Well 2020 was a weird year for sure, but that didn’t stop these awesome independent artists in the rock and punk genres from releasing tracks I loved! After a bit of a slow start to 2021, I’ve finally got around to selecting my top 20 tracks from the year that was. I thought I would…
Tea and Tales: Adventures in Queer YA Fiction
So I’m writing a Young Adult novel with queer characters, which just happens to be a kind of magical realism style fantasy. Really, it’s a romance, in which one of the characters coincidently has some magical powers. And we all know that you have to read to write. Except in recent years, I’ve been pretty…
Tea and Tunes: Toreador – Shiver and Shake single release
Toreador are a trio of Southampton locals whose work I’ve been following for a while, their tone a grungy-sounding rock with a blues edge, brilliant harmonies and clear vocals that distinguish it clearly from the varieties of garage and grunge I enjoy less. Toreador’s song “Ashes” was featured on my playlist of 2019 indie discoveries…
Tea and Tales: The Wild Places by Robert MacFarlane
This is a book which took me over a year to read. Not because I disliked it, but because its reading takes dedicated time, energy and thought. It is not a book to read in bed when tired and hoping to relax into sleep. It is a book to read to be forced to think,…
Tea and Tunes: 2019 Indie Wrap-Up
Well, 2019 has been over for a while, but there were some great songs written by indie bands in my favourite rock and punk genres, so I thought it would be fun to share my top 2019 indie songs and highlight a few of my favourites. You can listen to the playlist on Spotify below…
Tea and Tales: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery and Anne with an E (TV series based on the book)
A while ago, trawling through Netflix for something to relax by, I came across the series Anne with an E, based on the Anne of Green Gables books by L. M. Montgomery. At the time I had not read any of the Anne books although I had loved Emily of New Moon, which was gifted…
Tea & Tunes: Hunting Hearts – Pride Not Prejudice EP
Hunting Hearts are yet another independent local Southampton group making marks in the alt rock genre. Sitting somewhere between punk, indie and old fashioned rock and roll, their EP Pride Not Prejudice, released in August this year, is full of emotion and rocking rhythms. Hunting Hearts’ widely known tagline is “We’re here, we’re queer, and…
Visions in the Tea Steam: Art Exhibition: Emma Morrissey, A Touch of Japan
Back in July I was pleased to be invited to the opening of Emma Morrissey’s art exhibition A Touch of Japan at the d.@rt Centre, Hedge End. I had seen and been inspired by a lot of Emma’s art during the years I worked at the d.@rt, from fabulous realistic portraits in pencil and pastel…
Tea and Tunes: Threat System – Overcome EP
I recently had the delight of being offered the chance to hear and review Threat System’s new Overcome EP in the lead up to its release on Friday 26th April. Threat System are a band that I have been waiting to hear some recorded material from for a while, since beginning my Southampton Rocks playlist…
Tea and Tunes: Minus Alive, Maybe This All Just Ends EP
Earlier this month Lloyd and I had the pleasure of attending Minus Alive’s EP launch for their new EP Maybe This All Just Ends. We’ve been watching Minus Alive for a while now since discovering that they are Southampton based when I was building my ‘Southampton Rocks’ Spotify playlist. As rock bands go, Minus Alive’s…
