The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2017 - The List (+Spotify Playlist)

For the benefit of those who like cold, hard data, here is The Metaphorical Boat's top songs of 2017 in easy to digest list form -

1. CHAMPS - The Garden Is Overgrown
2. Confidence Man - Bubblegum
3. Drones Club - Hurricane
4. Tom Williams - Everyone Needs a Home
5. Dan Auerbach - Shine on Me
6. Ten Fé - Twist Your Arm
7. Lauren Bird - That's The Truth
8. The War On Drugs - Holding On
9. Childish Gambino - Redbone
10. Confidence Man - Better Sit Down Boy
11. Sam Fender - Play God
12. Fjokra - Sick Kids
13. Dagny - Wearing Nothing
14. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Anymore
15. Liam Gallagher - Wall Of Glass
16. Japandroids - No Known Drink Or Drug
17. Catholic Action - Propaganda
18. Childcare - Kiss?
19. Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains - Grand Dérèglement
20. Imagine Dragons - Believer
21. Richard Thorncroft - You Can't Handcuff the Wind
22. SAINTE - With or Without Me
23. Glass Wings - Jana From Barcelona
24. The Shimmer Band - Jacknife And The Death Call
25. Beck - Dear Life
26. The War On Drugs - Strangest Thing
27. Paths - Last One Standing
28. Ten Tonnes - Silver Heat
29. Howl - Lost
30. Public Service Broadcasting - You + Me
31. The Go! Team - Semicircle Song
32. Bicep - Glue
33. Apache Darling - Go
34. Remington Super 60 - Robo learns to whistle
35. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still
36. British Sea Power - Keep On Trying (Sechs Freunde)
37. Cold War Kids - Love Is Mystical
38. Spoon - Hot Thoughts
39. Parekh & Singh - Panda
40. Anteros - Bonnie
41. Owen Denvir - You Don't Want to Love Me
42. Aidan Logan - Turbulence
43. The Vegan Leather - Shake It
44. Darren Doherty - Kites (feat. Lauren Bird)
45. Jennifer Hudson - Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight
46. Malojian - Ambulance Song
47. Hannah Grace - Praise You
48. Girl K - Neighbors
49. Ibibio Sound Machine - Give Me a Reason
50. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl

And for those of you who do that whole Spotify thing, here is a playlist of all 50 songs in order of awesomeness -

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2017 - Number One

1. Champs - The Garden Is Overgrown

And so Isle of Wight duo Champs join The Vaccines, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Public Service Broadcasting, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Ten Fé & Bears Den in claiming the crown of The Metaphorical Boat's song of the year, with "The Garden Is Overgrown".

"The Garden Is Overgrown" is a song about the passage of time & the ebb and flow of priorities, which is delivered over a psych-synth-pop backing, with an irresistible chorus.

So congratulations to Champs, and click the 'play' button below to enjoy our favourite song of 2017 -

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs on 2017 - 5-2

We're nearly at the end of countdown now, but before we see what our favourite song of 2017 is, let's see what came in at numbers 5 through 2 on our countdown -

5. Dan Auerbach - Shine on Me

A solo outing from 1/2 of The Black Keys, "Shine On Me" is a sunny, guitar-pop song that feels like a lost George Harrison single. An unexpected delight, and a fun music video too.

4. Tom Williams - Everyone Needs a Home

Having been familiar with him for many years without absolutely falling for his music, 2017 was the year that Tom Williams finally smashed into our consciousness with his fantastic single "Everyone Needs a Home". It's a song inspired by the refugee crisis, and harks back to 70s rock, and is topped off with lush, string-swept melodies.

3. Drones Club - Hurricane 

The London based musical collective-cum-cult Drones Club delivered a dark banger in the form of "Hurricane", a politically-charged electronic number with sinister undertones & an earworm-y central hook. If you see them live, it is a pretty arresting sight seeing a room full of people going crazy to this track.

2. Confidence Man - Bubblegum

And just falling short of the #1 position is the second entry in the top 10 for Australian band Confidence Man, this time with "Bubblegum", the song that made us fall in love with them in the first place.

"Bubblegum" is the kind of bonkers, hyperactive, cut & paste pop that we absolutely love to pieces. As well as calling to mind The Go! Team, and Deee-Lite (it's been called by some as a modern-day updating of "Groove Is In The Heart"), it also reminds us very much of The Asteroids Galaxy Tour in how its constituent parts slip and slide out as the song progresses. Ruddy great fun, and even more fun when you see the band performing it live. 

