Got the post-summer blues? Gigantic Tickets is on hand to improve your mood with our latest instalment of On Repeat, our monthly blog and playlist fully stuffed with all the big tunes we have enjoyed the previous month.
Fill your head with earworms and get ready for all the awesome gigs and tours coming your way in autumn. Click the link to browse through a massive selection of massive bands and your favourite artists playing in your area. Subscribe to the newsletter to get all the major live music announcements too.
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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SONGS
“Dragula” – Rob Zombie
Rock monster Rob Zombie unleashed his industrial-metal masterpiece “Dragula” back in 1998. Found on his debut solo album Hellbilly Deluxe, his first full-length record after the breakup of White Zombie, it quickly became the horror-obsessed star’s signature song.
“Pink Pony Club” – Chappell Roan
Chappell Roan obsession is ripping through the Gigantic office like a fever, and “Pink Pony Club” is the pop princess's first appearance on this playlist. Inspired by a wonderful night at a West Hollywood gay club, this impassioned synth-pop queer anthem marries passion with euphoria. The video is directed by Griffin Stoddard and features famed drag queens Victoria "Porkchop" Parker and Meatball.
"Never Better” – Wild Rivers
The title track from Canadian indie-folk trio Wild Rivers’ third album, "Never Better” is a wistful account of finding love at the end of your twenties. The upbeat number captures all the little thrills and giddy moments of romantic discovery. The three-piece head to the UK to show off their new material in November.
“Inferno” – The Felice Brothers
“Inferno” is a song full of foreboding and sees The Felice Brothers at their most emotionally intense. Seemingly innocuous moments from the past take on greater meaning when remembered, and mundane memories evolve into metaphors for growth and transformation.
“I Can’t Lose You” – Confidence Man
Feel the beat with Australian electro-pop sensations Confidence Man. Their upcoming third album 3AM (LA LA LA) sees the group going full-on 90s rave as indicated by their banging summer tune “I Can’t Lose You”.
“We had this great system going where we’d have a big party night… We’d get wasted, stay up late for 12 hours straight and just jam – throw everything at the wall.”
“She” – Gram Parsons
Prog-country great Gram Parsons pioneered his very own hybrid sound he called Cosmic American Music. Though the innovative musician died tragically young, he left behind a great body of work including the sepia-tinged song “She” as heard on his 1973 GP album.
“Golden Bird” – Levon Helm
Soak up the Arkansas spirit with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame entre Levon Helm. The lauded Americana and folk songwriter and former drummer of The Band takes the listener on an emotive journey, searching for recovery in the beauty of nature having been hurt. Helm discovers that healing comes by finding one's own path.
“Vilde Blå” – Full Cry
Danish/English pairing cast an evocative spell with “Vilde Blå”. The deceptively dreamy single was inspired by a turbulent sailing trip on the North Sea, the fear it caused and yet the deep sense of longing to return to the dangerous waters upon their return.
“BLUE” – Billie Eilish
This year saw superstar alt-pop legend and professional sad girl return with her international No. 1 hit album Hit Me Hard and Soft. Topping the charts in over 20 countries, the platinum-selling record includes the track “BLUE” which is a mix of her previously unreleased songs “Born Blue” and “True Blue”. From its bouncy beginning to the hair-raising near-silent vocal delivery, it’s a truly tender exploration of heartbreak and recovery.
“Circle With Me” – Spiritbox
Canadian prog-metal band go big on the crushing riffs on “Circle With Me”. The evocative mix of ethereal vocals and brutally hard rhythms just beg to be turned up loud and it's currently their top streamed track on Spotify.
“Casual” – Chappell Roan
Gigantic favourite Chappell Roan returns for a second time on the playlist with her mesmerising situationship single “Casual”. The dream-pop song was inspired by true life events, after the star discovered her long-distance lover quickly skipped out on her for someone else, and the international hit reflects her hurt, rejection and confusion.
“Blackout Drunk” – Suki Waterhouse
“Blackout Drunk” is the latest release from Suki Waterhouse and features on her eighteen-track album Memoir of a Sparklemuffin. Influenced by Motown and retro pop, Waterhouse gives the 60s sound a 21st-century twist that recalls the likes of The Crystals and The Shangri-Las. And like her predecessors, this tragic anthem tells the story of a no-good lover and recalls their countless drunken micro-cheats and misdemeanours.
