Joe Allan - The City Ate My Brains

Good of the afternoon, bitches. It's been another long while hasn't it? Yes, it has. What can I say? As always I could tell you where I've been and what I've been up to, but it might make you blush. In fact I know it would. You'd never look at a courgette in the same way again.

I'm back on this lovely Sunday afternoon with a follow up blog post that I've been looking forward to doing for some time now. Way back in November last year I featured a wonderful, wonderful musician called Joe Allan - you can read that post and listen to the song I reviewed here. I really recommend you do.

Joe promised he'd be back in touch when his EP was finally ready for release and true to his word, he did. "The City Ate My Brains" is due for release within the next two weeks and oh my absolute gosh, it truly is a masterpiece.

Here are five songs of immense strength, beauty and courage. The title belies just how moving the tracks are. It of course features "September", the track I previewed last year, which is just stunning - I can never forget a song which starts with the line "fuck you, everybody". However, joking aside, from the outset it's clear that Joe is an incredibly skilled songwriter and musician. These are songs with real emotional depth - they are tempered and downbeat, the slightly muted way in which he sings adds real pathos to both the lyrics and the music.

The opening track "The City Ate My Brains" sets the scene for the whole tone of the EP, soft and delicate, repetitive, lulling guitar picks combine with his fantastic vocal style to create a set of tracks which feel like they could become real classics.

On tracks like "Sisters" he uses sampling to really good effect, drawing the listener in from the start and piquing your curiosity with what's to come.

Standout song for me is "Youngster". Purely for the guitar alone, however, it's the most emotional piece on the EP for me. The vocal combines with the guitar in a slightly alt-country way and it really see-saws your feelings.

When the EP is released properly I'll update the page to let you all know, as this is something none of you should miss out on. Joe Allan is definitely one to watch and someone you need to have in your lives...