Joe Allan - September

A very happy Saturday to you, and if it hasn't been happy, then cheer yourself up with the fact that it will soon be Monday again and you can sink further into your pit of despair. I bet that's cheered you up no end.

What can I offer you today?

Joe Allan. That's what. Over on the Twitters I usually put out a weekly clarion call for bands/singers to get in touch with me and send me their shizz to review. If it's good, I'll do it. If It isn't, I send them away with a flea in their ear, a U grade and a note to tell their Mum they must try harder (I sometimes take bribes though...so if you want to get round me with money/cake/declarations of undying love...you can only try)

Anyway, Joe was one of the many folks who contacted me this week and you'll be pleased to know he passed muster with an A*. So today, I'm going to introduce you to him and also tell you why you need his music in your life.

He was kind enough to send me a demo of his new song "September", so please afore we go any further, have a watch/listen to his track:

JOE ALLAN - SEPTEMBER

If you want to listen to the music without the video, visit his Soundcloud page via Tumblr:

joeallanmusic.tumblr.com/music

I was actually going to start this paragraph by saying "I'm incredibly excited by this young man", then I thought it sounded a bit odd, not to mention wrong, but now I've typed it out and made us all blush anyway, so what the hell. But Joe's music is lush and he's genuinely a really nice chap.

"September" is such a wistful, piece - the music lulls you, but the lyrics definitely have edge to them. You cannot possibly ignore (or not love) a song which opens with the line "Fuck you, everybody" - when you hear it, it's a little bit of a jolt, given that the guitars have such a gentle feel to them and the overall sound is very dreamlike. Joe, in the description for the video says he will make a less half-hearted version for his new EP when it comes out. I think that kind of does his own work a wee disservice. This is a lovely track, with a great promise to it and it is perfectly pitched.

I have to admit a real soft spot for the video - the music is set to various video clips from the USA in the 1960s. It actually felt as though it accompanied the song really well - and reminded me of my own family, some of whom were out there at that time. It made me think of the photos they sent home to us here that I loved flicking through as a kid in the 1980s. So yeah, nostalgia, expletives and lovely music - all things that make thegeneral go boom.

If you like what you hear then why not consider having a listen/watch of this too:

JOE ALLAN - OCTOBER (LIVE)

This is such a well nuanced song, it's sweetly stirring and has such a tenderness to it, made all the more markedly pronounced by a beautiful guitar pick (thegeneral appreciates that, being a semi-professional rubbish guitar bore). It's seven minutes that feels like is passes in less than half the time - and, in the nicest possible way, it will haunt you afterwards - it will stay in your mind and you'll want to keep listening again. Joe's vocals have an ethereal quality to them and his words are wise beyond his years. All in all, it's truly magical stuff.

His debut EP is hopefully going to be out sometime in the new year - tentatively called "The City Ate My Brains", when it's out, I'll give it a thorough going over and make sure to let you all know about it. For now, take these two tracks and love them.