Music.

 Going to Reading festival always renews my love affair with new music. This year was no exception. When I got back I downloaded hundreds of songs from artists I knew or artists I had discovered and fell in love with. Aside from that, I then went exploring for music that had no connection with the festival at all but thought I might like.
 There are some albums that I really want to recommend whether you know the artist/album or not that I think are worth having a look at. (Just to iterate that these are not meant to be reviews, just mere opinion)

 Priorities by Don Broco: I saw Don Broco supporting We Are the Ocean in a small venue in Reading about a year ago. Having never heard of them before I really enjoyed their music and thought that they were a great live act. However, apart from downloading the odd song, I never really pursued their music. When I saw that they were playing the main stage at Reading this year I thought they would definitely be worth checking out and I was right. Their performance was energetic, entertaining and easy to engage with whether you knew the songs or not. My friends who had never heard of them were also very impressed. I came back and immediately downloaded their album, Priorities. The songs are so catchy and the lead singer's distinctive voice gives an edginess to their sound which is a mix of indie, rock and punk music combined. I found myself humming their songs absent-mindedly and obsessively listening to the album on repeat. I would suggest that anybody with any music taste could get into them as their sound is so approachable. The songs I am still most obsessed with are 'Yeah Man' and the title track 'Priorities.'

 AM by Arctic Monkeys: My mum has always loved the Arctic Monkeys and so, of course, I stole her albums to put onto my iTunes and have also loved them ever since. I find that you can always tell when hearing a song from them with album it is on as each of their albums has such a different feel from the last. This applies to AM for sure. Probably one of their best, if not their best, albums, the Arctic Monkeys really have pulled out a completely new vibe for AM. The album is much more chilled than their previous ones and has a more rock'n'roll feel. Still energetic but much more controlled. Alex Turner's voice suits this style of music perfectly and his vocals are amazing as always. Each song flows into the next and has it's own stand out qualities. This is definitely an album that must be heard as an album to be appreciated. Favourite songs at the moment have to be 'Knee Socks' and 'I Wanna Be Yours'.

 Signals by Mallory Knox: This is a band that I accidentally stumbled across at Reading Festival this year. I had heard of them vaguely before but had never listened to their music, let alone had any intention of seeing. However, as I sat down with my veggie burger, myself and my friends found ourselves watching a band that all of us communally appreciated. United in the fact that none of us had heard of them before, it was a unique experience to see them and all enjoy their music (plus the front man is a fit ginger). I decided to do a bit of research on them when I returned and in the end decided to go all in and download the album of which they had played the most songs off at Reading, their most recent. In doing so I discovered some beautifully poignant songs that have soon become firm favourites. '1949' and 'Bury Your Head' are slower, more thought provoking songs about enduring love and the like which translated very well on stage. Mallory Knox are a rock band and so most of the songs are upbeat but not too heavy and so I do think that they could be easily engaged with, whatever your preference of music.

 Sempiternal by Bring Me the Horizon: This isn't the newest of albums but it is certainly one of the best I have heard in a long while. I never liked Bring Me the Horizon until I met the lead singer, Oli Sykes and very shallowly of me I decided I should probably investigate their music more after (at this point) lying to Oli and professing my love for the band. Ironically, I began to love BMTH after giving them a proper listen and still do to this day. Their performance this year at Reading was INSANE and I cannot express enough how enjoyable the experience was. They were my favourite band of this year. As a heavy metal band, I thought dragging my friends along was certainly going to be an education for them as they are definitely not into that sort of "screaming" as they put it. However, they all went absolutely mental for them, like myself, and we found ourselves jumping around in mosh pits, getting pushed about, screaming at the top of our lungs and getting on random strangers shoulders. It was so much fun and we all came away breathless but buzzing. Many of the songs they played were from this album, released earlier this year, and already the songs have become classics. Oli has perfected his vocals on this album, so there is a lot more singing along with the usual amount of "screaming". The album makes you want to jump around and go mental as well as being able to relate to the songs lyrically. 'Can You Feel My Heart' is probably the best track on the album, however, cases could easily be made for any of the tracks. 'Antivist' is classic BMTH and songs like 'Go To Hell, For Heaven's Sake' show how the band has progressed over the years. Definitely worth a test to see if you like. 

 Xo.