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2017 - 10-6

We are now into the creme-de-la-creme of 2017's songs, with the songs that come in at numbers 10 through 6 in the countdown. Here they are, alongside the reasons why we think they're such fantastic songs -

10. Confidence Man - Better Sit Down Boy

Australian band Confidence Man make fun, uplifting pop music with a lack of cynicism, but a large dollop of attitude. "Better Sit Down Boy" is the kind of song you could imagine Girls Aloud taking straight into the chart 10 years ago if it were given a Xenomania lick of paint. It's a fun, un-guilty pleasure from start to finish.



9. Childish Gambino - Redbone

Ah "Redbone", or as it's also known, the song that spawned a million memes (this one was our personal favourite). With its instantly recognisable unique instrumentation and the soulful vocals of Donald Glover, "Redbone" sounds like it was an old R&B classic from the 70s that had only been re-discovered, yet was very much a product of the here and now. A fantastic song from a genre that we usually aren't too fussed on.

8. The War On Drugs - Holding On

Well, "A Deeper Understanding" was so full on bangers that it's no surprise to see another song from the album make our list of favourite songs of the year. "Holding On" sees The War on Drugs at their heaviest, with its driving, America rock somewhat tempered by its glockenspiel-inflected rhythm. 



7. Lauren Bird - That's The Truth

I've mentioned before the idea of a tune that is an 'Asda Car Park' song. What this means is that it is a song that when I listen to it in the car, I get so emotional, and my eyes get so bleary, that I need to turn the car into the nearest car park (which is usually an Asda one for some reason) to allow me to compose myself and recover my vision before continuing on my journey. We in Northern Ireland are used to road safety adverts on TV that warn of the dangers of drink-driving, and rightly so. However, there is yet to be one that warns of the dangers of listening to emotional music whilst driving, and I feel that this is a major oversight.

This brings us nicely on to "That's The Truth" by Lauren Bird, a song that for us at least, fits the very definition of an 'Asda Car Park' song. It's a beautiful, emotional, ukulele-lead song that contains one of the most beautiful, yet tragic, lyrics we've heard in a song all year - "I'd rather be nothing than be a burden to you".



6. Ten Fé - Twist Your Arm

Having seen Ten Fé play the song "Twist Your Arm" live at The Great Escape, we had a feeling that when they finally released a studio version of the song, it would become a real favourite, and gosh darn, those boyos went and made sure we kept that promise to ourselves.

Given their versatile sound and live presence, we'd imagine Ten Fé to be a modern day successor to Primal Scream, and "Twist Your Arm" is one of those songs that helps to cement that belief, as its dancey, droozy sound sounds like it owes a debt to songs from their "Screamadelica" album, "Come Together" in particular due to its use of a gospel choir. We're also got some David Bowie "Memories of a Free Festival" vibes, and for some reason that we couldn't put our finger quite on, a little bit of Simple Minds as well.

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2017 - 15-11

We're getting closer and closer to the top spot, as we look at the songs that came in at numbers 15 through 11 on our countdown. Songs from the biggest name in Britpop, the artist responsible for our #1 song of 2014, Norwegian pop, Irish eclectic-indie, and an artist who's being tipped by the BBC for big things in 2018 -  

15. Liam Gallagher - Wall Of Glass

14. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Anymore 

13. Dagny - Wearing Nothing

12. Fjokra - Sick Kids 

11. Sam Fender - Play God 

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2017 - 20-16

We are in to the top 20 now, as we edge ever closer to finding out what our favourite song of 2017 is. Up next we have the songs ranked 20 to 16 in our countdown, and features one of the biggest rock bands on the planet, French indie, a band fronted by a male nanny, a sub 2 minute slice of energy, and some Canadian noise-rock -

20. Imagine Dragons - Believer



19. Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains - Grand Dérèglement



18. Childcare - Kiss?




17. Catholic Action - Propaganda




16. Japandroids - No Known Drink Or Drug

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2017 - 25-21

We are now into the top half of the countdown, with the songs that ranked 25 to 21 on the countdown. This batch features a musical chameleon, British alt-rock, a country-inspired Northern Irish singer/songwriter, American pop-rock, & a pastiche of 80s music featuring one half of The Mighty Boosh -


