Rat Boy heads to Oxford ’ s O2 Academy
After a sold-out UK tour in May , which included headlining Brixton Electric , the rise of RAT BOY continues with the confirmation of his largest headline tour to date , kicking off on September 16 in Sheffield , visiting Oxford ’ s O2 Academy 1 on September 21 .
Compared to Jamie T and the Beastie Boys , RAT BOY produced “ The Mixtape ” in 2014 , a five track mix which was featured on BBC Radio 1 and XFM , and he eventually signed to Parlophone records in early 2015 . He has since released three singles - ‘ Sign On ’, ‘ Fake ID ’ and ‘ Move ’, which have all reached top five in the UK Vinyl Charts . It ’ s been a busy year for RAT BOY so far , who has featured on the BBC Sound of 2016 longlist , the MTV Brand New for 2016 shortlist , nominated for Best New Artist at the NME Awards , and played his own biggest headline tour . He ’ s also preparing to introduce himself to his biggest audiences so far when he plays at festivals across the UK and Europe this summer , including Glastonbury , Latitude , Reading and Leeds . Tickets are £ 13 from 02academyoxford . co . uk
Music
Matt Clark ’ s very short record reviews of stuff that ’ s out
Review : Benjamin Francis Leftwich – After The Rain
As someone who isn ’ t particularly a huge fan of indie and folk music , I was highly skeptical about reviewing Benjamin Francis Leftwich ’ s new album ‘ After The Rain ’. However , the talented singersongwriter has managed to create a wonderful second album .
Inspired by the likes of Ryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen , the Yorkshireman released his first album ‘ Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm ’ in July 2011 , which contained the singles ‘ Box of Stones ’, ‘ Atlas Hands ’ and ‘ Pictures ’. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 35 .
However , in his upcoming album ‘ After the Rain ’, Leftwich has created 12 brilliant songs – a perfect combination of indie and folk .
One of the tracks that stood out for me on this album was ‘ She Will Sing ’, an elegant track with a modern , folky feel to it .
That could be also said for the majority of the tracks on the album , to be perfectly honest . Each song has a distinct fresh appeal to it , including songs from the album such as ‘ Day by Day ’ and ‘ Immortal ’, which I would definitely listen to every day , even with my distaste for indie music in general .
I would personally recommend anyone to listen and buy this album when it is released next month ,
even if you ’ re not totally interested in listening to this genre of music , like myself . If you want more information on pre-ordering ‘ After the Rain ’, or if you want to check out some of Leftwich ’ s tour dates for the upcoming months , which I suggest you do , then you can visit his website at www . benjaminfrancisleftwich . com .
Review : Palace – Break The Silence
Although ‘ Break the Silence ’ is different from other tracks released previously by the London-based band , I was addicted to this from the very first . The soothing melody accompanied with the vocals from Leo Wyndham combine on a stunning and powerful track which clearly demonstrates emotion and dealing with heartbreak . And I absolutely love it .
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