Tag: Asgard Raven

Top 30 Songs for May 26-June 1, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's9 Comments

I never tire of hearing the buoyant “Murder on the Dancefloor ”, by Australian duo Royel Otis, and it remains my favorite song for a third week. In fact, all the other top five songs – “Too Sweet” by Hozier, “Overcompensate” by twenty one pilots, “Dilemma” by Green Day, and “Don’t Forget Me” by Maggie Rogers – remain in place for a second week. Entering the top 10 are “Burial Ground” by The Decemberists and James Mercer, the biggest upward mover this week, leaping 14 spots to #9, and the melancholy and beautiful “Take It Or Leave It” by British alt-rock band Dead Slow Hoot, at #10.

For the third week in a row, three songs make their debut on my chart. I actually had seven songs I wanted to add but that would have required dropping seven off, which I just couldn’t do. So, I had to settle for just three, leaving some of the others to be added next week. The first debut, at #28, is “Wreckage” by Pearl Jam, a pleasing downtempo track that essentially replaces their hard-hitting previous single “Dark Matter”. Both tracks are from their latest album Dark Matter, which dropped April 19th. Entering at #29 is “End of Beginning”, a lovely and poignant song by American indie rock artist Djo, the musical moniker of Joseph David Keery. He’s also an actor who became well known for his roles in the TV series Stranger Things and Fargo. Bringing up the rear is the exceedingly infectious “The Break” by American alt-rock band Blame My Youth. Fronted by Sean Van Vleet, they formed in 2020 and released their debut EP Dance With My Demons in 2022. They’ve since followed with a number of singles, including “The Break”, which was released last December. Though they’re new to me, I’m really liking their music.

  1. MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR – Royel Otis (1)
  2. TOO SWEET – Hozier (2)
  3. OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (3)
  4. DILEMMA – Green Day (4)
  5. DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (5)
  6. CREATURES IN HEAVEN – Glass Animals (8)
  7. CAPRICORN – Vampire Weekend (9)
  8. MUSTANG – Kings of Leon (10)
  9. BURIAL GROUND – The Decemberists & James Mercer (23)
  10. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – Dead Slow Hoot (12)
  11. I’VE GOT LOVING FOR YOU – Bottlecap Mountain (13)
  12. ICE CREAM (PAY PHONE) – Black Pumas (7)
  13. TIME – MISSIO (6)
  14. FORTNIGHT – Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone (17)
  15. WANTING AND WAITING – The Black Crowes (11)
  16. BROKEN MAN – St. Vincent (19)
  17. GOOD TIMES GO – The Kid and I (18)
  18. LONELINESS – Pet Shop Boys (20)
  19. FOR US ALL – Asgard Raven (21)
  20. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (24)
  21. NEON PILL – Cage the Elephant (15)
  22. SCARED TO START – Michael Marcagi (28)
  23. MY GOLDEN YEARS – The Lemon Twigs (14)
  24. GOLD – Caitlin Lavagna (27)
  25. ON THE GAME – The Black Keys (29)
  26. EVERYTHING WE NEED – Mojave Grey (16)
  27. ADRIFT – Voodoo Planet feat. Mikey J (30)
  28. WRECKAGE – Pearl Jam (N)
  29. END OF BEGINNING – Djo (N)
  30. THE BREAK – Blame My Youth (N)

Top 30 Songs for May 19-25, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's11 Comments

The delightfully ebullient “Murder on the Dancefloor ”, by Australian guitar-pop duo Royel Otis, remains on top for a second week, while “Too Sweet” by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier slides into second place. Entering the top 10 are “Creatures in Heaven” by English indie rock band Glass Animals, “Capricorn” by New York indie art pop/rock band Vampire Weekend, and “Mustang” by Nashville alt-rock band Kings of Leon, which leaps nine spots to #10, making it the biggest upward mover this week.

There are three debut songs again this week. First up is the lovely and heartwarming “Scared To Start” by Cincinnati, Ohio-based Americana singer-songwriter Michael Marcagi, which frankly should have entered my chart a month ago, but better late than never. He began his music career as a member of the band the Heavy Hours, but released his first single, “The Other Side”, as a solo artist last December. In January, he signed with Warner Records and released “Scared to Start”, which soon gained popularity on TikTok. The song recently peaked at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100, though it’s reached the top 10 in Ireland and the UK, as well as on the Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay chart. Both singles are included on his debut EP American Romance, which was released in February.