“Touch” – Alice Phoebe Lou
Recalling French avant-pop, “Touch” is an elegant offering from the effortlessly stylish songwriter Alice Phoebe Lou. This lovesick song with captivating vocals perfectly expresses the loneliness of longing and the exasperation of separation.
“Faults To The Silver Screen” – Victory Lap
Tomas Ponting of Nottingham noir indie outfit Victory Lap lays out his bleeding heart for all to see on “Faults To The Silver Screen”. The dramatism echoes Nick Cave’s sombre romanticism as the anguished vocals reveal a threadbare soul. Run a bath, light some candles, grab a copy of Wuthering Heights and soak in this beautifully bleak gothic masterpiece.
“Komorebi” – 86TVs
Former members of The Maccabees Felix and Hugo reunite with their brother Will White and drummer Jamie Morrison as 86TVs, one of THE breakthrough bands of the year. “Komorebi” features on their eponymous debut album and is a delicate dissection of a relationship to discover what friendship truly means.
“Everything and Nothing” – SOFT PLAY
“Everything and Nothing” was written by punk pairing SOFT PLAY in tribute to their fallen friend. The emotive single sees Laurie Vincent swap the guitar for the mandolin whilst drummer and lead vocalist recalls lost moments in an emotive song that’s very reminiscent of R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion”.
“Renegade 86’” – letlive.
Riotous Los Angeles metalcore band letlive. let rip on “Renegade 86’” as heard on their second album Fake History. The tumultuous group was plagued with frequent line-up changes owing to much infighting, reflected in their intense sound. The band’s constant bust-ups eventually saw them implode in 2017, but letlive. reunited last year to their fans’ delight. Let’s hope they keep a lid on the bickering before they get another album recorded.
"The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" – The Greg Kihn Band
The lead single of the RocKihnRoll album, "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" is a love letter to the rock tunes of yesterday. The Greg Kihn Band’s rose-tinted perspective chimed with fans, sending the nostalgic anthem to No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Top Tracks.
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“Guess" – Charli xcx ft. Billie Eilish
It wouldn’t be Brat summer without a bit of Charli xcx, and the electroclash superstar just scored her second No. 1 with Billie Eilish in the ultimate team-up remix track “Guess". The sexually charged single goes heavy on the beats and the X-rated content and is a steamy club hit.
“Got to Be” – Childish Gambino
Childish Gambino explores his self-destructive tendencies and his relationship with fame on “Got to Be”. Sampling and totally reworking “Breathe” by The Prodigy, its frenetic pace and relentless rhythm can’t fail to provoke a visceral reaction and get your body moving.
“Ghost of Perdition” – Opeth
If you want epic, then nothing beats “Ghost of Perdition” by Opeth. The ten-and-a-half-minute odyssey is found on the Swedish prog-metal band’s eighth LP Ghost Reveries which was originally envisioned as a concept album depicting a man’s descent into madness after having murdered his mother. This brutal ode screams to the heavens as a soul falls far out of the reach of redemption.
“Funeralopolis” – Electric Wizard
“Funeralopolis” is an uncompromising doom-metal classic from Dorset stoner-rock band Electric Wizard. The unhinged lyrics explore a death world inhabited by zombies that is pushed beyond the brink of annihilation by greedy corporations whilst granite-hard riffs, punishing drums and mind-blowing flanger crush what’s left of a listener's sanity.
“Here’s The Thing” – Fontaines D.C.
Irish post-punks Fontaines D.C. discover grunge on “Here’s The Thing”. Sludgy walls of sound created by multiple distortion pedals are met with anxious words and themes of anxiety. Go check out their new album Romance, their first LP on XL Recordings which many expect to be the new No. 1 in the UK and their homeland on Friday.
“H.O.O.D.” – Kneecap
Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap shoves their stereotypical bad boy image right up your nose on “H.O.O.D.”. The lyrics skip between their native Irish and English as the republican rappers pull no punches on their gleefully controversial track.
Kneecap have also just released a semi-fictitious film about how they formed. Featuring Michael Fassbender, the hilarious movie also contains serious messages about imperialism and the importance of retaining language and cultural identity.
“Colossus – Tricky Remix” – IDLES, Tricky
Positive post-punks IDLES join forces with trip-hop legend Tricky in the ultimate Bristolian team-up for a remix of “Colossus”. The opening track of their breakthrough record Joy as an Act of Resistance is transformed into a sinister warping of beats, words and guitars.