27TH OCTOBER: INTERNATIONAL TAYLOR SWIFT DAY

It has arrived. 2014's most fervently awaited album is here. Taylor Swift has released 1989: the follow up to 2012's smash hit Red - a collection of songs about a crippling heartbreak. The newly appointed princess of pop adamantly denies that 1989 will be an echo of Red - this is not an album where she pines over the past; this is the soundtrack to self-discovery, as she writes in her linear notes: "These songs were once about my life. They are now about yours.". This phrase defines her success as a songwriter and a performer, and explains the Swift-hysteria bubbling across the world at the moment. And here I am, with my physical copy of 1989, waiting with bated breath to experience her latest offering. What will follow is my immediate, embarrassing reaction to each song as fast and as truthfully as I can type it. Stream of conciousness type, and it's gonna make no sense. I apologise in advance for the capital letters.

TRACK 1: WELCOME TO NEW YORK

lbr that bass drop just knocked me out. The lyrics are pure poetry (but what is this production??? can we? not?). I'm fully ready to body roll to that electric and cheesy chorus thooo. It's all quite obviously an extended metaphor for her self-growth. This is all very sad I miss New York a lot, where was this album when I was there? Or when The Carrie Diaries was still on air? Tbh this is pretty ~funky and further proof that the world needs a Taylor Swift trance album. Is the vibe of New York captured? Yes, but lay it out there - it's no State of Grace. Album opener game maybe not that strong :(

SECRET MESSAGE: we/begin/our/story/in/new/york

TRACK 2: BLANK SPACE

Ladies and gentlemen, Nicki Minaj part 2 is here and reincarnated in the form of BLANK SPACE. These beats are too sick, I am floored. That line "you look like my next mistake" is incredible yeaaassshhhhh !!!! This is so the vanilla version of What You Know Bout Me it hurts, I am so in love. So sharp, so witty, so insightful. This is slick and smart, and most importantly, very sophisticated. Bubblegum pop at its most prestigious: Lorde has definitely left her acidy mark on Taylor. I love the self-love! She is no longer the victim - she is the femme fatale. Plus the chord progression is mint af.

SECRET MESSAGE: there/once/was/a/girl/known/by/everyone/and/no/one

TRACK 3: STYLE

I mean, upon seeing this song on the track lists there are certain premonitions; the subtlety scale is on a beautifully round zero like helllloooooooooo. But fuck, those guitar licks SLAY from the outset all the way to the chorus. Curiously, very Girls/Robbers-esque - the enigmatic love child of the two. Maybe a salute to Daft Punk for beating her out for 2013's Album of the Year at the GRAMMYs? oH my god amazin g i kove haylor. Could this be a the very mature Treacherous? The 80s are upheld, yet she is still crisp and fresh and modern HOW??? Madonna would be proud.

SECRET MESSAGE: her/heart/belonged/to/someone/who/couldn't/stay

TRACK 4: OUT OF THE WOODS

honestly Can;t deal with another Haylor classic - this has completely grown all over me like an ivy vine. I can't stop singing this. There is an ominpresent aura of anxiety and fear which weaves so well with the impossibly strong chorus. I'm unbelievably elated that despite the new direction, she can still stay #TRU to the autobiographical chapters that we all fell in love with. nahhh though some seriously sly SBTRKT vibes going on here... LMAOOOOOO HARRY STYLES CRYIN REMINDS ME OF:

SECRET MESSAGE: they/love/each/other/recklessly

TRACK 5: ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS STAY

Her cited Annie Lennox influences were so evident in that first ten seconds. hmmmm can't help but think this might work better if it was minimalist up to the bridge? Oh YES LUV a good finger click. Sounds like one of those dittys in the chick flick when the guy does something dumb before he wins her back.

SECRET MESSAGE: they/paid/the/price

TRACK 6: SHAKE IT OFF

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! okay, honestly, I didn't originally get the pure brilliance of this but the BRASS and the GIRL POWER is irresistible. This is indisputably an anthem. I just want to Taylor dance and flip my hair to this and yep that's exactly what I'm doing. bruuuuuu the cheerleader chant will forever be GENIUS ~~~ HELLA GUD HARRRRRRRR (foot in mouth btw)

SECRET MESSAGE: she/danced/to/forget/him

TRACK 7: I WISH YOU WOULD

Slot this into a John Hughes movie and it's the missing puzzle piece, put it on the radio in 2014 and it could be a smash hit. Its big and sprawling production works so timelessly. She is classy pop that deserves to be screamed along drunk to. And I will take this task onto myself.