The second debut, at #29, is “On The Game” by Nashville duo The Black Keys. The bluesy anthemic song follows their recent #1 hit “Beautiful People (Stay High)”, both of which are from their latest album Ohio Players. Last, but certainly not least, is “Adrift”, by Missouri rock band Voodoo Planet, featuring some lovely cello by Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mikey J. The bittersweet song, which I reviewed last month, is another long-overdue entry into my Weekly Top 30,

  1. MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR – Royel Otis (1)
  2. TOO SWEET – Hozier (4)
  3. OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (3)
  4. DILEMMA – Green Day (2)
  5. DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (6)
  6. TIME – MISSIO (5)
  7. ICE CREAM (PAY PHONE) – Black Pumas (7)
  8. CREATURES IN HEAVEN – Glass Animals (11)
  9. CAPRICORN – Vampire Weekend (15)
  10. MUSTANG – Kings of Leon (19)
  11. WANTING AND WAITING – The Black Crowes (12)
  12. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – Dead Slow Hoot (17)
  13. I’VE GOT LOVING FOR YOU – Bottlecap Mountain (18)
  14. MY GOLDEN YEARS – The Lemon Twigs (8)
  15. NEON PILL – Cage the Elephant (9)
  16. EVERYTHING WE NEED – Mojave Grey (10)
  17. FORTNIGHT – Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone (20)
  18. GOOD TIMES GO – The Kid and I (21)
  19. BROKEN MAN – St. Vincent (22)
  20. LONELINESS – Pet Shop Boys (23)
  21. FOR US ALL – Asgard Raven (24)
  22. KOOL AID BLUE – The Sylvia Platters (13)
  23. BURIAL GROUND – The Decemberists & James Mercer (28)
  24. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (29)
  25. DARK MATTER – Pearl Jam (14)
  26. THOUGHTS I HAVE WHILE LYING IN BED – The Maine, Beach Weather (16)
  27. GOLD – Caitlin Lavagna (30)
  28. SCARED TO START – Michael Marcagi (N)
  29. ON THE GAME – The Black Keys (N)
  30. ADRIFT – Voodoo Planet feat. Mikey J (N)

Top 30 Songs for May 12-18, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's13 Comments

“Murder on the Dancefloor ”, by Australian guitar-pop duo Royel Otis (comprised of Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovi), is turning out to be one of my favorite songs of 2024. I can honestly listen to it on repeat, and love it more each time I hear it! It’s a marvelous cover of the 2001 hit “Murder on the Dancefloor” by British singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, which Royel Otis performed on the Australian radio station Triple J for their Like a Version program. Interestingly, the song does not appear on their debut album PRATTS & PAIN that was released in February. The two have been putting out music since 2021, and I really like their sound a lot.

The song was co-written by Ellis-Bextor and Gregg Alexander, former frontman of the band The New Radicals (who had a hit in the late 90s with “You Get What You Give”), and produced by Alexander and Matt Rowe. Ellis-Bextor’s original version gained renewed popularity earlier this year after appearing in the 2023 black comedy thriller film Saltburn, causing it to re-enter the UK Dance Singles Chart, where it reached #1. It also peaked at #3 on the US Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and #51 on the Hot 100, her first song to ever appear on that chart. The delightful version by Royel Otis currently sits at #7 on the Alternative Airplay chart, and this week takes over the top spot on my own Top 30 chart.

In other major chart developments, Maggie Rogers enters the top 10 with her poignant ballad “Don’t Forget Me”, which climbs five spots to #6. The song recently spent two weeks at #1 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. “Creatures in Heaven” by Glass Animals jumps eight spots to #11, and “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift, featuring Post Malone, leaps 10 spots to #20, making it this week’s biggest upward mover.

