationship gone horribly wrong. With a bang it's followed by Keep on Walking an appropriate anthem that gives Aplin the opportunity to belt her feelings. Staying true to her acoustic roots, there is enough indie folk in tracks like How Do You Feel Today, Panic Cord, Ready to Question and Please Don't Say You Love Me (Aplin claims that this song was inspired by the film 500 Days of Summer which makes me love it even more than I already do!), the beautiful and intimate Home (featured in the 2012 EP by the same name) is given a makeover which seems pointless at first, but once the climax of the song is reached, it's never sounded better. Gabrielle shows off the sweetness in her voice in piano ballad Salvation; "...my salvation, my my..." Alive, Human and November make use of Gabrielle's band although they deviate into generic territory.  Alive is quite a beautiful song, and it's Aplin lyrics at their best in November; 

"I left you out in the English rain

To soak you through and dilute the blame

Don't ever want to hear those words today

You made me high then you swooped so low

From a hummingbird to a silent crow

I was on your side but then I saw it change"

Human, however, is probably the weakest track on the album, which sounds almost like an Ellie Goulding track. Not such a terrible thing, but we've heard it before. All and all it's a great debut, but it's never ground breaking. Gabrielle's voice has matured while retaining it's purity and sweetness, but I still wonder if she can handle singing with a backing band. She has a good range, but she clearly struggles with control in parts. Having said that this adds a raw quality to the album. Part of Gabrielle's charm is that her voice is beautiful but imperfect, which also sums up English Rain neatly. It's not anything we haven't heard from Gabrielle before, but hopefully she'll learn from the flaws of this debut and up the game with her second album.

A disclaimer to my U.S. readers: for some reason iTunes isn't cooperating and has not only failed to release English Rain in America, but has also deleted her acoustic, Never Fade, Please Don't Say You Love Me and Panic Cord EPs for some inexplicable reason. However, the hard copy is available on Gabrielle's homepage, and Amazon is selling the mp3 download too. Enjoy!

Stranger Side

       

A funny little heart in a funny little box, never take it out cos it might get dropped...

....bottle up and hide, tell a little lie if you must.

See the crooked man trying to walk a crooked mile, see the crooked lady with her crooked little smile...

...they see us as we pass and they don't know what to make of us...

...cos you and I, we see a stranger side of things...

...you and I

...we dream a stranger kind dream

...we walk a weirder side of the street.

          Happy Valentines Day! Yep that dreaded/loved/tolerated day of love/misery/pink has come and gone again, and I'm kind of sad to see it go! I was going to post today as a Bit Of Ridiculous #2 but I feel like I've said all I need to say about valentines in other posts so I decided just to be semi-happy about valentines, because it is just another day, and I like most days!

         This valentines, I got many sweet gifts from sweet friends, went to the Northland vrs Maranatha game (which we won!), was blessed by a wonderful, happy, splendidly, ridiculously fun, surprise visit from my bestie Heather Jerome, and can't get Gabrielle Aplin song lyrics out of my head!

        How was your valentines? Ridiculous or ridiculous? 

Music Mondays: Stubborn Love and Other Stories

           Phew! This semester is beginning to get busy. Two weeks of blissful leisure, thinking it would last forever and then in one week life is like "Bahahaha! Psyche your mind!" It's ok though because I'm still full of new year energy ready to save the world and get my assignments in on time while I'm at it! I even worked out this evening! That's right, be proud. I will accomplish all things (at least until my resolve to not watch Once Upon a Time on a school night wears off...which may run out in about 15 minutes!)

           This week I've experienced cold weather that rivals my South Dakota days. Now I love snow, it's basically the miracle of winter in my opinion, and playing in it will bring out my inner child like nothing else, but when it's below freezing, and the wind makes me want to curl up in my sock drawer and die, then it's a different story. Still, I can't deny that God's creation is beautiful in our very own real Narnia-Wisconsin land. Sometimes (everyday) I wish I lived in Chicago or Paris, with a Starbucks just around the corner, and surrounded by people I don't know but want to. Then God brings me right back with the almost inaudible sound of soft snow falling, or the sun peeking out between the evergreen trees, almost groaning under the weight of a weeks worth of snow. It is stunning to walk into a white world every morning. God has been so good protecting us during the trips to and from church every Sunday. Yesterday we were drifting all over the place during our 50 minutes journey back to campus, and all I could do was shut my eyes and pray.

         On Thursday my Impact Group (everyone on campus has one, and we study a section of Galatians every week together) met at out leader Mrs Olsen's house so that Sally (real name Tiaotiao Ma) could teach us how to make real Chinese Jiao Zi. If you've never had legit Chinese food then I suggest you find somewhere to get the good stuff because seriously, the slop they serve us picky Westerners is criminal in comparison (and I will be talking about this more on Friday!) This was my absolute favourite of all Chinese dishes and it was exciting to see how to make my own in future. Not to mention that these lovely ladies are so encouraging and make splendid company!

Now it is Music Monday, and so I owe you some music! I'm sure most of you have heard about The Lumineers, (if you haven't you should fix that!) and their new music video just came out this week. The Lumineers were pretty much my go to discovery of 2012 along with Imagine Dragons, Of Monsters and Men and Ben Howard. I remember when I first heard all of the above on the radio and I was like "What in the fat world?! They're playing actual good music and not Keisha or Katie Perry!" No offense to anyone's taste or anything but seriously, that stuff's total crap!! Hehehe I joke, I joke...or do I?