25. Beck - Dear Life

24. The Shimmer Band - Jacknife And The Death Call 

23. Glass Wings - Jana From Barcelona 

22. SAINTE - With or Without Me 

21. Richard Thorncroft - You Can't Handcuff the Wind

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2017 - 30-26

We are about to hit the halfway stage in this year's countdown, as we reach the songs that made it to number 30-26 in our countdown. This batch features the artist responsible for our #1 song of 2014 (and his first time taking lead vocals too!), two emerging UK indie-rockers, Northern Irish electro, and one of the bigger indie groups doing the rounds at the moment -


30. Public Service Broadcasting - You + Me

29. Howl - Lost



28. Ten Tonnes - Silver Heat



27. Paths - Last One Standing



26. The War On Drugs - Strangest Thing

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2017 - 35-31

Tracks 35-31 now. In this batch, we have a breakthrough hit, an infectious whistling hook, electro pop, a rave-inspired Northern Irish electronic duo, and a ruddy massive brass band -


35. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still

34. Remington Super 60 - Robo learns to whistle

33. Apache Darling - Go 

32. Bicep - Glue



31. The Go! Team - Semicircle Song

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2017 - 40-36

We are up to the songs at numbers 40 to 36 next, featuring two stalwarts of American indie-rock, one stalwart of British indie-rock, now newer Indian indie-rock, and Anteros, who make good music as well - 

40. Anteros - Bonnie

39. Parekh & Singh - Panda

38. Spoon - Hot Thoughts 

37. Cold War Kids - Love Is Mystical



36. British Sea Power - Keep On Trying (Sechs Freunde)

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2017 - 45-41

We follow up the songs that were at #50 to 46, funnily enough, with the songs that at 45-41 on our list of top songs of 2017. In this part of the countdown we have a proper version of "Golden Slumbers" (if your cover version doesn't conclude with "Carry That Weight", then it doesn't count. Sorry Elbow), Paisley based art-rock, and a brace of some of the best local singer-songwriters that Northern Ireland has to offer -

45. Jennifer Hudson - Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight

44. Darren Doherty - Kites (feat. Lauren Bird)

43. The Vegan Leather - Shake It 

42. Aidan Logan - Turbulence 

 41. Owen Denvir - You Don't Want to Love Me

The Metaphorical Boat's Top Songs of 2017 - 50-46

Time for the annual listageddon here at The Metaphorical Boat. Over the next few days we will be counting down the blog's top 50 songs of 2017. There will be songs that have featured on the blog, songs that didn't feature on the blog, songs that have graced our lovely Spotify playlists over the last 12 months, and songs that really should have featured. But regardless, they are all awesome, and hopefully there will be a few songs here that will float your Metaphorical Boat.

Let us begin, as we normally do, with the songs at numbers 50 through 46 in our favourite songs of 2017. This batch features song local string-swept singer songwriters, a Fatboy Slim cover, some indie-pop, and in what will most likely come as a surprise to many of you, a multi-platinum ginger.

50. Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl




49. Ibibio Sound Machine - Give Me a Reason

48. Girl K - Neighbors 

47. Hannah Grace - Praise You 

46. Malojian - Ambulance Song

Silences - L.A

It's been a wee while since we last wrote about Armagh 5-piece Silences, who have been responsible from great songs over the past few years (including one of our top 10 songs of 2015 with "The Sea"), so it's glad to hear the band back on top form with their latest single, "L.A".

The song marks a slight change of tone for the band. It keeps a lot of the atmospherics that the band have become known for over the past few years, but with its distorted bass and heavy sound, it see the band venture into a pronounced alt-rock sound, something in the mold of Broken Bells, or Foals.

In keeping with the darker nature of the song, the band have released a fantastic, disturbing music video for the song, which depicts a news anchor who seems to know more than he lets on about a story he's been reporting on.

"L.A" is out now.

Runabay - Too Soon (Reverie)

Hailing from the Glens of Antrim and Belfast, sextet Runabay have been building up a name for themselves over the past few years with their folk-rock sound, and have developed a reputation as one of the best live bands on the local scene.

We were lucky enough to catch the band live in the Duncairn Arts Centre (one of the finest local venues in North Belfast) for their sold-out performance there, and were mightily impressed by how tight they are live, their great vocal harmonies, and most importantly the strength of the tunes that they have amassed in their set. It was interesting to note that some of their earlier songs, including ones that first brought them to our attention originally, were dropped from the set, and the quality of the songs on offer didn't suffer one bit.

