Five tracks to get you in the mood for Spring

The sun has peeked out from behind the clouds, the birds are tweeting more loudly and there are buds on the trees… Yes, Spring is officially here and with it comes some of the music that artists and musicians have been beavering away at during the long, winter months of lockdown.

Here to lift your mood with a playlist apt for Spring are DJs Hattie Pearson and Jack Saunders. They’ve been chatting to presenter Geoff Lloyd for the BBC Radio 5 Live Monthly Music Review.

Hattie says: “The Reytons are a pretty raucous band from Sheffield. Their EP May Seriously Harm You and Others Around You was out [in February]. These guys have kind of just exploded... Their fans are absolutely bonkers for them. To have this kind of recognition is really amazing to see.”

Geoff says: “My instant reaction on hearing this was ‘everything comes in cycles and we’re on that kind of early to mid-noughties, teenies indie music, Arctic Monkeys-inspired revival’. Is there anything in that?”

Hattie nods: “I think it’s fair to say. The Reytons often get compared to Arctic Monkeys. There is a cyclical way of music coming back and you see that with the kind of bedroom pop that has seen a resurgence as well in recent months and years.”

Jack says: “I decided to start this thing on streaming platform Twitch called Feedback Friday. I invite anyone who makes music to submit music to me, we go through it, there’s an audience there that listens to it with me and we all feed back together...

“Sometimes you unearth a gem, and Luke Royalty - I Could Get Used To This was one of those gems. I found out that he’d been supported by BBC Introducing in the North East previously as well. He feels like something special that I’ve discovered.

“One of the great things about him [is] you don’t expect the voice he has to come out of his mouth.”

Geoff asks: “Who does he belong in the same box as?”

Jack says: “Anyone who’s perhaps a fan of Tom Misch or Loyle Carner... I’d like to hear him in the studio with either one of those two guys and see if he could rustle up something even bigger than this, because I think he’s got loads of potential.”

“This is like the musical version of... unicorns and rainbows, just pure joy!”

Hattie says: “This is an absolute corker. The debut album from Patawawa was actually meant to be out in September, then the guys were meant to be releasing the album in early March and finally it’s going to be out on 26th March. It’s called Power - Up. I’ve got the vinyl on pre-order, I cannot wait for it to arrive.

“To me, this is like the musical version of... unicorns and rainbows, just pure joy! Gloriously upbeat, positive energy and one of those bands that you could stumble across at a festival, and even if you’ve not heard of them you’d be like ‘yes, we’re staying, let’s watch this whole set’ and then you’ve missed out on seeing the headliner because these guys are really good.

“Big things to come from these guys, I’m sure.”

Jack says: “Very early on Raissa gained plaudits from Mura Masa. He remixed one of her tracks and then she signed to Mark Ronson’s label over at Columbia. From there she has had the basis to really be able to showcase her potential.

“What I really love about Raissa is the escapism in the music. I think that’s something that we’ve all required during this very difficult time. Just being able to be taken somewhere else, by whatever that is. In this case, music. And I feel like I go on a very [otherworldly] experience when I listen to Raissa. There’s an EP coming called HEROGIRL as well.”

This one isn’t perhaps quite as cheerful, but instead it is powerful and poignant.

Hattie says: “This is Andra Day, actor in the film United States vs. Billie Holliday. She [did] a beautiful rendition of Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit on Jimmy Fallon’s show in the States.”

Geoff says: “This has made me excited for the film.”

Andra Day plays the legendary jazz singer and won the prize for ‘Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama’ at the Golden Globes on 1 March.

The biopic depicts Billie’s Holidays battles with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, who pursued her for her drug use, but were really afraid that her performing the song Strange Fruit, about the lynching of Black Americans, would incite unrest.

Geoff Lloyd was standing in for Nihal Arthanayake.

Nihal is on air Mondays to Thursdays 13:00 - 16:00 on BBC Radio 5 Live. Listen live on BBC Sounds.

The Monthly Music Review is at 15:00 on the last Thursday of the month. Nihal chats through the latest music news, recommendations for new releases and tracks you just need to hear.