Music Mondays: Rend Collective and Spotify troubles

           I am very forlorn this Music Monday. Why you may ask? I'll tell you why, but first let me give you some music! This past Tuesday, one of my favourite Christian bands Rend Collective Experiment, came out with their new album "Campfire."

The thing I absolutely love about Rend Collective is their philosophy of music, and their reason for making music. "Campfire" is the perfect example of this philosophy played out. The whole album is bascially an acoustic recording of their previous songs, but what makes it special is that it is recorded live around a campfire, hence the title. The result is a warm, intimate, worship album that symbolizes the oneness of the Universal Church. In a word the album is beautiful! Oh and did I mention that Rend Collective is an Irish band?!

The reason I am sad is because the album is no longer on spotify and now I will have to spend money (not that it's not completely worth it, but I'm poor!)

Happy Monday!

A Little Bit of Ridiculous # 1

        

         Thought I'd start my first ridiculous post with something personal of mine; my alarm clock! I got this at my favourite store back home; Penneys Prima (super cheap with many much beautiful things!) during my visit this past Christmas. I thought it looked kind of cute, and retro and it matched my dorm's colour scheme, but had no idea how it would work as an alarm.

         The clock has two settings; you can choose between a musical alarm, and a bell. The first time I used it I chose the musical setting and settled in for the night. Well the music has a variety of old, but recognizable 80s and 90s tunes, and sounds a bit like those musical children's toys, and the tune changes every couple of seconds. I found myself waking up trying to guess the tune before hitting snooze a couple of times. When I eventually chose to turn the clock off and get up, the clock said good morning to me!! I thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever heard (maybe you have to be there) and I still have a good giggle about it every morning! It's ridiculous, but I love it! 

          Hope you guys had a wonderful Wednesday! We all got snowed in on campus, so no Awana for my church team. Fortunately we also have Heart Conference on this week so there are plenty of new people to meet, and amazing sessions to attend. I may post about it further this weekend. 

"She had a lively, playful disposition that delighted in anything ridiculous"-Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice  

           

         

Music Mondays: Girls Gone Indie!

           As promised, I am posting right on schedule! We're off to a good start (pats own back approvingly!). This lovely mild Music Monday kicks off with some of my favourite female artists (it's in the 20s here, kind of sad that I now consider that a heatwave!).

        This is just a sampling of what is on replay on my ipod right now!

Katie Herzig is a fairly new discovery of mine. She's been around awhile I know but I had never given her a chance until recently, and discovered that I'm obsessed! 

If you haven't figured out by now I am long, devoted fan of Gabrielle! I've previously blogged about her here and here. She's now 20, newly signed, and making her way up the ladder in UK charts. The new EP comes out February 12th.  

Nina Nesbitt is a brand new favourite! I have been playing this song non-stop!

 So there you have it! Hope you guys have had a very happy Music Monday!

A Year in the Life of a Leah

           Well my poor, neglected blog, you're probably wondering where I've been or if I was ever coming back. I promise you have never been forgotten, but always in the back of mind, but low on my priorities after school, traveling, studying, hanging out with friends, and wasting time (emphasis on the latter). Unfortunately your owner is a notorious procrastinator, and when she did have time to blog, she would often find herself on facebook, or pinterest, or youtube, or spotify....or pinterest....Anyways, I'm back! And I have a strategy in mind in order to juggle life, procrastination and blogging more effectively. More on that later though, right now I want to give you a little insight into my year (with and assortment of random pictures of things you missed). This year I:

1. Managed to get a challenging but completely fun summer job at Shepherds Ministries

1. Got plugged in with a whole new wonderful group of brothers and sisters I never knew I had

3.  Embarked on the hardest and best trip of my life, by God's grace

4. Began a whole new semester at Northlands International University

5. Became a room leader and gained two new wonderful roommates

6. Tried and failed Greek 101

7. Learned running the race doesn't guarantee the course will run smoothly 

8. Was totally blessed and challenged by the Body of Christ

9. Discovered that my dependance on caffeine has gotten out of control (maybe)

10. Found self sufficiency is a poor man's walk (eventually you let yourself down; God never will)

11. Discovered and listened to wonderful new music

12. Said goodbye to good friends and hello to new ones

13. Experienced God's amazing provision through His people

14. Found I love my family in new ways and for new reasons

15. Went to new places and met new people

15. Learned that trusting God is better than running my own life  

         So that's pretty much been my year. God has taught me much, I have grown inches (always figuratively!), fallen often, experienced more, loved better, and hated worse, but I am not who I was before and that is always good! The Christian walk is often a frustrating but wonderful paradox, one that brings me closer to Him and to His character.

          Now back to my blogging plans for this year. I am making it a priority to give my blog some much needed attention. It's something I love to do, and I love making connections with people everywhere in day to day interactions and online! That's what we're here for right? So this is my proposal; I will post at least 3 times a week. Music Mondays will be exactly that; a sharing of all my music favs (especially since I don't have a playlist anymore). I love finding new music and I'm assuming that my followers are the same. Wednesdays will be a sharing of the various things that I find ridiculous (still one of my favourite words), both funny and serious (you know those things that you can either laugh or cry over so you may as well laugh!), and Fridays I want to give a little insight into my summer trip (and yes I will reveal where I went!). In between these three days will be days in which I consider myself free to post whatever tickles my fancy or not at all. This way I don't have to think of something to post, and then just decide to go on pinterest instead when I can't think of anything! So I hope you approve of this, and here's to a year of more consistent blogging!!   

          Thanks for being faithful even when I'm not!