The band have just released their latest single, which marks a further development of the band's sound. "Too Soon (Reverie)" follows on from their recent single "Lotus" in moving away from the more raucous sound of Runabay's earlier sound into a sound that's more holistic and pop-orientated. With its pop chorus and finely tuned harmonies, there are elements of The Shins, Fleet Foxes, and even a smidgen of Coldplay in "Too Soon (Reverie)", but more importantly, there is an emerging sound that is very much one that belongs to Runabay alone, which bodes well for the band going forward. With a strong set of tunes, and an enviable live presence, Runaway are making a mighty mark on the local scene.

"Too Soon (Reverie)" is out now. John from Runabay was also a recent guest on our podcast. 

Alana Henderson - Let This Remain

It has been a while since we last had music from Tyrone's favourite singer/songwriter/cellist, Alana Henderson. She first caught our attention back in 2013 following the release of her wonderful "Wax & Wane E.P", and was followed up by "Windfall", a collection of re-imagined versions of folk songs from the north of Ireland, which ended up nominated for the Northern Ireland Music Prize that year (losing to Robyn G Shiels).

Since then, most of her time has been taken up touring the world as a member of Hozier's live band, but now she's back releasing under her own steam, with "Let This Remain" being the first fruits to be borne. The song is a minimalist affair, with the song being carried along by an old synthesizer, a Roland drum machine, and of course the exquisite cello playing and vocals from Alana. It's a lot more electronic-driven and less classically-influenced that some of her previous output, and is both a welcome return and evolution for Alana Henderson.

"Let This Remain" is out now.

Run To Earth - Russian Roulette (ft. Francis Mitchell)

Although this is the first time that we have featured Run To Earth on The Metaphorical Boat, it is not the first time that we have featured the artist behind the project on this blog.

Run To Earth is the new project by Omar Ben Hassine, who has been a member of A Northern Light, a band responsible for two of our favourite local songs of the past few years, "Kill It" and "Paranoia". Whilst those two songs saw the band mixing electronic music with rock, the music of Run To Earth skews much more towards the former. The first track dropped over the summer, "Scaling Mount Olympus", which was a towering slice of euphoric instrumental electronica, and just this week, he's released his follow-up single under the new moniker.

"Russian Roulette" features guest vocals from Frances Mitchell, who is best known as a member of electronic-pop group Loris. Like "Paranoia", it is very drum and bass influenced, although unlike that track it is less rock-orientated, calling to mind the more electronic-orientated D&B masters like DJ Fresh or Sub Focus. It is a really strong single from Run To Earth, and one that should hopefully see this burgeoning project pick up quite a bit of attention.

"Russian Roulette" is out now.

Owen Denvir - Jackhammer

It's a great to have some music from singer/songwriter, viral video sensation, & former guest on The Metaphorical Boat's podcast, Owen Denvir. His last release was the experimental "Motion Picture Soundtrack" E.P, which contained the fabulous "You Don't Want To Love Me" amongst other gems, and his new single sees him moving back into more accessible, poppier territory.

"Jackhammer" is a remixed version of a single he self-released a few years ago, with the new version adding a new layer to the already pretty great track. There are echoes of "Lego House" by Ed Sheeran in the song, which is about a heartbreak Denvir experienced following moving abroad. It's his most radio-friendly song he's released to date, and should hopefully earn the Belfast songwriter a few new fans in the process.

"Jackhammer" is out now, and is backed with "Green Light" as a b-side.

Outsider - Míol Mór Mara

This is a song that many of you will have known for a few weeks now, but is only now coming to our attention, mainly due to our aversion to football.

Outsider is the musical project of Dublin-based Sean Corcoran, whom we've come across on this blog before when he was involved with post-punk act Moscow Metro. Having recently signed to Warner Music, he released his first single "Míol Mór Mara", which is honking great slice of anthemic, driving rock in the style of The War on Drugs, or more close to home, Pleasure Beach.

The song has already built an audience through its inclusion on the soundtrack for FIFA 18, becoming the first song song in Irish to make it on the soundtrack to one of those games (the title of the song roughly translates to "sea whale", which is somewhat in keeping with the Biblical nature of the lyrics). It went over our heads because we haven't played a FIFA game for over 10 years, and let's be honest, FIFA will never match the soundtrackual brilliance that was FIFA 2000. I mean, Reel Big Fish, Gay Dad, Apollo 440 AND Robbie Williams in the same place? You can't get better than that.

