Jaykay's 2017 Music Odyssey #2: The return of...Steps?

I realize it has been awhile since my first musical odyssey post but to be honest the odyssey hit a bit of a struggle street until Spotify blew open the doors via my release radar and the Australian viral charts this week (remember this looks at music that really isn't charting in Australia but damn it, it deserves to)

You might remember that I wrote about the return of 90s bands and artists like Jennifer Paige in the last music odyssey blog, well there was one band that I was very surprised had not only reunited but returned with a new single that is genuinely a good song to dance to. 90s band Steps are that band, they were responsible for the annoying ear worm '5, 6, 7. 8" in the late 90s. Their new single is entitled "Scared of the Dark" and is a real hark back to the days of 70s disco. Suspect its going to chart well in the UK, Australia is wait and see...I hope it does for the sake of my end of 2017 list.




It was an unusally good week for me on the Spotify Release Radar front, normally I am lucky if I find 2 or 3 songs I like if my favourite artists haven't released anything but this week produced some crackers and I am going to begin with Melbourne soul, jazz and blues band The Meltdown because they have produced a real throwback to the days of Motown that I had thought were gone, the song is called "Don't Hesitate" and damn, its a mighty fine song.




Sarah Close is a British singer/songwriter who Australia hasn't had very much exposure to but she is making waves on the British music scene with her debut EP called "Caught up" due out on April 14th. Fresh from that soon to be released EP is a song called "Call Me Out" and wow, a genuinely good pop song if ever I have heard one and it has been doing well on the Australian viral charts on Spotify so I am reasonably hopeful this song might chart.





The Plain White are a British alternative/indie band (yes, British music is having a period where it is actually quite good if you look past the top 100) and I got to say I am incredibly impressed by a song called "Reaction"





Finally, American alternative indie band The Wldlfe (Don't ask) have put out a song that is growing on me with every listen, its called "I Lost you"

2017 Music Odyssey Blog #1: Blasts from the past and newer artists

I decided that 2017 would be the year that I look beyond the Australian top 40 and even sometimes the top 40 charts around the world especially as last year to me wasn't a great year for music (it wasn't bad but it definitely wasn't good either) and this week kind of led me to the British rock scene and also a few blasts from the past that I thought I might share with you.

"The Devil's in the Details" by Jennifer Paige"

You might remember Jennifer Paige as being the woman behind the Australian number 1 hit "Crush" back in 1998, well as it turns out she is back with a new single called "The Devil's in the details" and its not that bad a song).

"Delicious" by Daniel Powter

Another blast from the past here but Daniel Powter is having big success in Hungary with a song that while maybe not as a good as "Bad Day" but it's certainly catchy and some say reminiscent of Scissor Sisters "I don't Feel like dancing"

"Lost on You" by LP.

American singer Laura Pergolizzi has been having plenty of success around Europe, went number 2 in Spain and is currently in the top 10 in several countries. This is a stunning song which is unsurprising considering she's written for artists like Cher, Backstreet Boys and Christina Aguilera!.

"Call Back Home" by Kyle Lionhart

Kyle Lionhart is Australian neo folk/folk/soul artist from Byron Bay in NSW and quite honestly "Call Back Home" is a beautiful track. If you like "Call Back Home" you can check out two other songs on Lionhart's Triple J Unearthed page.

"She Wants Me" by Louis Berry

Much like other newer artists, I came across Louis Berry while listening to BBC Radio 1 and it was the song "Restless" but somehow I am convinced that he has gone one step better with "She Wants me" which is a real energetic song.

"Black Magic" by The Amazons

The Amazons are a Britsh rock band that I have raved about on Twitter since I heard "Little Something" via BBC Radio 1 (I think even Triple J has given The Amazons music a bit of air time), the boys are back with a killer song that features the return of the guitar riff. This has to be a hit in Australia. Please check this song out.