Posted on Friday 22nd December 2023 at 16:00
Gigantic Tickets is passionate about music, and the On Repeat! blog and playlist reveal the tracks and tunes we have been playing in the office. From the latest singles dropped in the past few days to classic anthems we have enjoyed for years – check out a whole load of great songs you are bound to love.
All of us at Gigantic Tickets would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year. We are excited about what lies ahead, and if you want to book shows for the coming year then click the link below. Be good to one another, and we will see you in 2024! 🎄 ❄️ 🎉
Hull-based songwriter Matt Edible and his band The Obtuse Angels go on a merry romp and a festive follicle adventure with “Advent Beard”. The best alternative Christmas anthem is sure to rouse the spirits and jingle your bells.
The second song to be taken from IDLES forthcoming fifth LP TANGK, “Grace” is a tender track centred around the repeated chorus line “No god, no king // I said love is the fing”. Long-term Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich’s influence is abundantly clear and sets the tone for the coming record.
“The song came from nowhere and everything. It was a breath and a call to be held.”
“The only words or singing that came from our sessions with Nigel and I needed it, truly. All is love.” – Joe Talbot
Experimental pop duo Jockstrap go big on the banging track “50 / 50”. Taken from debut album I Love You Jennifer B – it sure to get pulses racing and bodies moving whenever it’s played. Catch them headlining Dot To Dot festival next year.
“Water Underground” dropped just last month and is taken from New Jersey indie rock combo Real Estate’s next LP Daniel. The accompanying video is a tribute to 90s Nickelodeon sitcom The Adventures of Pete & Pete.
“This song is about writing songs. I think ‘Water Underground’ is like the unconscious, the mysterious part of your brain where creativity comes from. The constant flow of music in the back of your head. You get an idea while driving or walking the dog or something and you want to hold on to it.” – Martin Courtney
Taken from the Levitation Sessions live album, “Queen of the Underground” is a full funk odyssey of mind-blowing discovery, propelling listeners into the outer limits courtesy of Swedish psychedelic group Goat. Recorded during the winter of 2023, Levitation Sessions is also accompanied with a live film.
“Paul” returns us to Brooklyn based indie folk combo Big Thief’s first album Masterpiece. It’s a surrealist song reliving memories of internal rage and living through the pain of a relationship that was known to be doomed from the start. Heartbreaking yet euphoric, it’s a joy to listen to.
“Found this through a Dangerdoom sample which came on the Radio, it’s got it all! This whole soundtrack album is incredible, I don’t know what the film is, and can’t seem to find much more from any of the artists, but it’s a fun listen & I love the artwork.” - JIMI M, EVENT MANAGEMENT
“This northern soul stomper has wormed it’s way back into my brain and speakers this month.” - JIMI M, EVENT MANAGEMENT
“I’d never heard this Kinks tune before, so simple & beautiful!” - JIMI M, EVENT MANAGEMENT
“I love this version of Jingle Bell Rock. The backing vocals transport me to a highway in the 50s, driving a Cadillac home for Christmas!” - JIMI M, EVENT MANAGEMENT
New Hampshire post-hardcore brothers Trevor and Matthew Wentworth plus drummer Timothy Molloy have been going big in 2023, releasing a long string of killer singles including their epic anthem “Last Night”. Lasting less than two and a half minutes, it’s a wild ride of drunken wrath and regret caused by that person you just can’t let go.
The massive disco and rock mash-up you never saw coming! “Stayin’ Alive VS Back in Black” by Music Factory combines the sex appeal of the Bee Gees and the attitude of Aussie rockers AC/DC into the ultimate funky strut!
Released to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the critically acclaimed Folie à Deux album, the “Pavlove” demo reveals a band who were eager to experiment and try new ideas. “Pavlove” originally appeared as a bonus track on the Deluxe and Japanese CD and it’s fascinating to hear it in its early form all these years later.
