Tag: joe langridge-brown

I’M FREE

Hola everyone.

I know. I know. I know. Where have I been? Did I get stuck in a hole? Did I decide to disappear for a few weeks and start a new life? I have to say, it’s nothing like that. It’s uni. Or it was. Because two days ago, I finally had my last exams and now I’m free. I’m finally free. Free. Free. Free.

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And I can’t even tell you how much I’ve missed posting stuff on here, talking to you guys. But I just couldn’t afford spending my time on anything else than studying and basically existing. That’s what I’ve been doing the past two weeks. And god, it was exhausting. You have no idea. I finally understand why exam week is called week of hell. Because it really feels like hell. But now it’s over and I’m so freaking happy. And I’ve got so many things to tell you guys. So, let’s get right to it.

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First of all, the new Fall Out Boy album is out and it’s so damn good, holy moly. At first, due to Young and Menace, I was a little bit worried I’d loose my favorite punk boys. But thank god, I didn’t. The new album is so amazing, seriously. It’s the perfect mixture of punk songs, electronic beats, slow, soulful pieces and amazing guitars and Patricks angelic voice. It gets very close to being perfect, really really really close. Maybe it even is perfect. So I can just strongly recommend it to you guys, please go and have a listen, seriously. If I had to chose, I’d probably say that “Bishops Knife Trick” is my favorite track of the whole album. But let’s be honest, that basically changes after every single listen of the whole album. The songs are just too good. And, in typical FOB manner, the track titles are pretty much the coolest thing ever. I have no idea how they come up with names like “Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea”, but I’m glad they do.

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And now, the most important news. Yesterday, in order to end the semester in the most amazing way ever and have a nice party, my mum and I went to a concert, a Nothing But Thieves concert. And holy moly guys, I’m still so damn speechless, it was such a blast. And I know what you’re thinking right now – isn’t that the band I just saw a few weeks ago, two months, to be exact? And yes, indeed it is, you’re a 100 % percent right. You may question now why I would buy tickets to a show I basically went to two months before? And here’s the simple answer: because. And since yesterday, I will always go to see a band I love with all of my heart twice if I can. Because yesterday was easily ten times better than the first show. And I didn’t think that that was even possible.

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First of all the venue was like a third of the venue in Vienna. The room was packed with people and it was hot as hell. I have no idea why, but somehow Conor, the lead singer, still decided to wear not only one, but two long sleeved sweaters. I was nearly dying there in the crowd, Price, the drummer, was half naked, and then there was Conor, jumping around cuddled into two sweaters. Such a weirdo, I love it. And due to the size of the venue, we were so close to the stage and, especially pleasant for me, close to Conor. We even had some eye contact going on once in a while. And I just loved it so much, watching him and the boys interact and do their thing, being able to notice all the little details about them.

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Also, I don’t even know how, in the matter of the past two months, they got so much better, they even excelled themselves. It was crazy. You could see how comfortable they were on stage and how much they enjoyed it. Conors voice just gets better and better with every single show and just their whole set too. They are such an unbelievably amazing band. And I loved seeing how happy they were. For me, a show gets a hundred times better when you see that the band enjoys it as much as the crowd. If they are happy, I am happy too.

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Another highlight was of course the updated setlist which included one of their most amazing songs – Number 13. And god, was it worth it. It’s such a blast live, holy moly. And  a new cover of a song called “Be My Husband” replaced the one of “Free Falling”, which was extra special for me, as it was one of the songs Ed covered during the first show I ever saw him. And let’s be honest, Conors voice is just breathtaking. Thankfully I got to film the whole part of the show, even him chatting with the crowd for a while, laughing and joking around. He’s such a damn cutie. Seriously. Having his laugh on tape is literally the best thing.

