I've Been Listening To...

Feel To Follow - The Maccabees

Up and Coming: Family of the Year

While I'm holed up inside revising (my excuse for why posts have been slightly sporadic), Family of the Year have been providing me with the perfect soundtrack to remind me of the summer months to come. Hailing from Los Angeles, it's clear that Tinseltown has had a huge influence over the music - the tracks glitter with summery guitar rifts, whilst their close-harmonied choruses encompass everything that's good about sunshine indie-pop. Perhaps they verge slightly over to TV advert soundtrack territory in some of their songs, but the members of Family of the Year certainly contain a passion for laid-back, feel-good tunes, and it's obvious that the future's not only bright, but positively sparkling for the West Coast four-piece.

Live lounge: Ben Howard - Call Me Maybe (Cover)

Lesson 1 in taking an awful song and making it something worthwhile listening to: enlist the help of Ben Howard.

I've Been Listening To...

Atlas - Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny