The Metaphorical Boat Spotify Playlist - July/August 2016

For those of you who like your musical recommendations in playlist-able Spotify form, on a bimonthly basis The Metaphorical Boat posts a selection of songs that we have been enjoying over the prior eight weeks or so, containing songs that we've written about, new songs that we haven't written about but are enjoying nonetheless, and a few older but fantastic tracks that are currently floating our Metaphorical Boat.

Below you can find our playlist of songs that we really enjoyed in July and August 2016. If you like what you hear, or just want another playlist to add to your growing list of playlists, then we really hope that you'll take the time to visit the playlist on Spotify and give it a follow. You never know, your new favourite song of all time could be somewhere on this playlist!

This month's playlist feature songs from established artists M83, Wild Beasts, Biffy Clyro & Empire Of The Sun, songs from newer bands such as Imrahan, Town Of Saints, Anteros & The DLX, and local acts Owen Denvir, Brash Isaac, In An Instant, Beauty Sleep & Divine Comedy. Lots of great music from lots of great people for your ear-based amusement.

Son Of The Hound - I.O.U

It's been a wee while since we last heard from Omagh musician Michael McCullagh, who currently plies his trade under the name Son Of The Hound. His first release under the moniker, "Pilgrim", first caught our attention last year with its interesting mix of spaghetti Western soundtracks and Hozier-y vibes. He followed it up a few months later with the rather different sounding "Galway Rain", a song that was very much steeped in the tradition of classic Irish folk music.

Now, he has released a brand new song, "I.O.U", a song that once again sees McCullough shifting into a completely different musical territory. The song is an upbeat tale of money woes, and shows off an underlying sense of humour that hasn't really come across in SOTH releases to date (although it's something that those who follow him on Twitter will be fully accustomed to). It's also the most upbeat of the trio of songs he's put out, with a melody that reminds us of "Two Fingers" by Jake Bugg, and an upbeat rhythm that has the swagger of a smoky backroom pub to it. One can almost imagine it being set to a video of a massive barroom brawl breaking out.

"I.O.U" will be available through all the usual channels on 15th October.

Beauty Sleep - Living Right

The debut single from Belfast-based trio Beauty Sleep pushed quite a lot of people's metaphorical buttons when it came out at the start of the year. "The Dark" has been streamed over 50,000 times on Soundcloud, been picked up by lots of blogs, earning it a lot of love on the Hype Machine, and has been played on nearly every Irish radio station, as well as a few stations a little further afield.

Now six months later, the band have unveiled their follow-up single, which they hope can capitalize on the success of their debut. "Living Right" sounds like just the song to do that, in that it is both comfortably familiar to those already familiar with Beauty Sleep whilst offering something a little bit different. "Living Right" retains the hazy dream-pop sound that characterized their debut, but has a more extroverted, punchier sound that its predecessor, reminding us a little bit of Chapterhouse in places. Plus, it's got a whopping massive chorus that you can't just help but fall in love with.

"Living Right" is out now.

The DLX - Wake Me Up

Just over a year ago we found ourselves charmed to pieces by "Let Go" by Mississippi based group The DLX, with the song ending up firmly within our favourite songs of 2015, so it's nice to hear some new music coming from them.

"Wake Me Up" isn't as folky as their previous single (although there are some slight "Ho Hey" vibes to it), but it's as still as accessibly pop as before, with a chorus that is very likely to get under your skin and stuck in your head.

"Wake Me Up" is taken from the E.P "Hello", which is released on 16th September.