SECRET MESSAGE: he/drove/past/her/street/each/night

TRACK 8: BAD BLOOD

FUUUUUUUUCCKCCKKCKKCKCKCKCKCKCKKCKCKSSKDNJKSDNJKCD OH MY GOD EVERY OTHER ARTIST ASPIRES TO HIT YOU STRAIGHT IN THE NOSE WITH A TRACK LIKE THIS. I am dead. On the floor. I just wanna skank. These vocal chants have killed me. I mean that chorus is OUCHHHHH - "still got scars on my back from your knife" - shots are FIRED. This song alone will fill STADIUMS. lit fuck every """friend""" that turned their back on me lmaooooo.

SECRET MESSAGE: she/made/friends/and/enemies

(photo creds: @taylorswift13)

TRACK 9: WILDEST DREAMS

Define sweeping ballad. Maybe they got a bit confuddled over at the place where they mix CDs, because surely this is a Lana Del Rey track? Without You is one of my favourite songs, and this Taylor rip-off is beyond belief, I am seriously heart eye emoji rn. This encompasses how the percussion and synths of this album are astronomical. It's like you can feel her heartbeat? WOAAAAAHHHH "his hands are in my hair / his clothes are in my room" I think I just died and went to lyric heaven ???mayb??? Don't abandon ship yet, the desperate heartache from her previous albums is STILL HERE!

SECRET MESSAGE: he/only/saw/her/in/his/dreams

TRACK 10: HOW YOU GET THE GIRL

ACOUSTIC GUITARS ARE BACK OH BLESS THE LORD. Stay strong, country roots. Is this the wild younger sister of Girl At Home? okay Taylor has done it again - she has captured the universal feelings of the female species: we don't like games, boys. BE HONEST W/ US. I feel resurrected and renewed; it's so reminiscent of her old stuff...with an incredibly pop edge.

SECRET MESSAGE: then/one/day/he/came/back

TRACK 11: THIS LOVE

Metaphor and symbolism game still strong I see. I feel whisked away, this is the Taylor Swift trance record I have always hoped for. This is what I wished for after hearing a remix of the acoustic version of State of Grace: I am FULFILLED. This has to be acoustic live though, and maybe it will set the world record for most spines simultaneously chilled. It's almost, but not quite, All Too Well. Will there ever be another All Too Well though? That's a huge precedent to live up to.

SECRET MESSAGE: timing/is/a/funny/thing

TRACK 12: I KNOW PLACES

fuck ma lyyyyyyyfffff, I thought this was gonna be some twisted version of Mine and I was about to DROP DEAD. This would work wonders as a piano version (and where is the piano version of I Knew You Were Trouble please??????? i deserve that). The progression from a really encompassing and dark evil (lmao 1d fangirls) to a sunnier, surging intoxication is impressive even though it shouldn't be. oiiiiiii the lit student in me is reading to much into this but could it be a reflection of Mine because this guy really is the best thing that's ever been hers ???? au revoir

SECRET MESSAGE: and/everyone/was/watching

TRACK 13: CLEAN

That stuttering tho, bravo Imogen. The simplistic production is magical - it's Taylor but it's also brand new. This is the best example of her reinvention. God these lyrics are HARSH and angry ??? Hitting home like....something that hit homes v hard lol. That vocal range BAAAABE! "I think I am finally clean" are sublime final lyrics.

SECRET MESSAGE: she/lost/him/but/she/found/herself/and/somehow/that/was/everything

just when you think it's all over...BONUS TRACKS

TRACK 14: WONDERLAND

the lit nerd that I am is obsessed with the Lewis Carroll-ness of this. This is literally Taylor on acid: it's rowdy, raucous, and over the top but it works so well.

TRACK 15: YOU ARE IN LOVE

Reminds me of candle-lit nights, or that scene in Tangled (you know da one). This is definitely how the narrator of Clean feels when she's warm and safe. I don't know if I'm crazy about the melody but the lyrics are RELATIONSHIP GOALS and oh mY gdo "one night / he wakes / strange look / on his face / pauses / then says / you're my / best friend" - best lyric of the album by far. Lol did she just say fuck??!!! That was very nice.

TRACK 16: NEW ROMANTICS

Completely reminds me of Sky Ferreira's early synth-pop stuff. Easily the more realistic version of the utterly candified life of 22. Oh jeeeeez, can you say Foster the People??!!?! "heartbreak is the national anthem" haha Taylor trusssss. Set in an urban landscape, she's lost like the hoards of teenagers growing up with her. If this song isn't played during my first clubbing experience I s2g turnin around and GIVING UP ON LIFE.