Still, at least you know that FIFA 18 is in good hands with Outsider on the tracklist, and with such a global platform for his debut release, it could be the start of something rather special for him.

"Míol Mór Mara" is out now, with a rather great music video to boot as well.

The Metaphorical Boat Spotify Playlist - September/October 2017

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 September & October 2017. 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 like Franz Ferdinand, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Courtney Barnett/Kurt Vile & The Go! Team, songs from newer acts such as Confidence Man, Anteros, Girl K, Seazoo, Outsider & The Cornshed Sisters, plus local acts like Runabay (the most recent guest of our podcast), Aidan Logan, Bicep, The Wood Burning Savages, Amy McAllister, Malojian & Lauren Bird. Lots of great music from lots of great people for your ear-based amusement.



In addition, as of 2017 The Metaphorical Boat has started a rotating playlist of songs, which we will update on a regular basis. You've seen it on the sidebar of our blog, now you get to see it in a blog post as well. Hurrah for duplication!

As soon as we come across a new song that we like, it will automatically go to the top of this playlist, and we will remove a song from the playlist as soon as it has been on it for 2 months, so if you give it a follow, you will always have a fine conveyor belt of fantastic music courtesy of us at The Metaphorical Boat. You can find the playlist as it stands as of now below -

Anteros - Bonnie

We've been loving the songs that London 4-piece Anteros have been putting out the last few years, with "Breakfast", "The Beat" & "Drunk" being among the irresistible pop gems the band have graced us with, and we've also been lucky enough to catch them live at The Great Escape two years running, and have been captivated by them each time.

The band have just released their latest single, which is one that we really enjoyed we heard it at The Great Escape earlier this year*. "Bonnie" continues the band's run of fine, ear-worm inducing indie-pop songs with a jagged edge and an irresistible chorus. We still think that the closest musical comparison for the band is Blondie, which is by all means the greatest compliment we believe we can bestow upon the band.

"Bonnie" is out now.



*Although in our review of The Great Escape, we erroneously referred to it as "Bunny". Homonyms are fun. 

Lauren Bird - I Wonder

Whilst there is still a few months to go until the end of the year, it is increasingly seems that our favourite album of 2017 is going to be "The Inbetween" by Strabane singer/songwriter Lauren Bird. We'd been following the progress of Lauren for a few years, and were not disappointed when the album finally landed - a mixture of happy songs about sad things and sad songs about sad things, all underpinned by the ukulele. 

The whole album is a real treat, although if we were to pick out our just three tracks that demand your attention, they would firstly be "Things I'm Good At", a self-depreciating look at all the things Lauren considers herself good at. Second of all would be "That's The Truth", a truly majestic and heartbreaking song that gets me a little bit bleary eyed just thinking about it, and contains of the best, most heartbreaking lyrics in a song we've heard this year - "I'd rather be nothing that be a burden to you". 

And the third song? That would be "I Wonder", another great tale of heartbreak, with a chord sequence that reminds us of "Over and Done With" by The Proclaimers (which we are informed was merely coincidental). The music video for the song has just been released, which depicts a couple at a critical stage of their relationship, which has been directed by Caris Rianne (who as everyone who listened to our podcast with Lauren Bird knows, has collaborated with her before).

It's also the first time that Lauren has appeared in one of her own music videos, albeit in a small, blink and you'll miss it cameo role. In fact, if you are trying to get your Lauren-sceptical friends to listen to her music, you could turn it into a game of "find the Lauren", with the first person to spot her in the video winning. That way, you can introduce a friend to Lauren Bird's fabulous music, as well as having the superiority of winning the game. It's a can't lose situation. 

"The Inbetween", the debut album from Lauren Bird, is out now.

The Metaphorical Boat Podcast Episode 06 - Runabay

On each episode of The Metaphorical Boat Podcast, Christopher McBride, the Captain of The Metaphorical Boat, will sit down with one of his favourite musicians, and over a cup of a lovely caffeinated beverage and a bun or tray-bake of the artist's choosing (The Captain always goes for Battenberg. Always), chat through the artist's life, musical highlights, and most importantly, how many sugars they take.

Our guest on this episode of The Metaphorical Boat Podcast is John McManus from Antrim/Belfast six-piece Runabay, who talks about the band's new single "Too Soon", how Runabay's live set has evolved, whether he prefers songs that come together quickly or slowly, and whether he'd like to see their music used in adverts.