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But, I have to say, my most favorite part of the show has to be when they played “Ban All the Music” and somehow literally everyone went totally apeshit. No joke. I mean, the crowd was amazing throughout the whole show. Jumping around, dancing, crowdsurfing, doing moshpits over and over. Conor even said that it was the best moshpit he had ever seen. But when they played BATM, it got a totally different level of crazy. First of all, the crowd went completely berserk. Then Stu, their tour manager/handy-man, started crowdsurfing out of nowhere. God, I laughed so much. And the boys just followed, jumping around on stage, laughing and joking. At some point Dom, one of the guitarists, even went up to the mic and just screamed a note, while Conor stood next to him, looking at him like “what the hell are you doing???” and laughing his butt off. God, that was such an experience. It wasn’t just a concert, it was so much more.

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So yeah guys, there you go. That was last night. I also have to mention that it ended in the coolest way possible, because when we walked out of the venue, we walked past the tour bus and I was like “oh my god, how cool. I’ve never been this close to one of these buses.” And there was this little gap in-between the curtains and I just randomly looked at it and there he was, sitting there, eating I don’t know what – Conor. I can’t really explain why, but somehow that was such a special moment for me. Because it’s something completely different when you see someone on stage, doing what they love and what they are best at, and then off-stage, all calm and relaxed, without the whole star appeal. It just was really special.

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For me it was the most perfect way to end my semester and to start my break. And it was the perfect way of rewarding myself for all the exams and hard work. I think it’s important to give back to yourself once in a while. And I’m so happy that my mum enjoyed it as much as I did.

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Apart from that, I am just really glad that I get to be at home now for the whole month. And it’s already my last semester of uni. How crazy is that? Time has really flown by. Oh and oh my god guys, tomorrow I’m having my interview with BIMM, you know, the university in Britain I applied for. On the one hand I’m really really really nervous, but on the other hand I’m also so excited. I’ll of course keep you updated. And expect to hear a lot more from me again, I am officially back. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post and that you’re all doing good. As always, please don’t hesitate to leave your comments down below. And of course, thanks for reading. x

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Broken Machine

Hola everyone.

I know I said that I’d do some kind of series about my trip to Paris, but something really important happened today. So important that I just have to break in the series. Today is the day that Nothing But Thieves released their new album. You can probably guess it. I’m shook.

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Nothing But Thieves – a band I’ve now known for over a year. A band I fell in love with the second I listened to their music. And a band I’ve been following ever since, especially after getting the chance to see them live last year at Reading and experiencing their amazing show. And now, after nearly two years or so, their new album called “Broken Machine” is finally out. And I can tell you, I’ve waited for quite a while for this and now that it’s here, it’s completely blowing me away.

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During the last few weeks, they have actually already given the world bits and pieces of the new LP. A new single, another one, an acoustic version and then even two more songs. And they were all mind-blowing. But now that I’m able to listen to the album in full, it really feels like a complete piece. A piece of art. So, without further ado, here’s the track list and some bits of my opinion:

