A selection of ACM’s finest artists, hand-picked to end your week on a high. Discover more on our This Is ACM playlist!
BONES – Fat
Since it’s Women’s History Month, this March is the perfect time to get into future-rock outfit BONES. Their back catalogue may be relatively compact, comprising a small handful of songs, but ACM alumna Carmen Vandenberg and bandmate Rosie Bones have already managed to tour America, attract over 13,000 Facebook fans, and share stages with PVRIS, Skunk Anansie, and Band of Skulls. Given the sheer strength of will that permeates every moment of their music, it’s no surprise that BONES have come as far as they have in so little time.
Driven by Carmen Vandenberg’s assertive strumming and airtight triplets, Rosie’s desperately strained and subtly nuanced vocal performance, and the immediately gripping groove that refuses to let up from beat one, ‘Fat’ is the kind of track the word “banger” was always destined to describe. With ACM alumnus Filippo Cimatti handling production and drumming duties, the end result is absolutely flawless. This is history in the making.
Chinchilla – Elements
True pop superstars are capable of captivating listeners with a single lyric – and ACM alumna Chinchilla manages that impressive feat within the first 30 seconds of her new single ‘Elements’. Rising effortlessly above a bed of razor-edged hi-hats, sharp and crisp sidestick hits, exotically epic vocal layers and disarmingly languid bass, Chinchilla delivers a string of painstakingly selected words with an instantly recognisable, defiantly self-assured vocal. Even when her music shifts into less intense territory, Chinchilla leaves no doubt in her wake.
Chinchilla’s Facebook biography contains the sentence “Strong Woman, Smart Woman, Proud Woman,” but you could add plenty of positive adjectives to that list. If you need us, we’ll be shopping for a new thesaurus in Waterstones.
Son of Cabe – Smoke
We all need to relieve stress somehow, and ACM Production student Conor McCabe – professionally known as Son of Cabe – has just dropped a fantastic, affirmative, and meditative chillout track. Listen past the low-key vibes, and you’ll quickly hit passionately-penned lyrical lines, thought-provoking phrases, and stuttering syncopation guaranteed to keep you on your toes. There’s no smoke without fire – and this is definitely the latter.
Zomboy – Nuclear
The weekend is finally upon us – and with so much talk of world-ending political shifts echoing around the internet, Zomboy’s suitably apocalyptic dubstep session ‘Nuclear’ will have you covered for the next couple of days. Get a squad of likeminded friends together, stock up on supplies, dig and build a soundproof bunker, crank this track up, and prepare to party while one of ACM’s most notable alumni breaks out the launch codes.
Kizzie – Serenity
A timeless tune will work no matter the instrumental context, and stripped-down settings are the ultimate proving ground. With ‘Serenity’, ACM Creative Artist student Kizzie has succeeded in writing and recording just such a song. Pairing a poet’s eye for linguistic detail with a dedicated songsmith’s discerning ear, Kizzie draws her listeners into warm, welcoming, and intimately personal surroundings while appearing to ponder the melancholy feeling induced by scanning through lists of social media contacts from whom one has grown apart.
Respectably vulnerable, authentic, and open-hearted, ‘Serenity’ is worth repeating.
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