Three songs make their debut this week: Entering at #28 is the infectiously pleasing “Burial Ground” by Portland, Oregon-based indie folk-rock band The Decemberists, featuring James Mercer, who’s also a member of the bands The Shins and Broken Bells. The Decemberists have been putting out music off and on since forming in 2001. “Burial Ground” is the lead single from their forthcoming ninth studio album As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again, to be released June 14th. I love those jangly guitars and cool horns. Next up is “Panoramic View”, the beautiful new single by L.A.-based alt-rock band AWOLNATION. Fronted by Aaron Bruno, who has a distinctive singing voice I love, the band blasted onto the music scene in 2011 with their monster hit “Sail”, one of the many great songs from their debut album Megalithic Symphony. They’ve released a total of four albums and numerous singles, several of which have appeared on my Top 30 chart. Entering at #30 is the bold and brassy “Gold”, by uber-talented Welsh-Gibraltarian singer-songwriter Caitlin Lavagna, which I reviewed last month. This is Caitlin’s third song to appear on my chart, the previous two being “How Not to Start a Fight” and “Night Bus”.

  1. MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR – Royel Otis (3)
  2. DILEMMA – Green Day (2)
  3. OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (4)
  4. TOO SWEET – Hozier (7)
  5. TIME – MISSIO (1)
  6. DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (11)
  7. ICE CREAM (PAY PHONE) – Black Pumas (10)
  8. MY GOLDEN YEARS – The Lemon Twigs (5)
  9. NEON PILL – Cage the Elephant (6)
  10. EVERYTHING WE NEED – Mojave Grey (9)
  11. CREATURES IN HEAVEN – Glass Animals (19)
  12. WANTING AND WAITING – The Black Crowes (13)
  13. KOOL AID BLUE – The Sylvia Platters (8)
  14. DARK MATTER – Pearl Jam (12)
  15. CAPRICORN – Vampire Weekend (18)
  16. THOUGHTS I HAVE WHILE LYING IN BED – The Maine, Beach Weather (16)
  17. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – Dead Slow Hoot (17)
  18. I’VE GOT LOVING FOR YOU – Bottlecap Mountain (21)
  19. MUSTANG – Kings of Leon (23)
  20. FORTNIGHT – Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone (30)
  21. GOOD TIMES GO – The Kid and I (22)
  22. BROKEN MAN – St. Vincent (26)
  23. LONELINESS – Pet Shop Boys (27)
  24. FOR US ALL – Asgard Raven (28)
  25. I’M IN LOVE – Jelani Aryeh (14)
  26. GOOD PEOPLE – Mumford & Sons, Pharrell Williams (15)
  27. THE GLASS – Foo Fighters (20)
  28. BURIAL GROUND – The Decemberists & James Mercer (N)
  29. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (N)
  30. GOLD – Caitlin Lavagna (N)

Top 30 Songs for May 5-11, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's17 Comments
Photo of MISSIO by Ima Leupp

MISSIO holds on to the top spot on my chart for a third week with “Time”, one of the many outstanding songs from their latest album I AM CINCO, an epic work featuring 26 tracks that dropped this past Friday, May 3rd. (Read my review and interview with the guys here.) Green Day moves into second place with “Dilemma”, while Royel Otis climb two spots to #3 with their delightful cover of “Murder on the Dance Floor”. Hozier‘s “Too Sweet” leaps another eight spots this week, entering the top 10 at #7, while Black Pumas‘ “Ice Cream (Pay Phone)” moves up a notch to enter the top 10 at #10. Also moving up eight spots are “Capricorn” by Vampire Weekend, to #18, and “Creatures in Heaven” by Glass Animals, to #19.

The sole debut this week, at #30, is “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift, featuring Post Malone, who co-wrote the song with Swift and singer-songwriter/producer Jack Antonoff. The downtempo synthpop ballad is from her latest and 15th album The Tortured Poets Department, which has received generally positive reviews and broken numerous sales and streaming records. The album, released April 19th after weeks of advance hype, features 16 tracks. But only two hours later, Swift surprise-released a double album edition, subtitled The Anthology and containing 15 bonus tracks, for a total of 31 in two volumes. While I’m not a huge fan of Swift, I do acknowledge her strong songwriting abilities, and really like some of her songs. As an example of her massive popularity, she currently holds every single one of the top 14 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, with “Fortnight” at #1.

