You Me At Six are back with Fresh Start Fever, the latest single to be released from their much anticipated fourth studio album ‘Cavalier Youth’.

Following on from lead single Lived A Lie, the most commercially successful single release from the band thus far, Fresh Start Fever jumps immediately into fast moving verse emphasising vocal qualities over subdued guitars and restrained drums.

This verse leads into the hooking refrain, keeping the tempo high and building nicely to the kick in at the chorus, where fans are greeted by the chant-friendly lyrics: “And it’s a fresh start fever/ who would want to be here. Welcome to the future/ dream a little bigger.”

Neatly controlled guitar riffs and symbol work continues to impress between choruses and refrains, while the overall tone of the track feels built upon, or rather matured from, the the likes of previous work Loverboy and ‘Hold Me Down’ track The Consequence.

A pressing, urgent feel comes from the instrumental effort throughout, no more so than when the impressive pre-chorus enters late on, giving a sublime lead up to the exiting chorus.

An addictive number overall that shows a fresh fluidity and retains enough elements from the wonderful Sinners Never Sleep template to keep fans excited for 27 January.

You may have spent the past few weeks complaining about premature Christmas ads and the fact that you can barely brush your teeth anymore without being confronted by Lily Allen’s cover of Somewhere Only We Know, but the month of December has now arrived, which means it’s time to lose the Scrooge talk and embrace the festive spirit.

Rather than flocking towards the folklore of the Christmas number one though – for the sanctity of that particular topic died long ago if it ever really existed – here at Brig Music we like to look even further than the 25th of the month, and get excited about the acts that will be entertaining our ear sockets on the flip side of Hogmanay.

At the top of our New Year lookout list is exciting French producer Tchami, who is bringing a new sound to the underground world of electronic dance music at the moment. You only need one listen of the artist’s Clubhouse EP to be blown away by the unique style of the new talent, who has fashioned a fantastically original sound through the addition of a sensual twang to a heavily booted baseline which is then let rip over some deep house.

On first hearing the producer’s Promesses, a track deploying sweetly placed flickers of synth before a monumental punch, it’s a stern challenge to remain seated and avoid the loss of your dignity on the dancefloor, at work, or wherever else you may be listening. Shot Caller follows suit with a powerhouse bass boasting Tchami’s signature sound in a driven and convincing number, and the Parisian’s remixes of AlunaGeorge’s ‘You Know You Like It’ and Janet Jackson’s ‘Go Deep’ continue the creative future sounds of the artist.

In a time when a trance driven competition to sacrifice progression in order to drop the heaviest bass seems to have taken over the world of EDM, Tchami is a breath of fresh air to all searching for a new kind of bass.

Where the likes of Avicii’s latest number Hey Brother features tedious and repetitive rhythms taken straight from a proven and increasingly worn formula, Tchami breaks through to the unheard in the genre, bringing a new kind of subversive sound. With Oliver Heldens following this leadwith upcoming release Gecko, the Frenchman’s style may well be the one to coin the next big move in the electronic scene as well. Certainly, the up and coming artist is one destined for big things and bigger venues.

On the hip-hop front, Odd Future man Earl Sweatshirt is a near certain musician to break through in the next twelve months.

The 19 year old lyricist has shown already that he can lay down some sick lyrics and has some big tunes to his name at the moment, with his debut album Doris dropping in August this year to a big reception all round.

The American rapper produced seven of his own fifteen album track list, and his release was one of the highest acclaimed to come out of the Odd Future set up.

To get a taste of the action, check out Hive, a smooth flowing vocal effort over a bass-driven back beat, Chum, a funky piano backing that lays the foundations for some sweet and smart lyrics from Earl, and Sunday, a fast moving effort with Frank Ocean that sees the duo explore their personal relationships in an interesting song.

The artist already has friends in high places – featuring on records not only with Ocean but also Mac Miller and Tyler, The Creator, and he could well be on a similar trajectory in the upcoming year to that which Kendrick Lamar has followed in 2012. Expect big things.

The name Kelela is another that may well become engraved in the minds of many a short while after the bells have rung at the end of December.

The debut effort of the artist took the critics by storm a few months back, with a cool mix of calm and classy electronic mixes meeting the rejuvenated R&B style of the singer to wonderous effect.

The performer, who originates from LA, brings a chilled out vibe that can switch effortlessly into a faster flowing, harder-hitting number, as can be seen in single Enemy.

A once jazz performer who is now on a fast-track to the chart life, Kelela is leading the lines of the R&B performers bringing the genre back to the forefront.

A few names to watch out for then in 2014, and a reminder that just when the advent calender is coming close to an end, there is still plenty more to look forward to.

Stuart Kenny

As published originally at: www.brignewspaper.com