As I've said many times before, I listen to Virgin Radio (a UK based radio station) at work, pretty much all day. This exposes me to a lot of music that many of my American compatriots are unaware of. And also, it makes me look cool cuz I can say, "I only like obscure British bands". That means a lot.
Anyway. In an effort to enlighten my fellow Americans, I present to you a small selection of artists currently airing on Virgin.
In no particular order:
Amy Macdonald - the first Virgin artist I really took a liking to. Soon after hearing her for the first time I was compelled to import her debut album, "This is the life". She's got a few singles out, but what follows is the song that really made me fall for this Scottish beauty.
Duffy - the non-crack addict's Amy Winehouse. Since Ms. Winehouse broke this style into the modern charts, there's been an influx of soulful British babes, singing their hearts out. Duffy has a rich voice backed by an upbeat poppy arrangement.
One Night Only - these guys are pretty new to my musical lexicon. They manage to use the same kitsch indie/britpop formula that has become bland and muddled in recent years and turn it into something above average and appealing to my ears.
The Kooks - are my current all-time favorite band. It's a good mix of that classic British-Invasion rock and modern sensibilities. But mostly that classic British-Invasion rock. I bought the first album and it was super bad-ass. I eagerly look forward to their next release.
And there you have it. Four of my favorite musical acts from across the pond. I hope you've enjoyed them as much as I have. I'll try to keep you posted on any new findings.
Until next time,
~Ben
Resources
Virgin Radio online: (http://www.virginradio.co.uk/)
Amy Macdonald on Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Macdonald_%28singer%29)
Amy Macdonald on Amazon: (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st?rs=5174&page=1&rh=n%3A5174%2Cp_32%3AAmy+MacDonald%2Cp_n_binding_browse-bin%3A387645011&sort=-releasedate)
Duffy on Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duffy_%28singer%29)
Duffy on Amazon: (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=music&field-artist=Duffy)
One Night Only on Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Night_Only_%28band%29)
One Night Only on Amazon: (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=music&field-artist=One%20Night%20Only)
The Kooks on Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kooks)
The Kooks on Amazon: (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=music&field-artist=Kooks)