(photo creds: Michael Buckner)

FINAL WORDS - 1989 makes you read between the lines. At first, there may be a crippling nostalgia flooding you like all that bloody water she talks about in these lyrics, because you want the old Taylor who can universally speak to the hearts and minds of teenage girls. It may not be my favourite Taylor album ever but 1989 is the album for a new age. Her collection of songs can't all be Bibles for Breakups - 1989 is our chapter for growing up and facing the world head on independently. Sure at one point, much like in Taylor's life which often can run so parallel with our own, life is all about stupid boys who don't scrub up to our expectations and who, quite frankly, treat us like shit. But with this new wave of feminism enlightening the lives of our generation, we've had to learn that boys will always treat us badly and the only person we can rely on is ourself. I think that's the message that she's trying to portray. Be beautiful, independent individuals, surround yourself with healthy people, and your life will be filled with sunshine and ecstasy.

THE BALCONY: the beginnings of a Catfishy domination

for fans of: Circa Waves, Foo Fighters, Cage The Elephant, Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon

(creds: gigwise)

It's likely that if you've visited any decent festival over the summer, you'd have glanced at the name Catfish and the Bottlemen somewhere on the bill. While perhaps curling your lips at such an unusual name, you may not have realised that these adolescent heroes would have drawn one of the most over-subscribed crowds at your festival. Catfish and the Bottlemen are perhaps 2014's most hotly-tipped act, and are searching the skies for a rocket launch into the spotlight.

Though they've been touring dingy clubs across the UK and US, their breakthrough LP The Balcony is evidence that the North Wales quartet are not set out for small-time success. Packed to the brim with teenage woes and angsty choruses, Catfish and the Bottlemen's debut has a lot of hype to live up to as it is doubtlessly the most highly anticipated British album of the year. Over the past 12 months, they've released a string of well-received singles that subtly appeared on the radars of critics and young devotees alike, truly proving that mainstream rock and roll is quickly making its way back onto the airwaves. So have Van, Bondy, Bob, and Benji (don't they just sound like a Cbeebies programme?) lived up to the hype that has surrounded rock's newest darlings?

Well, to start, there's no front-man quite like Van McCann. A restored version of Homesick is the ideal album opener: an effortless showcase of his raspy and ever on-point vocals that continue to grow as the album progresses. Homesick loudly leaves a confident precedent about what to expect before the record ends. And what we can expect is percussion mad verses a la Pacifier which are rhythmically fundamental to these typical indie rock tracks. However, many of the songs can be a tad over-produced as that essential bass line is often seen to slither under the rubble.

(me + 'the Bottlemen' - hair game so strong)

Outstanding fan favourite Rango is the ultimate portrait of Catfish and the Bottlemen: more of those divine, lusty McCann vocals alongside an equilibrium of the stormy and the raw elements of the band's spry sound. It's roaring crescendo defines the reason crowds flock to their live shows: CatB's music was made to be moshed to. This is echoed in that wily Kathleen, who is as turbulent as ever - eternally laced with pure anger, it's a track crafted especially for you to scream your heart out to, which is essentially why these songs could become as classic as Mr Brightside.

As the swagger of the characters imagined in Fallout transcends into cheeky lyrics in the song's latter half (see I / I was a test tube baby / that's why nobody gets me / see I / struggle to sleep at night but it's fine / Mary don't let me), the humour and loopy infectiousness of Business emblazon just how Catfish and the Bottlemen have connected with their mostly juvenile audience: through a mutual love of casual crushes and booze. The Balcony can do nothing more but create a bigger aura of adoration around them and, because of their unadulterated loveabilty, they've somehow become the people's band and an important soundtrack to our coming-of-age generation.

Their most recent single Cocoon has more of a cordially defeated vibe than the embittered animosity of it's predecessors, with harmonious vocals acting as a sugar coating to the frustrated drums. Yet the midway acoustic-driven Hourglass cannot help but be very, very, very Luke Pritchard - hopelessly romantic and wonderfully naff. The tough unplugged guitar gives the airy lyrics the confidence it needs to knock Seaside out in a fight.

The Balcony's farewell effort seems to be the most musically strong of the album: Tyrants is dark and thundering. Spiralling guitars eclipse the juttering ones of previous track Sidewinder which, along with the clean riffs of 26, seem to get lost in the chaos of the rest of the album. It's lucky that Tyrants and it's abrupt end were on hand to leave first-time listeners hungry for more of Van's consistently impeccable and unmatchable vocals.