Listen or download now on Soundcloud or on iTunes:



Find out more about Runabay on -
Official | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp

The Metaphorical Boat Podcast Episode 05 - Darren Doherty

On each episode of The Metaphorical Boat Podcast, Christopher McBride, the Captain of The Metaphorical Boat, will sit down with one of his favourite musicians, and over a cup of a lovely caffeinated beverage and a bun or tray-bake of the artist's choosing (The Captain always goes for Battenberg. Always), chat through the artist's life, musical highlights, and most importantly, how many sugars they take.

Our guest on this episode of The Metaphorical Boat Podcast is Strabane singer/songwriter and member of A Northern Light, Darren Doherty, who talks about his musical journey, his first solo album "What You Do" and its spontaneous recording process, and his new band, The Heathen Choir.

Listen or download now on Soundcloud or on iTunes:

Find out more about Darren Doherty on -
Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp

MMODE - Waiting In The Desert

This is an act that we have been waiting for new music from for a long time, although under a different name.

The Belfast band Southern are a duo that we have been writing on The Metaphorical Boat since day 1 (literally). We watched Thomas & Lucy Gaffney* increasingly build up a name for themselves, releasing great songs such as "Where The Wild Are" & "Where I Want To Be", and by 2014 we had a feeling they were going to be massive when we were unable to get in to see them at The Great Escape because there was a queue snaking around the building waiting to see them too.

Unfortunately, after that year we didn't hear anything from the band for some time, which we have now learned is due to an illness that befell Thomas. However, we were delighted to learn last month that the duo are now back making music together again, and have relaunched themselves under the name MMODE.

Their first single under their new name is "Waiting In The Desert", and is a hazy, tune that has shades of 90s indie-rock and Jagwar Ma-esque psychedelia. It's great to have Thomas & Lucy back doing what they do best - making ruddy fantastic pop tunes.

"Waiting In The Desert" is out now.


*whilst recording as Southern, Thomas & Lucy used the surname "Southern" in all their promotional material, so we assume that this was a pseudonym and "Gaffney" is in fact their real surname. 

Balako - Hora De Balako

At the start of 2017, there was one thing in particular that The Metaphorical Boat was hoping to hear in the year ahead, and that was an honest to goodness, bona fide disco banger. We've always had a soft spot for the genre, but it has been a while since we've heard a modern one that's really excited.

In the 21st century, we've had the insatiably brilliant "Murder on The Dancefloor", and of course "Get Lucky" was, and continues to be, the feel-good song of the summer. But apart from those songs, and the occasion stroke of genius like "Blind" or "Beaches & Friends", there hasn't been many other disco songs that have moved us, which is why we were so keen on 2017 doing something to remedy that.

And it looks like 2017 may have just answered our call, in the form of Brazilian duo Balako. Their debut single, "Hora De Balako", has just about everything that we want in a total disco banger - funky basslines, swooping strings, and a feelgood chant you just cannot help shouting along to, even if you a) don't know what it means, and b) are walking around listening to the song on headphones, aware that people will give you funny looks for shouting such a phrase at occasional intervals.

"Hora De Balako" is out now.

The Metaphorical Boat Spotify Playlist - July/August 2017

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 & August 2017. 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 like Public Service Broadcasting, Kasabian, Beck, Bastille & Arcade Fire, songs from newer acts such as Confidence Man, Catholic Action, Kelsey Kerrigan, JR Green, Moon Taxi, The Breaks & Banfi, plus local acts like Beauty Sleep (the most recent guest of our podcast), Ciaran Lavery, MMODE, Hunkpapa, Terry Conlon, Emer Maguire, Catalan & Run To Earth . Lots of great music from lots of great people for your ear-based amusement.



In addition, as of 2017 The Metaphorical Boat has started a rotating playlist of songs, which we will update on a regular basis. You've seen it on the sidebar of our blog, now you get to see it in a blog post as well. Hurrah for duplication!

As soon as we come across a new song that we like, it will automatically go to the top of this playlist, and we will remove a song from the playlist as soon as it has been on it for 2 months, so if you give it a follow, you will always have a fine conveyor belt of fantastic music courtesy of us at The Metaphorical Boat. You can find the playlist as it stands as of now below -

The Metaphorical Boat Podcast Episode 04 - Beauty Sleep

On each episode of The Metaphorical Boat Podcast, Christopher McBride, the Captain of The Metaphorical Boat, will sit down with one of his favourite musicians, and over a cup of a lovely caffeinated beverage and a bun or tray-bake of the artist's choosing (The Captain always goes for Battenberg. Always), chat through the artist's life, musical highlights, and most importantly, how many sugars they take.