  1. TIME – MISSIO (1)
  2. DILEMMA – Green Day (3)
  3. MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR – Royel Otis (5)
  4. OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (2)
  5. MY GOLDEN YEARS – The Lemon Twigs (4)
  6. NEON PILL – Cage the Elephant (6)
  7. TOO SWEET – Hozier (15)
  8. KOOL AID BLUE – The Sylvia Platters (7)
  9. EVERYTHING WE NEED – Mojave Grey (9)
  10. ICE CREAM (PAY PHONE) – Black Pumas (11)
  11. DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (13)
  12. DARK MATTER – Pearl Jam (12)
  13. WANTING AND WAITING – The Black Crowes (14)
  14. I’M IN LOVE – Jelani Aryeh (8)
  15. GOOD PEOPLE – Mumford & Sons, Pharrell Williams (10)
  16. THOUGHTS I HAVE WHILE LYING IN BED – The Maine, Beach Weather (19)
  17. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – Dead Slow Hoot (20)
  18. CAPRICORN – Vampire Weekend (26)
  19. CREATURES IN HEAVEN – Glass Animals (27)
  20. THE GLASS – Foo Fighters (18)
  21. I’VE GOT LOVING FOR YOU – Bottlecap Mountain (23)
  22. GOOD TIMES GO – The Kid and I (22)
  23. MUSTANG – Kings of Leon (24)
  24. LUNAR ECLIPSE – The Vaccines (16)
  25. DIAMOND AND THE MISSING SON – Unquiet Nights (17)
  26. BROKEN MAN – St. Vincent (28)
  27. LONELINESS – Pet Shop Boys (29)
  28. FOR US ALL – Asgard Raven (30)
  29. FIND MY WAY – Ships Have Sailed (21)
  30. FORTNIGHT – Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone (N)

Top 30 Songs for April 28-May 4, 2024

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's12 Comments
Photo of MISSIO by Ima Leupp

MISSIO remain on top for a second week with their hauntingly beautiful song “Time”, one of the many great tracks that will be featured on their forthcoming monumental album I AM CINCO, to be released next Friday, May 3rd. “Overcompensate” by twenty one pilots moves up a notch to #2, while “Dilemma” by Green Day reverses course by moving back up to #3. Australian duo Royel Otis climb two spots to #5 with their delightful cover of “Murder on the Dance Floor”, and “Good People”, by Mumford & Sons and Pharrell Williams, finally enters the top 10 at #10. The song recently spent one week at #1 on the Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay chart.

The biggest upward mover is “Too Sweet”, by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier, jumping eight spots to #15. The song has quickly become an unexpected hit that’s even surprised the singer, reaching #1 in many countries including the U.S., where it’s become his highest-charting single and first #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, besting his monster hit “Take Me to Church”, which peaked at #2.

Three songs make their debut this week, the first of which is “Broken Man” by American artist St. Vincent, the musical project of uniquely talented and innovative singer-songwriter and musician Annie Clark, coming in at #28. The song is from her seventh studio album All Born Screaming, which dropped this past Friday, April 26th. The second new entry, at #29, is “Loneliness” by the legendary British synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. The song is the lead single from their fifteenth studio album Nonetheless, which also dropped this past Friday. They were one of my favorite acts from 1986-88, and I’m happy they’re still putting out new music all these years later. The third new entry is “For Us All”, a superb song by English singer-songwriter Asgard Raven, which I reviewed last week. 

  1. TIME – MISSIO (1)
  2. OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (3)
  3. DILEMMA – Green Day (5)
  4. MY GOLDEN YEARS – The Lemon Twigs (2)
  5. MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR – Royel Otis (7)
  6. NEON PILL – Cage the Elephant (4)
  7. KOOL AID BLUE – The Sylvia Platters (6)
  8. I’M IN LOVE – Jelani Aryeh (9)
  9. EVERYTHING WE NEED – Mojave Grey (10)
  10. GOOD PEOPLE – Mumford & Sons, Pharrell Williams (12)
  11. ICE CREAM (PAY PHONE) – Black Pumas (14)
  12. DARK MATTER – Pearl Jam (15)
  13. DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (17)
  14. WANTING AND WAITING – The Black Crowes (16)
  15. TOO SWEET – Hozier (23)
  16. LUNAR ECLIPSE – The Vaccines (8)
  17. DIAMOND AND THE MISSING SON – Unquiet Nights (11)
  18. THE GLASS – Foo Fighters (19)
  19. THOUGHTS I HAVE WHILE LYING IN BED – The Maine, Beach Weather (20)
  20. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – Dead Slow Hoot (22)
  21. FIND MY WAY – Ships Have Sailed (13)
  22. GOOD TIMES GO – The Kid and I (24)
  23. I’VE GOT LOVING FOR YOU – Bottlecap Mountain (25)
  24. MUSTANG – Kings of Leon (26)
  25. BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (STAY HIGH) – The Black Keys (18)
  26. CAPRICORN – Vampire Weekend (29)
  27. CREATURES IN HEAVEN – Glass Animals (30)
  28. BROKEN MAN – St. Vincent (N)
  29. LONELINESS – Pet Shop Boys (N)
  30. FOR US ALL – Asgard Raven (N)