It's quite safe to say that the success of Catfish and the Bottlemen could soon be comparable to last year's British breakthrough The 1975, and perhaps one day they'll even match that of bona fide legends Arctic Monkeys, though they've failed musically to offer anything completely organic. What they are is very well written standard garage rock. There've been hundreds of bands just like them, and there'll be hundreds more, but maybe because they're so simpatico, they've been able to bottle (ahhhhhhhhhhhh) their luck quite contrary to any of their counterparts. And we cannot wish a more genuine, humble, and simply talented band any more of our undying support.

the BABE Van and I at the Banquet Records album release show (this was my third time seeing them [and I'll be seeing them at KOKO in November!] following their apperances at Latitude and Reading - where I collided into Van walking around the main arena wheyyyyyyy)

BUY CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN'S MONSTROUS DEBUT ALBUM ' THE BALCONY'

//BANQUET//
//ROUGH TRADE//
//OFFICIAL STORE//
//ITUNES//

betty and the not-so-subtle art of copycatting

cop·y·cat (n.) informal - one that closely imitates or mimics another

They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery; that if someone copies you it should be taken as a compliment of crown accord. Perhaps the herds of sheep gagging to dress/talk/look/be like the kewwwlest person you know should give the aforementioned awesome guy/gal tingling feelings of bashfulness and unadulterated power. This would suggest that the concrete embodiment of flattery is having your very own dupe be stuck to you like a shadow. However, the truth is that it's actually pretty annoying - something that matches irritation levels of having gum residue still glued to the sole of your shoe despite the absence of the actual gum itself.

But first, let me get something straight: there is a huge difference between being inspired by an individual, or buying the same clothes as your friend and actually attempting to become a reincarnation of the person whom you so idolise. As human beings we absorb the energies of those whom we admire and feed off of their auras in order to incorporate what's so great about others into ourselves. It is only in our nature to want to improve our own semblances in the mirror of others so that we too are as kind and cool and intelligent as them. Yet that's where we should draw the line, for in an age of distinctiveness what's the use in becoming a sheep? I noticed it a lot when I was in rural-surburban America over the summer: everyone dresses the same. Why?

I'm also not saying that I'm copied a lot - which I'm not at all, like if you want to copy the clothes I wear/the music I listen to/the ways in which I choose to spend my free time I assure you that you're setting yourself up for a lifetime of uncoolness - but, yes, I will put my hands up and say this post was created with the intention of being biographical of a certain someone (who, of course, shall remain utterly anonymous). And I guess if said person, let's call her Betty, was just modelling herself off of myself this post could (and maybe it does, and if it does I'm truly sorry) come off as bitchy and conceited but when Betty's copying everything from her dialect and lingo to the shoes on her feet from different people, I gotta step in and be all "Betty, don't be a wasteman".

In a social media age it's easy to masquerade as someone you're not. It's now easier than ever for clones to thrive in a world that's now online and exposed for all to see; it's a breeding ground for copycats. For example, it's gotten to the point where Betty will copy social media posts word for word and pass them off as her own pioneering thought when it's not and that's just so not chill. Haven't you ever heard of plagiarism, Betty? Didn't your English teacher ever tell you that if words are not your own that you must place them in quotation marks? Honestly Betty, it's really pissing me off. I've never heard you mention that band that girl in your class loves that you claim to be so "proud" of, or used phrases like "pixie aesthetic" (whatever the fuck that is) before you started following that other girl. Why can't you be happy being you? I'm not saying to not follow the latest trends or to not listen to "mainstream" music, but when your whole personality isn't actually true to yourself, then you know there's a problem. Because there's nothing wrong with conforming to a type, but just don't let that type become you.

The book I'm currently reading is a gorgeous Japanese novel called Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. It's enchanted me so much that I've breezed through a lot of it in less than a day and as I sat reading today, a particular quote stood out like a sore thumb (and ohhhh the irony, honestly):

"If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking."

I think it really emphasises how important it is to be true to yourself in a world so bland and full of bandwagons. Go outside and think about stuff and issues and everyday life; don't listen to what the media or your Twitter feed tells you - how do you think the world can be improved? Could you be a pioneer of your generation? I promise you that you can if you take the words of Murakami into your stride and quit doing what everyone else is doing and have a little bit of thought for yourself.

It's sad that it seems that some people feel that to be happy in life that they must live it through the lives of someone else - through someone else's creative outlet, or choice of literature, or way they style their hair - when the person they truly are has the potential to be groundbreakingly amazing. As the human race is unfortunately just that - a race - it doesn't take much to slip into the blur and mists of being the same as everyone else and end up joint last.

I guess in a blog which usually attempts to influence the opinion and taste of it's readers, to turn that back around and say "hey, stop copying me you little fuckass" seems highly hypocritical and a lil bit mean. However, I think the point of this was not to disparage people from becoming a sheep (though that is something you should think about avoiding) but rather encourage even just one person to step away out of the shadow of someone else. You were born out of original DNA, there is no one else on Earth quite like you. We're not all American Apparel zombies, embrace that.