Our guests on this episode of The Metaphorical Boat Podcast is Belfast trio Beauty Sleep. Cheylene, Ryan & Aimee from the band dropped by to talk about their music, being inspired by art, playing festivals, whether they really are a dream-pop band, and "The Seagull Incident".

Listen or download now on Soundcloud or on iTunes:

Find out more about Beauty Sleep on -
Facebook | Twitter | Website 

Girl K - Neighbors

There's nothing that warms our heart more than a sumptuous yet vulnerable slice of indie-pop, which is why we're so taken by "Neighbors", the debut single from Chicagoan Kathy Patino, who records under the name Girl K. The song, which is about overlooking personal needs when giving to others, is a slice of surfy indie-pop in the mold of Alvvays, with a euphoric chorus reminiscent of "Next of Kin". A rather lovely piece of noise.

"Neighbors" is taken from Girl K's debut album "Sunflower Court", which is due out in Autumn.

The Breaks - Honey

This is a song that I first came across a couple of weeks ago when I reviewed it as part of Fresh on The Net's Fresh Faves. Given that it's one that I have consistently come back to since then, it was only proper to give it a mention here at The Metaphorical Boat.

The Breaks are a Burnley bred, Manchester based band, who for the time being are happy to remain anonymous*. They released their debut E.P a few weeks back, and the track that gained our love from the release was the wonderful "Honey", a shoegaze-y wall of blissful noise that encapsulates everything I love about the sub-genre, like My Bloody Valentine with a poppier heart. Plus, the drum intro reminds me of "Killing of a Flashboy" by Suede, which is never, ever a bad thing.

"Honey" is taken from the band's debut E.P, the cheerily titled "Misery", which is out now


*Although curiously, the music video for "Honey" does seem to feature people who may or may not be in the band, including one fellow playing the guitar.

Northern Ireland Tunes - Round Up #38

So summer. That's a thing that is currently happening. Hope you are all enjoying sunning yourselves, enjoying time off and taking in a much new music as you can? What's that, not really much of the latter? Well just as well The Metaphorical Boat's here for you then.

There's been some rather fine new music from this neck of the woods in the last wee while, so here's a round-up of a few new tunes that we think will float your Metaphorical Boat -


Darren Doherty - Kites (featuring Lauren Bird)

Strabane resident Darren Doherty has been featured on these pages before, as part of his work with the band A Northern Light, who were responsible to two of our favourite local songs of the past few years, "Kill It" and "Paranoia". He's now recording under his own name, and recently released an album, "What You Do", which was recorded over a period of several months, with each track released the moment it was ready.

Our favourite song from the collection is "Kites". Not just because it features Lauren Bird, but because it is a brilliant, powerful stripped-back folk song. A rare delight.


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Terry Conlon - Don't Lead Me On

Terry Conlon's got one of those voices that just couldn't come from anywhere else but here. The Cullyhanna native is releasing his debut album "Homegrown" in September, with "Don't Lead Me On" being the lead single. With a voice that is richer beyond his years and a tune that could cause increased lacrymosity, his music will strike a chord with fans of Ciaran Lavery or Foy Vance.


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CATALAN! - Oka

CATALAN! is the new music project from Ewan Friars, who is perhaps best known as a member of North Coast rockers Axis of. "Oka" is the first socially charged single, combining lyrics about indigenous people and social media with thumping beats and towering guitar riffs. If you were a fan of Axis of, and are also partial to a little bit of The Clash, you'll find something to love here.

There's a music video released to accompany the song, which contains quite a lot of symbolism that we are currently unable to interpret, in spite of our A Level Media Studies knowledge.


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Emer Maguire - Belfast

We'd heard quite a few people talking about Belfast based singer/songwriter Emer Maguire recently, so were glad to be able to catch her live at the Pavilion at the weekend, playing what we believe to be her first full-band performance. It was a quite enjoyable performance, with covers of Muse & Lorde thrown in among her original material, and there was definitely enough going to make sure we keep an eye out for her in the future.

Of her original songs, the one that caught our ear was "Belfast", a great love/hate letter to the city (and funnily enough, the 2nd song we've heard about the city in the past 2 weeks). There's a nice hat-tap towards the Lisburn Road (a street that anyone who's studied at Queen's knows all too well), plus it's nice to hear a synth-bass being used in an acoustic-led song.