Juicy banger “thicc” sees dance queen Shygirl team up with Irish songwriter Cosha to create an instant club classic packed full of lusty 90s rave energy. Originally recorded during the sessions for her debut album Nymph, “thicc” has been a live fan favourite for some time and now finally gets unleashed on streaming platforms. Turn it up loud and get your sass on.
“Silk Chiffon” is an uplifting queer anthem from Los Angeles indie pop band MUNA featuring vocals from lauded indie pop songwriter Phoebe Bridgers. This life-affirming sapphic single shines bright like the Californian sun and describes the giddy excitement of attraction and can be found right at the start of MUNA’s latest self-titled LP.
Dark and foreboding; “Port” is a standalone single from shoegaze superstars bdrmm. It’s a taught depiction of addiction, building from a tense crawling rhythm to a writhing all-consuming expression of pain via taut guitars and resigned vocals.
This year saw Radiohead drummer Phil Selway join Geordie indie rockers Lanterns on the Lake for new album Versions of Us. Lead single “String Theory” raised expectations even higher, providing a thrilling first taste for one of the best records of the year. It reflects on our place in the multiverse, searching for solace and solidarity in the infinite expanse.
Nottingham indie pop group London Grammar dropped The Remixes compilation album last summer, including an epic 12-and-a-half-minute rave reworking of “Hell to the Liars” by Danish DJ and producer Kölsch. Bringing Hannah Reid’s incredible vocals to the fore and adding arpeggio synths and a pulsing beat to the existing string accompaniment, it’s an evocative take on the 2017 track.
“Home for the Holidays” is a gushing wide eyed anthem about love and longing over the festive period. Written by singer and guitar ace Tim Wheeler of Northern Irish rock band ash and indie pop songwriter Emmy The Great, it captures the magic of returning after a year on the road and the tantalising prospect of rekindling an old romance.
Who needs guitars? Canadian dance punk duo Death From Above 1979 certainly don’t! Armed with just a bass, a drum kit, and their shared vocals, Jesse F. Keeler and Sebastien Grainger go full throttle on this erotically charged banging single taken from their first album You're a Woman, I'm a Machine.
Having explored electronica on previous records, post punks Bloc Party returned to a rock centric sound on their 2012 album Four. The record culminates with rampaging closing track “We Are Not Good People” is seemingly a sardonic swipe at the ambivalence of the monied elite, with all the power yet no care or concern for the wider world.
It’s been a big year for Leeds based post punks English Teacher who lived up to their potential of becoming one of THE breakthrough bands of 2023. Lily Fontaine’s heavenly vocals sail over a dream pop inspired single with bite.
English Teacher have been named ambassadors for Independent Venue Week 2024. CLICK HERE to discover more.
“Boiler Suits & Combat Boots” is a sharp six-minute krautrock inspired single from rising stars The Umlauts. The art punk quartet are based in London but have their sights set on continental Europe, fusing French, Italian and German influences into their sound. Press play, close your eyes and you could easily imagine being in an underground Berlin club.
Who doesn’t love a bit of NYC garage rock? Early BODEGA single “How Did This Happen?” is a snotty takedown of this generations desperate escape into the digital world. Rather than collectively organise and engage real issues, BODEGA are frustrated that progressive movements are reduced to smug online sloganeering and virtue signalling by wannabe influencers.
Mighty Sheffield metalcore superstars Bring Me The Horizon have been teasing fans with multiple releases from their highly anticipated next album POST HUMAN: NeX Gen. “DArkSide” goes big on the goth overtones, combining rock hard riffs, impassioned cries and gloomy synths.
James Dean Bradfield’s acoustic cover of Wham’s classic single “Last Christmas” was an off-the-cuff live performance on legendary anarchic Channel 4 programme TFI Friday back in December 1996. Hidden at the back of the bar, the Manic Street Preacher sings his little heart to roars of approval of the crowd. It was later included in the band’s rarities compilation record Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers).
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