I was going to choose artists, or even whole albums, that have influenced and motivated me but I've chosen specific songs that kind of represent both the artist and the record to me instead. I have strong associations with certain moments in my life with specific songs so I felt I could write about them in a little more detail. And if anyone isn't so familiar with any of them, the song I've mentioned is, I think, a pretty decent place to start.
Alkaline Trio / 97
I guess this was the first time me and my friends aligned fully on a record and set a tone for our shared listening for a long time afterwards and definitely shaped my early (and long term) songwriting. 97 is from a compilation of their EPs and singles and I guess was on some mixtape we listened to in the car. I don't know why but it really connected with all of us at the time but my absolute very first attempt at a real band with Josh (Apologies, I Have None) and our friend Si was somewhat centered around liking that record.
Boysetsfire / After The Eulogy
This whole record is amazing but the stuff at the more melodic end of the scale was always where I felt most comfortable. The opener grows on me when I re-listen now - pure energy and emotion. A transcendent moment when I saw them play it at a festival. Playing some shows with them a few years back was a pretty big moment for me and I failed completely at playing it cool around them.
Bloc Party / Halo
I'm a huge fan of Bloc Party. Their output has been hot and cold for me but I love that they've never taken the easy route and sat on that first record. Intimacy is a weird record with some of my favourite songs of theirs but Halo is a total rager and I'm constantly trying to rip it off.
Julien Baker / Sprained Ankle
It takes me a long time to love a record but I've been finding a lot of new music via the Audiotree Live youtube channel the last few years and this one stood out immediately. I've been hooked since. The opener and closer to this record are my favourites - she really makes you wait and be patient in her songs, to just listen and let it kind of wash over you. She's so young, yet her performances are so confident while being so open and vulnerable and I really don't know how she does it.
Rakim / Guess Who's Back
I didn't listen to stuff with guitars much in my teens, I mostly listened to songs from skate videos and compilation tapes my friend Matt used to make me and it all centered around East/West Coast rap and some UK rap he found. I probably still enjoy hip hop and rap more than anything else and I've been rewatching a lot of the skate videos recently, as they get captured and put on YouTube, and the soundtracks bring back some deep memories of skate trips in the early 00s and earlier. I listen to some Grime too and the really good UK artists evoke some of the best qualities of the mid 90s rappers I liked in a totally original way.
Against Me / I Still Love you Julie
Josh (Apologies, I Have None) used to make compilation tapes that we'd listen to in the car and this song really stood out. It sounded so emotional yet so chaotic and probably helped convince me that despite being shitty at playing our instruments, if the emotion and words were real then we should probably start working on a record. This song sounds so pure and beautifully naive, I can't describe it.
The Hollies / He Ain't Heavy
My Dad's brother committed suicide in his twenties and although he's never talked about it much I know this song holds a huge amount of weight for him and whenever we've listened to it together he goes quiet and I think I know what he's thinking about. The older I get the more weight it carries with me too. Lyrically, it's perfect. The kind of song I'm desperate to write.
The Fugees / Manifest
Lauryn Hill's verse in this is one of the hardest things I've ever heard and the tone and delivery is just impeccable. I don't think I've listened to any record as much as I have The Score and I still put it on all the time. It's the first place I go when I'm burned out on music, but Lauren Hill's parts of it always stood out the most and her Miseducation record is one that still grows on me even now.
Sam Russo / Storm
This is hands down one of my favourite records, but it's the final song that really hit me hard. I just think the whole thing is beautiful and I've had to stop listening to it for fear of burning out on it. I kind of save it for when I need it. I love the continued narrative through the whole record and the way this song closes the record is a little unsettling. It makes me want to loop it straight away. I've listened to this for hours at a time before, last thing at night when I can't sleep.
Rebecca Ferguson / Teach Me How To Be Loved
I didn't expect to love this record considering the X-Factor connection but I listen to this a lot. Her vocal control and tone is so captivating and she breezes through her words so effortlessly that it's really relaxing to listen to. The whole album feels old and classic and she claims to have written the lyrics and vocals really quickly which I think you can kind of hear. It's all really honest and unforced.
Stream and download Myelin's debut EP Reservoirs here: https://myelinldn.bandcamp.com/
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