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Hunkpapa - Rodeos

And concluding our round-up this month is Armagh band Hunkpapa. We have been reliably informed that the group are one of the most exciting new live bands to come out of Northern Ireland in recent times. We haven't seen them live yet, so we cannot vouch for the accuracy of that claim, but that is something that we hope to remedy at some point in the near future.

For now though, we'll just have to pleasure ourselves with the band's latest single, "Rodeos", which is a great alt-folk-rock single that comes off like a heavier Ben Howard.

Kelsey Kerrigan - Driving Around

Los Angeles resident and mentee of Ryan Adams, Kelsey Kerrigan,  has a real knack for tight indie-rock, if her single "Driving Around" is anything to go by. The song is a self-depreciating tale of meandering vehicular journeys, and calls to mind the songwriting of Courtney Barnett, and possibly a little bit of Camera Obscura thrown in there for good measure.

"Driving Around" is taken from an upcoming debut album from Kelsey Kerrigan.

The Metaphorical Boat is six years old today.

Happy birthday to us! It hardly feels like six years since the blog started to catalogue our musings on songs we happen to come across, so glad to still be doing if after all these years. Our thanks go out to all of you for reading the blog, and more recently, to all of you for listening to our recently launched podcast (shameless plug: don't forget to subscribe on iTunes!), and of course, to all of you wonderful makers of fine music, for whom your absence would have stopped this blog making its way past day 1.

And on this anniversary, let's take a minute to recognise one of our favourite songs of 2017 so far that we haven't covered on the blog up until now. Isle of Wight duo CHAMPS first caught our attention at the tail end of 2013 with the track "Savannah." Their new single, "The Garden Is Overgrown", is a pulsating synth-pop number with a cracking chorus at its heart, and bodes well for their upcoming album.

Lo-Fi Fun Factory - Sunny Belfast

This is one of those songs that probably might not make sense to people who live outside of "our wee province", but it's such a great little ditty nonetheless.

Lo-Fi Fun Factory is an alternative folk trio based in Belfast made up of Dan Tindall, Alan Thompson & James Canning. They've been together since 2010, and have released a smattering of songs in that time. However, it is their latest single, "Sunny Belfast", that has caught our attention, through its self-depreciating, yet still warm, tribute to the city.

A lot of the references might go over the head of those who don't live here, but for those of us that do, we are absolutely tickled by references to the Big Fish, trying to park anywhere near St George's Market, an economy that's being propped up by Game Of Thrones, and of course the ridiculous 20 mph speed limit that's been imposed on Belfast city centre.

It's a great, Penguin Cafe Orchestra-esque experimental folk ditty, although I would be curious to know how it goes down from people who are less familiar with Belfast and its foibles.

"Sunny Belfast" is available to purchase now, and is the first song from a new song a month project that is currently in progress.

ÖZ - Do You Love Me

For a first single, "Do You Love Me" is one strong debut indeed. ÖZ is a producer based in Montreal whose influences cited include Jamie xx & London Grammar. 

"Do You Love Me" was inspired by a bad breakup, with ÖZ trying to imagine it from the perspective of his ex-girlfriend. It's a strong pop song, with an electronic pop style that is very current sounding, the sort of song that one could imagine realistically being a top 40 hit if it had a massive record company or money behind it. That it is a 1st single bodes well for ÖZ's musical endeavors going forward.

"Do You Love Me" is out now.

The Metaphorical Boat Podcast Episode 03 - Gerry Norman & Son of The Hound

On each episode of The Metaphorical Boat Podcast, Christopher McBride, the Captain of The Metaphorical Boat, will sit down with one of his favourite musicians, and over a cup of a lovely caffeinated beverage and a bun or tray-bake of the artist's choosing (The Captain always goes for Battenberg. Always), chat through the artist's life, musical highlights, and most importantly, how many sugars they take.

Our guests on this episode of The Metaphorical Boat Podcast are two of our favourite local singer-songwriters. Gerry Norman, best known as the lead singer of A Plastic Rose, who is now recording under his own name, and Mick McCullough, who currently records as Son of The Hound. 

Listen or download now on Soundcloud or on iTunes:

Find out more about Gerry Norman on -
Facebook | Twitter | YouTube 

Find out more about Son of The Hound on -
Facebook | Twitter | Website