Musical Motivation: Kev Sherry

Kev Sherry, lead singer for the cult, critically acclaimed Scottish indie-rock four-piece Attic Lights (Island Records, Elefant Records), makes a welcome return as he prepares to unveil his new single ‘Feelgood Movie Of The Year’ ahead of his debut solo album Foxy Orthodoxy in Sept 2020. We caught up with him to find out what songs make him...



Smile

Yes by McAlmont & Butler

Essentially a one hit wonder but also the greatest single of the 1990s. It's soul music but something else. It fills me with joy whenever I hear it, the soaring strings, the pounding groove, McAlmont's angelic voice soaring into the heavens. It's a feast for the ears and is a constant companion in my life, showing me that even in the darkest moments, there is joy out there.

Contemplate

Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel

I don't really know what this song is about but it makes me think of a guy climbing a hill near where he lives and looking down at his town and thinking about his life. I guess it has been a radio staple since before I was born so maybe it has always been in the fabric of my life. When I heard it for the first time, I'd already heard it - if you know what I mean.

Cry

Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack

I don't know why this song gets me so much. Those rising strings, the vocal melody, the yearning, the perfect tempo of the drums. It is a masterpiece and I have no idea how you write a song like that. But every. single. time. I hear it... tears....

Laugh

Depreston - Courtney Barnett

She is one of the great modern rock lyric writers. She writes so many funny lines, all of them delivered with that trademark laconic drawl. The song just nails a certain bemused ennuie of hunting for a new place to live. This line always cracks me up - "Now we got that percolator, Never made a latte greater, I'm savin' twenty three dollars a week"

Want to work out

Dance Yerself Clean by LCD Soundsystem

Like me working out, it starts off kinda slow, getting into the groove, sinking into it a little bit... then once you've got that body ready and you are feeling better.... BOOM, those big bass notes and clattering drums kick in and hey! We're off! Perfect (for slow starts like me)

Reminisce

Roy's Tune - FONTAINES DC

A song from last year so it's not so much that it makes me reminisce about personal events, rather that the whole thing feels mired in melancholy, regret and longing and it makes you feel all those things too, even though you can't put your finger on what particularly melancholic longing you are reminiscing about. That's the mark of a truly great song.

Relax

Brian Eno - An Ending Ascent

I think everyone knows this track even if they think they don't know it. It's been used in so much TV and in movies. But it really is the most perfect piece of ambient music - and great for falling to sleep to, if you need help. The circular chord structure, the gentle wash of sound. Just perfect.

Feel Determined

Liberty Belle - FONTAINES DC

Am I allowed two tracks by the same band? I should be when it comes to FONTAINES DC. Their energy, their drive, and this, their first single, says it all. You're young, out on the town, looking at the life and madness all around you, full of hope and fear and anger and energy. Whenever I need a pick me up, I put this song on and instantly, I'm raring to go.

Dance

Everything Now - Arcade Fire

It's almost like a modern version of an Abba song. It's got such a sway to it that I want to waltz across a 1970s disco floor swinging my arms. And yet it is also incredibly modern sounding. It may not be a traditional 'dance' record, but man, it makes you wanna get up and swing around like your drunk auntie at a family wedding.