ASGARD RAVEN – Single Review: “For Us All”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews19 Comments

The other day, while listening to the weekly Tweetcore Radio Hour music podcast, hosted by the inimitable Marc Schuster and available on the Audio Mirage Studios blog and elsewhere, one of the songs he played immediately jumped out at me. It’s not often I stand up and take notice when first hearing a song, but this one hit me right between the ears. At first, it sounded like it might be an old Oasis song I’d never heard, but I knew that couldn’t be right, as Marc plays only newer songs by lesser-known independent and unsigned artists. It turned out to be a song titled “For Us All“, by British artist Asgard Raven. With a name like that he sounded vaguely familiar, though I couldn’t quite remember where or when I’d learned of him. After doing a bit of digging, I found the interview Marc did with Asgard two years ago for his own blog Abominations, which I’d read. 

With a name inspired by Norse mythology, Asgard Raven is the musical moniker of Joe Bickerton, a singer-songwriter and musician based in the southwest London suburbs. Drawing from an array of influences, including punk, rock, blues, folk and indie, as well as the music of some of his favorite acts like Midnight Preachers, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Embrace, Puddle of Mudd and the aforementioned Oasis, he plays a “melodic-anthemic” style of alternative rock reminiscent of 90s brit pop and rock, or as he put it in his interview with Marc, “anything with guitars in it to be honest“.

According to his bio, Joe learned to play guitar in the 1990s while posted in Cyprus during his time in the army. Inspired by Oasis and motivated by his distaste for radio music, he took his guitar everywhere, covering 90s classics all over the world while on deployments. During the early days of Covid lockdowns when he had plenty of time on his hands, he picked up his guitar again after a long hiatus, and began writing and recording songs inspired by his life experiences, “reminiscing on memories that we can all relate to“.

Raven records his music at Sunrise Sound Studio in Hampshire, where it’s produced by his frequent collaborator Marc Burford, of British rock band Echotape, and mixed by Mat Leppanen at the Animal Farm studio in London. He’s also had support from legendary Oasis manager Alan McGee, mentoring him around the direction of the project. He released his outstanding debut single “Until Another Day” in September 2021, and has followed with three more singles, his latest of which is “For Us All”, which he released on March 22nd. (He’s also uploaded an extensive number of excellent demo tracks worth checking out on Soundcloud.)

Raven calls “For Us All” “an energetic rock’n’roll song highlighting the challenges, barriers and loneliness people can often face when trying to get on in the world, especially if they don’t conform to the ’norm’. It looks at how we can’t always see when people are struggling, and how by being there we can support those we care about.” The song opens with a wonderful stomping drumbeat, which is soon joined by melodic rhythms and vibrant, multi-layered guitar work by Raven and Burford, featuring a lush array of reverb-soaked jangly, grungy and acoustic textures, accompanied by a driving bassline and outstanding drumming by Nathan Read. And not only does the music seem to channel Oasis, Raven’s vocals even sound a bit like Liam Gallagher’s here, his strong British accent shining through as he offers support to a friend who’s struggling: “The world can be a lonely place sometimes. And no one can see the pain behind your smile. Come on my friend, lean on me. Take my hand, let it all be.“

I like pretty much everything I’ve heard by Asgard Raven, and I think “For Us All” is his best song yet. I’m confident we’ll be hearing lots more great music from this talented artist.

Asgard’s Socials: Facebook / X (Twitter) / Instagram / Threads

Find his music on: Spotify / Apple Music / Amazon Music / YouTube / deezer / Soundcloud