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  1. I Was Just A Kid
    • I would say that this is seriously the perfect beginning of the album. It shows their way of combining good, old rock n’ roll with some new indie tunes and of course Conor Masons mind-blowing voice (he’s the lead singer). I actually froze while running up the stairs because I was so shocked while listening to it for the first time.
  2. Amsterdam
    • This was the first new song they released and for me the perfect representation for what they are capable of doing. It has the most amazing intro with a beat that really sticks to your memory. And then it gets louder and faster and better. It just pops.
  3. Sorry
    • I present you the second single and definitely my favorite song of the whole album. I was so blown away when I first listened to it, I actually couldn’t stop playing it for over a week. I’ve probably listened to it more than a hundred times. It’s so good, no joke. Also, there’s an acoustic version available, which sometimes – depends on the mood – is even better. I love it.
  4. Broken Machine
    • For me, this is the one song you would never expect to hear from this band, especially not the intro. It’s kind of weird, really mechanical (HA), and then turns into this rock song with Conor’s voice in the background. And the lyrics are amazing, no wonder it’s the title track.
  5. Live Like Animals
    • If I had to choose, I would actually say that this one is the one song I enjoy the least. I don’t really know why. It’s probably the guitar chorus. But apart from that part, the song is crazily good. I just adore Conor’s voice so much.
  6. Soda
    • This song is what you could call the ballade of the album. It’s really chilled compared to the other songs and really calming, despite the guitars in the background. And somehow the lyrics are kind of depressing (“I don’t wanna be myself”), but I think that just adds the special touch to the song.
  7. I’m Not Made By Design
    • This is the kind of song I can already imagine being the craziest when played live. The guitars are powerful, Conor is giving everything with his angelic voice and the beat is amazing. It’s the perfect getting-hyped-up song.
  8. Particles
    • Apart from Sorry, this is basically the one song to fall in love with. When I first listened to it right after midnight – of course I waited for the album to be released to listen to it right then and there – I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know about you, but for me this song is literally perfect. And let’s not forget Conor’s vocals and falsetto parts. You can really hear his classical vocal training, his voice is so strong. And moreover, on the deluxe version of the album, there’s a piano version of this song and it’s even better than the “normal” version, at least for me. And yes, I cried. Just listen to it, you’ll see. You’ll tear up too. God, Conor’s voice, it’s giving me goosebumps. I wish I could bury myself into this song. Seriously.
  9. Get Better
    • This is the perfect bounce-your-head-to-it song. It’s kind of upbeat, but also a little bit slow and chilled back. It’s a mix of both. And for me yet another song that perfectly reflects the kind of style of music they are heading to or living for right now.
  10. Hell, Yeah
    • Hell. I think this song is literally about hell – “it’s just a little bit warmer”, “it’s just like home”. Somehow quite funny to me as a lyrical piece, but not when you listen to it. Right at the beginning, there’s just Conor’s voice and an acoustic guitar and he sounds hurt. You can hear the hurt in his voice. So I strongly believe that there’s so much more to this song than hell, literally. Nonetheless, this one is amazing, but that’s not really a surprise, is it?
  11. Afterlife
    • This one here is the last song on the “normal” version of the album and with it’s title, it’s fits, really. It has this kind of Amsterdam vibe to it and it’s also a little bit more calming. And for me the best last song they could have chosen.

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When you get the deluxe version of the album, there are four more songs waiting for you to listen to them – Reset Me, Number 13 and the acoustic version of Sorry and the piano version of Particles, which I’ve already mentioned. Reset Me is kind of a punch in the face after Afterlife. It’s rough, fast and loud and exciting. So exciting. And Number 13 is simply cool. It’s bouncy, pure old school rock full of amazing, rough vocals and great guitars and beats. And it combines like five types of music in one. It’s hard to describe, so I guess you just need to give it a listen to hear it yourself.

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So, guys, there you go. That’s the new masterpiece called “Broken Machine” by Nothing But Thieves. And it really is a masterpiece. I’m so proud of this band and of what they achieved. They really grew together with their music and especially Conor gets better and better with every single new song, every single new show. It’s actually quite sad for me that they are little bit underrated and kind of still a secret in the music universe, but I’m sure that this will change dramatically after this release. Thank god they are going on tour this winter already and I’ve got tickets to see them. I would never be able to wait much longer for the moment I get to listen to the songs live. Because if Nothing But Thieves are anything, they are the kind of band that is even better live than on the studio versions. And that’s hard to manage, trust me.

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So, yeah, if I can give you anything, it’s the advice to give this band a listen, seriously. You won’t regret it. But I guess you’ve already noticed that I’m really hyped for this band. God, I love them. And to end this post on something exciting, I’ll leave some videos for you to watch down below. Please enjoy. And I wish you all an amazing weekend and hope that you enjoyed this post. And please don’t hesitate to leave a comment, of course. And, as always, thanks for reading. x

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