Tuesday, December 04, 2018

Desperate Journalist - 'Cedars'

Although I listen to a lot of music I don't, especially around this time of year, go in for yearly Best Of lists. However, if I was so minded and had created one for, err, 2017, either for gigs attended or albums consumed the joyous Desperate Journalist would rightly be on both.

I had the delight of seeing the London-based four piece headline a packed Scala that April. Sophomore album Grow Up (released the month before) has consistently been one of the soundtracks for my daily commute since it landed on my iPod (yes, I still have one of those). 

Grow Up's combination of driven guitars, insistent rhythms, wry and relatable lyrics (which gain additional heft thanks to Jo Bevan's strong, exquisite vocals) produced one of best long players of the year. It's an album with a sound that is both instantly familiar to old ears yet fresh, new and vibrant at the same time. It's a fantastic balance of 90's Indie retooled for the 21st Century, it admits its influences yet stands alone as something else entirely. Yes, it's safe to say, I really like the album.

That brief moment of fanboy nostalgia and appreciation leads me nicely into preferring something new from Desperate Journalist; Cedars is the first track to be released from their forthcoming third LP, In Search of The Miraculous, and rather good it is too. 



It's definitely apparent that Desperate Journalist have a gift for melody, and the guitar solo is thing of joy, and any music video that features either the London Underground and/or bands doing normal things like having a quiet beer is all good with me. Cedars is available now, In Search of The Miraculous will be released in February 2019.

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