Five Right Now: Blackaby

A combination of past and present, the old and the new, through reverberated guitar callings, videos awash with nostalgic imagery, and the blanket-like comfort of his vocal tone, William Blackaby makes music for those moments where time slips by and days roll into one. 

 

Ahead of the release of Everything’s Delicious – out on the 16th April via Hand In Hive – we sat down with the charismatic songwriter to discuss who he reckons everyone should be listening to right now. These are his Five Right Now picks:

Deep Tan – Camelot

  

My first Blackaby gig was a solo performance at the Lock Tavern. A free gig on a sunny day is a recipe for a very small crowd. In this case, the audience consisted of my dad (watching from the back) and Deep Tan (watching from the side). They’ve been on my radar ever since. I love their latest release Camelot with it’s punchy bass, deliciously dry guitar and vocals that give me first-time-listening-to-Fugazi levels of excitement. 

Felix M-B – Spit 

 

I met Felix through the wonders of modern technology (Insta). He’d just released his debut album, which I instantly connected with, and this song seemed to have a perfect blend of tension (verse) and release (chorus!). His voice reminds me a bit of Orlando Weeks and I just believe every word he sings. Check out his album, Chunk.

Rosehip Teahouse – Regretting it

 

I came across this band when I released my first EP with Sad Club Records (shout out Tallulah!) and checked out some of their other artists – of which RT are one. They wrote and released this song over lockdown and it became my anthem for staring out my window blankly at the unseasonably good weather. ‘I don’t know if I’ll be alright when things go back to normal’ – a line that seemed very ‘lockdown’ even if it wasn’t supposed to be and is now starting to feel very real indeed.

Richard Dawson – Jogging

 

Not a brand new song and I’m clearly extremely late to the RD party. This song was a wonderful intro and I instantly fell in love with his painfully honest, no frills lyrics accompanied with a gloriously anthemic rock chorus. It made me sad and happy and inspired at the same time. 

Arab Strap – Here Comes Comus!

  

I didn’t know who to put for my last choice, so I went on a Twitter scroll. Didn’t take long to come across this – a band I’d heard about, but never listened to. The song is immediately classic sounding with dark chorus-y guitars and huge 80’s sounding snare drum. A dry vocal production with even dryer lyrics, channeling a Scottish black humour I’ve come to love. ‘He’s always in the dark but he knows his way around, he’s always talking pish but he thinks he’s so profound.’ Lovely stuff.

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